My Reading Blog (for old people!)

I've always wanted to keep better track of what I'm reading, so I started this page for just that purpose. The links at the top are in alphabetical order. Below that you will find the most recent book I've read, and the one before that, and so on...

NOTE: These books are intended for mature readers.

Slam, by Nick Hornby
  • Genre: YA Fiction (Mature content)
  • Summary: Sam is a fifteen year-old skateboarding slacker from England who finally sees his life falling into place. Unfortunately, one mistake with his new girlfriend Alicia and his life starts falling apart. The mistake has to do with the mature content - Alicia gets pregnant. (She also curses a lot.) Who can Sam turn to for help? Tony Hawk, apparently.
  • Opinion: I'm torn. On the one hand, this book is funny and insightful. On the other hand, it took me a long time to finish and I wasn't buying Sam's supernatural relationship with Tony Hawk. Hornby has had great success as an adult author (High Fidelity, About a Boy) and his strength is in nailing the voice of his protagonists. You really get to know Sam, and for a clueless fifteen year-old kid, Sam sure knows how to describe some complicated human emotions. He also nails the every-day stuff, kind of like Jerry Seinfeld used to do. It's a light-hearted book about a serious subject, and I think it will help some young men out there.
  • Grade: B
  • Finished: March 2008
Mister B. Gone, by Clive Barker
  • Genre: Fiction/Horror
  • Summary: Jakabok Botch is a demon trapped within the book you are reading. He wants you to burn the book, and he will try many methods to get you to do this. He will scare you with threats and seduce you with rewards. He is a sneaky little devil.
  • Opinion: As stated above, this book is not for kids. There are some gruesome and violent scenes. Jakabok is an interesting character, both sympathetic and despicable. The way that he constantly addresses you, the reader, is completely original and very scary. He gets inside your head. Rarely have I so looked forward to the ending of a book, in this case to see if Clive Barker could pull off the promise of the premise. Does he succeed? Almost. For kids who want to read something by Clive Barker, I recommend Abarat.
  • Grade: A-
  • Finished: February 2008
Cell, by Stephen King
  • Genre: Fiction/Horror
  • Summary: At 3:03 P.M. on October 1st, a mysterious pulse is broadcast over every cell phone in the world, and anyone hearing it immediately becomes violently insane. Those witnessing the ensuing chaos reach for their cell phones, of course, and also become insane. Luckily, Clay Riddell doesn't own a cell phone. He and a small band of sane survivors must now struggle to stay alive and make sense of the strange behaviors of the "phone crazies" in a post-apocalyptic world.
  • Opinion: Though I wouldn't classify this book as horror, which Stephen King is so well-known for, there are some pretty grisly descriptions of what happens to the human body when subjected to "phone crazies" or violent explosions. King is still a master storyteller, so you know you're going to be along for a fun ride, though sometimes he gets a little too cute with his jokes, obviously butting in his own opinions on things like music. The grisly descriptions often seem gratuitous, and I was a little disappointed that one of the central mysteries of the book is never revealed. All the same, I couldn't put it down.
  • Grade: B+
  • Finished: December 2007
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie (art by Ellen Forney)
  • Genre: YA Fiction (Mature content)
  • Summary: He goes by Junior on the Spokane Indian Reservation where he lives but Arthur at the all-white high school that he attends. He walks in two different worlds, one of tragedy and one of opportunity. Now he must find balance in his life while staying true to both himself and those who care about him.
  • Opinion: I'm a big fan of Sherman Alexie, and it's great to see him venturing into the young adult field. Be warned that this book is intended for mature readers; it contains adult language and sexual references. Junior's story is both hilarious and heartbreaking, and because Alexie is pretty much telling his own story, Junior's voice is highly authentic, original, and insightful. Another nice feature of the book is Junior's cartoons, drawn by Ellen Fortney. The most important thing about Alexie's book is the attention it will bring to the sad and desperate conditions that exist today on too many of our nation's Indian Reservations.
  • Grade: A
  • Finished: November 2007

 

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