I apologize for the long break between posts, but I’m sure many of you reading this now didn’t really care. Although the majority of my blog has been about technology I’m going to write about literature.
Lately I’ve been reading a whole lot of really badly written novels and I was tired of that and I wanted something a little more substantial. So I decided to start reading award-winning novels, and I’ve started with the Pulitzer Prize. I’ve got a list of all the winners from 1947 to the present and I’m hoping to be able to read them all.
Before I got onto that project I picked up a book at the local library: “A Box of Matches” by Nicholson Baker. Not an award winning novel, but it looked interesting enough so I had to check it out.
This book was perhaps one of the most unusual books I’ve read. Written in the first person is follows the brand new habit of waking up before dawn, starting a fire, and just thinking. Except for the fact that I’m holding a physical book in my hands, it has the feel of an online blog. Nothing really happens, no plot is advanced, and the characters are no further ahead at the end of the book.
It provides and interesting read and at time humorous as the man character discusses his theories on washing machines, why certain leafs fall off the tree and describes the families pet duck daily routines. While no Pulitzer winner, it provided a mild diversion and a quick easy read.
I’m currently reading “The Stories of John Cheever” which is an award winning novel. I’m quite enjoying it, although it is 800 pages long. It might be a while before you get a full review of that one.
A Life Untold 