I'm a slow reader. Very slow. On a vacation to Aruba this summer, my wife read an entire novel (One Summer) on the four-hour plane ride down. I finished a book on the plane ride home but I'd already been reading it throughout the week we were down there, soaking up the sun and being entertained by the many different-sized lizards hanging out by the pool. We partook in many other adventures while down there as well, but I'm saving that for the next blog entry.
Now I'm not ashamed of my reading speed. I like taking my time with a book. It took me two years to get from one end of Bag of Bones to the other. Not because I didn't love it, but because I was enjoying it rather than racing through it. I was also reading other books at the same time and that's a no-no for me. I much prefer to focus on one book at a time. That way it may only take me about a month to get through. But, as it is, I like snuggling into the story and staying there as long as I can. The pages appear like a film running in my head. I'll even re-read passages that give me shivers because they're so good.
Last December I got the thought to start jotting down when I finished a book, to see how many I read in a single year. So I kept a list in my Droid for the last year and can now say that by the time the clock strikes midnight December 31st, I will have read twenty books in 2013.
That's not bad. For me.
Now, the twenty books read includes two volumes (Miles Behind Us and Safety Behind Bars) of The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman. Some may not consider these "books" and hold firm that graphic novels and novels are separate, but I counted them because I didn't just breeze through the volumes admiring the pictures and reading the dialogue. I put myself in with those characters as they struggled in the harsh elements of winter and fought daily for survival. And I re-read many of the pages.
For this entry I thought I would pull a handful of my favorite titles from throughout the year and discuss them. Talk about why I enjoyed them, or maybe something about them I didn't enjoy.
Let's start with...
The Shining (by Stephen King)
Yes, I know. Having been a Stephen King fan for many, many years and only in the beginning of 2013 did I get around to cracking the spine of what is arguably King's most beloved novel (most beloved for many, second to others who favor It or The Stand before this third King novel). What surprised me most about this book was how much violence there isn't. The Shining is more a personal journey, or rather a personal deconstruction, of Jack Torrance - a man who has worked so hard to build himself back up after swearing off alcohol and attempting to forgive himself over an accident where his anger resulted in injuring his son, Danny - than it is about anything else.
Reading The Shining, I expected...well, blood. I expected violence. Ghosts. Noises in the night. Pleasantly I found the story to more heartbreaking and tragic than I did scary or even a tad bit unsettling. I love when a book gives you something unexpected. In a good way. The slow pace, the isolation, even knowing the destined outcome of Jack turning against his family somehow enhanced the punch of his downfall.
The ending though, much different than the Kubrick film, offered the redemption I was rooting for.
Rise of the Governor and The Road to Woodbury (by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga)
I grouped these two books together because they tell a single story (to be completed in the two-part Fall of the Governor - Part 1 out now, Part 2 in early March). What I really liked about these two novels was how the character of The Governor was humanized. We learn how desperate he was - this man Blake - to save his...daughter...(if you don't know much of Kirkman's Governor character outside the excellent TV show - and excellent portrayal by David Morrissey - then Book 1: Rise of the Governor holds a wicked twist)...how desperate he was to save what remained of his family, and himself. This man, as you discover, is quite justified in his actions - per your own opinion. He's not addicted to violence or determined to lead (quite the opposite), but finds that he trusts no one else to help their small group. Because other people, other survivors, prove too untrustworthy. People plot, steal, and kill to survive. How would you feel leaving the safety of your loved ones up to those you felt were crazy and/or dangerous, or even just plain incompetent? Would you just assume do the job yourself? And, in that, know you have to be ruthless yourself so as not to be usurped like the previous leader?The world Kirkman and Bonansinga create in these books is both lush with description - sometimes too much description - but also bleak. These are the end times. Surviving is cruel and other survivors even more cruel. The dead - call'em Walkers or Biters or what have you - are a constant threat and ever so present. They're not just fodder for a "Kill of the Week." We believe any one of the infected are capable of taking out any one of our...heroes.
The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower I (by Stephen King)
Back in the world of King (and there's plenty more of him on this list), this is another overdue book I perhaps should have picked up and examined long before calling myself a SK fan.
I'll be very blunt: This is a much different read than many of King's books. The prose is thickly poetic, the description of the world heavy with elements of the fantastic, and, to be honest, not much happens. All you need to know about this book heading in is summed up in what is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable first lines of fiction anywhere: The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.
I was entertained by the brief novel but became ultimately excited to continue onward into King's Magnum Opus at the close. In the confrontation with the Man in Black does our hero, the Gunslinger, realize just how insignificant he is, and it's a moment that smacks the reader with an unexpected cold fist as much it does the protagonist. The moment borders on cruel truth and revealing just how evil the MIB really is.
And this is just Book 1.
When You Reach Me (by Rebecca Stead)
Occasionally I check out what's making an impact in YA fiction. I get plenty turned off when I see the same things: tragic/melodramatic love story, tales of adventure where the main character is "The One", stories that are fine for stretching the realms of possibility but are just plain stupid.
Early in 2013, I saw this book topping many critic's and reader's lists. I read the plot summary, read a sample, and ordered a copy from Barnes & Noble. I'm not one to blind-buy too many books. I have my favorite authors and plenty yet to read (I can't say how many books I have sitting on my "Waiting To Be Read shelf) and it takes a lot for me to open the cover of someone I've never heard of. But I am so glad I did that with When You Reach Me.
This book I don't feel I can talk too much about. There are too many spoilery details I don't want to give, but I will say that, overall, Stead's book is a very pleasant surprise. Very pleasant. It's also a very down-to-earth book. There are some elements of Science Fiction but that's not the focus and don't let that put you off if that genre isn't your thing. It's also not a supernatural romance, which, haven't we seen enough of lately?
