the book bum

Snooze break at GovBall       I went to GovBall a few weeks ago!  It was my first music festival and I had a blast.  I saw so many amazing artists - Florence + the Machine, Kate Tempest, Marina and the Diamonds, Angus and Julia Stone, Drake, et cetera.  I could go on forever but I'm probably boring you all, so I'll just say that I've had music on the brain since GovBall, and this reading list is a result of that. 1.  Elenor and Park by Rainbow Rowell: This cute YA romance is made interesting because it dares to break several conventions of the YA romance genre.  For example, the girl is not drop-dead gorgeous.  Anyway, the couple, Elenor and Park (durr), connect through music - Park brings his Walkman on the school bus every morning, and they share earbuds on the ride to school. 2.  Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist  by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan: Another romance in which the characters are united by their love of musi...

Alex's drink of choice is milk spiked with drugs. Classy!      This book left me conflicted and disturbed, as all good books should.  It's set in a future world where teenage gangs terrorize the streets while the Government attempts to control and reform them.  The protagonist, who refers to himself as Your Humble Narrator, is a rat bastard named Alex who spends his free time looting and raping with his friends.  (Keep in mind that there are lots of graphic and violent scenes in this book.  Don't read it if this will upset you.)  At the tender of age of 15, he is a proud sadist and his society doesn't know what to do with him.  His story is a meandering answer to several tough questions: Is it better to choose to do bad or to be obliged to do good?  Can the price of goodness ever be too high?      The best part of this book is probably that it dares to deal with such controversial questions.  The next best part ...