When I get a seat on the bus and when I don't fall asleep (which nearly made me miss my stop yesterday afternoon), I sometimes use the time to do some pleasure reading. I don't take the time at home to do much reading, so the ~30 minutes per trip on the bus has recently been a great time for me to get to some books that have rested on my shelf for quite long.
The tightest criteria I have for commuter book is that it must be portable - my messenger bag is already heavy with my laptop plus accessories, papers, day timer, and lunch. So, the hardcover books that are in my "to be read" pile remain on the pile, and a paperback that sits on the shelf will be what I will pass the commute time with.
Dave Eggers' What Is the What is based on the life story of Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee from Sudan that makes his way to the USA. The novel bounces back and forth Achak's present life, where the challenges of finding work, getting into college, and making efforts to help those in his home country are told against a backdrop of a home invasion, and his past life, where he was forced to flee his home, becoming one of the Lost Boys in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. An amazing story of survival. My one problem is that the novel "sounds" like Dave Eggers. The natural language that you hear from the author reminded me a lot of A Heartbreaking Work..., where it was Eggers telling his story. Hearing the same voice telling me Achak's story as its own "sounded" a bit off.
Possession is my current read. This book has been sitting on my shelf for a few years now. It came to me free, being picked out of a box of discarded books that was by the side of Main St one day when I was walking to work. I got teased at work for picking things with unknown origins up off the street. As for the novel, I am hooked. I'm only a quarter of the way through, but I look forward to busrides where I can get back into the story. A trip in and out translates to about a 40-50 page bite, which is almost perfect chapter for my tastes. It's marked as a romance, which made me hesitate briefly before starting it, but so far, I have been excited by the stories of discovery, theft, and academic politics.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Interesting point about the Eggers book. I wondered how he would present another person's story - especially one that is so emotionally charged. Recommended or not to bother?
Recommended, though I don't think that it is worth rushing to it. Though maybe you've swept through your Powell's purchases and are hurting with VPL closed. You can borrow my copy when/if you choose to read it.
Post a Comment