Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

I absolutely loved She's Come Undone and I Know This Much is True, so I was really excited when I saw Wally Lamb had a new books out. Big let down. This has to be one of the most depressing books I have ever read. I understand it is not about a cheery subject, the Columbine shootings, but I just did not like it at all. I didn't care about the characters and it jumped around so much I kept getting distracted. Very disappointing, 2 stars out of 5

Rainbow 6 by Tom Clancy

So I went to my friends house a few weeks ago and asked if she had any books I could borrow. First let me tell you this story quick. We went to a flea market about a year ago, great place to get cheap books by the way, and the whole time we were there she just kept telling me over and over and over again how I should really read Tom Clancy, how she couldn't believe I had never read Tom Clancy and so on. I got so aggravated I lost her on purpose just so I wouldn' t have to listen to it. My brother was with us and it has been a joke in my family ever since. I will come home from the bookstore, they will ask if I bought any Clancy, ha ha. So what does she pull out for me to read? Tom freaking Clancy!!! I was like, you know what just shut up and give it to me. So I gave it a try. Did not like it at all. Way too much going on, way too many characters. It was like watching an episode of 24, I am paying attention but I still have no idea what the hell is going on. Needless to say, she is getting Mr Clancy back, and I never want to hear about it again.

Airframe by Michael Crichton

Typical mystery/futuristic kind of book. I really do not enjoy reading this genre anymore but a friend loaned it to me so I did. 3 stars out of 5

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

This may be one of the best books I have ever read. A modern retelling of the book of Genesis, it completely consumed me about 75 pages in and I read it in just a few days. I felt a little let down by the ending, but great story and will definitely be rereading it. 5 stars out of 5

Monday, November 10, 2008

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

This is one I never had to read while I was in school. I borrowed it from a friend over the weekend because I had always heard such great things about it. Now I wonder if the people I heard rave about it were drunk. Or maybe I am just not intellectual enough to understand it. I read it in one day, but I still don't know what the whole point was. I can understand why it was banned and caused such a hoopla at the time it came out, but it was kind of pointless in my opinion. 2 stars out of 5

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

This is another one I avoided for a long time because of all the hype I was sure I would not like it. I loved it. Story of a reclusive writer who decides on her deathbed to finally tell the story of her life to a biographer. Very Gothic story, mystery, family angst. Great story, fast moving, one of those you slow down while reading because you don't want it to end. 5 stars out of 5

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

I know this got the Oprah pick, and everyone is raving about it but it just plain depressed me. I stopped reading it for a few weeks it was so depressing. Story of a man who is born mute, the dogs that his family breeds, and the challenges he faces. Real downer, 2 stars out of 5