Book Review: READ THESE BOOKS

   Here's some summer reading catch-up for you all.


1. Snuff- Chuck Palahniuk 
   This novel is about the porn industry. Specifically focused on Cassie Wright, a fictional aging porn star who hopes to break the world record with 600 men on screen in one day. (Palahniuk, people.) The story is told from the perspectives of Mr. 600, the man who got Cassie into the industry, Mr. 72, an adopted 20-something who claims to be Cassie's son, Mr. 137, a TV has-been who hopes to jump-start his fading career with Cassie as his publicity stunt, and Sheila, Cassie's assistant.
   It's a quick read, yet can be slow at times. I dug the narrative style and how information was delivered in snippets by each character. Definitely worth the read due to intrigue, a very strange premise, Palahniuk's writing style, and various surprising tidbits about Marilyn Monroe.


2. Fight Club- Chuck Palahniuk
   You all know what this one's about. You've seen the movie, think Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden is soosuperhot/badass, and think Marla is absolutely insane (but she's totally relate-able, READ IT). The film is great. The novel is great.
   If for nothing else, just read this for the writing style. The screenwriter (Jim Uhls) did a great job at infusing Chuck's style and the fast-paced, insomniac ridden vibe that runs throughout the book and film. 
   Not to mention that it's filled with useful quotes to help start your next office revolution and possible Project Mayhem chapter. 

Worker bees can leave
Even drones can fly away
The queen is their slave

Go on, forward that to everyone in the office/class.


3. The Average American Male- Chad Kultgen
   This book pisses me off and makes me want to barf. Is that what it's supposed to do? Is it a jab at angry feminists? Is it a jab at how women act towards men? Is it a jab at how men act towards women? Is it a jab at how men act in general?
   I want to smash the patriarchy, but at times, this book made me laugh out loud. It was candid, funny, and is the male version of my tongue-in-cheek diary. (Still pisses me off and makes me want to retch.) Also, you have to take a moment to look at the two women in the book and shake your head over how we let men influence us.

   RISE UP, LADIES! Read this book. This is the insider's handbook. 

Summer Reading: Lolita

(Via Covering Lolita)

   At the beginning of the summer I started reading Lolita and began a trend. A trend of reading books I found difficult and tedious to read, but loved after I finished them. (Don't let that stop you- it was an enrapturing read, it's merely Nabokov's narrator's style and the third quarter of the book is slow- which is necessary to the plot.)  

   First off, Lolita was MORE than I had expected it would be. After its American publication in 1958, it remains a masterpiece. The writing is flawless, the story, incomparable. Not to mention the fact that it's written in Nabokov's second language, his first being Russian.

   We all pretty much know what Lolita is about. Humbert Humbert, our narrator, writes his story in the first person, referring to his audience as his "jury" in a hopeful attempt to set his story straight and atone for his sins. Humbert, a pedophile, falls for Dolores Haze--or as Humbert and the world lovingly refer to her, Lolita--the daughter of Charlotte Haze while living at their boarding house. The rest of the story follows Humbert and Lolita's relationship and travels throughout America.

   The best part of the novel, in my opinion, includes Nabokov's impeccable description of the American landscape during Humbert and Lolita's road trip across the country. Also, Nabokov's protagonist-as-villain set up is perfect. Creating an engrossing (and repulsing) read, truly a novel that cannot be put down.

Rating: five stars.

In five or less words: People love controversy.

Should you read it?: In the words of Coke Talk, "Duh."

P.S.: The films are totally worth the watch too, after all, they did spark the fashion trend.