This Months Challenge

Ending 30/07/2013:
Pick a book off your shelves that you have yet to read (or that you wish to re-read) that falls into the category: Set in a completely fictional world
Example Authors: Feist, Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, David Gemmell

Thursday 7 February 2013

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

During summer I devour books, I literally eat them for breakfast. This is because, during summer, I'm not at uni. I'm generally not stressed out about the gazillion assignments I have to do, and with doing a science degree I'm left with little time to read books, and the time I do have I chose to do other things (like knit and write).

So when we thought of this book club, Ashleigh and I, we said one book a month. We're both at uni (Ashleigh's in her final year of her English and Creative Writing degree), and therefore have often better things to do with our time than read - although we wish this weren't true. But one book a month made sense. Ashleigh can read a book in a day, while I can take months to complete a tome.

You can imagine my surprise, then, when after starting The Perks of Being a Wallflower yesterday, I finished it this morning.



Yes, it was only two hundred and something pages, nothing like the epic that is Game of Thrones, but even still, it's somewhat of a marvel that I should finish a book in barely a day. However, I haven't been all that well, so instead of going to university this morning (that would have been a mistake), I sat in my bathroom and read Perks.

This is my goodreads review:
It was difficult at first, because obviously it's written in letters as though by a 15 year old. And he's a 15 year old that seems both bright and horribly naive at the same time.
It made me think about myself at that age, and my own confusions at the world and how at times it really did just feel like the world was crashing down around me. I really liked this book, both for it's simplicity and for it complex nature. It deals with issues of adolescence - sex, drugs, smoking, drinking - without making them a scene. They're not huge, they just are.
I think a lot of people could relate to Charlie, in some way. I know I find myself getting lost in thought. The idea that old photographs were at one time not old, that memories weren't memories, that everyone at some time will grow old and become their parents or grandparents. 
It was a quick read, which is just what I wanted, and I'm not very well right now, but I really enjoyed this book.


So this is somewhat early, so I'm going to be choosing another book to read for the rest of this month. I'm not sure what it'll be yet, I'll have to have a look at my shelf.
If anyone else has read Perks, what did you think about it? I've seen the film, and I think it was really great, different, obviously, but not in a bad way :)

4 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you liked it. I definitely agree with a lot of people being able to relate to Charlie, I think it's one of those things where if you have the outside looking in, and then not being able to do things in the way others think you should, that social awkwardness that comes with not entirely understanding things about the world. When I first read it, I genuinely couldn't put into words how much the book meant to me. Also since it's written in letters I think that it makes it feel more personal.

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    1. Definitely. I loved the letter style, simply because it's different.
      Not sure what I'm going to read next, but I'm sure I'll find something haha.

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  2. Yay! I'm so glad you liked it. It's been a few years since I read it, but I adored it. :) I remember it being a very quick read; I think I finished it in an evening.

    I haven't seen the film yet. I worry about certain accents distracting me by not sounding American enough, lol.

    Hope you feel better soon. xx

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    1. Emma Watson's accent isn't too distracting, and I get all funny about Actors playing English/American when they're the opposite.
      But the thing is, she's so obviously English, I mean she's Hermione lol, so yeah. But I like it :) I think she made a good Sam after reading the book, anyway.
      You should watch it :D
      that should be a challenge one time - read a book that is also a film/tv program

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