October's book list

Since I don't think I'll finish that book on flower arranging today, here's the list of what I read this month. As always, library books are marked by asterisks. I love the library. It's so....free, except that I helped pay for it. I should start checking books that I actually enjoy. You'll see what I mean.

Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake. New York: Anchor, 2003.*
I love Atwood. She's a great writer. I thought I would take a break from her books that are typically written from a female perspective and go with something that had a funny name and seemed kind of science-fictionsque. And the central character was a man. And this was a good book, but it took me forever to finish. Too many flashbacks (even for her), too much buildup, and not enough...something. I almost bought this a couple of months ago, but I'm glad I checked it out instead. It was good, but it was just....not particularly riveting (despite tons of tense moments and Very Important Cues That Something Bad Will Happen/Happened) until more than 3/4ths through. Not cool.

Fforde, Jasper. Thursday Next in First Among Sequels. New York: Viking, 2007.*
The most ridiculous one yet. It can be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your patience. I'm losing mine.

Herbert, Frank. Heretics of Dune. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1984.*
At first, I thought I didn't 'get' the ending because I was tired and sick and whatever. No. I got it (and I went back and read the last 40 or 50 pages just to be sure), but it was stupid. I mean, really very stupid. I had considered reading the last 2 books of the series, which were actually written by Herbert's son using notes and drafts, but now I know I'm done.

Radosh, Daniel. Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture.
New York: Scribner, 2008.
This one was fun. At times it got a little smarmy, but I can see where that defense mechanism can kick in when one is surrounded by some of 'those people.' I would recommend that everyone read the book, even if it's just to read the mock interview with Stephen Baldwin. It's completely unfair and ridiculous and made me laugh till I cried and started coughing uncontrollably. Good stuff.

Setterfield, Diane. The Thirteenth Tale. New York: Washington, 2007.
Why do I love the British so much? There are plot twists and themes and dialogue that reads like the script for a Lifetime movie--but I promise the book is cooler than that. Probably because it's so unbearably British. We don't even quite know when the story takes place. There's also a whole lot of twin creepiness. Some of it's intentional and some of it's due to the fact that twins, like all familial relationships, can be very strange.