#34 & #17: Strife and Striving

Maya Angelou is one of those lyrical combination of words that's just fun to say. Her autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" captures a shifting individual perspective with immediacy and candour. The narrative is much stronger in the first half of the book, gradually withdrawing as the story progresses. This gradual retreat and shift in style robs the second half of the book of the same emotional impact that made the first half so engaging. Still, Angelou remains a compelling storyteller and her prose is both unique and easy to follow.

#17, Orson Scott Card's "An Open Book" has its moments, a few beautiful and bleeding moments in the middle of the book that are worth wading through the rest of the content for. His section of apocalyptic poetry also makes for juicy reading though I found his conclusions a little too neatly wrapped up. While reading cover-to-cover in this case provided much valuable context, at the same time it diluted the experience of the great moments in this work. I imagine that my reaction is partly a lack of empathy/interest in the subject matter as well, which is entirely my own concern and no fault of his.