just experimenting here

Okay, so even during the best of times, I'm exceedingly slow at finishing books. Yes, because I read so slowly...yes, because I have so many books going at once...yes, because school is back to kicking my butt and reading time is short. But whatever the reasons, the results are the same...I just don't get books finished to talk about at nearly the rate as most of you. And the fact is I've never been comfortable calling what I do end up writing "book reviews" anyway. Hence, my use of the term "book babble."

And as I was sitting reading The Knife of Letting Go yesterday, I got sort of sad. Not because of the book, but because I wanted to talk about it with someone! And I got to thinking that by the time I finished the book, all these powerful feelings I was having now might have changed (after all, I have no idea what the rest of the book will bring, right?) And by the time I actually got the book finished (the slow at finishing books thing here), I might not have that great a recollection of my feelings throughout. So then my little brain said, "Well, who said you have to wait until you finish a book to talk about it?"

This thought has danced through my head for the past day, and I finally decided that I was just going to go with it. So I've decided to just experiment a bit. I'm just going to babble a bit about the book(s) I happened to read the previous day. That is if there's anything I feel like babbling about. I fully realize that this might not make for satisfying posts...like I said, I'm just experimenting. And please, please, please...even those of you who are my dearest of friends...please do not make yourself read my babbling if this turns out to be a stupid idea, okay? I mean it--promise me!

In the pages yesterday...

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.

Okay, so I finished Part I. Which really isn't that big of a chunk (64 pages out of 479). But wow! Seriously. This book is so freakin' intense! I'm not sure if I've ever had such a visceral reaction to a book right from the start.

Part of it is the whole concept of Noise. And it's explained right at the start of the book, so I don't think I'm giving anything away by talking about it. See, in Prentisstown, everyone can hear everyone else. Not just their voices, but their thoughts. Their truths, their lies, their memories, their fantasies...all unfiltered. Never ending. This just makes me squirm. Literally. Inside and out. Honestly, it's almost too much to bear. I suspect there's a good chance if I lived in a place like that, I'd opt for suicide. And I don't say that lightly. Noise drives me crazy. I cannot stand to be in crowds...I get nauseated...both because of the physical closeness of so many people and because of the noise. I'm not one of those people who has to have the TV, or even music, on in the background. If I'm listening to music, I want to listen to it. I want sound to have meaning. Otherwise, I prefer silence. So this whole concept, and the way Ness was able to convey it, just put me on edge. And on edge is exactly where Patrick Ness wants the reader...or so I'm guessing.

But that wasn't all. There's an intensity to this book that I don't know quite how to put into words. I wasn't comfortable as I was reading...I was all keyed up. But as bad as I may be making it sound, I was enjoying the experience. Well, at least after the first couple pages when I got used to the writing style. I wasn't really bothered by the first person. And it was easy enough to get used to the misspellings and Todd's unique voice. Though, being petty here, I will admit that the double negatives bugged me. Anyway, back to the enjoying. It was so incredibly compelling. And towards the end of Part I, it was certainly more than a little exciting. Suspenseful.

Oh yeah, and then there's this little surprise that caught me totally off guard. :D

I have no idea where this book is going, but I sure am eager to find out.