What I'm Reading Now 5/21/14

If you didn't realize from my previous posts about Batman's 75th anniversary, I'm a bit of a comic fan. As such I thoroughly enjoyed a six issue comic series called The Escapist which came out in 2006.  The story revolved around a golden age era comic hero I hadn't heard about getting a retelling in more modern times.  It wasn't until after I read the series that I learned there never was a golden age Escapist, but that the character was created for a book that was published in 2000.  That book? "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" by Michael Chabon and it tells the story of two Brooklyn cousins, Jewish immigrants of WWII, who decide to create comics together.

I can safely surmise that this inspires the creation of the Escapist character.  How that story develops is what has me intrigued.  And the fact it won a Pulitzer Prize as a piece of historical fiction based on a non-existent comic character makes this a book I've been looking forward to reading.

Stay tuned for my verdict...

What I'm Reading Now 3/31/14: UPDATED

There's a strange dichotomy within me.  I'm very much a fan of Stephen King, however I haven't read many of his novels.  My fandom of his exists almost entirely with his short stories, (a large influence of my own style) however there are actually only a handful of his novels that I've already read.  Of course my opinion of the bard has been influenced by the plethora of movies/tv specials based on his storied career, but I'm just now making the conscious effort to read the novels based on his legendary works like It, and The Shining.

First up in this effort is Salem's Lot.  I'm a little ashamed to admit that not only have I not read this novel, I haven't seen either of the television miniseries based on it. Although, I have read the two short stories that take place within the same world as Salem's Lot but after the events of the novel; Jerusalem's lot and One for the Road.

Going into the novel I only have two established thoughts. First, I like the idea of Stephen King writing a horror story about vampires, especially since he's been quoted on more than one occasion that this is his favorite novel he's written. And second, if the title and nickname of the town is derived from "Jerusalem" aren't we all pronouncing it wrong?

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I'll be the first to admit, I'm not the biggest fan of vampires, and the recent hollywood over indulgence of them, has soured me even more.  With that said...

This book took me a month to finish all 631 pages, and that was time well spent.  Stephen King spent roughly 300 pages building the town, with no real elements of horror but it had a two fold purpose, 1) you got to know the characters and the town around them, and 2) it built suspense forcing you to fear for these people's lives since you know it won't end well for at least some of them.

Although this was only King's second novel, it was crafted to such expert timing that you engaged from the very beginning.  The writing is raw and emotional, much more so than the more polished King of recent books (still good in their own rite).

My two recommendations for those interested in reading this book are 1) don't let the fact it's about vampires turn you away, and 2) don't let the impressive page count intimidate you.  Pick it up, and just try to put it down with out wanting to know more.

On to the obligatory rating...



Multiple Reads.

It may have taken me longer than it should have to read this book, but I'll be sure to pick it up again when I want that brand of suspense that only Stephen King can supply.

What I'm Reading Now 2/24/14 UPDATED

I'm about to read a book called "The 37th Mandala", and that's about all I know about the book.  I even had to google the book to find out the author is Marc Laidlaw, feel like I should know this name, but I don't.

I had come across the book randomly about two years ago and remember hearing years prior that I would enjoy it.  I think the phrase used was something along the lines of 'this is right up your alley'.

Unfortunately, I don't know what that means. Pretty sure my varied tastes lead to many alleys, some dirty and scary, others more inviting.  Come back to to find which alley this fits in, and possibly more important, what the hell a Mandala is...

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Wow, that's all I can say. Unfortunately, it's not a good wow.  This book was painful to read, at least as far I as had made it through.

First off a Mandala is apparently the author's attempt at reimagining H.P. Lovecraft's Elder Gods (you know Cthulhu, Nyarlothep, and all those guys).  The Mandala's are lies based off of myths that may or may not have been routed in truth.  A Mandala is a central sigil associated with a certain spell.  What a Mandala isn't, is interesting or remotely entertaining.  At least The 37th Mandala isn't.

The writing is dry, so dry in fact, it renders the adventure within the story boring.  Merriam Webster would have written a more engaging book than Marc Laidlaw did here.  To further turn off anyone holding this book in their hands, is the fact it's filled with unrealistic characters, leaving you completely uninterested in the outcome of their lives.  Readers would have been better served had Laidlaw acted as muse for a different more competent author.  I only say that because typically anything with the Elder Gods is worth giving a shot; this however is not.

As if you needed this bit, but the rating is...

Inside Cover

Despite the name of the writing, don't even bother reading the blurb on the inside of the book.  I tried liking this book, even forced myself passed my self imposed 75 page limit, but still had to tap out.  Save your brain cells, and skip this one.

What I'm Reading Now 2/10/14 UPDATED

Next on my reading block is a book by one of the best comic writers in the industry today, Warren Ellis.  He's the creator of the Iron Man stories that heavily influenced the feel of the movies, thus creating the Iron Man most of the public knows and loves.  I know from his comic work that he crafts interesting, fantastic tales but bases them on real world probabilities.

