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High Fidelity: Chapters 7-13

These chapters made me think Rob is a very confused person. He never knows what he wants when it comes to women…especially Laura. When him and Laura are together, it seems like he doesn’t want to be. But then after they break up, he can’t stop obsessing over her. Mainly what makes me think this is the whole cheating situation. Rob cheated on Laura and didn’t think it was a big deal. Then later on in the book Laura cheats on him and he flips out. After they’re split up, Rob is constantly thinking about Laura and is always trying to call her to talk about her new relationship with Ian. I don’t even think he cares about his and Laura’s relationship anymore. It seems like he only wants confirmation that he was a better lover then Ian. He’s way to insecure with himself. I wouldn’t have a problem with him being upset over their relationship ending if he actually cared about her before they broke up.
Rob’s relationship with Marie confused me as well. I think he’s ridiculous about it all. He talks about how the best parts of a one-night stand are before they start and after they have ended. Marie invites Rob to her place and he is just plain awkward the whole night. It seemed like he wasn’t quite ready to be alone with her even though he kept saying that he doesn’t care about Laura anymore. I think he needs to learn what he wants and then try again with Marie. She seems like a really cool girl in the book and it kind of bothers me that he is that uncomfortable around her. Overall I feel bad for Marie because he is so weird about everything. Hopefully as the book goes on he’ll learn to boost his self-esteem a bit more.

High Fidelity: Chapters 1-6

In the opening chapters of the book we’re introduced to Rob. I have mixed feelings about Rob. He seems pretty down-to-earth, which makes me like him but then other times he seems really obsessive, which makes me steer away from him. He appears to me like a real guy that has a bit of trouble with relationships. I would have legitimate sympathy for his situation if he wasn’t so weird about it. It’s one thing to be sad about losing a girl or to think about stuff that’s happening in your life. It’s another thing entirely to make neurotic lists about everything in your life. Don’t get me wrong…I like the idea of the lists. The lists are really cool in the book but if you think about an actual person making them…that would be kind of strange. I like the book so far and I’m hoping the lists will make me learn more about Rob.

How To Read

In Nick Hornby’s article he basically says that if you don’t want to read something…you shouldn’t have to. I wish I could say I agree with him but I can’t. The article is definitely aimed towards people who’re reading for fun. When you’re in school, you usually have to read what you’re assigned and you don’t have much choice in the matter. There have been times in school where I really wish I could’ve used this philosophy. I’ve had my random times where I wanted to read a book for fun and I think I used Hornby’s thinking.
One book that had a bit of an impact on me that I read for fun was ‘Kurt Cobain’s Journals.’ I know it’s not a normal book and I know not many people would find it intellectual but I thought it was really interesting. I see my sisters and my mum when they read and I see how emotional the books can make them. That’s what the journals did for me…it made me feel happy, sad, sympathetic, etc. That’s what reading is supposed to be about, right? It grabbed my attention and made me want to keep reading.
On the other hand I can only think of one situation in particular where I started reading for fun and didn’t finish. The third Harry Potter book is the one that comes to mind. I read the first four Harry Potter books but I simply got bored towards the end of the third one and after the fourth one I had no desire to read them. My mum gave me a hard time about stopping reading them but I honestly wasn’t interested anymore. I wish I had known about this article back then so I could’ve had her read it.

Reading

When I sit down to start reading a book, I usually get really bored. I have to force myself just to finish whatever I have to read. I wish I wasn’t like this but I am. There have been a few times where I read a book and I actually wanted to keep going but that doesn’t happen too often. I’d much rather watch a movie or read a magazine then a novel. When you watch a movie, you get the visual and the entertainment aspect of it. When you read a magazine, they have a bunch of different articles and you can choose which ones you want to read. I wish I would read more but I just can’t get into it. This year I’m going to try to read an extra book or two throughout the year for myself. I actually was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the list for the books we’re reading this year. They don’t seem like old, out-dated books that you have to make yourself read. They appear to be more modern and probably a more fun read. There were a few books last year that I liked and I’m hoping this year will be the same.