Picking and Choosing

As continue working out the kinks in this whole blogging thing I started wondering how will I choose which books I review on the site? I want to keep it current, because I can't give a rightful review to books I may have read years ago. Then I thought about how I choose the books I read anyways. Sometimes I do get sucked into the best-seller Harry Potter/Twlight-esqe type of books. I've been known to read more Nora Roberts book then I'd care to admit.

Obviously I don't have the luxury of free novels being sent my way all the time, so price is unfortunately another deciding factor. Last year, I re-discovered the library so to speak. In college, I didn't really have time to read novels of my own choosing, so the library was used solely for research purposes. But after wasting countless dollars at Barnes and Nobles I got my new library card when I moved to D.C. How was I to choose from the limited selection of books the library had to offer? I remember the search feature at my library was able to show me books that had received certain awards, and I decided to check out some books from Oprah's Book Club winning books. I cant recall the name of the book now, but I couldn't get through the first few chapters, it just didn't catch my interest.

So my next trip to the library, I decided I was just going to peruse the titles and choose something randomly. I ended up picking out a book called The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. Little did that a few months later the movie-version of the book would be out in theatres and garnering Oscar nominations. Ironically, as I found out after the fact, The Reader was also part of Oprah's Book Club.

To be honest, I was a little shocked after I read this book, maybe because I had no outside influences or reviews to bias my view, but I wasn't expecting everything that occurred. The book is about the affair a young German boy has with an older woman, who he learns later in life is on trial for Nazi war-related crimes. The book made me question morality, secrets and the many different types of love that can exist between people. I remember describing the book as "depressing" after I read it, but in looking back on it, months later, I realize the book definitely made a lasting impact on me, despite the overall depressing theme. In fact, after seeing the movie, I actually had a better appreciation for the book, which rarely tends to happen.

That wasn't supposed to be a review of the book, got a little off topic! What I'm trying to say is that, I don't really have a rhyme or reason for the books I might review here. I kind of like the randomness of pulling an unknown book of a library shelf, but who knows. Please feel free to suggest some.

Check out the how the New York Times picks their books to review. Sounds pretty intense! My selections will be much more laid-back :)