Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

 

4/10

I read this one nearly six months ago. I was really intrigued in the early goings of this book. I really liked how the book started with an army officer returning to a place that he has a history with and was excited to learn what that history was. Then we're introduced to Sebastian who seems to be a fun, quirky character and everything was going well. After this great set-up, the remainder of the book was a disappointment as we're introduced to Brideshead and Sebastian's family. Just a bunch of unlikable characters sitting around not doing much, including the narrator. And then the Sebastian character himself became unlikable at that same time as his family brings out the worst in him. This is the kind of book that is written for book critics and literature professors who worship diving in to all of the flawed characters and what it says about society, etc. But that's never been my kind of book. Overall, just disappointed as there seemed to be some real potential for a very enjoyable book but it was squandered. Probably won't read any more from Waugh any time soon, but maybe I'll give him another try some day.

Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie

 

6/10

I read this one about 6.5 months ago. I believe this was one of Agatha Christie's last books which helps explain why this one felt a tad phoned in. Lazy isn't the right word, but maybe just tired. Like she was ready to hang it up. The story was ok but just wasn't all that engaging. I still liked it more than I disliked it. But barely. This book introduced me to Ariadne Oliver. I've only read a few Agatha Christie books up to this point, but the one I read after this (hopefully I get around to posting it here sooner rather than later) also had Ms. Oliver, so I'm not sure if she's a regular recurring character or not. She reminds me a lot of Ms. Marple from her other detective novels for some reason. The Ms. Oliver character is a crime fiction author, so I also sometimes picture her as Agatha Christie herself.

Agatha Christie rankings:

1. The ABC Murders
2. 4:50 from Paddington
3. Elephants Can Remember
4. At Bertram's Hotel

The Reivers by William Faulkner

 

5/10

I read this one over six months ago. This is my first experience with Faulkner and I should have probably gone with a stronger one from him. I enjoyed his writing style fine, but the story and characters didn't do a whole lot for me. It had a few entertaining moments, but not enough to make it a book I'd recommend to others. I think the thing I enjoyed most from this book is the idea of roads being so bad at the beginning of the automobile era that there could be huge mud holes to drive and get stuck into. Beyond that, there weren't any other memorable moments for me. Pretty cool book cover involving Steve McQueen though. One last thing to mention is on the introductory page, the title of the book has an asterisk next to it and at the bottom of the page it says "*reive (reave): take away by stealth or force; plunder." This is in reference to the stolen car. Although it's a bit of a stretch to say it was taken by stealth, and it was definitely not taken by force, but oh well. Hoping to get back on the Faulkner train soon as I feel that I will enjoy many of his other books more than this one.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

 

8/10

I read this one 4.5 months ago. It was my last book of 2024, so I'm getting closer to getting caught up on this blog once and for all. I really liked this one. I'm a sucker for books about the unjust sufferings people have to go through, like Grapes of Wrath or Les Miserables. Something about them just lets you connect with the characters in a more compassionate way. I found this book to be incredibly fascinating. It was super interesting learning about the sufferings of the working class in the Chicago meatpacking plants around the early 1900's. Sinclair paints such a clear picture that you feel pretty immersed in the time and place of the story. As it turns out, this book is one of the more impactful books of all time in that it eventually led to changes in more effective oversight in ensuring the proper sanitation of food production. Which, I think, is not quite what Sinclair was aiming for. I think he was hoping to draw more attention to the unjust nature of wages and labor more so than food sanitation. Sinclair said about this book that he aimed for the public's heart but instead hit it in the stomach. Anyway, really good book. The only thing keeping it from a 9/10 or even possibly a 10/10 is the over-the-top socialism toward the end combined with the out of place, seemingly never-ending, socialism speech at the conclusion of the book. I like my socialism in more subtle doses, Grapes of Wrath style, than the in-your-face socialism presented here. Too preachy and off-putting which I felt spoiled a lot of the message he had effectively established through the characters and story. Still enjoyed this one overall even though I didn't decide to become a commie because of it. 

