When I joined Twitter, I wasn’t really sure what to tweet. Facebook already allowed me to air the minutiae of my day-to-day existence, and I felt that nothing about my life would fit into 140 characters anyway. So, I set myself a project ““ to tweet my reading list.
Books I was reading, books I had read previously and wanted to recommend, and books that I just felt deserved to be summarized in 140 characters. It turns out that, astonishingly enough, 140 characters is not actually that many characters. My goal, therefore, became to attempt to impart something of the essence of the book, as compared to a straight summary or review. I’ve included some of my efforts before, and I invite our readers to try their hands at a few in the comments! It’s a challenge, but it’s fun.
Ulysses – Bloom poops, walks round Dublin, meets people new and old, and goes home to his adultering wife. Yes.
The Lord of the Rings – Friendship overcomes all obstacles, but it turns out armies and volcanoes are also occasionally useful.
Cryptonomicon – WWII soldier makes unbreakable code/hides unfindable treasure. Fifty years later, code broken/treasure found.
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe ““ If you haven’t worked out before the end that Aslan is Jesus then you weren’t paying attention.
He’s Just Not That Into You – If he doesn’t act like he is. And TBH it’s probably you, not him. Cost for advice, $21.95.
The Life of Pi – A boy and a Bengal tiger in a boat in the middle of the Pacific. What’s the worst that could happen? Oh”¦ that.
HHGTTG – The Infinite Implotability Device dangles and snatches our heroes from myriad unlikely debacles. Plus, Marvin! [Okay, I cheated here, but “Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” would have filled over 20% of my character allowance!]
Guns, Germs and Steel ““ Once your peaceful village develops agriculture, you’re basically already at nuclear war with your neighbors.
Canterbury Tales ““ Forsooth, Lindsay Lohan can faire wel spell; Allas six centuryes displaced she dwelle.
Wuthering Heights – With all the hateful characters, somehow you end up feeling sorry for the one who hangs the puppy.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being ““ Does life only happen once, with no ultimate meaning? In either case, wash your hair.
A Christmas Carol ““ For someone as shrewd as Scrooge, not telling his past self about some choice stock options was a missed chance.
3 replies on “My Reading List, as Tweeted”
Hahaha the Guns, Germs, and Steel one totally nails it.
I recently read Blindness which could be tweeted as:
In pandemic of sudden blindness, people quickly become animals. Woman with sight is messiah. Oh wait, we can all see again? Awkward.
That’s so cool! Like the twitter version of movies in five seconds. Here’s mine:
Harry Potter and the…: Harry, stop whining. Draco, why are you so hot?
All the Pretty Horses: And the trees, and the grass, and the horses.
(not really what it was about, but I was really bored with the book the first time I read it, and felt that the ENTIRE THING was description.
Heh, and now I don’t have to read it! Perfect.