Books I read in 2011
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Dracula (Vintage Classics) - Bram Stoker
I read this for my Literature class, and while the themes are fascinating and the Gothic aspects are intense, the only interesting three-dimensional character was Van Helsing. This novel didn't emotionally engage me; however, it was fun to analyse.
Read in April 2011.
Read in April 2011.
sunset96's rating:
Another insipid youth novel that I had to read for English. The characters were not empathetic and I didn't find this novel emotionally engaging. It is forgettable as a result.
Read in April 2011.
Read in April 2011.
sunset96's rating:
Kubla Khan - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
An excellent piece of poetry for analysis.
Read in May 2011.
Read in May 2011.
sunset96's rating:
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Dover Thrift)... - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Another great piece of poetry for analysis.
Read in May 2011.
Read in May 2011.
sunset96's rating:
Macbeth - Kortes
Possibly Shakespeare's best play. I admire Macbeth's profound, richly defined, eponymous, three-dimensional protagonist.
Read in May 2011.
Read in May 2011.
sunset96's rating:
I am Australian. However, I cringe at Australian colloquialisms and clichรฉs. There are many Australian sensibilities that are embedded in this novel. However well written it may be, it didn't engage me to the extent that I thought it would.
Read in June 2011.
Read in June 2011.
sunset96's rating:
The Highest Tide - Jim Lynch_VII
A novel that is characteristic of its demographic. Insipid and uninspired. I didn't enjoy it very much at all. It didn't handle the theme of sexual awakening very well at all, its exploration of this theme seemed juvenile and insulting. However, Lynch's prose is excellent. He seems to observe the ocean with a sense of clarity.
Read in June 2011.
Read in June 2011.
sunset96's rating:
Night - Elie Wiesel
One of the greatest books I have read for an English class, 'Night' is a profoundly disturbing assaying the depths of the human soul and the inherent drive for survival. A friend of mine warned me "It will change you". It has irrevocably changed my perspective of humanity.
Read in July 2011.
Read in July 2011.
sunset96's rating:
The Trial - Franz Kafka
Kafka is one of the greatest authors to have ever existed! His modernist style and richly defined characters with a sense of burgeoning post-modernism defines this novel and its place in literary history. Kafka can explore profound themes with an absurdist plot and a sense of objective detachment. Franz Kafka, you wrote books for me.
Read in February - July 2011.
Read in February - July 2011.
sunset96's rating:
Richard III - William Shakespeare
Another great piece of Shakespeare! Richard III is an intelligent, darkly humorous and sheer brilliant piece of work. I am currently analysing it in Literature, much to my enjoyment.
Read in July 2011.
Read in July 2011.
sunset96's rating:
Heart of Darkness (English Library) - Joseph Conrad
Well written, albeit, emotionally distant. I admire this novel moreso than I appreciate it.
Read in July 2011.
Read in July 2011.
sunset96's rating:
I read this masterpiece on a weekend on which I had spare time. What an incisive, intelligent and darkly satirical novel this is! I want everyone I know to be exposed to this piece of art! It's such a great piece of literature that words cannot begin to describe its audacious ingenuity! Vonnegut was the Charlie Kaufman of Literature.
Read in August 2011.
Read in August 2011.
sunset96's rating:
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
The final book I must read for Literature this year. I prefer this non-fiction account to its cinematic adaptation, it is more contemplative and distant, I believe that a distant observation is required for this sort of story.
Read in August - September 2011.
Read in August - September 2011.
sunset96's rating:
Foundation is a novel that is written with such a matter-of-fact distance that it leaves little up to interpretation, and is consequently a very difficult read. I couldn't immerse myself in this novel because it lacks a human interest and the characters are simply one-dimensional pawns that are utilized to explore a theme, with the exception of Salvor Harding, who was interesting because he strictly adhered to his principles and never compromised.
Read in October 2011.
Read in October 2011.
sunset96's rating:
The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis is a masterpiece, pure and simple. Kafka provides his insight into alienation with his objective prose which probes deep into the fears of the reader. Kafka is an indisputable literary master.
Read in November 2011.
Read in November 2011.
sunset96's rating: