World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler
Recommended: Kunstler's book, World Made by Hand. This one is considered "dystopian", but not nearly as depressing or violent as others I have read in the genre. It follows a group of people who have survived the destruction of the US as we know it. Nuclear war and a number of pandemics have destroyed most of the country's population, and there is pretty much no technology or political groundwork left. What is left of the population is thrown back to "old-timey times" and must fend for themselves, using what they can salvage and what they can grow or make themselves. This book was pretty good, but not great. I've got the sequel on my Christmas list, and I would like to read some of his non-fiction, which seems to be better-received.
Not recommended: I still haven't finished Exodus. I just couldn't get into it. Every time he introduced a new character he had to fill in their entire back story, sometimes going back decades and covering a dozen or so pages per character! I kept forgetting what the main storyline was about because of all these "tangents". Cormac McCarthy is considered an amazing author, and I can totally see it! His writing is poetic and so descriptive, but this story kind of didn't interest me. I'm still not quite sure how it ended.
Next month: Maybe I'll get some good titles for Christmas, or at least some gift cards so I can pick my own!
That's a mighty short list, Lisa!
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