Catching Up on Some American Lit.

I've taken a break from some serious non-fiction reading and took up two American classics that I can't believe it has taken me this long to get around to reading. First up was Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I loved this book. I found it to be very relevant to today, well written and thought-provoking. i loved the editors notes in the back that helped me understand what he meant and that many people have given meanings to the book he never intended. It is about media's effect on society which is so interesting because this is more relevant than ever. I even found an eerie similarity with items in the book with Twitter. Bradbury was ahead of his time.

Next was Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut. I literally just finished this one and had to turn the computer back on to read what others had to say about it. I liked it, I don't know if I got it in the way many others have, but it was good. I thought it was well-written and I admire Vonnegut's writing style. I didn't find it as funny or biting as many others have but more satirical in many instances. But I was struck by the moral of the story and that he tells you it up-front even though you don't know it at the time: "We are what we pretend to be, so be careful about what we pretend to be." Oh, and "Make love when you can. It's good for you." Both profound yet simple.

Hmm..what's next on the bookshelf? I do need to finish up the Book of Deuteronomy from the Bible and move out of the Pentateuch - the first 5 books of the Old Testament in my quest to read the entire Bible. I will be visiting my sister's this weekend and my brother-in-law usually has lots of good books to borrow. I do have War and Peace...time to break that one out??