What When You Reach Me is is an honest look at one girl's life in NYC, a life that's had its share of struggles, and a life that takes an unusual turn. Most unusual.
One thing's for sure: The ending will have you saying Woah...
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Things Slip Through (by Kevin Lucia)
Of the twenty titles I absorbed through the year, this was one of my favorites, and not just because I know the author, but because it is very good. It's well thought out. It keeps its promise of being exactly what the premise offers, and even a little bit more for the readers to discover as the story unravels throughout a string of short stories connected by a main plot.
In an attempt to save myself from being too repetitive, I point you in the direction of the review I did on Things in an earlier post back in October. I will say though that the world Lucia has created in this book feels incredibly real. His Clifton Heights feels very much like a real spot on the map by the time you finish. A real spot like many small towns we pass on the Interstate and wonder about. What would we discover if we were to take that exit... Of Clifton Heights: I pictured a town where the sun was never out. The skies during the day were always on the grayscale (much like any episode of the X-Files when it was filmed in Vancouver), the shadows just a little longer in most places. The abundant amount of trees would always rattle, just loud enough to cover the noises of what horrific things were happening in this place.
More Than This (by Patrick Ness)
Ever since I read A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness has become one of my most favorite authors. With very controlled prose - a simple, witty, and spare style - Ness wove a beautiful, and beautifully heartbreaking tale of loss. And since finishing that book, I've awaited his next.
In a wonderful surprise, Ness released two books this year.
Well, depending on where you live. The second title of his (The Crane Wife) won't be available in the U.S. until January.
Through eBay, I managed to get hold of an advanced reader's copy of his 2013 YA release, More Than This. The story - about a boy who drowns and wakes up unsure if he's experiencing the afterlife - is very effective, and quite surprisingly so due to the fact that much of the book's first third has this boy, Seth, wandering an empty world alone. I don't wish to spoil anything beyond that, and that alone you can read on the book's jacket, but I will say I was not as in love with this title as I wanted to be.
Sprinkled throughout the text are flashbacks to Seth's life. In these flashbacks we learn that Seth is gay and is in a relationship. I don't have a problem with that, doesn't bother me any, and I imagine anyone who reads Ness doesn't care either (Spoiler alert: Patrick Ness is gay). What I did have a problem with is that the fact that Seth's sexual preference was treated like a twist in the narrative. It's like saying if he were straight then it's no big deal, but because he's gay it requires a reveal. I think More Than This would have benefited more if Seth being gay wasn't treated like it was trying to surprise the reader. It is a point of contention with his parents, well, one of them, and the way that's handled is fine because its part of Seth's story. Just felt like Ness was giving you reasons to like this character and feel sorry about him dying and then told you he was gay to challenge you and see if you'd stick with the book after that.
Under the Dome (by Stephen King)
Remember when I said I was a slow reader? Well, I got this book for Christmas the year it came out (2009) and reading it on and off, finished it this past summer. That's four years, folks.
No doubt about it, this novel has one of the best openings in a King book since Cell. Visceral imagery aplenty of both the death and destruction variety as the titular dome descends over the small Maine town of Chester's Mill. Everyone inside is cut off from the rest of the world and, of course, panic ensues with grapples for power by those with secrets. Everyone on the outside can do nothing but watch the chaos.
Like many King tales of great length, it's the middle section that wears on you. Much like with Lisey's Story, which I'll be finishing soon, King fills the middle pages with a lot of details and events so that you are imagining/experiencing a real life and a real town these people have. King doesn't like cookie-cutter characters, though more than a few times falls into some serious cliches and popcorn movie dialogue. He wants you to see everything, even if its dull. And sometimes it is.
Also like many King books, once you start the last quarter, things kick into high gear and you're scrambling to finish like you might miss out on something.
As for the ending? I don't know...I mean, I enjoyed it and thought it clever. Many took issue with it. I guess after reading over 1,000 pages there's not much in the way of explanation for the dome or for the fate of the characters within that will make you completely happy. To each their own, my friends. To each their own.
Joyland (by Stephen King)
Yes. I read a lot of Stephen King. I figure I'll be spending a great deal of my life reading his work. What makes him my favorite author is not just his impressive and immense body of stories spanning all genres, but also his commitment to the craft. I cannot wait to read Doctor Sleep and I have a few of his books planned to read in 2014, but I do read at least one or two other books by other authors in between every King story. Like I said before, his middles wear on you.
But not this one.
Joyland is fast paced and worth every word. This is easily my most favorite book of the year. I also think this is King's best work since Cell. Cell was urgent, fast paced, and yet still allowed a lot of quiet character moments. There was just always a purpose driving the characters. Same as in Joyland. Also, given the shorter novels associated with the pulp stories of decades ago (being emulated by the publisher: Hard Case Crime), it is essential here that King restrain his usual long-windedness. What readers get with Joyland is a simple murder story that rides alongside the tale of a young man growing up.
So, that's it - my year in reading. Yeah, I did read other novels throughout the year, but these were the standouts.
With 2014 coming, I'm very much looking forward to the end of The Walking Dead quadrilogy with the two-part Fall of the Governor, as well as digging into Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and the first two books in Blake Crouch's Wayward Pines series. Also, another of my favorite authors, Laurie Halse Anderson, has a new YA book (The Impossible Knife of Memory) out in January after a long absence.
Just maybe, with a little bit of hope and some speedier reading, I'll crack more than 20 spines next year.
We'll see...
And just maybe, hopefully, many of you readers of my blog will be cracking the spine of my book in 2014.
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