Book 1: Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
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Great Expectations? Great book!
Despite his cultural ubiquity, I've never
really read any Dickens prior to this. I've been meaning to, and decided to go with this, which is on the shorter end (for Dickens). I generally knew the plot due to exposure from Wishbone, but had a cracking time reading it nonetheless. Don't know what to say; guy can write. I want to pick up a few more Dickens this year; my goal is two books a month, and based on my current pace I should be able to devote a month or two to a single book.
I'm open to anyone's Dickens recommends!
Book 2: Swag, by Elmore Leonard
(apologies for the downright awful cover)
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Every now and then I pick up some Leonard; he writes snappy dialogue and driving plots. I really gobbled this one down, too; I went to Florida last week and basically finished this on the flight there.
Elevator pitch: a used-car salesman teams up with a petty crook after catching him trying to steal a car from the lot. The salesman develops a dozen rules for armed robbery, mostly revolving around being very careful with your money/company, as well as only robbing sure things and walking away the moment things seem dicey. (This reminds me of
an episode of the superlative Criminal podcast, in which a man goes on a bank robbery spree, just to see if he can; he goes in unarmed, gives the clerk a note asking for the cash drawer, and just walks away with or without the money).
Lo and behold, the two criminals turn against one another. Ironically, it's the author of the rules who begins throwing them out the window, leading to tensions. Lots of Leonard's novels have been made into movies, and this could be a pretty fun one.
Book 3: Pnin, by Vladimir Nabokov
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Another goal of mine this year is to reread a few favorites. Oddly enough, my goodreads rating from initially reading this ~10 years ago was three stars. It's remained in my mind since, however, so I read it over the rest of my Florida trip.
I love Nabokov; he has such a way with words that just bowls me over. Pnin especially is a witty story, focusing on a middle-aged Russian professor trying to adjust to life in America. He's the subject of derision from his peers and is portrayed by the unnamed narrator as a bumbling, ineffectual fool. However, he's also deceptively graceful and sweet.
On the heels of this I ordered The Defense; I realize I've only read four Nabokovs, though I've read all of them twice now.
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