This has made me eager to read his first full length prose novel, "Crooked Little Vein".  However I'm not too sure what the book is about.

Let's see if Ellis' creative talents transfers over to prose...
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So I can say this was a fairly easy read, i was able to finish the entire book in about a week, and I only read it while commuting.  Warren Ellis' writing style really shines through the pages within the book, what doesn't come through is the content.  The entire book was just a showcase of some of the most depraved sexual acts ever committed to paper, with no actual story behind the "adventure".  The first day I began reading the book, I recommended it to a friend that I know would have appreciated Ellis' writing style, however the next time I spoke to that friend I took back my recommendation.

The book centers on a secret constitution that when read to an audience, it will reset the listener's moral compass.  This book was then lost to history because Richard Nixon traded it for sexual services.  A detective is hired to find the book so the government can fix the country with this book.  Crooked Little Vein follows this detective on one sexual misstep to the next, each more and more ridiculous than the last.  Warren Ellis assures us that every act and practice in the book are things he had come across in research for the book.

The sad truth is, I believe all of things in the book are actually out there, I just didn't need a map to them.  That's all this is, not an adventure story, not a mystery book, but a map to sex you didn't even know you didn't want to know about.

My rating for this would have to be...

Chapter 2.  I stand by Warren Ellis as an author, and will pick up some of his other books, but this one left me sour for the time being.

What I'm Reading Now 1/24/14 UPDATED

After reading several flops that I couldn't get past, or in some cases even up to, page 75 I was tempted to reread a book I know I like.  In the end I decided against this, and chose a book that was a recent addition to my list of to-read books, "Sandman Slim".  The premise seems promising enough to be worthy of doing a "What I'm Reading" post on it.  The main character, presumably Sandman Slim (odd name) is a magician that escapes Hell to exact revenge on the group of people that sent him there.  So basically this guy never died but was sent to Hell, finds a way to get out and uses magic (either he had it before or gets it in Hell (the description I read wasn't clear on that)) to kill a bunch of people, probably also magic users. Sign me up

Stay with me to see if I stay with the book, or tap out at 75 pages.
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And I finished the book.  Not because I enjoyed the book, or because it was written well, but I pretty much finished the book because it's the kind of book I should like.

It wasn't a bad book per se, but the major flaw with this was the author kept getting in the way of what could have been a very fun read.  Richard Kadrey, whom I had never heard of prior to this book but is apparently a decently well know author, has since written an additional four novels in this Sandman Slim series, with a sixth due out this year, so clearly there is a market for his writing.

However, I found he tried way too hard to not only make the main character cool, but also to come off as cool himself.  He went to great lengths to describe scenarios or action or even emotions in such a 'badass' way that it felt heavy handed.  It was a case of "the lady doth protest too much".  The more Richard tried to make Sandman Slim, or James Stark, seem cool or tough or badass it just felt like he was overcompensating for some flaw only he sees in the character.

Another thing that bothered me was the character's name, and the name of the book.  The main character, for much of the book, didn't want people calling him by his name, because with magic knowledge of someone's name is power.  I get that, it's a trope that works, and one that I agree with using.  My issue with it, is that he doesn't offer an alternative.  There are books/movies/shows where we don't know the main character's name and it's never used.  That's fine, but here we know his name is James Stark.  If we know it, it's not a mystery, and shouldn't be a major factor, however if you want to make something of his name, and it's not a secret, an alternative needs to be provided.

By now you might be wondering about the title.  The name Sandman Slim isn't mentioned until after halfway through the book, and it's a nickname that James Stark received while fighting in the gladiator arena in Hell.  Apparently, it means, or represents, 'the monster that kills monsters' or something to that affect.  The problem with this is, other than the fact it was mentioned so late in the book, is that a lot of characters know him by this name, but he never heard of it.   There's no logic in it.

All that said there is good in this book.  The premise is fun, even if Kadrey tries his best to kill all of it.  And although you never really feel or care of Sandman, it's enjoyable enough to watch him stumble through the mysteries before him.

There were two end scenes that are polar opposites.  In the one, the main character is talking to a doctor that knows more than he's let on in the beginning of the book.  And there's real emotion in the scene, and it's pretty intriguing, unfortunately it comes at the end, and is only followed by a worse scene where Sandman is approached by Lucifer himself.  It's established they have some history from Sandman's time in the arena, but Kadrey successfully crafted the most boring interpretation of the devil in all of existence ever... ever.  Why in the name of fuck's sake is the Devil borrowing DVDs? How do you make Lucifer, the Fallen Angel embodiment of all things evil, about as intimidating as a three legged newborn puppy?  Kadrey set himself up with a great way to end the book, and instead decides for the first time in nearly 400 pages to not try and be cool.

