What Am I Reading – Chapter Ten

Hello Everybody!

I’ve finished the two books from the last chapter, so it’s fitting to read two more. They’re pretty eclectic.

One of them is…

The Lesser Blessed by Richard Van Camp is a coming of age story of what it is to be a young Native man growing up in Canada. Larry Sole is a Dogrib Indian growing up in a small town in the Northwest Territories. At age 16, he loves Iron Maiden and Juliet Hope – the high school “tramp.” When Johnny Beck – a Metis – moves to town, Larry is pretty much ready for anything, especially confronting his memories and his future.

While I’m almost done reading it, I have enjoyed it. Larry is like any other teenage boy right down to his thoughts about doggy style. At the same time, he is fleshed out as a character. He can be brave, but he can also be vulnerable. In addition, he has a traumatic past that involves his abusive father and an accident that killed many of his cousins. How he deals with them is very much in line with his self-deprecating and bottled up behavior.

Johnny is a very charismatic character, as in one who’s so unique that he draws in outcasts like Larry. He’s one of those troublemakers that wouldn’t be one if it weren’t for the environment that he was raised in. He even changed the seating arrangements in one of his classes, so he and other students could focus more despite the ire of their teacher.

I wish Juliet was little more developed. I appreciated the moments, in which she isn’t talking about past relationships, the male characters, or her body.

The copy I’m reading is in the 20th Anniversary special edition. This consists of an introduction from the author himself about the novel’s legacy as well as two short stories “Where Are You Tonight?” and “How I Saved Christmas.” The first short story shows readers what the main characters are doing in one night, and it displays some unexpected character development, especially Johnny. I have not read the second one, but I hope to soon.

Now, let’s move onto the second and final book of this latest installment…

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars: Making a Legend by Simon Van Booy and Harvey Briggs is exactly what it is: a book about how these famously luxurious British automobiles are made.

I started reading it yesterday, and I noticed that it really wants readers to see how bespoke these cars are. These mainly come through the photographs that are peppered throughout the book, and I’m not mad. They’re absolutely stunning! The book also wants readers to know that these motor cars are still being made by human hands (as much as possible) with how many times they mention craftsman (meaning both men and women), but that’s the point. The book is endorsed by the Rolls-Royce automobile company. I can’t wait to read it more!

We now have come to the end of the tenth chapter of “What Am I Reading?”

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