Books update.

Still reading quite a bit, although my pace has understandably slowed after my week-long love affair with Twilight.  Here are some thoughts on the other things I've been reading:

A recently published collection of previously unpublished short works by the author, this was my first big foray into the world of Kurt Vonnegut, and I at least liked it enough to want to check more out.  Many of the stories--especially the first half, but really all of the book--draw on Vonnegut's experience as a prisoner of war in WWII and his horror at the destruction of Dresden.  I especially enjoyed the second half of the book; I think I remember especially digging "The Commandant's Desk."
I snatched this as soon as I saw it at the library--I had wanted to read it right after I finished Atonement, but it was checked out and I completely forgot about it.  It was much shorter than I expected (especially after Atonement), but still an interesting read about the rather awkward union between two young people in the 60s.  My big complaint with this was I guess pacing?  I'm not sure if that's a good word to describe it, but the bulk of the book moves slowly, full of lengthy flashbacks, before suddenly and I think without good reason hurtling forward at an alarming rate.  That was a little disorienting, but I still thought it was worth reading and would recommend it.
Ah, if only this were the edition I chose to buy... After seeing the trailer for the upcoming movie, I was so looking forward to it that I decided to order a copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tales of the Jazz Age, which contained the short story of the same name.  Might I warn you:  if, on Amazon, you see a copy of this book where the cover picture is a flugelhorn on top of a piano, DO NOT BUY IT.  Six pages into the story, I realized that there was no editor, no publisher I'd ever heard of, and it appeared that a 10-year-old had been commissioned to type the work but not proofread it--typos and strange errors galore.  I returned it to Amazon because it annoyed me too much to read it and found the story in an anthology at the library... and loved it!  The story actually took me through a strange series of emotions; it's comical and downright silly to begin with, but soon I found myself really attached to poor Benjamin and sad for his fate.  I most definitely recommend you read this.  I cannot wait for the movie, and I'll be interested to see how they handle it set in a different time period and with a change to the inevitable love story.
Another book I snatched up upon seeing it at the library, as the summary reminded me intensely of The Giver, one of my all-time favorite books by the same author.  I was almost as engrossed in this story as I was in The Giver (and was surprised to see a familiar face in the book...).  Frankly, I think a lot of adults could do with learning some of the messages contained in this book; I wish I'd brought it home so I could quote one passage in particular that struck me, but oh well.  Unfortunately, the book became unexpectedly rushed at the end and definitely left me with a feeling of, "Whoa, really?  ...It's over?"  Apparently this was probably the point, but what can I say, I like my structure.  I discovered that I probably should've read another book, Gathering Blue, before this one, so if you're interested I definitely suggest going "in order," though they're not exactly a trilogy:  The Giver, Gathering Blue, then Messenger.

I got surprisingly little accomplished in the world of reading, but I blame Stephenie Meyer.  ...In a good way.