5 books meme

Palenque, Mexico

1. The book I’m currently reading:
Then we came to the end by Joshua Ferris

2. The last book I finished:
Perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

3. The next book I want to read:
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall. I just read his second book The Lonely Polygamist and loved it!

4. The last book I bought:
Paper Cutting by Laura Heyenga. Absolutely amazing book on this timeless and delicate craft.

5. The last book I was given:
The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman. An amazing illustrated book given to me by the lovely Gin. <3

Bildungsroman or the coming of age genre

Last night at bookclub we discussed This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This debut novel was published in 1920 and follows the wealthy, charismatic and good looking Amory Blaine from his boarding school days, to Princeton and life in New York City post WW1. We all really enjoyed it and like the book nerds we are read passages aloud, talked about the themes and issues emerging and then found similarities in the story with recent TV teen dramas we've been watching! We've actually never in 2 years discussed a book in as much detail! We loved the lyrical, poetic style of writing and the rise and fall of the main character from youth to adulthood. We thought besides the style of writing, it could easily have been written today - the story is timeless! We started describing the book as a coming of age novel and decided we'd read another coming of age novel this month. So I googled coming of age novels (of course) and came across this word - Bildungsroman. I was fascinated to discover that this is the fancy word for the coming of age genre and has certain key characteristics like: psychological and moral growth on the journey from youth to adulthood ending in some sort of personal growth! Aha my inner me screamed! I *heart* bildungsroman! I always love coming of age stories be they books, movies or TV! We settled on our next book - A Hero Aint Nothin but a Sandwich and I set out to think about all the other bildungsroman I'd experienced and loved! Here is a list of some I've read and watched that I think represent the genre - of course there are many, many more!
 Books

• Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
• Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
• Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
• Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
• Charlotte's Web - E. B. White
• Secret History - Donna Tartt
• Forever - Judy Blume
• Oranges are not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson
• Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi
• How I live now - Meg Rosoff
• Harry Potter - Series
• Hunger Games - Series

Movies

• Dead Poets Society
• Almost Famous
• Pump up the Volume
• Heathers
• Basketball Diaries
• Rushmore
• Donnie Darko
• Virgin Suicides
• Stand by Me
• My Girl
• Dirty Dancing

TV

• Friday Night Lights
• Vampire Diaries
• Skins
• Gossip Girl
• OC
• Dawsons Creek
• Degrassi
• Beverly Hills 90210
• Twin Peaks
• Buffy

Books read in 2010

The books I read in 2010 were mostly highly enjoyable. Taming the beast and Dead Europe win the award for most disturbing and that's saying something as many of them were. I really enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy and of course all vampire related reading! A special mention for The Lacuna which I read before going to Mexico and was surprisingly good! I can highly recommend Jasper Jones as a great Aussie read and lovers of animal fiction must read White Fang and Call of the Wild! Happy reading in 2011!

Room by Emma Donoghue

A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

White Fang and Call of the Wild by Jack London

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
also, Catching Fire and Mockingjay (Hunger Games Trilogy)

Dead Europe by Christos Tsiolkas

So much for that by Lionel Shriver

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris

Taming the Beast by Emily Maguire

History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger

Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy series)
Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris (Last Sookie Stackhouse novel)

Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist

The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver

The Red Tent - Anita Diamant