I'm not in the panther cage, you're in the panther cage.

So I've been reading a lot lately, and by lately i mean this year. I've always loved reading, from before i could read even (my parents say that from a very young age, i loved paging through books in my crib & such). I go through phases in my life where i'll read a lot for awhile, then i won't read barely anything for a long time. Well, i've been on public transportation most of this year (which i don't mind much of the time), which allots me a good hour plus of read time every day.

In the past, one of my stumbling blocks was finding somethign I wanted to read. I have a short attention span, so if I don't find something I love fast, i lose interest and then it just sort of gets put on the side. Well, for whatever reason, I've become motivated to read--in general--and this has helped me trudge through some stuff I might not have in the past. Kinda nifty, 'cuz I've found a lot of quality reads.

I've been reading mostly pretentious literature--nobel prize winners (100 Years of Solitude by Gabrielle Garcia-Marquez), foreign authors (The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy), modern american classics ("No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy), and my current book was picked because I was reading a list of the Top 100 First Lines from novels in the past 100 years (Galatea 2.2 by Richard Powers). It's really interesting to me, because I have definately noticed why these books are considered "good literature." There's just something about their writing styles--not necissarily their plots or characters or anything, but they just write better. I'm not sure I can describe exactly why yet--i'm working on it--but it's pretty clear.

I've also read my share of pop culture literature, and even a little bit of pulp(I Love You Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle, etc.), and while they certianly don't share the intellectual satisfaction, they've been a whole lot of fun to read. I think I like them just as much. They're a lot faster reads, that's for sure.

Anyways, you can take a look on my page and see all the books i've read this year. i'm pretty excited. I've still got a few more months left to rack up my year-long list. Suggestions, always welcome. Won't promise i'll read it, but i'll listen.