I can't believe a month has passed by since my last series of book reviews. I am proud of the fact that I got through another 8 books this past month. Writing these monthly blog posts has really pushed me to read more. Here are some of the things I read:
The Gates by John Connelly
I loved this book. It was a funny, fast read about the gates of hell opening up. I know, that sentence does not make much sense. It was fast in that I polished this book off in one night. It was funny in that the writing didn't gross you out or frighten. It simply told the tale of a boy trying to stop demons from flooding out of the gate and overrunning his town. I definitely recommend this book if you like Neil Gaiman or Susanna Clarke.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
I think this book was beyond me. It concerned many facets of small town life, senior living and marital relations that I just couldn't relate to. It was beautifully written and the characters were fascinating but the story itself didn't pull me along. The book reads as a sort of collection of short stories that all revolve, in some way around Olive Kitteridge, a lonely and complicated woman. I read the book through to the end because I liked the character of Olive Kitteridge but as a whole I found the book kind of unsatisfying. I think I would recommend this one to people who like Jane Austen, the Brontes, Isabel Allende or Faulkner. Maybe the book was just a touch too girly and emotional for me.
The 158 lb. Marriage by John Irving
After Olive Kitteridge, I picked up this book. I usually like John Irving but this book was a bit dry and pointless. It is one of his earlier works and concerns the plight of two married couples. The couples swap spouses and you can imagine how well that turns out. The unfortunate part about this book, and why I call it dry, is that nothing truly interesting happens. I also feel like I didn't learn anything about the type of person who would participate in that kind of marital relationship. That's the whole reason I read the book. I don't understand swingers for the life of me. I still don't. I don't know if I would recommend this book to anyone. It was nice and short though.
The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coehlo
After reading Coehlo's book The Alchemist last month, I was excited to try another book of his. I can't say that I was disappointed but I didn't love the book either. My main problem with it was the fact that you couldn't separate the fiction from reality. The book chronicles Coehlo's own personal travels along the Road to Santiago, a pilgrimage path taken by Catholics throughout the centuries to gain an understanding of themselves and to see religious relics. I had a hard time discerning the reality of what happened to Coehlo on the trip from fictional mysticism. This was the same mysticism from The Alchemist but in a realistic setting and I just couldn't get into it. I think I would recommend this book to mystical Catholics or spiritual people on the road to self-enlightenment.
Check back tomorrow for my thoughts on the other 4 books I read this month including The Swan Thieves, The Invisible Kingdom, The Lovely Bones and Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin.
The Gates by John Connelly
I loved this book. It was a funny, fast read about the gates of hell opening up. I know, that sentence does not make much sense. It was fast in that I polished this book off in one night. It was funny in that the writing didn't gross you out or frighten. It simply told the tale of a boy trying to stop demons from flooding out of the gate and overrunning his town. I definitely recommend this book if you like Neil Gaiman or Susanna Clarke.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
I think this book was beyond me. It concerned many facets of small town life, senior living and marital relations that I just couldn't relate to. It was beautifully written and the characters were fascinating but the story itself didn't pull me along. The book reads as a sort of collection of short stories that all revolve, in some way around Olive Kitteridge, a lonely and complicated woman. I read the book through to the end because I liked the character of Olive Kitteridge but as a whole I found the book kind of unsatisfying. I think I would recommend this one to people who like Jane Austen, the Brontes, Isabel Allende or Faulkner. Maybe the book was just a touch too girly and emotional for me.
The 158 lb. Marriage by John Irving
After Olive Kitteridge, I picked up this book. I usually like John Irving but this book was a bit dry and pointless. It is one of his earlier works and concerns the plight of two married couples. The couples swap spouses and you can imagine how well that turns out. The unfortunate part about this book, and why I call it dry, is that nothing truly interesting happens. I also feel like I didn't learn anything about the type of person who would participate in that kind of marital relationship. That's the whole reason I read the book. I don't understand swingers for the life of me. I still don't. I don't know if I would recommend this book to anyone. It was nice and short though.
The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coehlo
After reading Coehlo's book The Alchemist last month, I was excited to try another book of his. I can't say that I was disappointed but I didn't love the book either. My main problem with it was the fact that you couldn't separate the fiction from reality. The book chronicles Coehlo's own personal travels along the Road to Santiago, a pilgrimage path taken by Catholics throughout the centuries to gain an understanding of themselves and to see religious relics. I had a hard time discerning the reality of what happened to Coehlo on the trip from fictional mysticism. This was the same mysticism from The Alchemist but in a realistic setting and I just couldn't get into it. I think I would recommend this book to mystical Catholics or spiritual people on the road to self-enlightenment.
Check back tomorrow for my thoughts on the other 4 books I read this month including The Swan Thieves, The Invisible Kingdom, The Lovely Bones and Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin.
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