A Reader’s Guide to Reading “S.” by J.J. Abrams & Doug Dorst

S. by J.J. Abrams & Doug Dorst is one of the most underrated books ever. I have seen this in bookTube when it first came out but I have never seen a lot of book reviews, it’s mostly book hauls. But even so, I was intrigued because of the unique format of the book. There are handwriting from two individuals who exchanged notes on the margins of the book with inserts here and there that added the experience to the story.

Furthermore, this is the book that you need to read from cover to cover literally. You need to read the Foreword of the translator and even the footnotes. If you are the type to skip both foreword and footnotes, this is not that book. You must read EVERYTHING.

The book looks like an old library book. Complete with the Book For Loan on the front and the list of the people who borrowed the book. Even the spine of the book has a sticker from the library.

Let’s ignore the different lighting of each photo.

However, no matter how beautiful this book is, it might be overwhelming when you don’t know how to read this book properly. Plus, there are problems that readers might encounter like the misplaced inserts or where to start when reading this book. So this post is all about helping out those who have this and don’t know where to begin because I am telling you, if you read this the wrong way you might find this book more trouble than it’s worth.

S. by J.J. Abrams & Doug Dorst

RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

Published: October 29, 2013

Publisher: Mulholland Books

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 456

 

 

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“… we create stories to help us shape a chaotic world, to navigate inequities of power, to accept our lack of control over nature, over others, over ourselves.”

SYNOPSIS:

One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire…

A young woman picks up a book left behind by a stranger. Inside it are his margin notes, which reveal a reader entranced by the story and by its mysterious author. She responds with notes of her own, leaving the book for the stranger, and so begins an unlikely conversation that plunges them both into the unknown.

The Book: Ship of Theseus, the final novel by a prolific but enigmatic writer named V. M. Straka, in which a man with no past is shanghaied onto a strange ship with a monstrous crew and launched on a disorienting and perilous journey.

The Writer: Straka, the incendiary and secretive subject of one of the world’s greatest mysteries, a revolutionary about whom the world knows nothing apart from the words he wrote and the rumors that swirl around him.

The Readers: Jennifer and Eric, a college senior and a disgraced grad student, both facing crucial decisions about who they are, who they might become, and how much they’re willing to trust another person with their passions, hurts, and fears.

 

 

Recent Reads (Apr. 06-12, 2020)

Happy Easter everyone! I am not yet ready for Monday after my long weekend but back to reality.

I have been staying away from social media lately; blogging and Goodreads are my only exception. It is refreshing because I haven’t seen a lot of negative things lately. Plus I’ve been reading, though what I am reading is taking too much of my time but I am not complaining, I am having the best time ever.

I don’t think I read a lot this week but at least I am reading. So without further ado, let’s talk about books!