My Own Book Club

Not even going to try to catch up. Not going to explain my absence either. Does that make me mysterious?

Just going to post about some stuff I've been reading lately.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Free book on Kindle, so why not? It is a little Gothic-- reminded me of Edgar Allen Poe. A little too descriptive in some areas, but very interesting premise-- a young man has his picture painted and makes a wish that he could stay the same forever and the picture would be the one to grow old and show the effects of life. I'll give it a B.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. A little disturbing, but very well written. Only problem for me is that the second book in the series, Catching Fire, is not on Kindle and the waiting list at the library is huge. Giving this one an A-.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. Hilarious narrative about growing up in the 50s. I've read a couple of books by Bryson-- he's great at weaving facts in with his own quirky take on life. Loved the part about the Atomic Toilets. Giving this one an A- too.

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Bought this one on my Kindle on accident, but it was pretty good. Not as good as Shadow of the Wind by Zafon, but entertaining nonetheless. It's a scary story-- reminded me of my Stephen King and Dean Koontz days. I think that he seriously over-estimated the abilities of a 14 year old boy, though. Giving this one a B-.

Never did completely finish The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. Stayed with him until he started talking about String Theory, then had the feeling that String Theory is bunk, so I stopped reading. I had a much better grasp of Einstein from what I read, though. Can't give this one a grade, as I didn't rightly finish it. Don't you get an "i" on your transcript for an incomplete?