Evil Under the Sun

Evil Under the Sun, by Agatha Christie, 1940 (202 pages)

It's been a long time since I've read a mystery, and I definitely enjoyed this one. If you haven't read any Agatha Christie novels, this is a good one to start with. My dad is a huge Christie fan, and I can see why. Throughout the book, I was trying to figure out who the murderer was. I did catch a detail/clue that was right, but I followed it the wrong direction. When the crime was solved, I was definitely surprised. One thing that I enjoyed about this book is that the reader is given all of the clues that the detective is given, so you really can try to figure it out while you're reading.

The main reason I picked this book up was for the LOST books challenge. This is one of the books that Sawyer is seen reading, during Season 3, episode 14 ("Expose'"). The title itself is something that needs to be kept in mind while watching LOST, as well. The characters in the book mention a few times that "there is evil everywhere under the sun." Including the island. :)

I also wanted to point out that I have technically finished my LOST Books Challenge. Since January, I have read 5 books that have been mentioned and/or used on the show: The Stand by Stephen King, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, and Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie. I do have plans, however, to read at least a few more of the books used on the show. When I do read them, I'll be sure to note how I think they may tie in to LOST.

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Total number of books read in 2009: 19

Total number of pages read in 2009: 7227

On the Road

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac, 1957 (307 pages)

I decided to read this book for two reasons. Number one, it's a book that's referenced on LOST, so I used it as one of my books for the LOST Books Challenge. But number two, I know that it's widely considered to be an incredibly influential book in American literature. I've always been somewhat embarrassed by the fact that I'm an English teacher who had never read anything by Jack Kerouac.

I did not like this book. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've given a book only one star on Goodreads. Where was the plot?! Where was the conflict?! Where was there a likeable character?

I knew before reading it that it was basically Kerouac's story of his travels across the country (hence the title). But I thought it would be a story of adventure and soul searching while going across the country (and maybe back). No. He goes from NYC to San Fran. Then back. Then back to San Fran. Then NYC. Then SF. Then NYC. You see a pattern developing? Sure, he took different routes, so he also made several stops in Denver (can you blame him?), and once he went through New Orleans. But everywhere he went, the story was the same. Women, alcohol, drugs, hitchhiking. His friends were even more crazy and ridiculous than the narrator.

That's not much of a plot. I don't care if he did describe the beautiful landscapes of America along the way, or the feeling of being in a jazz club. I think there may have been some conflict going on with the characters as far as the "itch" to get out and drive...but if that was supposed to be the conflict, it never did get resolved (in my opinion).

I know that there are plenty of people who consider this to be an amazingly brilliant piece of writing, and there are plenty of people who consider this to be a masterpiece of literature. I don't get it.

To figure out how this book relates to LOST, I'll admit that I had to go look this one up on Lostpedia. I had forgotten that when Ben leaves the island and ends up in Tunisia, he uses the name Dean Moriarity when he checks in to his hotel. That actually makes sense. In the book, Dean is a guy who constantly lies to people in order to make things better or easier for himself. He hurts the people he supposedly loves and should probably be attempting to take care of (like his wives and children). He never gives a moment's thought to how his actions will affect those around him. Yep...Dean and Ben have a lot in common.

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Total number of books read in 2009: 18

Total number of pages read in 2009: 7025

Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, 1969. (205 pgs.)

This is the third book I've read for the LOST Books Challenge. It's one of those books that I've heard people mention for years, but I'd never read it. In fact, I really didn't know anything about it at all until I got it from the library. I knew it had something to do with the firebombing of Dresden during World War II, but knowing that Vonnegut is the author should have clued me in that it would be more Sci-Fi.

It is the story of Billy Pilgrim, who has "come unstuck in time." This is why the book finds its way onto the LOST Books Challenge list. Although it is a story about WWII, it is also largely a story about time travel. And aliens. Yeah...see, Billy was once kidnapped by a spaceship full of aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. Billy learns a lot from the Tralfamadorians, and I'm wondering if the writers of LOST learned a lot from them, too. These aliens can see in four dimensions, and they explain to Billy that: "when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past.... All moments, past, present, and future, always have existed, always will exist. The Tralfamadorians can look at all the different moments just the way we can look at a stretch of the Rocky Mountains, for instance. They can see how permanent all the moments are, and they can look at any moment that interests them. It is just an illusion we have here on Earth that one moment follows another one...and that once a moment is gone it is gone forever."

So if you're a fan of LOST, think of what this means for the show/story/characters. Many of the characters have obviously "come unstuck in time." This is how some of the characters can be in 1977 while others are in "the present." This also would explain what Farraday said...that nothing you do in the past can change the future. Those things in "the future" have already happened. That also means that no one who has died on the show is truly dead...those characters are still alive somewhere in the past.

I know...it makes my head spin. If you've gotten this far in the post and you're not a watcher of LOST...well, then I applaud you. And I tell you, you've got to start watching the show. Just don't try to jump in now...go back to Season One. :)

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Total number of books read in 2009: 16

Total number of pages read in 2009: 6329

A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle, 1962 (202 pp.)When I finished reading The Glass Castle yesterday, I realized that I've been reading a lot of heavy books lately. In fact, the last three I've read (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Book Thief, and The Glass Castle) all feature young girls who are struggling against poverty and their society in an effort grow, mature, and make meaning of their lives. So I decided to walk to the library and find a few books that would let my brain take a bit of a break.

