Ranting about Books – Fishing for Metaphors

3 Books I Did Not Finish

November 1, 2021September 24, 2022HalsdollLeave a comment

As I was looking through my library of books, I realize I failed to finish some books despite my effort and so today I list three books I shamefully tried to enjoy. Luckily, this is a personal blog where I am not trying to sell anyone anything but my honest opinion. It drives me nuts when I fall into the marketing trap of purchasing books with Bestseller on the front cover! When it comes to a matter of taste, I believe that we should disagree to agree. It makes the world more colorful and interesting. But we all know that? Most of us here are grown adults, I assume. Then why do some of us grownups get upset when someone disagrees with our taste?

If you have a book sitting next to your toilet for over a year and you still haven’t finished it, you know it is on the crappy side. Well then again, when reading books whether you enjoy it or not it is due to preference or the current mindset you are in. Well, I have been debating about this statement for some time now and I realized my mindset is not going to change any time soon because I had these books for years. The following books are just unbearable:

#1 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Beautiful words become unbearable when it gets nowhere. Is it supposed to be suspenseful or it’s just for show? The author is more focused on making sentences look pretty rather than giving them a worthwhile plot for readers to follow. I read more than halfway and decided to stop. It’s getting nowhere and I could care less what happens to the superficial characters. They really are just for the show just like the purpose of any circus. It would have been more interesting if the Night Circus was on crack. But then it will no longer be a pretty book! Now, I really feel bad when people came up to me and asked if the book was any good during my lunch break. I told them I liked it. I like the pretty sentences but that’s just about it.

Inside the tent is dark, the ceiling covered with open black umbrellas, the curving handles hanging down like icicles.
From The Night Circus, p.376

#2 Ready Player One by Earnest Cline

Overrated Books — Entertaining but cliché

Heard the film was good? This book was given to me as a gift because I was open about my gaming “addiction” at work. The problem with being labeled as a gamer means you are automatically assumed to be the stereotypical gamer: male, single, peter-pan syndrome. You name it. Mind you, I am just a millennial. I simply like games for entertainment purposes. It’s easy to reach over the control than do other extracurricular activities that appear more productive and noble such as tutoring English to refugee kids from broken families so you’d look good on your resume; selling freshly handpicked blackberries found on the side road to some old poor lady who is desperate to make some blackberry jam, and joining the circus because sane people spend a fortune to watch crazy people do flashy things and then applaud them with gifts and recognition. You see, a video game can have a noble cause like in this book. The protagonist is on the hunt for the ultimate prize so that he could have the power to change reality for himself and everyone else. In this book, the world has become an ugly place. Ironically, you might think I’d enjoy this book but like The Night Circus, I read more than halfway and quit because I got tired of reading about an exceptionally skilled gamer who is going to save the world by racing to be #1 on the leaderboard. It’s just unbearably cliché.

#3 Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

educationally boring — Educationally boring

Okay, I confess, I typically finish books and I couldn’t find a third one to complete my 3-list post. This book was part of the history class reading materials that were supposed to help students get a glimpse of how America was and still is resistant to progressive social changes by focusing on an imaginary small town in Minnesota called Gopher Prairie. I did finish the book, but I would have appreciated it more if I did not try to find hidden meanings or messages in the book. Perhaps, I should reread it now that I can put things into context now that I’m wiser in age and living in the Midwest. It was just an unbearable read back then because it’s part of U.S History and history lessons can be dry sometimes. Nonetheless, quite educational.

If you happen to enjoy this post, you have my sincere thanks. I might have woken up on the wrong side of the bed to make this list. Today, I just want to be human and say I just don’t like these books and that’s all there is to it.

Reflecting on Interview with the Vampire (Book): Passivity Is Death

July 19, 2021September 24, 2022Halsdoll2 Comments

I’m sort of done writing reviews. Writing impressions, journaling or reflective posts might be the politically correct term for this type of blog.

When it comes to reading, there’s no way I can ever read all the classics that I have set myself out to apart from discovering new stories from modern-day authors. Reading is meditative and truly addicting. I feel as if I have to be immortal to experience the many lives ebbed into a meaningful story that people packaged into a book and sell them off for profit. A strange concept if you were to ask me, but a writer has to make a living somehow. As a reader, I could play the god and judge the world for myself whenever I open a book. That’s what modernization turned human civilization into, a passive observer. As the bible goes: “For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow (Revised Standard Version, 1:18).” Am I doomed to be melancholic?

Reading as a pastime is a double edge sword. For one, reading offers an escape but at the same time causes fatigue eyes and limping body. You see, there is a thing called the clock which governs our lives. Called it Mother Nature’s clock. We are forced to sleep against our own will and forced to do mundane things to sustain life such as working, eating, cleaning, etc. And we can only wish we had more days to live so we can experience life fully to feed our godly curiosity until there’s nothing else to uncover the mystery of our existence. Reading the Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice, made me think do I really want to be immortal? Vampiric immortality is far from living but more like damnation. Louis, the protagonist is doomed to search for the “truth” that he may never find: the origin of his kind. Do they exist just to kill? Are they truly the devil’s servants?

