Book Review For You

I can't believe I forgot to post this!! My reading list has improved steadily since drafting this post a couple of weeks ago, thanks to the "resolution" I made at the end of this post. But feel free to continue, Dear Readers. Perhaps I will have something important to contribute after all. In the meantime, I am off to compose a post about asparagus.

Sigh, I love rhymes. "Love" does not describe my book list for the past couple of months. Oi vay!

The Guernsey one with the ridiculous title // I don't like books that are written as a series of letters. Feels lazy to me. And I find it's really hard to pull off any character development or attachment when doing so. And this book definitely suffered for it. Not to mention the fact that it was just TOO sweet and cuddly. No thanks.

Before I Go To Sleep // Have you ever read a book and you couldn't figure out if it was a mystery, or a thriller, or a medical genre, or whatever until the very end? Turns out this was a thriller...sort of. Also, it's been adapted for the big screen. Hooray...

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova // Busy, business woman is rushing to work, multi-tasking with the phone, gets in a horrible accident, and loses the ability to recognize anything on the left side. The whole book is about her super Type-A, agreesive, competitive personality trying to adjust to living with "left neglect". I thought it was a made-up disorder (I'm a bastard). The play on words of the title? Lame. To be honest, I really couldn't feel any sympathy or connection with the protagonist. Not a smidge. I was more interested in her mother who *spoiler alert* up and dies near the end of the book and nary a word was spent on how. Bet this one will be a movie too. Apparently, this author is pretty awesome and everyone in the world loves her shit. Not this gal.

The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle // A small town is rocked by the discovery that two of it's most prominent citizens have been part of a child pornography group for years, taking it as far as abusing their son. Widowed mother of two boys herself, who considered herself to be the best friend of the abused's mother, takes the boy into her home, and...yeah. The ick factor was high with this book, so if you have any triggers for sexual abuse do not read it! I loved the characters. I loved their unique identities, and their independent struggles in dealing with this tragedy in their community. It was sad and beautiful, and it has a happy ending!

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion // Part of me really enjoyed this book, part of me really wanted to enjoy this book more, and part of me was not impressed. It's an interesting premise, a gentleman with a host of social anxiety issues wants to find a wife. So he devises a ridiculous questionnaire, a la dating websites, that will live up to exacting (and mind-numbing) requirements. Plot diversions, a jackass best friend, and a wacky love interest stir things up, all with an Australian accent! I was mildly disturbed at how nonchalantly ladies were treated like passing fancies, or commodities, and the asshole behaviours of the man male leads. But I suppose that was the point? But it was kind of funny and "cute", in a rom-com sort of way. Oh right...it's because it was written as a screenplay. The cocktail mixing scene was very amusing, but of the whole book that's the only thing that really stands out. Not bound for the rubbish heap, but not on my re-read list either.

It feels like I read a load of junk these past couple of months! Argh! Lame characters, uninspired writing, boring plotlines. I hope I get back on track for the summer. Either that, or something is seriously wrong with me, because all of these books got rave reviews and everyone (but me) loves the shit out of them.

Note to self: You don't like books that make it on to "Must Reads of the Year" lists...apparently...

If you need me, I will be feverishly scanning book lists on Goodreads, and then searching titles in the EPL databases, before putting them on hold.

And if that proves to be too much work, I'm just going to stick with what's safe: Margaret Atwood and Louis L'Amour and anything on this "science fiction-dystopia" list.

On a plus note, I have reached the halfway point of the year and my reading goal! Go Team!

#iamsuchadork
Lisa