A Wrinkle in Time is one of the books that I picked up. One reason is that it's one of the books that I decided to read for the LOST Books Challenge. I also have fond memories of the book from 7th grade, when our English teacher, Mrs. Wentzel, read it out loud to us.

Obviously, since I just started reading it last night, it's a fast read. It is considered a children's book (on a 5th grade reading level...and a Newberry Award winner, I might add), but it's beautiful. It's the story of three children who travel through space and time to find their father and fight against "the Black Thing." I'm surprised that I've never really heard this book referred to as a "Christian" book, and yet it does quote Scripture from time to time. It is the wisdom that the children are given from Mrs. Who to help them fight IT. In the end, this is a well-crafted scifi/fantasy book that shows the true power of love.

So what does it have to do with LOST? Well, for starters, "A Wrinkle in Time" is how time travel is explained to the children. When the characters "tesser," they create a wrinkle in time and space and are able to quickly get from one place and time to another. Considering all of the time travel that's been going on in LOST, it makes sense that the authors had this concept in mind when writing the show.

Also, take a look at this screen shot from Season 1, Episode 18. Sawyer is reading...you guessed it...A Wrinkle in Time. :)

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Total number of books read in 2009: 8

Total number of pages read in 2009: 3874

The Stand

I just finished reading The Stand, by Stephen King. I have to admit that I've always purposely avoided reading anything by Stephen King, simply because I freak myself out very easily. When I was reading The Lord of the Rings, if I was home alone, I just knew that the Ring Wraiths would be outside if I looked out my window. I figured Stephen King books would just push me right over the edge into crazy and/or paranoid. However...then I heard that the writers of LOST said that The Stand had a big influence on them when they were creating the show. After confirming with a few people that this book isn't super scary like some other Stephen King books, I decided to give it a try. It's also the first book I've completed for my LOST Books Challenge.I am really glad that I decided to read this book! I went into it knowing absolutely nothing about it. The story itself was very good. It starts with an accident at a Defense Department laboratory, where the U.S. government was creating a "superflu" that could potentially be used in germ warfare. However, the virus gets out of the lab, and about 99% of the world's population is killed within a matter of weeks. The survivors begin leaving their own towns and looking for others, and they soon discover that most of them are having different variations of the same dream. What starts as a story of surviving a flu epidemic and the aftermath caused by such a huge drop in population ends up becoming a story of the battle between good and evil.

After reading The Stand, I'm tempted to try some of his other books. I absolutely loved his writing style, which is full of literary allusions. I also enjoyed his attention to detail. This is probably because large portions of the book took place in parts of the country that I'm familiar with...such as Ohio and Colorado. Because I'm familiar with Boulder, Colorado, I could easily picture where many of the events in the book were happening. (And now I want to see if I can find Tom Cullen's house the next time I'm in Boulder!) At one point, King even mentioned a bumper sticker on the back of a truck that said "Get Your Ass Up the Pass"...which is actually the name of a Burro Race that takes place every year in Fairplay, Colorado.

If you haven't read The Stand, I highly recommend it! Don't let the length scare you; it's an entertaining and intriguing book. And for those of you who are fans of LOST, I can see how the writers were influenced by this book. It's an interesting thing to think about...what happens to people, society, civilization when all governmental structures are removed? Who wins...the "good guys" or the "bad guys"? What separates the "good" from the "bad"?

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When I review a book, I'm also going to use my blog as a place to keep track of the number of books I've read this year as well as the number of pages read in those books.

Total number of books read in 2009: 3

Total number of pages read in 2009: 2020

LOST Books Challenge

If you spend much time on book-related websites or blogs, you're probably aware of various reading challenges. I don't normally participate in these (at least, I don't make my participation known), simply because I prefer to let my book choices be determined by something other than what the challenge spreadsheet is telling me I should read next.

However, there are two things that I cannot deny. #1 - I enjoy reading. And #2 - I enjoy watching LOST. I've enjoyed LOST since its first season, and I've been literally counting down the days until a new episode finally airs tomorrow night!! (Hmmm...I wonder if it's too late to change our dinner plans for tomorrow and make something LOST themed instead...maybe something tropical, or maybe 15-year old Saltines.) So when I heard about the LOST Books Challenge, I decided to give it a go.

Here's the thing. If you've watched the show (and please tell me you've watched the show!), you've undoubtedly realized that books are used heavily. The titles come up periodically. Characters quote from them. Books themselves are displayed in many different episodes. And themes from books are certainly prevalent in the storyline of the show. The authors of LOST have said that every literary reference is intentional and purposeful.

So what exactly is the LOST Books Challenge? You simply need to choose at least 5 books that have been mentioned/used on the TV show. You then have until the end of the series in 2010 to read those books. You maybe asking, "How should I know what books have been used?!" Simple. You can check here, here, or here. :)

I've narrowed my choices down, but I haven't chosen just 5. Here's what I've come up with:

• The Stand by Stephen King (I've already started this one, actually.)
• On the Road by Jack Kerouac
• Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (I haven't read a good murder mystery in awhile, and my dad's a huge Agatha Christie fan...this one's for him!)

Obviously, that's just 4 books. The fifth book will come from one of the following titles (depending on my mood):

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Watership Down by Richard Adams
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (since I've been thinking about re-reading the series anyway)
• Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

If you're interested in joining us for this LOST Books Challenge, click here to be taken to our official blog and to receive the instructions!