Cannonball, baby! I hate that I hit my 52 books on a book that I really really didn’t like. I know that David Foster Wallace was a genius. I really feel bad that I’ve never read anything else of his (yes, yes, I know I should Infinite Jest) but after dragging myself through the essays of A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, it’s unlikely I will give him another shot. The first essay was about his tennis career; kind of math-y but fairly interesting. The second essay […]
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
“It was the best first kiss in the history of first kisses. It was as sweet as sugar. And it was warm, as warm as pie. The whole world opened up and I fell inside. I don’t know where I was, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care because the only person who mattered was there with me.” The Sugar Queen was everything its name implies: fluffy, wholly without substance but also tasty and sweet. It’s probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but if, like […]
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
This book started out so, so good, then got kind of crappy for a bit, then redeemed itself (mostly) at the end. It’s been reviewed quite a bit here on CBR, so I’m not sure what I can add to the discussion, but here goes. “You’re bored. And I’m going to let you in on a little secret about life. You think it’s boring now? Well, it only gets more boring. The sooner you learn it’s ON YOU to make life interesting, the better off […]
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
“My father insisted that the boys in my life were directly responsible for my juvenile-delinquent tendencies. My mother, more accurately, assumed that I was the bad influence.” Never have I been so pleased by what was basically an impulse buy. The Spellman Files was fun, funny and occasionally touching, and as soon as I finished, I immediately ordered the (five!) sequels from Amazon. Izzy Spellman has worked for her family’s PI business her entire life. She’s now 28, and her family’s constant disregard for her privacy […]