East of Eden - John Steinbeck

So I started this around the Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival (Aug21-23, 2009). I got about a third the way through that weekend. If you know me, that should speak volumes about how good the book was. Unfortunately, it took me another couple months to finish because of projects and travel.

I thought this was one of the best fiction stories I have read. Steinbeck does an incredible job of capturing and painting humanity, personality, and interpersonal dynamics in a clear and engrossing way that draws the reader into the narrative. The diversity of characters guarantees that you will identify with one of them.

I won't go into any real detail about the storyline, but if you are looking for a fiction read that might give you new perspective on yourself and others then this is a great option.

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

I must say I quite enjoyed Great Expectations. I will also say it took me a long time to get through and I am not going to bore anyone with a summary here. If you are interested in a summary you should talk to me in person. One of the reasons I enjoy the book was that it was written differently than any book I can recall. The story is written from the first person perspective of the main character (Philip Pirrip, aka Pip). This creates a wonderful sense of friendship with Pip, because it feels like he is relating his story to you and not telling you some tale that he heard.

I will illustrate what I mean with an example, though not taken from the book.
A scene as most books would write it
As Pip walked along the road, he came upon the town bully, Johnny Apple Seed. Johnny was tall and thin, with long greasy hair. Often he would torment little Pip. As Pip approached, he kindly asked, "How are you today, Johnny?" However, being the constant target of Johnny's pestering did not make Pip really care how Johnny was doing.

Same scene as it would be written in Great Expectations
As I walk down the road, I saw that I was approaching the most troublesome person in all of town, Johnny Apple Seed. Knowing good Christian standards, I kindly asked, "How are you today?" Of course, I didn't really care how he was. Actually, I hoped that he was not well all and that his tall, thin frame and long greasy hair was the result of some strange disease that plagued him.

Often I felt like I was in Pip's head because you hear him talking through what he is thinking "behind the scenes" as he talks to or describes the situation he is in. This is particularly entertaining at the start of the book because Pip is only about 8 year's old and the world that he presents in the story is from the knowledge and understanding of an 8 year old. I feel that Dickens did a marvelous job staying consistent with that perspective. There is never a time that you get information or descriptions from someone other than Pip.

On an philosophical note, the book makes you really think about the things we give up and compromises we make in order to obtain wealth.

I would definitely recommend this for some pleasure reading.