Life of Pi

While I've learned a ton in grad school, sadly, I've also developed something of an aversion to reading. I avoid course readings as, well, as a matter of course, unless some sort of assignment forces me to do them. I feel so guilty (really! ...kind of) about not having done the reading that I won't allow myself to read anything that isn't what's been assigned. Except for the WSJ and friends' blogs and stuff while I'm in class (have apparently developed an aversion to listening to people talk, too...God knows how I've managed to learn anything here). Anyway, I used to be a big reader and it was something I really enjoyed, and I'd like to again during the summer while I have the time. But somehow, none of the books I began could hold my interest--the last book I actually read cover to cover was the Da Vinci Code, and that was partly out of peer pressure (everyone's read that book...except Chris. Freak.) So I've been looking for a book to help me get back in the groove, so to speak. A story that has me staying up till 4 am just to finish it. Being able to read it for hours at a time without getting distracted by, say, the South Park marathon (ok, nothing could keep me from watching the South Park marathon, I love that show).

I picked up Life of Pi at the bookstore because I thought I'd heard some friends talking about it, and the plot sounded interesting: a boy stuck on a lifeboat with a tiger. It was a brilliantly-told story (one of those books where everything comes together just right), and while it wasn't, as some of the characters say, a story to make you believe in God, it was a story to make you believe in storytelling. Not just because it's an enjoyable read, but because you get two versions of it--one with animals and one without--and have to choose. And there's no question as to which one would prefer: one is triumphant and the other horrible, and the mix between the two is heartbreaking. The animal story had its share of horrors, but it is easier to deal with such behavior from animals than it is from humans; suspension of disbelief is a marvelous thing.

Bottom line: go read this book.