Books

TGAR 1C: Final Thoughts on the (Mostly Overrated) Lord of the Rings

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rotk

As I wrote previously, my relationship with The Lord of the Rings dates back several years and includes many start-stops of the series and a couple read-throughs of The Hobbit. Every time I attempted to venture into Tolkien’s vast world that is Middle-Earth, I felt like I was missing the point. Never was I in love with the sensationalized descriptions of landscapes or awed by the clashes of warring cavalries in battle. I’ve only just now finished the final installment, The Return of the King, and this was an ordeal that took me two and a half months. the time I spent reading The Lord of the Rings lengthened between the books, and the final, shortest volume in the series took over a month itself. Now that I’m done, I can speak with some authority (whatever you, my wonderful audience, wish to bestow upon me, at least) on The Lord of the Rings as a whole. If I could sum it up in a sentence or two, I’d say: Though the influence of LOTR for the fantasy genre cannot be overstated and is perhaps understated by today’s standards, the books/novel itself is, undoubtedly, overrated; the reverence with which we hold The Lord of the Rings stems mostly from its generic implications and the Peter Jackson films, and not from the text itself. The adventures of Frodo & company are epic, but the themes of the book are juvenile, the prose is dry and dull, and there are so many unnecessary plot digressions that draw the story out much longer than it needs to be.  Continue reading →

TGAR 1B: Slightly More-Coherent Thoughts on The Two Towers

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two towers

All right, I know it’s been a while, but I finally finished the second volume of The Lord of the Rings, AKA The Two Towers, AKA the one with Orlando Bloom on the cover. This one is 70-something fewer pages than the first one, but (predictably so) a lot more action happens. However, if I say anything about The Two Towers, it’s this: True to how Tolkien apparently wanted it, The Two Towers reads much more like a continuation of The Fellowship of the Ring than a sequel. The prose doesn’t miss a beat, and essentially what we’re left with is the rising action of the story, compressed into a singular volume for our reading pleasure. Does tons of action and plot development elevate The Two Towers over the previous installment? It depends.

Also, just a heads up–If you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings and have a strong desire to, go ahead and skip the next paragraph. The rest of the review will be spoiler-free, but I can’t help myself from spoiling stuff in at least one spot.

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TGAR 1: Half-Cocked Thoughts on The Fellowship of the Ring

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frodo

 

All right, everybody, as promised, here’s the first written review of my journey through The Great American Read! As previously stated, the first book (or books, however you prefer to look at it) on my list was The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I’ve decided to split the review into three parts for the sake of giving us more to discuss, and here’s part number one. I finished The Fellowship of the Ring on June 6th, 2018, and I can’t wait to share my thoughts.

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Review: Stephen King’s IT (The 2017 Movie)

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It_(2017)_poster

 

Well, I floated. And not like the rubber ducky in the bathtub, but more like that sensation you get when the dentist gives you too much of the good stuff before a procedure. I floated right into my seat, high on life, and I didn’t come down for two hours and 15 minutes. I was like the red balloon we saw in the trailer, like that butterfly Mohammed Ali was always talking about.

If you haven’t caught on with all my lame figurative language, I’m basically being annoying about the fact that I saw IT in theaters on Saturday. Though it was technically the third night for the show, you’d have thought we were at a midnight premiere or something. I mean this literally when I say it was packed; every seat except for one was filled. (I know that because somehow that seat was next to my brother; I don’t know if we smelled that night or what, but I’m not complaining.) The theater attendants were checking tickets each time you stepped in and out of the theater door. This is something I’ve never experienced, but I get that they were probably just trying to keep out movie hoppers and underage high schoolers. A friend of mine who works at a movie theater told me they sold out twice on opening night; suffice it to say this movie was a pretty big deal.

If you read what I published last week about IT, the novel, you’ll know that the story has a very special place in my heart. I went into this movie expecting great–maybe even momentous– things. I was acutely conscious to the fact that I might have overhyped the film so much in my head that I’d hate it– so much so that I was prematurely. prepared to do so. I knew my expectations were too high, but I couldn’t shake them. I’d been waiting for this film for years, and damn it, it had better be good. When I watched the final credits roll, it was like having a weight lifted from my shoulders. It was over. The film was over, and they didn’t butcher my favorite book. Not only did they not butcher it, but they managed to create something that was pretty faithful to its roots, while handling any creative liberties with poise. I walked out of the theater satisfied and clamoring for the eventual sequel. Sure, there were some things I didn’t like, but they were vastly outnumbered by the ones I did. IT isn’t a perfect movie, but it’s one you won’t want to miss. Here’s why: Continue reading →

Review: Stephen King’s IT (The Novel)

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I was in seventh grade the first time my mom took me to the used bookstore that opened up in our small, farming town. It was owned and operated by one of the librarians in our city, who also happened to be a family friend. I struggle to remember the storefront now, but I’ll never forget the name of the store, because I thought it was freaking brilliant. The store was called Shabby Pages, and it was at Shabby Pages where 13-year-old me stumbled into the world of Stephen King.

