Books I Haven’t Read
CM passed me the “Books I’m embarrassed not to have read” meme. It’s harder than I expected. Last year, I would’ve been able to rattle off ten titles in as many seconds. I had been keeping a list of books I felt I should read, but one of my major goals for my pre-law-school break has been to cross off as much of that list as possible, and I’ve been making pretty good progress (see Moby-Dick, Catcher in the Rye, Farewell to Arms, One Hundred Years of Solitude, etc.).
So my list is pretty small at the moment. And CM took the general category of “philosophy” away from me. So here’s what I got:
The Origin of the Species, by Charles Darwin - Yeah, never read it. Feel like I should. ‘Nuff said.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter Thompson - Again, just seems like something I should have read. Never saw the movie, either. I know, I suck.
Gravity’s Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon - I started it about a month ago, but I’ve given up. It’s too dense and challenging for me to get into right now, and I hate having to stop and look up a word’s definition every couple pages. I can see why it’s supposedly a classic; it’s got style like crazy, and it’s pretentious enough to make you feel smart as hell when you work your way through a section. I absolutely hate leaving books unfinished, and so this is probably the most embarrassing one on my list. I’ll finish it sometime, just not right now. Maybe I’ll buy the companion, but maybe that’s cheating. I haven’t decided yet.
The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien - People have recommended this to me since high school and I still haven’t read it. Oops.
The Joy of Cooking - I am not a good cook. I tried for a while, but it didn’t work out so well (and got expensive–well, more expensive than macaroni & cheese and rice, at least). It’s sad, really. Okay, I’m over it.
And I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I hate David Sedaris. Everyone else seems to think he’s the greatest humor writer ever, but I don’t care for him. Actually, screw that, I’m not embarrassed. He’s not funny. Everyone else is dumb. So there.
I make it a point to never pass on chain e-mails and the like, and I’m not about to make an exception here. This strand of the meme dies with me. I won’t pass the meme.
But if I were to pass it on, I would pass it to Narkoleptik, Janine, and foxes. One person without a working internet connection, one who hasn’t posted for a couple weeks, and one who might actually follow through. That is, if I were passing it on, which I’m not.
May 27th, 2005 at 2:17 pm
Sorry… I can’t resist a book meme!
I haven’t read four of the five books you mentioned, nor am I embarrassed about that. Joy of Cooking, though, is my kitchen bible. LOVE that book. It teaches you everything from how to boil an egg to how to braise a cardoon.
I’ve only read David Sedaris’s latest book, but I didn’t like it that much. It was creepy.
May 27th, 2005 at 2:43 pm
Don’t be sorry. I enjoy doing these things… I just don’t pass them on. Or I pass them on while pretending not to. Or something like that.
It’s a stretch to say I’m embarrassed about The Origin of the Species, but when intelligent design comes up and I start mocking people in my head, I feel a little foolish for not having read it. Really, all these, except for the Joy of Cooking–I really need to learn how to boil eggs, and I don’t even know what I cardoon is–are scraping the bottom of the barrel. Before this year, my list would be completely different.
As for David Sedaris… really, I’ve only read one of his books, too. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, I think it was. I suppose I shouldn’t generalize based on one book, but I really really disliked it, which is rare for me.
May 29th, 2005 at 11:36 am
are you sure you didnt read The Things They Carried? Cause i thought you did. also the orgin of species is supposed to be a really good book, and i think that you can find complete copies of it online