March readings: Carrie Fischer and Orson Scott Card

I'm starting to get my love for reading back! Stupid college ruined it... but after making it one of my 2011 Goals to read 2 books a month, I've slowly but surely learned to love what I once held incredibly dear to my heart.

"I feel I'm very sane about how crazy I am."
— Carrie Fisher (Wishful Drinking)

I've gotten on an autobiography kick lately... starting with Russell Brand, then Chelsea Handler, Johnny Cash, and now, Carrie Fischer... in her book Wishful Drinking.

I learned so much about Carrie Fischer in just the introduction (like, that she's the daughter of Debbie Reynolds of Singing in the Rain... and that she suffered from severe depression, resulting in the use of Electroshock therapy as a treatment, and that Electroshock therapy is a legitimate, normal way to treat depression...) I seriously learned all that from the intro.

So image what I learned from the book itself!

I will start by saying: the book went nowhere. As I turned the last page I thought to myself, "That's it?" Which either means (a) I couldn't get enough and wanted to read more or (b) the ending wasn't an ending at all. I'll let you decide which is which, or if the answer's either one or the other (I think it's both).

I will continue by saying: I loved the beginning and middle. It was hilarious, it was honest, it was informative, it opened up a whole world of "celebrity" that I had never even thought of. Carrie's a great writer... but she did forever ruin my thoughts on Harrison Ford and the rest of Hollywood for that matter... (read the book, you'll get it.)

I'm going to agree with this review and give the book a B+.... it was hilarious to read, but it wasn't the best. I didn't walk away wanting to read it again (which is how I judge a good book)... and I haven't gone around talking about too much. But it's worth the little effort it takes to read, just for the laughs.

"I quote fictional characters, because I'm a fictional character myself!"  — Carrie Fisher (Wishful Drinking)

So moving on to book number 2....

Sometimes lies are more
dependable than the truth.

I decided to do a fiction novel this time. I needed a break from "reality" and headed in the complete opposite direction when I chose to re-read Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.

I read this book in high school at C's insistence, and I read it again this time at C's insistence. So I pulled out his old copy, and realized the whole thing had fallen into 3 neat little pieces. I told him we should get a new copy, but he proceeded to tell me the heart-felt story of how that particular copy had made it into his possession, and it was so good I had to share it with you before I moved on with the review...

C spent a lot of time at Book People in Austin, TX, growing up while his parents shopped at Whole Foods next door. He would just sit in the Sci-Fi section looking and flipping through books... and one day his mom surprised him with a copy of Ender's Game. It was his first Sci-Fi novel to read at the young age of (about) 8, and it started him down a path of loving Sci-Fi, loving philosophy, and learning to think for himself. This book is almost what an old journal is to me. It was the beginning of his intellectual pursuits, if you will. Therefore I pledge in front of everyone to never throw away that copy of the book, no matter how tattered it gets...

Ok... back to my review.... this is one of the best pieces of fiction writing out there. In my humble opinion. Sure, you can brush it off as a kid's novel, or stick your nose up at Sci-Fi. But if you do that you're missing out on something incredible. The story is heartbreaking from the beginning to the very end, but it moves you through by offering just little glimmers of hope here and there.

I really think this should be on required reading lists for middle schools. It engages the imagination in a magical way, and brings simple, but good, points up to discuss. I'm assuming most of you have read it -- and if you haven't, you need to. Unlike this review, I'm giving the book an A+ rating.

"From now on the enemy is more clever than you. From now on the enemy is stronger than you. From now on you are always about to lose." - Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game