The Turn of the Screw and Other Short Stories by Henry James

 

6/10

I read this one about 5 1/2 months ago. First off, The Turn of the Screw is a pretty sweet title for a story, but I didn't like the story as much as a few others which were slightly better. This is my first time getting back to Henry James after the disappointment of The Bostonians from like 7 years ago. I can't quite put my finger on Henry James. He is clearly a talented writer, but something about it just doesn't quite do it for me. Doesn't satisfy me in the way that Dickens or Thomas Hardy do, just to name two examples. That being said, I liked these short stories more than the previously mentioned novel, but that was a low bar to overcome. Here are the stories: (1) An International Episode which was a 7/10; (2) Daisy Miller, another 7/10; (3) The Aspern Papers was my favorite at 8/10; (4) The Altar of the Dead was 5/10; (5) The Turn of the Screw didn't quite do it for me and gets a generous 6/10; (6) The Beast in the Jungle with another generous 4/10. As you can see, I enjoyed the first three stories more than the last three, so I was initially fairly excited that Henry James was proving more enjoyable until the last three stories where it fizzled out and I couldn't wait to finish the book so I could move on to something else. The Aspern Papers was a great surprise as I had never heard of it and found it very interesting. It's about a biographer of a famous poet, Jeffrey Aspern, who goes incognito to an old lady's secluded mansion who had once had a fling with the poet when they were young. The biographer is trying to secure some of Aspern's papers, letters between the young couple from many years before, that no one has ever seen. Pretty fascinating how he went about trying to secure those papers on the sly without being discovered as a biographer of Aspern. It's a slow burn but was interesting and well done throughout. I'll probably need to take another lengthy break from James but hopefully not a 7-year break like last time. I own several of his highly regarded novels but just need to muster the courage to launch into it. Maybe in a few years.

The Mortal Messiah - Book 2 by Bruce R. McConkie

 

8/10

I read this one almost 6 months ago. Same rating as Book 1 even though I think I liked this one slightly better. But the main reason I liked it better is because the material being covered, Jesus' actual ministry, is more interesting than the previous book. McConkie's style is still largely scriptural citation and quotation, which is fine. Most of the money quotes come from the early great books about Christ from guys like Farrar, Edersheim, and Talmage. Still a good, worthwhile book.

Quotes:

"Where members of the Church are concerned, there is a very close connection between manifestations of healing grace and the forgiveness of sins. When the elders administer to faithful saints, the promise is: 'And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.' (James 5:15.) The very fact that a member of the kingdom has matured in the gospel to the point that he has power through faith in Christ to be healed, means that he also has so lived that he is entitled to have his sins remitted." 

"The hand of Jesus was not polluted by touching the leper's body, but the leper's whole body was cleansed by the touch of that holy hand. It was even thus that He touched our sinful nature, and yet remained without spot of sin." - Farrar

"The Judaism of that day substituted empty forms and meaningless ceremonies for true righteousness; it mistook uncharitable exclusiveness for genuine purity; it delighted to sun itself in the injustice of an imagined favouritism from which it would fain have shut out all God's other children; it was so profoundly hypocritical as not even to recognise its own hypocrisy; it never thought so well of itself as when it was crushing the broken reed and trampling out the last spark from the smoking flax; it thanked God for the demerits which it took for virtues, and fancied that He could be pleased with a service in which there was neither humility, nor truthfulness, nor loyalty, nor love." - Farrar

"[W]hen the Risen Lord ministered among the Nephites[,] [b]e it noted that he spake not unto them in parables; they were a people prepared for their King."

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

 

8/10

I read this one about 6.5 months ago. Obviously, a solid book. We all know the movie is great so it was expected that the book would be enjoyable. It was fun getting a little deeper look at this original story and seeing where things were different from the movie. It had a whole lot of scientific explanations throughout which was fine, but I could have used a tad bit more excitement and action like there is in the movie. Sometimes it just felt like the setup was drawn out and the payoff not as big as it could have been in parts. Probably another book that suffers from the unavoidable bias I have when I already know the story and unconsciously judge the book against the movie. Oh well. It was an enjoyable book and fun to read. I need to read more Crichton.

Michael Crichton books ranked:

1. The Great Train Robbery
2. Jurassic Park