Writer Ottessa Moshfegh's Eileen has been something of a minor blockbuster in the book world over the past year, with reviewers hailing her book as "satisfyingly unsettling," or "perverse, squalid, and sinister." This left me hoping for a psychological thriller, or at least a gripping read. What I got instead was a banal melodrama. The plot is … Continue reading I really wish I liked Eileen
Man Booker Prize
Book Challenge: 2014
All excited to re-start the New York Times project, I logged online yesterday to see what the front runner was for this week. There, at the top, was a book called Blood Magick by Nora Roberts, and I steeled myself. Then I found out that it's the third book in Roberts' Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy and … Continue reading Book Challenge: 2014
50 Shades of Real Literature: The Man-Booker Project
Since 50 Shades of Grey won't hurry up and die already, I'm going to have to find a new reading project. Thank you so, so much for your book recommendations. I will read them for pleasure, but there is something awkward (and rude) about trashing something that someone was kind enough to tell you about, … Continue reading 50 Shades of Real Literature: The Man-Booker Project
New York Times Project Grinds to a Halt
I've come to the decision that I just don't have this book in me right now. God bless the people who earnestly read this stuff, but I tried the first few pages and I've decided that, having finished two edge-of-your-seat potboiler thriller series, I can't do another right now. Instead, I'm first going to read … Continue reading New York Times Project Grinds to a Halt