For as long as I can remember, reading has been one of my absolute favorite activities. I am normally a pretty active, energetic person, (Note 1) and the only thing that calms me down and keeps me still for a long period is reading a good book. (Note 2). I figured it would be fun to share my thoughts on what I've read for pleasure lately. (Note 3). I'm pretty busy with work (Note 4) and race training, but my goal is going to be to read at least one book a month--at least until summer! My first review is going to be a Flashback to February as I think the book I read last month is worth noting.
*Note 1: Otherwise known as ADD
*Note 2: Seriously, try and watch a movie with me. I dare you. I'll get up to pee, get a drink, pee again, play with the dogs, play a game on my phone, check Facebook etc the entire movie.
*Note 3: I DO enjoy a lot of chick lit (NOT Romances--there is a difference) but there will be other kinds of books on here too.
*Note 4: I read A LOT at work, in some ways you might call me a "professional reader" ha! Which is why I have to limit myself to roughly one book a month for "pleasure" in my off hours.
February Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This particular novel is not one I would necessarily pick up to read in my free time. For starters, the narrator is Death and the story discusses Nazi Germany, but it came highly recommended by one of my favorite young adult authors, John Green. I am a huge fan of his writing, both my husband and I have read his entire collection, so I figured if he was going to recommend this book to his readers, it was worth trying. Also, it was on the New York Times Bestseller List for 230 weeks, so clearly a lot of people are reading the book.
The Book Thief, in my opinion--humble though it may be--is only going to rank as a 3.5 out of 5. I just can't give it the 4 or 5 stars that everyone else seems to give it. I feel like I am supposed to love this book and tell you what a literary masterpiece it is. In fact, I will even confirm here that it is bound to become a classic. This book truly is an innovative and original novel about a German family living during Hitler's regime. The characters are well developed, the subject material is approached differently than what you normally see in Nazi Germany era books, and the narrator as Death provides for a totally different kind of read and feel to the book, with a lot of non-subtle foreshadowing (not even foreshadowing so much as TELLING) of what is to come. I appreciated the character development, and it was interesting for me to read a book from the German perspective, as most books I have read about this era are from either an American or Jewish specific background.
Let me make it clear: I can agree with the critics that this book should be praised for it's literary quality. I just found it rather...depressing (duh, its about Nazi Germany) and a slow read. In particular I did NOT like that Death told us early on that certain characters would die, which made me feel withdrawn and disconnected from my favorite character as I knew he/she ( I won't spoil it) was going to die well before it happened. I didn't want to form as deep an emotional attachment to a character that could die on any page. I suppose a book narrated by death about Nazi Germany is expected to have a lot of death, but still, it made me detach from the book.
It felt distinctly like the kind of book that I would read in school, rather than what I like to read in my free time. I know I mentioned that I like to read chick lit, but I also do enjoy a lot of serious and classical novels. My two favorite novels ever are To Kill a Mockingbird and Gone With the Wind, so I'm clearly not afraid of long or historical books. Something about this book didn't quite do it for me, and I can't quite put my finger on it (besides the death foreshadowing). This is a book that I WANT to love and give 5 stars to, but I have been unable to recommend it to my husband or reader friends, and I just can't quite recommend it here either. I feel like all "real" readers are shaking their head and thinking how shallow I must be...but yea. 3.5 stars. Sorry.
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