| Hi!! It's Nik. Sorry for the late edition this weekend, but I really wanted to finish this book review of a literary classic I finished this week. It's... Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Last year, I realized I had been a writer for 10 years without ever reading most of the classics. I hadn't gotten a lot of exposure to them in school, and I realized if I was to be a great author one day, what better way than to read great books? So one day, I bought 45 of them and began. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is the 8th book I've finished since then. As part of this quest, I'm also reinventing my writing-about-books process. After a decade of summarizing books with strict rules in a strict format, I want to open my toolbelt, add more gadgets, and give every book the treatment that makes most sense for that book. That's why, when I summarized books like 1984 or Brave New World, I already expanded the usual four-minute format. It just wasn't enough space to summarize their plots and add meaningful lessons. I also went meta a lot: For The Picture of Dorian Gray, for example, I drew lessons from the book's overall message and themes rather than the text itself. Here's another truth that didn't fit into the old format: Not every book is worth summarizing. Especially for most of these classics, so many good plot summaries are already out there. But reviewing them, sharing some lessons and meta lessons, maybe throwing in my highlights for good measure? I don't think a person's unique take on a book will ever get old. Not that mine are always genius or anything. But they're the ideas you can't get from anyone else! And the books I like the most? As I did with Steppenwolf a few weeks ago, those will get their own, dedicated essay. Well, today's the day! Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut will be the first book to get that new treatment. I went into this book without expectations, and that was a good thing. It's hard to put it in words, and summarizing its plot makes little sense. But we live in strange times, and that might make this strange book just the one we need right now. So here's a short review + my highlights. I'm also sharing all of my reviews on Goodreads, and I'll be trying to add as many as I can for books past and present. Some might be more off the cuff, others more refined, but I always think before I type. Oh, and if any of this is not your cup of read? Well, then as always, here are 2 other titles you might enjoy:
Even if you read the same book ten times, you'll always be a different person coming back for another visit. Allow both your books and yourself to evolve—and how you talk about them, of course. 😉 Happy reading, PS: If you like today's book review, you should check out my daily blog! The writing's a bit more varied and creative than your typical book summary, and each one drives home one focused idea in less than 300 words. If you want to learn something new not just every week but every day, you can read today's post and subscribe if you enjoy » |
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