Books and the like

I'll be the first one to (sadly) admit it: I do not read very much. You could almost definitely count the number of books I read last year on your two hands, with the majority of the books read being devoured in two very short time spans: the two weeks after Christmas, and the week I spend on Hornby Island every summer.

This year, my goal (I'm steering clear of the word "resolution," although my resolution-success is about 50-50 the last few years) is to simply read more. The trouble is, I have very few problems with wasting hours on the internet, catching up on TV shows (or rewatching every single HIMYM episode... for the second time), but oftentimes when I'm reading, I feel guilty. Like, if I'm reading this book, couldn't I be reading a textbook instead? WRONG. I should probably read more books for pleasure, both fiction and non-fiction.

I just finished A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. I got it from my sister for Christmas after hearing her talk about it for months, and I loved it. Probably the most common thing I've heard people/the internet say? If an author can make a chapter consist entirely of powerpoint slides, and make it one of the best chapters in the book, it's probably worth the read. And they're right! The PowerPoint slide chapter is just.... good. It's simple, intriguing, and (obviously) unique. This novel/collection of short stories (some debate here) intertwines a bunch of different characters, from the past, present, and future, in an awesome 340 page read. I recommend checking it out.

Also, because I'm a nerd and was having some serious insomnia type sleep issues last night, I drew this up after I finished the book. Nerdy, but oddly satisfying to have it all in front of me.

It's not the best quality, and I'm not sure if it's 100% accurate, but I think it's pretty close. Here's a full one I found.

Anyways, this is what I ask of you: I need some book suggestions to read. Fiction, non-fiction, short stories, whatever. I seriously need some ideas, so do me a favor and suggest me some books in the comments!

The Hunger Games

I have a confession to make.

Last night, at about 11:30, I thought I would get a little reading in before I went to sleep. Now, this isn't a very common thing for me to do. I hardly ever read just for fun anymore. I don't even think I can remember the last novel that I actually finished. A lot of nights I watch an episode of HIMYM before I go to bed, or talk to people on facebook, or study until I can't  keep my eyes open anymore. Last night though, I decided to read a little before I slept. After seeing the new trailer for The Hunger Games, I was really curious about it and, seeing as I had just bought the book at Value Village a month ago, I decided to give it a read.

I stayed up until 3:30 and read it cover to cover in one go.

I really enjoyed it. While the writing isn't especially impressive, it tells the story well enough, and I couldn't put it down. It was an interesting story, and kind of reminded me of one of the Pendragon books I used to read, which was very similarly-named The Quillian Games, and I'm pretty sure it had almost the same plot. After reading the book, I can see how, if done properly, it could be a pretty good movie too.

It's been so long since I've sat down and read for an extended period of time, it was nice to do it last night.

I'm just glad I'm a fast reader.