Different Books for Different Moments

I mentioned I went to Books on Beechwood last week The book I bought was Bone #3: Eyes of the Storm. 

What in god's name is "Bone #3: Eyes of the Storm" you ask?

Before I answer, let me explain my split personality when it comes to books: basically most of what I read fall into a few select categories. I actually wrote about this on my old blog, but I find the categories I am drawn to these days have changed a bit over time so it's worth revisiting the topic.

First, there is my "literature" category (what I referred to as "serious investments" in my old blog post). This includes probably my favourite book of all time, Les Miserables, as well as other classics, most of which were written in the 19th or early 20th century. I figure that if a book is still read a hundred or so years after it it was published, it must say something worth reading about (although I've been disappointed a few times). One thing I love about "literature" is reading a line or paragraph that is applicable to the modern world. Currently I am reading Madame Bovary, and so far, so good. Here is a short list of some books that fall into this category that I have read over the years:

• Oliver Twist - ugh. A couple of interesting lines but I generally find Charles Dickens a real slog to read.
• Anna Karenina - not perfect, but definitely some insightful gems about the human condition.
  
• Le Comte de Monte-Cristo - started interesting, but I then found the book repetitive and...cruel. Is it really that interesting to see a prisoner-turned-billionaire crush his opponents?
• Far from the Madding Crowd - never heard of this until I picked it off Glosette Girl's bookshelf. I'm glad I did - a bit sentimental but really enjoyable.
  
• Moby Dick - why oh why is this considered by many to be the perfect book? I don't get this book at all.
• Dubliners - some author's don't live up to the hype...James Joyce is not one of those. A great collection of short stories.
  
• Darkness at Noon - do books written after WW2 count as literature? Hmmm I'll say yes. This one made me think. It's about something we don't hear that much anymore (totalitarianism). Worth reading.
• Catch-22 - same comment as above when it comes to when it was written. p.s. best ending ever.

Plus many more. The literature category is good but dense so I need to compliment it with books from other categories. 

The second category is "science fiction". This was previously under my "guilty pleasure" category along with fantasy stories, but in the 9-years since I wrote my last blog post on this topic I've mostly stopped reading fantasy and have instead focused on science-fiction.  Maybe it's the times we live in but I really enjoy letting my mind wander these days and think about future possibilities. Some books I've read that fall into this category:

• Hyperion - a bit uneven at times but overall it was brilliant. It made me think like few books have. I can't recommend this one enough. Perhaps a top-5 book (any category) for me.
  
• The Left Hand of Darkness - something about this book stays with me. A race of people who can change sex? A perpetually cold planet? I also like how Ursula Le Guin broke the all male author sci-fi glass ceiling.
  
• Dune - OK I guess but I put this into my "over-hyped" pile.
• The Forever War - interesting premise (a war that takes place over thousands of years) but seems dated and slightly homophobic. I appreciate the anti-Vietnam War sentiment though (it was written in the 1970s).
• Stranger in a Strange Land - Another book that is on many "best" lists...which I don't understand. I find this book at times to be misogynistic and more dated than many of the "literature" books I mentioned above even though it was only written in 1961.
• A Canticle for Leibowitz - written almost at the same time as Stranger in a Strange Land (1959) but this one still stands up.  Post-apocalyptic so seems oddly prescient right now (hopefully not).
  

Next up, is my "comic book" category. No, this is not simply another "guilty" pleasure! Graphic novels stand on their own and intrigue (me, at least) in a way that traditional novels do not. Some of the ones I've read include:

• Walking Dead - I stopped watching the TV show long ago but the comic book version really is worth reading
• Bone - what I am currently reading! I received the first two books in this strange series as gifts from my mom 15-years ago. I have now finished 3 books in the series and I don't know where this is going. I am now intrigued enough to buy some more.
• Watchmen -  many consider this comic book to be one of the best ever. It's OK..but I can't quite get past the U.S. vs. Soviet theme... 
• The Sandman - scary. The things nightmares are made of.
  
• Louis Riel - tells an important Canadian story in a way that I found poignant and compelling.
  
• Nausicaä of the valley of the wind - eco-manga from Japan. Beautiful and sad. I think the entire series is collectively another of my top 5-books.

This blog post is already getting really long so I won't go into too much detail about my fourth category: pre-World War 1 non-fiction. This is the focus of my long-running bookclub with my dad and brother! I think that's a blog post for another day.

Finally, I suppose I still occasionally read what I called "basic reads" in my old post: light non-fiction that doesn't really fall into the above categories. The latest book I read that falls into this category was The Midnight Library. It won't win a Pulitzer but it put a smile on my face when I finished it up the other day. Really, what more can you ask for?