2013 Challenges, Books

Book 167: Vernon God Little – DBC Pierre

Although the year has changed, reading must continue 😀 For my first book of 2013 I used random.org to pull one from my shelves and it was definitely an experience.

As usual after I purchased the book I put it out of my mind and then when I go to read it I just start without reading anything about the book and thus begin without preconceived notions. This works for and against me all the time, for this book it definitely worked for me because if I had read a synopsis I probably would not have read the book at this time (see paragraph 5).

For a Man Booker Prize winning novel it was relatively easy to read. (It also won the Whitbread Award for First Novel.) I haven’t read any others from the year, but Atwood’s Oryx and Crake (read 09/13) is of course on my list. Overall I think this book serves as a great conversation starter, but as I read it I had to wonder why it won the award.

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Book Group, Books

Book 79: Friday Night Lights – H.G. Bissinger

I thought Friday Night Lights was going to focus solely on football (like the movie) but it didn’t. It was about so much more.

I read this book as part of a new book group, Books into Movies, I found at my local library. The book group itself was interesting enough, regardless of the book read. It was a mixture of 55+ individuals and about four of us in our 20s/30s. One guy pontificated, one woman knit, and the rest of us just sort of meandered about. I’ll definitely go back as I enjoyed the diverse opinions and perspectives, but I also like the idea of comparing books and films.

Prior to reading the book, I knew nothing about the story other than the film and the film was incredibly stunted compared to the book. In thinking about the book and what it means, Bissinger provided a perfect description of the book,
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