I've been puttering along, rereading old stuff and picking books up and putting them down again. I'm sure I've missed a few off my list, but in the interests of an actual post, here are the two latest complete titles I've read. Don't judge.
The Lucky One - Nicholas Sparks
I was roundly mocked for 'fessing up to reading this on Facebook. Not only do I have this book, I have the movie tie-in cover with Zac Efron on it. I hate movie tie-ins and I hate Nicholas Sparks, although The Notebook was not a terrible movie. But I quite enjoyed The Lucky One. It's gentle drama, not much depth to the characters and not much story. But sometimes a little gentle drama is just enough to keep your brain engaged for a day or so, and it served me well on a train trip back from London. I think I'll hang onto it, reread it another day.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday
This book had a similar effect on me as One Day by David Nicholls, which left me screeching in outrage. But where One Day seemed to have at least a vaguely dramatically substantial reason for the you-know-what at the end, Salmon Fishing seems to end with nobody very happy at all, no growth, no development, and everybody is screwed. So what is the point? If you're going to leave everybody high and dry at the end of the book, you need to the authorial chops to pull it off. I'm not asking for happy ever after here, I'm just asking for a little sense. I took a look at the movie synopsis of this book, and I actually think it looks better than the book. Now, how often do you hear me say that?
Books I still haven't finished (but WILL)
A Visit from the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan
The Descendants - Kaui Hart Hemmings
Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
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