So, getting into the Halloween spirit, I recently started reading Frankenstein. I thought that I hadn’t read it before, but two or three pages in, I realised that I had in fact already read this book. Since I totally forgot about this fact, and because I didn’t realise on the first page that I had read it, I came to the conclusion that this must not be a very good book. Well, I have just finished Volume 2 and I can say that it is pretty much a fairly lame and not entirely entertaining book. However, it’s not all bad, as I am going to finish it. 

Some things have struck me during my reading, though. In the opening ‘letters’ section, it became evident to me how irritating it would have been to live in the 1800s, when the book was first published. The writing depicted in the letters is excruciating. How proper and boring, even when addressing a sibling. God, I would have just screamed and invented a time machine to get to at least the 90s. And the people in the period are depicted as wusses. The slightest fright causes them to come over with a terrible fever, bed-ridding them for what seems like months. Man, I just wanna smack Frankenstein and say ‘Snap out of it, moron.’ Ugh!

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Although I am now into Volume 3,  I still haven’t finished reading this book yet (this time) but I wanted to get the post out for Halloween... I still am not really impressed by the book. In general, it is a good enough story. It has a good idea and – if you like this sort of thing – you can take lessons about humanity, etc from it. I personally prefer not to do that sort of thing. I just like to read a book and if I do notice it touches on society and junk like that, I tend to ignore it. My major qualm with this book is that it is not graphic enough. It leaves too much to the imagination. Maybe it is due to the fact that it is not the 1800s anymore, but where are my graphic details about HOW the monster was made!? There is no description about the techniques used to create the monster, nor (as of yet) how it was ever brought to life. It borders on extremely boring. Happy Halloween! 

Get Lost

So let’s go back to my last blog... What books get you so wrapped up that you get lost in them; they can transport you to another place/time? Or that you just don’t want to put down because you enjoy them so much? For me, these are probably often the same book, but not always. For instance, sometimes I read Stephen King books even though I don’t altogether like Stephen King (except for a few oldies). Usually I will read his books when I want something that will take me away from reality and either just help me pass the time cuz I’m bored or just take my mind off of ‘real life’ for a bit. However, I don’t feel that I ‘just don’t want to put down’ his books. Oftentimes I actually feel quite annoyed with his similar plotlines and character profiles. Still, I tend to read such stuff cuz it does allow me to escape reality for a bit and cuz his books are so easy to read. 

Then there are books that I just don’t want to put down because they are incredibly good and I don’t want them to end even. You get caught up in the characters’ lives and their ordeals and stuff. These books are on my favourite books list, which I will have to write a separate blog about. But there are three of them: A Confederacy of Dunces, A Clockwork Orange, and Candide. These books are just incredible and they are all so entertaining in their own unique way, and there is nothing else like them. (And they all start with the letter C!)

Finally, there are some books that can completely transport me to the place/time the book takes place. One example I can remember doing this for me vividly is Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. While I was reading these books, I was living (momentarily, during a time I’d rather forget) in Lake George. Driving around at night with the lights showing on the ski mountain and all the snow around ‘reminded me’ of the Svalbard parts of the books. I think that being in an environment that brought to mind what was happening in the books – here a cold and snowy environment – really helped me to get lost in the book. I wonder if I would have the same experience if I had read these while in a hot, desert-y environment... Actually, I think I should read this series again, as well as his newer book The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. Apparently it’s meant to be quite good and we’ll see if it can take me away from reality too...