What are you reading?

[Fancy]

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

Christopher Hitchens

[justkim]

For my birthday I got a fabulous gift card. I had it spent in one day.

Capote, a biography, by Gerald Clarke
In cold blood, by Truman Capote
Wild, by Cheryl Strayed

I love coming in here as it gives me more ideas for books to read. I have a whole list of books to choose from.
Happy reading everyone!

[The JD]

I couldn't even finish the new Augusten Burroughs book. Maybe I just didn't get it, but I think he's being serious and trying to offer real self-help advice.... except he comes of as soooo cynical and inept that it's like George Costanza from Seinfeld has taken possession of Dr. Wayne Dyer. Burroughs has his catty queen moments, which is maybe what he was going for, but he takes himself far too seriously and it ends up coming off as preachy and irritating. Have you ever been subjected to the ramblings of a drunk at 2 AM, and you're stone cold sober? You know how they're so certain and declarative, and sure that every word they say is so profound and meaningful... but the logic is so circular and redundant, and really, they're just annoying as hell? Yeah, that's this book.

Instead of finishing the Augusten Burroughs book (even the title is too annoying to retype here), I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Good quick read, lots of interesting depression-era historical facts, but it doesn't really live up to the hype. Maybe that's unfair, though- without the expectations that came from all the hype, I'd have no complaints.

Last night I downloaded Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. I haven't started it yet- I'm still laughing at myself for even buying it. But dammit, the movie trailer actually looks good!!

[justkim]

I saw the trailers too. I will look into the book after you give your review. No pressure! lol...

Originally Posted by The JD

I couldn't even finish the new Augusten Burroughs book. Maybe I just didn't get it, but I think he's being serious and trying to offer real self-help advice.... except he comes of as soooo cynical and inept that it's like George Costanza from Seinfeld has taken possession of Dr. Wayne Dyer. Burroughs has his catty queen moments, which is maybe what he was going for, but he takes himself far too seriously and it ends up coming off as preachy and irritating. Have you ever been subjected to the ramblings of a drunk at 2 AM, and you're stone cold sober? You know how they're so certain and declarative, and sure that every word they say is so profound and meaningful... but the logic is so circular and redundant, and really, they're just annoying as hell? Yeah, that's this book.

Instead of finishing the Augusten Burroughs book (even the title is too annoying to retype here), I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Good quick read, lots of interesting depression-era historical facts, but it doesn't really live up to the hype. Maybe that's unfair, though- without the expectations that came from all the hype, I'd have no complaints.

Last night I downloaded Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. I haven't started it yet- I'm still laughing at myself for even buying it. But dammit, the movie trailer actually looks good!!

[Tawse]

Wool - by Hugh Howey

Author's description of story: This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.


So far so good - I'm about 60% done with the omnibus (volumes 1 - 5 all in one file 550 pages worth).

Could improve on his character development - but the plot is intriguing and I still have no idea what's going to happen, which is very unusual for me.

[dark_crystal]

Agnes Grey.
What a whiner!

[nycfem]

I read two great books, both of which I strongly recommend.

1) The Man in the Gray Flannel Skirt by Jon-Jon Goulian

This is a memoir by a quirky brilliant hilarious genderqueer. A real stand out! If you've ever felt like a misfit but followed your own path anyway and laughed at yourself to keep the sadness from overtaking you, you'll love this book! It's truly a unique read!

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Gray-Flannel-Skirt/dp/1400068118"]Amazon.com: The Man in the Gray Flannel Skirt (9781400068111): Jon-Jon Goulian: Books[/ame]


2) You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know: A True Story of Family, Face Blindness, and Forgiveness by Heather Sellers

This book got so-so reviews but it shouldn't have because it was AMAZING. It's a memoir by a woman with the condition of face blindness, where someone can't see faces. Ms. Sellers is a BRILLIANT woman and shares her research on face blindness as it relates to her own face blindness. She grew up with a schizophrenic mother who was too paranoid to look at the author's face, even as a baby, and the author wonders if this is what caused her face blindness. She goes on to describe psychological theory related to her own theory about this. In addition to the issue of face blindness being beautifully addressed in the book (including the hardships of being face blind and the awkwardness of whether to come out at work, for instance), she gives a wonderful history of life in an extremely dysfunctional family. This book had every aspect of what makes a great book to me. Check it out!

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Look-Like-Anyone-Know/dp/B007SRXKMS/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339624629&sr=1-2&keywords=face+blindness"]Amazon.com: You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know: A True Story of Family, Face Blindness, and Forgiveness: Heather Sellers: Books[/ame]

[The JD]

Originally Posted by justkim

I saw the trailers too. I will look into the book after you give your review. No pressure! lol...

Thanks, Kim! There was so little pressure that I forgot to post! Okay, my considered opinion of the book Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: it sucked. Bad pun aside, it really was dreadful. Form, content, style, I loathed it all.

I'll try to write this with as few spoilers as possible, but it's going to be tough. There are some glaring inconsistencies that I'm just aching to sink my teeth into. (oops, sorry.)

Let's start with the obvious: Does Abraham Lincoln make a believable vampire hunter? Well, maybe. He's got all the qualifications for a Dark Knight kind of super hero: tragedy and loss at an early age, a super-human strength or talent (axes, of course!), an obsession with revenge/justice, and oh, let's not forget the constant brooding. He's a tortured soul, our Abe.

His motivations as a vampire hunter are clear enough once you realize just how much the pesky vampires screwed up his childhood (and continue to screw up his adulthood). What's less clear is the motivation of Henry, the "good" vampire who teaches Abe how to hunt vampires and which ones to kill. For someone otherwise known as a brave and forward thinker, Abe comes off as a tool for a good part of the book as he races off to do Henry's bidding.

The author comes off as a tool as well, since the book's premise is that the author was commanded by Henry himself to write it. But why would Henry want to share the Great American Vampire Secret with the world? And why now? And with this author? I know it must sound like a trifling point... I mean, if I'm going to buy off on vampires and the presidents who kill them, why can't I look past Good Vampire Henry inserting himself into the present-day narrative via the author's life? It seemed to promise a shocking plot twist, but no, it was just a vehicle to get us to the book's true purpose: To make history cool for high schoolers who hate history.

Passages from Lincoln's secret vampire diaries are liberally dispersed throughout the text, along with quotes and passages from his more famous speeches and writings. The author tries to match Lincoln's cadence with the vocabulary of that time period, but at times it comes off clunky and hokey. I tend to feel a few steps removed when reading present-day diary-based narratives. Add another few steps back for the 150-year-old language, and another step back for constantly thinking "what makes the author think he can write a pretend-diary of one of the greatest orators in American history??"

I'm really not a history purist- if you can have fun with history, I'm all for it. But the author failed to make it come alive for me, and it had very little to do with all the Undead.

[Martina]

Reading Angelica by Sharon Shinn and liking it.

Listening to A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin on audible. i like the HBO series A Game of Thrones, but this book is putting me to sleep. People are always telling one another off or threatening each other. Or carrying out their threats. Kinda dull. I guess the series is the same, but it's visually interesting, and the actors are good.

[Bleu]

Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger