You Shall Know Our Velocity!

I finished You Shall Know Our Velocity! today. This book may find its way into my top 5 books I've read, as long as I can use one pick for J.D. Salinger books, I was that impressed. Plus, it was a quick read. I started the book on Thursday, and finished the 350 pages in only a few days. Granted, I can read quickly (I'm nothing if not humble!), but the writing flowed well, and was just generally hard for me to put down. I've decided that I really enjoy Dave Eggers' style, and wish he had more novels published. I'm seriously thinking about subscribing to his magazine The Believer, after reading about it and knowing that Nick Hornby makes writing contributions.

This book was extremely funny at times, with laugh-out-loud moments, but it also had some darker, serious scenes. There was one section near the end when I almost felt like crying. (I also really enjoyed how Eggers tied in the book's title, but it comes near the end, so I won't spoil it for you.) The story follows the two main characters, Will and Hand, as they make plans to travel around the world in one week while giving away money to whomever they deem deserving. Will came into the money, but isn't comfortable having it, so he comes up with this scheme. It is told from his point of view, including conversations he has in his head with people who are on a different continent, his meandering thoughts, and his internal dialogue. It's kind of reminiscent of Jack Kerouac's On The Road, if Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty had $30,000 to blow through, and traveled the world instead of hitching across the country. But it has a similar feel, both in the story and narrator. I strongly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

I think the next book that I'll tackle will be The Infinite Book, by John D. Barrow. I'm kind of intrigued by it. Basically, this book is about the idea of infinity, different aspects of it, and how it fits into the universe. And since I'm basically a nerd, this sounds interesting. I'll keep you updated on how it goes!