Everything Is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer

When I bought Everything Is Illuminated, I actually went to the store with the intention of buying Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It, however, was a good $5 more, and my cheapness won out. I couldn't be happier--Everything Is Illuminated is an incredible first novel, and I can't wait to read Foer's other books.

Everything Is Illuminated is definitely a book that you have to pay attention to; the changing time periods and perspectives would otherwise be confusing. In the book, a young man named Jonathan Safran Foer sets out to find the woman who may have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. To do this, he travels to Ukraine (which I used to call 'the Ukraine,' but after reading this book, I realize that makes no sense), where he is guided by Alex, a young translator who speaks wonderfully terrible English, Alex's grandfather, and Alex's overly loving dog, Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior. However, the book also follows Jonathan's ancestors, particularly his grandfather, Safran. This is what can make the book confusing, but again, it will only be confusing if you don't pay attention. Pretty much the entire first half of the book is absolutely hilarious. While it has serious moments, to be sure, Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior and Alex's butchered English are highly entertaining. The second half, however, has less humor, but is by no means less captivating and wonderful.

As the Baltimore Sun said of Everything Is Illuminated, "Maybe two or three times in a lifetime, a book transcends its genre to become an experience. Everything Is Illuminated is an event of this order." Yes, actually, it is that marvelous. Honestly, I wasn't immediately drawn in by the blurb on the back of the book, but I couldn't be more glad that I picked it up anyway. I give this book full marks--not that it needs my approval.

The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury

The twenty stories in The Illustrated Man are based around a man who was tattooed, or illustrated, by a woman from the future. The stories in the book are the stories depicted on the Illustrated Man's body, and range in topic from the end of the world to the endless Venutian rains to the life and death of the person who happens to be watching the illustrations.

While I enjoy reading short stories, I don't often enjoy collections of short stories--though, granted, I haven't read many. Neither did I enjoy the only other Bradbury book I've read, Fahrenheit 451. However, I decided to pick up The Illustrated Man regardless of these facts, partly because the premise fascinated me and partly because my friend Ayushi (who has a book blog that you should go read) read and enjoyed it. This definitely turned out to be the right choice. There wasn't a single story in the book that I didn't enjoy, and there were many that I absolutely loved. If I have spare money anytime in the next few months, I'll most likely buy it. The stories in The Illustrated Man were touching, alarming, creepy, awe-inspiring, and eerily prescient, often all at once. Maybe I'll have to read some of Bradbury's other work, or even re-read Fahrenheit 451. Suggestions?

Foucault's Pendulum - Umberto Eco

Casaubon, the narrator of Foucault's Pendulum, is writing a thesis on the Templars when he meets Jacopo Belbo, an editor at Garamond Press, at a bar, and they start talking. Casaubon, Belbo, and Belbo's colleague Diotallevi begin to inspect the wild theories of Colonel Ardenti, who claims that the Templars constructed a centuries-long plot for revenge against those who caused the disbanding of the order. Casaubon, Belbo, and Diotallevi consider Ardenti's ideas to be complete lunacy, and decide, as a joke, to construct their own, fake version of the Templar plan. Unexpectedly, Colonel Ardenti disappears, and the made-up Plan begins to take on a life of its own as "They" find out about the plan and want the information necessary to complete it.

I've been intending to read Foucault's Pendulum for just under a year, but forgot about it entirely until recently, when I decided to make a list of books to read over the summer. I decided to start with Foucault's Pendulum because it was one of the longer books on my list, and found that not only is it long--it is vitally necessary to keep a dictionary at hand while reading this book, and not just any dictionary, because many won't have all the words. While some people might find this intimidating or cumbersome, it just made me enjoy the book even more because I got to learn a ton of new words along the way (though I probably won't remember half of them). As for the plot, I was massively confused, though entertained, for most of the first half of the book. If you plan to read Foucault's Pendulum, be warned: you will probably feel the same way. However, Eco intended this confusion, so don't despair, carry on, and it will come clear eventually.

While Publisher's Weekly calls Foucault's Pendulum a "psychological thriller," I wouldn't really describe it as such. There are certainly elements of a psychological thriller, but there are also elements of historical fiction, conspiracy theory books (not sure that's a genre, but betting that it is), metaphysics, and occultism. I really don't know what genre to put this book in, and I think that's a good thing. I generally find that if a book is not easily defined or categorized, it ends up being more complex and interesting. While I was indeed very, very confused for parts of the book, I was, without exaggeration, intrigued from the very first until the very last page, and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who thinks they'd enjoy it (if you don't think you'd enjoy it, you probably wouldn't).

Runaway - Meg Cabot

Runaway is the final novel in the Airhead trilogy, which revolves around Em Watts, a normal girl whose brain, after an "accident" at the Stark Megastore which leaves Em with her body broken but her brain intact, is transplanted into the body of supermodel Nikki Howard (who, incidentally, works for Stark Corporation). As the series progresses, Em begins to suspect that this surgery did not occur because Nikki was left brain dead by the accident, but because Nikki knew something Stark didn't want her to know. In Runaway, Em is on the run from school, work, and her family, trying to find out what Nikki knew.

I have enjoyed all three of the Airhead novels--Meg Cabot is one of my favorite "guilty pleasure" novelists--but I have to say that Runaway is my favorite of the three. By the third novel, all the characters are very well-developed and easier to relate to; also, the rising action of the entire series is coming to a point, and I found it very difficult to put Runaway down, even the very few times I absolutely had to. I especially like the title of this book, with it's sort of double meaning--runway, runaway--and the cover is absolutely gorgeous.

