Summer Reading: Light in August

Ok, so I'll admit that I chose this book at the library because it had the word August in the title. Still, I was a huge fan of The Sound and the Fury and I was curious about reading another work by Faulkner. I really enjoyed the use of multiple perspectives and chronology in S&F and Light in August did not disappoint. Faulkner's take on the individual's search for meaning and identity while also trying to negotiate their own personal histories is particularly striking. In a way, I found many similarities to Ralph Ellison's fantastic book, Invisible Man. Not only because racism was used as a major theme, but how each author used racism in a way to help describe man's constant pursuit for discovering their own identity and how society can blind and constrain this search. Everything about this book was done incredibly well. I look forward to reading this again a few years down the road.

While many other men's lifestyle bloggers tend to be inspired by the works of Hemingway, I find Faulkner much more interesting in both them and style.

Book Review: American Psycho

It's been a while since my last book review. I've been reading in the mean time, but nothing I felt like blogging.

I have never been so thoroughly disturbed by a book. Coming from me, that's saying a lot. Still, the book was pretty good. The commentary on consumerist 80's culture was fantastic. A great satire on the vapid Wall Street culture. Also, I saw some parallels between this work and the existentialist work, The Stranger by Camus. If you only want to satisfy a need for gore and shock, that can be easily found. However, if you're willing to dig a little deeper, you may be surprised at what you find.

I had to take a step back and analyze parts of my own life while reading this book. Every item in this novel is listed by designer or brand. Patrick Bateman can not be wearing loafers, but A Testoni loafers. He does not place his cigar in an ashtray, but a crystal ashtray from Fortunoff. This had me reconsider how I view my own life and the objects that are important to me. I know my blog is very much clothing-based, and high-end clothing at that, but I would like to think that these items do not determine my identity. Clothing and style is important to a degree, but it's a look I would like to craft and a quality that I see in these items. Ironically, I don't own and wouldn't consider buying most of the items on this blog for the sheer fact that I have more important priorities. This is a hobby, not my life.

Either way, I'm considering taking a step back from the barrage of clothing related posts and perhaps mix-in a few more "lifestyle" pieces. Or, if it is a clothing post, it should be more than a listing of items, but more of an explanation as to why these things are important, in a way which I can use to better express myself.

Back to the book, I found it a very entertaining read. Two thumbs up.

Book Review: A Tale of Two Cities

Mehhh... It was ok. It took a while before I could really sink into the story and immerse myself in Dickens' prose. For the first half of the book, I found it difficult to desipher exactly what was happening. Add this to the fact I could care less about any of the characters (except for Carton, he kicks ass), it made for a challenging read. The las thrid of the book picked up the pace and became much more engaging. The story itself proved to be very entertaining by the end, and while it was a decent book, I now understand why I enjoy Hemingway as much as I do.

Book Review: Rabbit, Run

Along my journey to read the most influential novels of all time, I came across John Updike’s Rabbit Run. While a fantastic book with remarkable prose, this must be one of the saddest books I’ve read in recent memory. I found it just as easy to empathize with each character as I did to despise. To quickly summarize, the book chronicles the wandering journey of the philandering Rabbit, an ex-high school basketball star who is growing increasingly dissatisfied with his domesticated life.