Day 30: the Best Book You've Read in the Past Year
I admit that I haven't been very productive in book-reading this year--at least, not productive by my standards. It could be because my English class was primarily composition and not reading.
That said, I have read a total of four very good books (and some others that haven't been very good): The Road, Jane Eyre, A Raisin in the Sun, and Notre-Dame de Paris - 1482. The Road is my favorite of the
four.
I have already blogged twice about this book and why I like it, but I don't think I've gone into detail about who got me introduced to the book.
It was one of my aunts. My mom is the youngest of seven children (it happens when one is Catholic), and her oldest sister Pat suggested this book to me over the summer when she came to visit from Kenya. (Pat is a nun and spends the majority of the year, sometimes the entire year, working in Kenya.)
I don't think Pat told me much about the book in terms of plot, but she said something to the effect of "I think you'd enjoy it." Always eager to read something new, I bought the book from Barnes & Noble and read it in about three days.
When I made time to read The Road, I always sped through several pages at a rate that surprised even me. I just did not want to put it down because it was so wonderful and so well-written.
The Road is the only Cormac McCarthy book I've read, but I think he has a very distinctive style. He doesn't divide the book into chapters, which can make you lose your place easily if you're not careful. He also doesn't use quotation marks in the dialogue, which I think is really interesting. I think the style really helped distinguish the book as better than the other futuristic-setting books that I've read. Props to McCarthy for that!
Not only is The Road the best book I've read in the past year; it's also one of the best I've ever read. I know I've said this at least twice, but go get it now! You won't regret it!
