This is the third location change of my blog. We’ll see if anything actually alters, but a shift in scenery often results in renewal. Maybe it’ll keep me honest.
Recently, the deadline for my first attempt at the 50 Book Challenge came and went. Unfortunately, I got to book 38 and failed, mostly because school and life-changing tests got in the way. I figured it would be worth another try, partially because it drove me to read literature from several different genres (a very illuminating experience). Until I started the challenge, I had fallen into a sort of rut with the books that I was reading. That is, when I was actually making time to read for pleasure. Usually, I was neck-deep in school reading, which, while interesting, was required.
Anyway, this challenge (taken from an entry in my previous blog, and indirectly via cheye):
Read 50 books in a calendar year. Blog about them, rate them, recommend them or diss them, just read them and [write] about them.
My start date for this second attempt is officially May 1, 2008.
1. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
I thought The Rule of Four was well-written (no major stylistic complaints here at least), but it took me a while to get into the story (the beginning was rather slow). In addition to revealing the secret hidden in the pages of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, a misunderstood and mysterious text from the Renaissance period, the book tries to examine the relationships among the characters in depth, but 500 pages really isn’t enough to accomplish everything it’s trying to do. Toward the end, I found the whole friend-love interest-relationship angle annoying because I was primarily interested in what the historical secrets were going to be. I won’t put spoilers up here, but I will say that this was the first time I wasn’t disappointed with the huge build-up. The ending was a bit predictable and a little corny, but overall it was okay.