I shan't be reading the rest of this series, but am not disappointed I've read this one.

Writing this, has made me like the book even less, so my new rating is now...

Chapter 2 = One and done.  The book's premise showed potential, but the writing killed any upside before getting to the second chapter.



Reading this book I learned that Richard Kadrey suffers from an ability to execute, unless we're talking about actually executing any chance of writing an enjoyable story.

What I'm Reading Now: 9/27 UPDATED

Another book I've had for a while that I've just gotten around to reading.  "Flowers for Algernon" is a book from 1959 about a retard (that's the term they used back then) who undergoes an operation that is intended to increase his intelligence.  The entire book is told through Charlie, the retard, by way of his progress reports, or "progris riport" as he initially spells it.  I already know the premise and major milestones of the book prior to picking it up, and as such I was tempted to just not read it, but something has me intrigued.

Stay with me to see if I stay with the book, or tap out at 75 pages.
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And the answer to the question I know you're dying to know is, did I finish the book or not... and I did.

It's a fairly easy read, which made finishing not much of an issue, but it kept me intrigued about what was going to happen with the main character, Charlie.  Speaking of which, I find it weird that the cover would have the character's name spelled wrong when that was one of the few multi-syllable words he knew how to spell when he was a retard (again, this is the term that was used in the book because of the time it was written).

There's something special about reading the book by way of the progress reports that Charlie writes, giving an intimate view of his thoughts and feelings throughout.  However, I also feel that this format also leaves something to be desired of an outside perspective of what the character is going through.

Given the year the book was written I was surprised by how in depth some of the knowledge of mental deficiencies was, unfortunately this goes back to a flaw of the writing style, by leaving out the doctor's point of view of the procedure, or even his understanding of what Charlie is going through.

On to the rating:

Cover to cover.

This is a departure from my typical readings, but I'm glad I decided to give it a go, and recommend it for anyone who has a few day lull in their reading schedule.

What I'm Reading Now: 8/31

So I just finished a novel called "Feed" by Mira Grant, and my review of it has changed since I first started it.  I'm not sure how the book came onto my radar, but I've had it in my 'to read' pile for a couple of years.  Finally deciding to give it a read, I went into it knowing the bare basics of the plot.  It's a zombie book, and blogging is a big part of it.  While I enjoy zombie movies, and even The Walking Dead TV show, I'm not big on reading zombies.  Other than Max Brooks "World War Z" I can't really name a zombie book I've liked.  I'm sure there's some great ones out there, but the genre isn't at the top of my interests to continue delving into it.  That's why it took me so long to read this one.

Instantly my fears were confirmed.  The year is 2040 or so and the zombie outbreak happened 20 years ago. Children since have often been named George or Georgia in honor of George A. Romero because of his zombie movies.  From the beginning it felt like a shameless plug to show the author 'knows' the genre or the source material.  At some point early in reading the book, I learned it was a trilogy and I wanted to jump ship right then and there because I knew I wasn't finishing this book, let alone picking up the other two...

Then something amazing happened, Mira Grant (real name Seanan McGuire) showed she not only knows what she's talking about, but that she's put a lot of thought into this post zombie outbreak world.  We see how the world continued in a different path after the outbreak, we see the advancement of necessary technology in this infested world where people try to live their lives.  Also two of the things she did exceptionally well was to 1) explain why in the world 'blogging' would be crucial or even relevant in this world (ironic of me to discredit blogging on my own blog, I know), and the reason has to do with equal parts sharing of information and the 'real' news failing to acknowledge the existence of zombies, and 2) explain the origin of the zombies.  Too many times a zombie story sweeps the reason of their existence under the rug with a generic 'virus' answer. Mira took the extra steps to detail their genesis.

The book follows three bloggers who are brought onto the campaign trail of a presidential hopeful, the first candidate to acknowledge and accept bloggers as a crucial part of the media.  Of course, when zombies and/or presidents are involved conspiracies abound.  This, I must admit, is the weakest part of the writing.  Not so much what the conspiracies are, but the who behind them.  The author didn't put the best of efforts to conceal who was behind everything, and in all honesty that may have been her intention.

In any case, I've already picked up the second book to the Newsflesh trilogy "Deadline" and won't wait as long to read this one.

Rating: 
This started out as a "75 Page" read and review, however the author's knowledge and dedication to the genre comes through and makes this an easy...


"Cover to cover"
If the zombie genre interests you at all, this will certainly satisfy your flesh eating needs until The Walking Dead returns in October.

What I'm reading now 5/2/13 UPDATE

I've decided to do something a little different for these posts and write about my expectations for the book before I read it. From there I'll continue to speak about my feelings halfway through it, and what I think at the end. This way we can see if my expectations live up to the reality of the book throughout the reading experience.

