A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

This was an interesting read. Thankfully I read the book before I watched the movie, because although the movie was semi awesome, the ending killed the final point the author made, which was that all of the stuff Alex did, the crimes n such, were a product of his youth. He did it because 'kids are crazy like that' but eventually they grow out of it. Now of course whether this statement was intended to be read literally or symbolically is debatable and I'm sure a couple of hours could be devoted to taking that apart, but as it stands, that point, which I would say is quite significant, was left out of the movie, which I found disappointing. 

The book was great though. The concept it explores is in the title itself -a clockwork orange. an orange that is not allowed to be as nature intended but is being forced to transform itself and act according to the dictates of others. It is being forced to act this way through a technological means, rather than societal influences, though I'm sure one could link social pressures to the situation. The orange of course would be Alex and the clockwork bit would be the treatment he was given to make violence repulsive to him. This treatment doesn't change the fact that he is inclined to commit violent acts, it just prevents him from doing so, taking away his free will. Great imagery, I enjoyed reading it.

It's also cool how the author creates his own language. This effectively encapsulates the terms created by youth and only understood by youth, without putting a time frame on the story by using actual slang from a certain time period.

Great story, definitely check it out.

Breakfast of Champions: A Novel by Kurt Vonnegut

This was my first Vonnegut book, but it certainly won't be the last. This was a wonderful book on free will and how we choose to see the world and our ever eternal fight against cynicism. I think that an important point to keep in mind is that there is a reason and purpose behind every passage he has written, they all connect back to one of the larger points he makes. It's a cynical, but not a depressing cynical, a cynical that makes you take a closer look. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It's one of the great reads of our time. Philosophical, satirical, and wonderful. Definitely check it out

Rose And The Beast: fairy tales retold by francesca lia Block

This book was really great. Often with the retelling of a popular story there is the potential to fail miserably, as so many people know and love the original. Even taking the bare bones of a story and (like Cinderella for example) and using it as a plot line for other stories wherein you can clearly see the reference can go horribly wrong because there are so many examples of this story being told correctly and well... that is is somewhat admirable for an author to take on these stories and succeed as did this author.

The book is a collection of short stories, the retold fairy tales being snow white, Thumbelina, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Rose Red and Rose White, Blue Beard, Beauty and the Beast, and the Snow Queen.

The author has a very lyrical style of writing that leaves you with an almost evanescent interaction with the emotions she's throwing at you... kind of reminiscent of Patricia Mckillip, but not that intense. Some of the fairy tales are modernized and some aren't, but all of them take a different look the fairy tale in question, staying close enough to the original that you can clearly relate it, but looking at it from different angles, making it almost a different story. The plot doesn't change, the perspectives do.

Definitely a successful attempt.