The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

So bad. So long. So boring. The only thing that got me through it was the act of skimming the last 300 pages. How could so many people love this book? Are they the same that loved Titanic and Avatar? Who are you people?

Elegy for April

John Banville writing as Benjamin Black in a thrill-less whodunit. Read 160 pages and finally gave up. Way too much thinking about nothing. Super boring...

Satori by Don Winslow

During my two week illness I read Don Winslow's newest, Satori. I'm a sucker for that fantasy of lone super smart, super skilled ninja warrior and did enjoy this summer treat. I liked the writing style of Savages better yet the comparison of the two shows the skills of the writer in presenting different characters in a language fitting their head.

Jo Nesbo The Snowman

What is up with the Norwegian/Danish/Swedish/whatever skill at writing all these gory, scary, super complicated detective stories? Loved it.

Sense of an Ending

Julian Barne's Man Booker winner is the book club selection for the month. I will preface my comments by saying I was quite ill when I read it with a sinus infection and probably high on a combination of self-medication and Amoxicilan--good times. Didn't love the book. I loved some of the symbols of the bridges and I think I recall windows or some kind of reflections (although that may be the disease talking). Didn't love the characters; had a hard time finding any type of empathy for their actions. It is a quirk of mine that I don't have a lot of patience for heterosexual relationships that struggle because of the difference in the sexes and blah blah blah. But ultimately what pointed my thumb down was the odd and completely unnecessary denouement. I don't need a book explained to me in the final chapter and if I do, the author has done a poor job of presenting the story.