The Book List #21

Voyage in the Dark by Jean Rhys
year: 1934 | pages: 176 | rating: 5/5

Jean Rhys is a phenomenal writer; her books are often bleak and oppressive but in a palatable, melancholic way, a way that is subtle and poignant. Her words are always so carefully chosen. Voyage in the Dark was every bit as amazing as Good Morning, Midnight (although I do prefer the latter) and if you've never read any of Jean Rhys' work, you really should. Voyage in the Dark is about Anna, a West Indies chorus girl, in Edwardian London. She falls in love and her world crumbles apart around her.


The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
year: 2011 | pages: 328 | rating: 3/5

The Sisters brothers - Eli and Charlie - set out to kill Hermann Kermit Warm as commanded by the Commodore. On the road from Oregon City to Sacramento, the differences between Eli and his brother Charlie become apparent; Charlie is cold hearted, a drunk with an appetite for murder, and Eli begins to question their work and who they work for as they close in their target, Warm. I can only describe The Sisters Brothers as a more palatable, less bleak, slightly more light hearted version of Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, which I adore. The Sisters Brothers is full of blood, violence, and love, with exceptionally well developed characters and a narrative that keeps the reader enthralled.


The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It by David Niven
year: 2002 | pages: 224 | rating: 2/5

A quick, informative read with an interesting structure that makes the book fluid and easy to follow. Research results from thousands of studies is whittled down into informative chunks of text written in an easy-to-read, interesting manner. Each topic provides advice on the research, a real life case study, and a statistic based paragraph detailing the scientific research. Not the best book I've read on productivity and success, but not the worst either; well worth a read.


Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity by David Lynch
year: 2006 | pages: 181 | rating: 2/5

David Lynch describes his methods for capturing ideas, developing them, and turning them into finish pieces and how the practice of meditation helped him greatly. I skim read this book because, since I've already read Lynch on Lynch, I found the content of Catching the Big Fish to be quite repetitive. Large chunks of the text were incredibly familiar and there is little to be gained from the book if you have already read Lynch on Lynch. Disappointing.


The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey
year: 2014 | pages: 460 | rating: 4/5

I don't want to ruin this book by talking too much about it, the less you know the more you'll enjoy it. Melanie is "the girl with all the gifts" - she's curious, enthusiastic, and friendly.. but she spends most of her time tied to a chair, wheeled in an out of a cell by a man who holds a gun to her head. After the government compound she's housed in collapses, Melanie escapes.. and that's all I'm willing to tell you. I was surprised, very surprised, by The Girl with All the Gifts and I would suggest you take a chance on reading it.

{ the book list #1-20 }