Since I am pressed for time, I won’t go into details about this book. I will just mention briefly that this book argues passivity is the real death. Just watching things slip from your hands when you could have done something about it makes you the murderer of time. Things don’t have to stand still. Get up and make some action. That’s the lesson I got from the book.

Finally, I will leave you, folks, with my favorite quote from the book:

I went through mortal life like a blind man groping from solid object to solid object. It was only when I became a vampire that I respected myself for the first time in my life.

Through Louis, we see one sad truth about the nature of vampires: they are eternally dead. Therefore, it’s hard not to see life as a gift even if it’s for a brief moment.

P. S.

Thank you Nairdalex for recommending this book!

Three Films that Make Me Want to Read the Book

May 3, 2021September 24, 2022Halsdoll2 Comments

I love books, but I feel that it’s becoming more of a luxury pastime leisure. Hard to focus reading when your mind is constantly on the go–literally it’s hard reading when you feel restless which is why I never read a book while walking, although I have seen some do it and it always puts a smile on my face when I see such a rare sight. Even taking public transportation, I could never find myself relaxed enough to read. However, I have once read on the job, that work never seems to get done. So I completely ruled out that option. Lastly, you’re probably thinking how about before bedtime? By then I am too tired to read. So you see, I am in a bit of a dilemma. Maybe if I live in a huge library such as the picture below, I’d read more. Reading is a solitary experience and I need a quiet, safe place to immerse myself in a book. The same can be said for story-driven single-player games.

Did you enjoy how I bold my words in the second to the last sentence of the paragraph above? I just want to make sure you got the most important stuff from this intro.

“Reading is a solitary experience… need a quiet, safe place to immerse in a book,” says Halsdoll (had to quote myself because I feel enlightened from my own writing).

masterpiece video game — Current game I’m playing: NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139

I won’t ramble on about games in this post. This is about Three Films that Make Me Want to Read the Book. I know based on the title I got it all backward. It should be read the book first and then watch the film because most films I like are based on a novel. And I must confess, I discovered most books by watching the film first. So that doesn’t make me a book snob even though I think the mind is the greatest theatre.

If you are new to this blog. I like to come up with three lists of recommendations or three lists of anything for this blog because most of us love making lists, don’t we? I do. It declutters my brain space so I can think more clearly. Plus, a short, sweet post like this gives me a break from thinking too deeply and it’s more conversational (I hope I’m talking to a human and not a robot, but if you are robotic that’s okay).

So here is my list. Three lists of films I want to read the book eventually:

1) Hellraiser (1987)

Director: Clive Barker

Story: Clive Barker

I was a teenager when I first got exposed to this classic horror film. I believe it was during Halloween, the show aired on T.V. The thought of demons was terrifying to me and I remember having nightmares about it. When you start getting nightmares, you know the film is scary. It never occurs to me back then that hell is like the puzzle pieces of the human psyche. But of course, that is just my speculation. The book got me curious and puzzles are always fun to solve. I love a good puzzle. That’s why I need to read the book for more details to come up with a stronger conclusion. Hopefully, I won’t dive too deep because hell is definitely not the place I want to be.

2) Audrey Rose (1977)

Director: Robert Wise

Story: Frank De Felitta

This film is so intense that I did not finish it. It reminds me of the Exorcist and the famous Silent Hill (video game series), but of course, this came before the video game and before I was born so going back in time to find good films is like going on a trip to discover ancient relics (that’s a compliment, not an insult for those who are self-conscious about age. Young doesn’t always mean better. I like a good aged wine. It’s wisdom that I am after, not eternal youth). One of these days, I will watch the film, but definitely not by myself and if I am curious enough–read the book. Reincarnation can be a very scary thing and for horror fans, we know that horror films don’t always need scary ghosts and special effects.

3) Charlolette’s Web (1973)

Directors: Charles A. Nichols, Iwao Takamoto

Story: E.B. White (book)

I know it’s contradicting after stating how I am after wisdom and not eternal youth to switch from horror to children’s film. But eventually, adults revert back to a child-like state of mind. I really enjoyed the narration in this film and found that it contains full of wisdom. I used to read the book as a child, but somehow, I think some of the concepts in the story are too deep for a child to grasp. Themes about animal rights, life, and death are concepts that are a bit hard for a child to internalize. I didn’t like it as much until now. Favorite quote from the film: “How special are we just a moment?” It’s a powerful phrase to remind us to be humble. Charlotte may be just a spider, but she is also a very good friend and a writer who stretches her natural abilities to make something more out of her existence. Truly inspiring.

Yep, that’s my three lists of books I eventually want to read. It’s not so bad going back in time as I am finding it hard each day to find something worthwhile to watch or read. Time has changed or it’s simply just that I am getting older and my taste in entertainment is becoming more refined. I need something with depth. I need something classically timeless.

P.S.

I found a good time to read. It’s in the morning with a cup of coffee. That way I won’t get Zzz…from reading. I couldn’t be happier and content.