Taylor P.

Add friend

Taylor’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (6)
currently-reading‎ (5)

read‎ (9)
did-not-finish‎ (0)

sophomore-year-reading-challege‎ (10)
abandoned‎ (1)

Stats | More…

Taylor is Currently Reading

Taylor P. is currently reading

Walden or, Life in the Woods

by Henry David Thoreau

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

progress:

(page 5 of 352)
— Jun 11, 2018 04:51AM

Jun 05, 2018 03:50AM

Taylor P. is currently reading

Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

May 22, 2018 04:48AM

Taylor P. is currently reading

The Catcher in the Rye

by J.D. Salinger

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Taylor P. said: " With the school year coming to a close, and the fact that I will be entering a more challenging level of ELA next year, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to read a classic, something that I usually don't turn to as my first pick. I didn't want t With the school year coming to a close, and the fact that I will be entering a more challenging level of ELA next year, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to read a classic, something that I usually don't turn to as my first pick. I didn't want to pick something so hard to read so that it would make me hate classics altogether, so The Catcher in the Rye seemed to be a perfect choice.

The Catcher in the Rye is written from a troubled young mans perspective, named Holden Caulfield. From a very early stage in the book, it is clear that Caulfield is not doing his best mentally. Christmas break is approaching, and he is changing high schools again. Afraid to tell his parents he flunked out of yet another school, Holden decides to give himself a little vacation, and wonders around New York City. What is interesting to remember however, is that Holden's reason for flunking is not due to a lack of intelligence, it is mainly because of his lack of motivation stemmed from an extremely cynical look on the world. Caulfield only seems to truly have affection for his sister Phoebe, and his deceased brother Allie. Out of the whole book, the passing of Allie seems to be the only cause for Holden's distress besides the questionable fact that he has one or more mental disorders. Holden's constant flip flopping between hating someone and then admiring them, or wanting to do something and then backing away at the last minute can be seen as just an indecisive and impulsive teen age boy, or readers could think that there is something more seriously wrong. No matter what the case may be, readers get to know Holden inside-out as we follow him on his journey around the big city.

Something that I thought worked really well was how the book was written. Set in the 1950s, I was worried that the book would be hard to understand because of outdated diction, however I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case. Also, the book is written in a way that shows Caulfield's personality better than any action he does throughout the book. His constant repetition of phrases and referring to people as all sorts of different derogatory names gives us insight on his true self. There are also times in the book that people may find Caulfield endearing, because he recognizes the fact that he is out of his mind. Some could see it as a cry for help and start to feel Caulfield's pain, resulting in people skimming over Holden's bad qualities and adoring him rather than being spectacle. And it is no question if this was done on purpose. The whole book is left up to readers own interpretation, which is what makes it interesting enough to be a book that stood the test of time.

Something that may not have worked as well was a lack of action. I kept expecting something big to happen, but it really never happened. Going into the book, I feel like you need to expect this so you don't get disappointed. If you don't expect anything big to happen and focus on the characters and their interactions, you will enjoy the book much more. Overall, The Catcher in the Rye is a great book, so long as you aren't expecting an action packed novel. ...more "

progress:

(page 277 of 277)
— May 22, 2018 04:48AM

Jun 05, 2018 04:41AM · see review

See all 5 books that Taylor is reading…