#41 The Kite Runner

Well this sure wasn't a Harry Potter book, that's for sure. But it was still just as hard to put down once I got going. This book was much better than some of the classics I have read so far like The Great Gatsby and The Lord of the Flies and I could see this being a book that lasts. Now this book was a bit depressing and dark at some points but the writing style kept you wanting more. You were just waiting for things to get better and it seemed every part of the book had a purpose, a purpose that wrapped up the final few chapters for you.

I said the writing style was great. When I first thought of reading the book, I was apprehensive because I was being lazy and didn't want to deal with all these Muslim names and places that would get confusing and such. But I was wrong. Hosseini did a great job of mixing in Arabic words with the English so you are never lost or wondering what a certain words mean. My favorite part of the style was the bits of foreshadowing he tended to end paragraphs with. Things like, "Little did I know it would be the last solid food I would eat in a while" or "Those were the last words I would hear him speak for over a year", just got your mind reeling and wondering what was going to happen to fulfill those prophecies.

Without spoiling anything, the book is about a man who grew up in Afghanistan before the Russians invaded. Things were great, albeit pretty rough and poor compared to American standards, then the fall of the monarchy lead to the Russian invasion which lead to the rise of the Taliban and the rest is a war torn history. Well this boy fled with his father to America and became a successful author until he is brought back to Afghanistan to retrieve the son of his best friend/servant of the past who he greatly wronged and from there the story is just packed with tales of honor, shame, trust and forgiveness.

Like I said this got dark and depressing and there were definitely some horrible things done in this book but I believe it is a great truthful tale of the Afghan people and their culture. Just the name itself, plays off the Afghan sport of kite flying where you cut the strings of your opponents and then kids run after the freed kites, is interesting and something I never knew was done anywhere. If you read it and don't like it, well at least you may be able to walk away with a deeper understanding of the Afghan people and what life is really like over there for the people that we are fighting for. Sorry for getting political but the next book I got is pretty short so look for a new post pretty soon in the new year.

NEXT UP: #21 Animal Farm by George Orwell

#14 Lord of the Flies

Took two weeks off from the list but then made my way through this "classic". Maybe it was because I was spoiled by the Harry Potter series but I just did not like this book at all. I constantly found myself bored with it and drifting in and out of paying attention. There would be a time where I read a whole page but had no idea what it said but the funny thing was I wasn't lost in the whole story.

Now the book is about a group of boys that survived a crash landing on a small jungle island and it is a look at how mob mentality and anarchy can rise as children are left to fend for themselves. Most of the boys slowly become savage which leads to one kid talking to a boar head on a stick (This is The Lord of the Flies) and two kids being killed. Then the book just ends without any real conclusion except for a naval officer seeing it all as cute little kids playing. I don't know I didn't like it.

The writing just seemed to try too hard. There were times where I got lost in the detailed description of a rock or a tree that really didn't progress the story. Not until about chapter 10 of 12 did the story get going and we got away from the ridiculously difficult and complex descriptions. On top of that it seemed liked too many of the boys were alike so it was easy to confuse one for another.

Well this was one of those books that I had to read in high school and I want to go back and check them out. This book may have been the reason I haven't read much since then. Well anyways, on to the next one as Jay-Z says. Merry Christmas all.

NEXT UP: #41 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

How They Rank

Figured I have gone through 10 books, why not rank them so far....

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
4. The Great Gatsby
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
7. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone
8. The Catcher in the Rye
9. Five People You Meet in Heaven
10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Now just because those books come in at the bottom does not mean I didn't like them, they just weren't as good. I'll bust out another ranking at Book #20.

#10 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Well here we are. I finished. Seven books in 35 days. And they aren't small. I have been so immersed in Harry Potter over the last month that I just needed it to stop. But that said, I loved this series. It just sucks you in and even the slow parts made you want to press through because you needed to see what happened next. No matter how slow it got though, this final book made EVERYTHING worth it. Just a non stop page turner that does not disappoint.

This book didn't have Harry acting like a whiny little brat or making dumb childish moves. He has finally matured and realized what the wizarding world is and what he is meant to do and he is starting to just trust that Dumbledore knew what he was doing. A few books ago I complained about the formula getting a bit stale as they went through the school year and here it is, a whole book where they didn't even go to school. Even when Harry had no idea what or where he was going, I was still right there with him waiting with baited breath (I just googled 'bated breath' to see how it is spelled and ironically the website I clicked on quote J.K. Rowling with the Prisoner of Azkaban...wierd). ALong with all the adventures it was also worth some good laughs with the Weasley twins and Ron and Hermione making out during a huge battle.

Two things that I would have changed. I liked the point where we thought Dumbledore was trying to get Harry killed the whole time. It played well with the checkered past we learned about old Albus and would NOT have been seen at all. And I think if it had stayed that way the book still could have finished all the same way. But, that would have been just to shake things up obviously. The other was the epilogue. Didn't need it and it bothered me that the kids were all obvious and named after dead people. Would have preferred just a movie-style blurb on each character and what they did.

Well I am very happy I gave in to the craze and read these books. Cannot wait to see Part 1 this weekend and may have to see Part 2 at midnight this summer. Now I am going to take a break from the fantasy world and hit up a classic and may take a few days off before starting the next book but I am only a fifth of the way through with this crazy journey.

NEXT UP: #14 Lord of the Flies by William Golding