In comparison to Meg Cabot's other novels (I haven't read all of them; I've read neither the Mediator books nor the Size 12 is Not Fat series), Runaway and the Airhead books still stand out. Though I didn't like the characters as well as those in The Princess Diaries and its sequels, I found the plot to be much more interesting, though that could be just because it was slightly science fiction-y. While predictable in parts, the Mediator books are definitely worth a read (and it will be a quick read) if you enjoy "girly" books. ("Girly" is in quotation marks because while I don't really think Cabot's books are all that girly compared to some, they are definitely not "guy books.")

Oh My Blog!

I have graciously been given the Oh My Blog! Award by Chris and Jess from Park Benches and Bookends. This actually happened on May 5, but I have been (and still am) studying for finals and AP exams and other such fun. Therefore, you probably won't see many reviews from me for a while. However, I do need to respond to the award and pass it on, so here goes. The way the award works is this:

"1. Get really excited that you got the coolest award EVER!
2. Choose ONE of the following options of accepting the OMB award:
(a) Get really drunk and blog for 15 minutes straight, or for as long as you can focus.
(b) Write about your most embarrassing moment.
(c) Write a "Soundtrack of your childhood" post.
(d) Make your next blog a 'vlog'/video blog. Basically, you're talking to the camera about whatever.
(e) Take a picture of yourself first thing in the morning, before you do anything else (hair, make up, etc) and post it.
3. Pass the award on to at least three, but preferably more, awesome bloggers. Don't forget to tell them."

Since I'm under 21 and in the U.S., (a) is out; because I'm self-conscious, (b), (d), and (e) are out...so, childhood soundtrack! I'm a child of the 90s, so I grew up listening to Disney soundtracks, boy bands, and Britney Spears. I absolutely adored the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears in elementary school, and I'm pretty sure "Oops, I Did it Again" was the first pop song I ever knew by heart. *cringe* By the time I got into middle school, both Britney and the boy bands were no longer in favor; Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, and the Beatles were my singing idols of choice. (I was a very pop-oriented child.) And while I still like the Beatles to some extent, I also cringe at Hilary and Lindsay. Ick. However, I still love Disney movie soundtracks--Hercules, The Lion King, and Aladdin are my favorites--and know way more lyrics than I probably should. In this respect, I don't think I'll ever grow up, and I'm proud of that.

And my nominations are, (*drumroll*)
The Book Owl
Babbette's Book Blog
50 Books

Award completed! Now, I have to go study some more.

The Selfless Gene - Charles Foster

I really, fiercely hate the title of this book. While it is about religion and evolution, the book has nothing to do with the idea that there is a gene in our DNA that causes selflessness, which is what the title implies. However, The Selfless Gene is a good book despite its poorly-chosen title, and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in science, religion, or both.

The Selfless Gene discusses the relationship between evolution and religion, and whether either is actually true. It's divided into ten chapters and examines religious and scientific points of view both separately and in relation to one another. On the book's Amazon page, the description reads, "In THE SELFLESS GENE, Charles Foster assesses the claims of Neo-Darwinists and Young Earth Creationists, demonstrating that orthodox Christianity is not incompatible with what evolutionary biology says about our world. The real issue, he argues, centres around the ethical implications of natural selection, and what such a system – based on selfishness, waste and death – might say about the loving creator God of the Christian faith. Intelligent, provocative and accessible, THE SELFLESS GENE offers the prospect of a reasoned dialogue between faith and scientific study, and a reconciliation of what are popularly seen as two opposing worldviews." While I apologize for quoting at such length, I couldn't think of any better way to summarize what the book is all about, and I quite agree that The Selfless Gene is "intelligent, provocative and accessible." One of the great things about The Selfless Gene (at least as far as I'm concerned) is that Charles Foster is neither a scientist nor a theologian, a fact he clearly acknowledges early in the book. This enables him to write clearly and in a manner that everyone, not just those most well-versed in scientific or religious study, can appreciate and understand.

On the front cover, a Cambridge professor is quoted as saying that The Selfless Gene is "difficult to put down." While I enjoy reading both fiction and nonfiction, I didn't really expect to get hooked on this book to the same extent that I would get hooked on a novel. Surprisingly, however, I could hardly put the book down. I've been carrying it in my purse and reading it whenever I have at least five free minutes, and while I've done this more often than not with fiction, I very rarely have the same experience with nonfiction--I typically enjoy such books at a slower pace. I could really not be more glad that I requested The Selfless Gene.*


*I got this book through BookSneeze, a program where publishers give books away in exchange for reviews. When I signed up for BookSneeze, The Selfless Gene was the most appealing book being offered, so I requested it. In hindsight, a very good choice.

The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Played with Fire is the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I've had this book on hold every since I finished the first book in March (my review is here), and it finally came in last week. While I had mixed feelings about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, partly because it took me some time to figure out who all the characters were, I had no such reservations about The Girl Who Played with Fire.

After her guardian, Advokat Nils Bjurman, and two others are murdered with the same weapon within hours of each other, Lisbeth Salander is a murder suspect. While those who know her--journalist Mikael Blomkvist, among others--insist that she would not kill anyone without provocation, the police are insistent upon her guilt. However, she remains remarkably elusive, and even after three weeks, the girl with the dragon tattoo is yet to be found by the authorities. But did she really commit the murders? Though her fingerprints were on the gun, there is no evidence that Lisbeth Salander actually fired the gun at all, much less at the three victims. As more information surfaces about an unknown man named "Zala," even the police have their doubts.

The book is utterly captivating, suspenseful, terrific--I could go on. The best way I can think of to describe it is that it's one of those books where your face gradually gets closer and closer to the book until some outside thing distracts you and you realize you're nearly cross-eyed. Yes, it's that good. If you've heard of this book, it may be because the final book in the trio, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, was recently released, and the books have become more prominently displayed in stores. If this is the case, and you've been wondering whether or not to buy, I encourage you to go ahead and spend your money. In my opinion, it's well worth it.