The Foutainhead by Ayn Rand

Yikes! This is going to be a doozie! Longest book that I am atempting thus far so I am praying that its interesting.

Here is the very vague summary:

The Fountainhead has become an enduring piece of literature, more popular now than when published in 1943. On the surface, it is a story of one man, Howard Roark, and his struggles as an architect in the face of a successful rival, Peter Keating, and a newspaper columnist, Ellsworth Toohey. But the book addresses a number of universal themes: the strength of the individual, the tug between good and evil, the threat of fascism. The confrontation of those themes, along with the amazing stroke of Rand's writing, combine to give this book its enduring influence.



Here we go!



Brave New World - Finished!

What an amazing book! I absolutely loved it!

Vocabulary:
Sepulchral: this word wasn't in the dictionary so I think that maybe Huxley made this word up.
Magnanimity: generosity

My favorite passage of the book is this:
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
For some reason this passage really moved me.

I am on board with John Savage in terms of how struggle, misery, and strife shape a person's life. Its a little scary to think about how the world today seems to be on the path towards being more like the 'civilized world'. These days, many unpleasantness can be avoided quite easily. The requirement for people these days to struggle is fading away. We can hire people to do our housework, start our cars from inside the house so that its warm when we get in, take a pill to get all our vitamins, drink a fancy cocktail to forget about our stresses. So much pain and stress can be surpassed just by using modern day technology. It seems like Huxley's book was a warning to society to stay authentic, to feel every emotion, a warning that society obvious has not headed to.

I think that the lesson in this book was to appreciate the fact that we can make our own choices. Not all of them will be brilliant decisions but they are what makes us human. Life is meant to be lived and although it may seem tempting to live without all things unpleasant, it would be a false life.

Brave New World - Half way through!

I still a little unsure about this book, Sci-Fi has never been my thing. But it is definitely interesting and new to me.

Vocabulary:

Pneumatic -

1. Of or relating to air or other gases.

2. Of or relating to pneumatics.

Galvantic: Of or relating to direct-current electricity, especially when produced chemically.

I laughed when Bernard was pondering the "black two-in-one" on his neighbours face, meaning a uni-brow. I thought that it was such a funny name for a uni-brow and that Bernard was so put off by it.

I wish I knew if the Malpais Huxley is talking about is Malpais, Costa Rica. It would be cool because thats where I'm planning my 2011 vacation.

Back to reading!

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Since Dracula was such a long book I chose the shortest of the three books I have at home, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. This will be the first Science Fiction book that I've ever read so I'm quite on the fence. It has never been a genre that I have been drawn to but I'm hoping this book will surprise me. Especially since there seems to be many Sci-Fis on the list. Here is the summary:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a classic science fiction work that continues to be a significant warning to our society today. Tony Britton, the reader, does an excellent job of portraying clinical detachment as the true nature of the human incubators is revealed. The tone lightens during the vacation to the wilderness and the contrast is even more striking. Each character is given a separate personality by Britton's voices. As the story moves from clinical detachment to the human interest of Bernard, the nonconformist, and John, the "Savage," listeners are drawn more deeply into the plot. Finally, the reasoned tones of the Controller explain away all of John's arguments against the civilization, leading to John's death as he cannot reconcile his beliefs to theirs.



Here we go!

Dracula - Finished!

LACONICALLY: Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.

PHLEGMATIC: Having or suggesting a calm, sluggish temperament; unemotional.

ADAMANTINE:

1. Made of or resembling adamant.

2. Having the hardness or luster of a diamond.

3. Unyielding; inflexible

 

SOJOURN: A temporary stay; a brief period of residence.

Near the end I found this book to get a little boring

Dracula - Half Way Through!

I think it might have been a bad idea to read this book during the spookiest holiday of the year. I've been having nightmares every night and am now just reading this book in the daylight. Therefore this read is taking me a little longer than anticipated, however not due to lack of interest on my behalf.

I found that the beginning of this book quite confusing only because of the numerous names and whereabouts of places that Jonathon Harker travelled to and from.

There are many sayings that are used (ei. to know her is to love her) that I thought were more modern than this book from the 1800s.

I love the way that this book is written, through journal entries and letters. I've never read any book that has done this before so I am finding it really interesting.

Reticent: inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech

Idolatrous:  of or relating to idolatry: the worship of a physical object as a god

Salient: moving by leaps or springs

Prodigious:

1: being an omen :  b : resembling or befitting a prodigy

2: exciting amazement or wonder

3: extraordinary in bulk, quantity, or degree

Languidly:

1: drooping or flagging from or as if from exhaustion

2: sluggish in character or disposition

3: lacking force or quickness of movement

Eminence: a position of prominence or superiority

Better get back to reading before it gets too late! Right now I'm so sad that Lucy died but my gut is telling me that she is simply in a vampire state and is going to wake up and start tormenting the people of England.