Testing

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Just picked up Thought You Were Dead

I’m not sure sure where I heard of this book from. But I’m willing to give it a shot. Besides, the author is Canadian.   So you just know the book will be great!

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Two for the price one!

Wow.  Have I ever had a bad go of it with the books I’ve chosen lately.

First up there was The Suspicions of Mr. Wincher.  I was really looking forward to this book since it was supposed to provide a non-fiction account of the death of Saville Kent while at the same time providing insight in to the the Victorian era police force.  And while the book does go in to detail about the murder of the little boy, the writing style is horribly horribly dry.  There is very little to keep the readers attention and more than once I kept wishing I was the one who had been killed so I wouldn’t have to continue on reading this dull novel.

Avoid this book.  There are plenty of other real life mystery books out there to read that you’ll get much greater pleasure out of.  Devil in the White City is one book that jumps to mind immediately.

The book I picked up after this one was The Greatest Show on Earth:The Evidence for Evolution.

This book read more like a graduate thesis than a novel.  Very scholarly and technical but void of any real hooks to keep the person interested in reading to the end.  Yes, there are some interesting arguments made in the book to give the reader ammunition in speaking with religion nut jobs who insist that the earth is only 10,000 years old and that we are all descendants of Adam and Eve.  For that reason alone I would say the book was worth my time to read.  But just barely.

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J.D. Salinger passes on

Sad day in the literary world….

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Preview – The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher

The book I just took out from the library is The Suspicions of Mr. Wicher; here’s the description from the dust jacket:

“This is the story of a murder committed in an English country house in 1860, perhaps the most disturbing murder of all time.  The search for the killer threatened the career of one of the first and greatest detectives, inspired a ‘detective fever’ throughout England, and set the course of detective fiction”.

Wow.  Based on that description, I can’t wait to start reading this book.  Stay tuned.

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Review – A Void

This was a really freaking cool book!  I picked this book up because the book is written without the letter E!  How cool is that!  And to top it off, not only is the book written without the letter E, but the story is pretty freaking kick ass.

So what’s the story about?  In short, it’s about a group of friends who go off in search of their missing friend.  As they start their search, they discover a plot that’s worthy of any literary adventure.  The characters are well written and the story held my interest.

If you’re looking for a book that’s different from your every day read, give this book a shot.  You won’t be disappointed.

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Review – All My Friends Are Superheroes

I liked this book because author Kaufman has a knack for looking at the different qualities people have and attributing super powers to them.  For example the person who needs things to always be perfect has the super power of the Perfectionist.  The person who always has a chip on their shoulder has the super power of the Chip.  And so on.  I was amazed at his (Kaufman’s) ability identify these traits in people and make them interesting.

I disliked this book because the story, in my opinion, was too cutesy.  Maybe I was expecting too much from a book with the title of “All my friends are superhereos”, I don’t know.  But I struggled to retain interest in the story.  Were it not for the interesting characters, I probably would not have finished this book.

(read my review on Amazon here)

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Review – 8 x 10

I picked this book up for two reasons.  1) the author is from Vancouver and I enjoy reading local authors and 2) the book had been getting good reviews in the press.

I’ll state up front that I liked this book.  It was such a joy to read some Canadian literature that didn’t focus on the tried and true (and dull) bits that all other Canadian authors focus on.  So don’t pick this book up expecting to read the same old same old stories of immigrants struggling to make it around the turn of century.

Instead pick this book up and expect to read a series of sometimes interconnected tales dealing with sex, war, marriage, and the trials and tribulations of growing up.  And the best part of it all – the stories are set in a nameless city, easily being the one in the next province over or the one you currently live in.  Everyone can relate to what’s been written.

You won’t be disappointed.

(read my review on Amazon here)

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New books on the way

So while I might be out of books right now (well I have borrowed Lance Armstrong’s It’s Not About the Bike from a friend of mine) I am eagerly awaiting several new books from the library. As for the titles of said novels, well you’ll just have to wait and see.

In other words, I can’t recall the titles at this moment in time. More to come when the books get in.

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Review – The Invention of Curried Sausage

I wasn’t a big fan of this novel.  The plot moved slowly and the writing didn’t hold my attention.  Based on the outline of the novel I figured it would be great read.  Author come narrator goes on the hunt to determine who invented curried sausage.  Along the way he learns about love, life, and happiness.

So what wasn’t too like?  The pace of the plot.  Slow.  Incredibly slow.  Had the author been able to speed things up a bit, I think this would have been a good book.

My opinion.  If you’re stuck for a book give it a read.  Otherwise look for something else.

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