I had to beg my mother for the entire time we were in there, but I walked out of that store with a used copy of Everything’s Eventual, a story collection King published in 2002. I devoured the book the following week while I was camping on vacation, and an implacable love for the works of the most renowned author of the last 50 years was born. Later in that same week, I purchased 13 more of his books at a flea market.

Among these 13 new treasures was a 1,000 page behemoth with a one-word title. IT. The book’s cover featured a bare skull with blue stars in the eye hollows, an instantly recognizable red clown nose, and red lines coming from the side of the skull that reminded me of an American flag on a breezy day. All of this was on a black background with King’s name plastered across the top along with the phrase “#1 Bestseller” which is synonymous with his work.

it-book.jpg

Here’s my actual copy of IT– old, wet book smell and all. I can’t bring myself to part with it because it holds so much sentimental value.

I had tons of books to choose from, but I picked IT because I remembered my older cousins telling me a story when I was younger about a movie where a clown kills people and only kids can see it happening. After a quick Google search, I was able to confirm that I had the exact same story in print form. I quickly found a quiet spot alone and began reading.

“The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years–if it ever did end–began, so far as I know and can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain.”  – IT, Page 1

I didn’t know it then, but I was about to stumble upon my favorite book of all time. Continue reading →

I’m not Actually Very Well-Read, and I Hate Myself For It

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I remember the day my mom told me a family friend of ours was opening up a used bookstore in our hometown.

“It’s called Shabby Pages. It’s going to sell mainly used books, and right now they’re only accepting donations, but I think later on you’ll be able to trade in for store credit.”

This information made seventh-grade Eric pretty happy. Not only could I stop begging my mom to make the 25 minute drive to Barnes and Noble, but I could also get books for hella cheap. At the same time, though, I was a little iffy on the whole thing because I had this aversion to buying used books, specifically paperbacks. If I didn’t put the creases in the spine, the book was no good. I was the only one who could damage my shit.

A couple weeks passed and we visited the store. It wasn’t too big, probably less than a quarter of the size of a typical chain store, but the walls were lined with books. Since the store was just starting out, the owner got her hands on pretty much whatever she could and sold it. As I walked around the store, I saw so many unfamiliar names that I was disappointed. Where was D.J. MacHale (my favorite author at the time, who wrote the ever-so-wonderful Pendragon series)? Dan Gutman? Eoin Colfer? Of course, the reason I didn’t know any names is because up until that point in my life I had been reading YA. That changed before I walked out of the store. Continue reading →

The Top 5: Books I’ve Ever Read

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The topic of this post has changed so much in the last three days that you wouldn’t believe me if I told you my original intentions for it. I know it’s been a while, but I DID actually have something planned between these posts, but it fell through. I was going to post a review of Finders Keepers to follow up on my Mr. Mercedes one, but I was in the midst of writing it and got called into work. I lost all my mojo and didn’t get it done until it was too late to be relevant. (If you guys do want to know my thoughts, leave a comment and I’ll post the review anyway, but otherwise I plan on letting it rot in the draft pile.

The other day, I was screwing around on the Internet when I realized just how long it’d been since my last post. That’s a no-no. So, last night I decided I wanted to do another The Top 5 list. (Way back in the day I posted this, said I’d be doing them quite frequently, and never did.) At first I thought it was going to be my top 5 favorite classic novels. I got halfway through the draft before I realized that I was narrowing the parameters too soon. In the end, (and after much more deliberation that I’m not even going to begin to get into) I decided to go to something very basic. Today, I’ll be taking you through my top 5 favorite books of all time. It’ll set a good foundation for future lists, and it’ll help you learn a little about me and the way I work at the same time.

*Be warned. I’m not what most people would consider “well-read.” I’ve pretty much been reading the same five or so authors since 7th grade. With that said, this list does happen to contain enough variety to keep you interested (I hope). In descending order, here are my Top 5 favorite books of all time. Continue reading →