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With that said today I begin reading "Odd Thomas" by Dean Koontz. I know I'm a little behind the Odd bandwagon but I prefer to let the hype of books die down before I read them (unless they plan on making a movie of it, then I have to read it before the movie is released) and Odd Thomas had some pretty good hype. Obviously I haven't read it yet, but the impression I got from this whole book series is that Koontz was reminding people that he's still here (and that his name isn't Stephen King).  

I've read Koontz before and while I like his writing I share the common concern about his books held by many readers of his, which is that once he has a good idea he goes back to the well too many times (which seems like it may be the case with the various Odd books). However, despite those concerns I have high hopes for this first book of the series and we'll see after if I decide to read any of the others.

Update 5/13/13 I've read nearly half of the book, and as you can tell from the dates of this post, it's been slow going.  I haven't been too impressed with the book.  I was dangerously close to getting to my 75 page limit when the book suddenly picked up.  The first 50 or so pages are dry useless fodder Koontz uses to pad his word count.  After getting through those pages, the story begins developing and he'c crafted an interesting world for Odd Thomas.  Prior to reading the book, I was aware (and thus don't consider this a spoiler) that Odd had the ability to see dead people.  I wasn't sure of the nature of this or how this would play into the story, but obviously it'd be the main factor.  He's done some things to differentiate his version of this trope from other popular ones, such as The Sixth Sense.

While Koontz has created an interesting world for Odd to live in, he hasn't populated it with any persons of interest, except for his one friend Little Ozzie.  Odd had a famous ghost companion, that I won't ruin the surprise of, but before it seems his story could develop, he's removed from the book, at least temporarily.  I'm holding out hope that that he'll return before the end.  Reading the description of the antagonist, I'm sure that he was meant to be an interesting character, but I find myself pulled towards the happenings around him.

Certainly things will continue along a path that satisfies my curiosities, but I fear that Koontz won't be able to get out of his own way and let the story go where it wants to, as opposed to where he thinks it should.

Update 5/29/13 So the book is finished and I'm not upset about it, but it didn't meet my expectations.  I liked the premise of the character being able to see dead people, and these things he calls bodachs.  Like I said earlier, Dean Koontz built an interesting world, but I found that he failed to fill it with equally interesting people.  Odd's best Friend Little Ozzie and his girlfriend Stormy are the two most interesting characters, but the former plays such a minor role he only appears in a scene or two.  The later, his girlfriend, is a nice character against Odd, I just wish she did more.

Odd learns of a pending terrorist (not the Arab variety) attack on his quiet town of Pico Mondo, and sets out to prevent it using his abilities.  It's a good story that Koontz finds an interesting twist to.  My major concern is the introduction of a black room, that goes unexplained.  At the end of the book, two possible explanations are provided, but it's never shown whether either of them are true, or if it's something else entirely.  The introduction to the room does nothing more than pique your interest, but plays no part in the actual story, so for it to not be explained, is a cop out on Koontz' part.

Overall the book found a way to put a new spin on ideas that have been done many times in the past by combining them in ways I haven't read before.  I just wish Koontz put more time into the characters that mattered to the story, and followed through on the idea of the black room, or not introduced it at all.

Perhaps the black room comes into play in one of the later books of the series but appearing in the first book and the POTENTIAL launch for a series, I don't think he should have left such a glaring plot thread unresolved in this book.

As for a rating, if you're a Dean Koontz fan, you've probably already read the book, or you will regardless of the rating.  If you aren't a fan or haven't read any of him before I'd rate it a Page 75

It's not worth the commitment to read the entire book and potentially be lured into reading more from the series.  I personally will be staying away from any of the sequels. On to the next one...

What I'm Reading Now 4/9/13 UPDATE

This book has long been on my to read list, and it's finally worked its way up the list.  I've long been excited about reading it, but wanted to let the hype die down before getting into it. Here it is...

Ender's Game

by Orson Scott Card

I've owned this book for several years, even lent it out for about a year to a cousin, but just got around to reading it.  My cousin who borrowed the book loved it, this became one of his favorites instantly, which built on the hype I've heard of for this book.  That hype caused me to delay in reading it.  Much like a movie every one of your friends sees and likes thus setting an impossible bar to attain, so goes the reading experience for me.  

Originally published in 1985 the novel is based off of a short story Card published in 1977, and is about a boy nicknamed Ender in a future Battle School orbiting the planet training to defend Earth from a third alien attack.  All the kids at the school are recruited at young ages but Ender was the youngest yet at about 6 years old.  The commanders at the school believe Ender to be capable of leading the human army to victory when the alien Bugger army inevitably returns.  

I'm about halfway through, and am enjoying the book.  It's well written with some interesting original (for it's time) ideas.  There are several issues I have with the book, mainly being that there's been no real conflict.  Everything Ender has gone up against has been a laughable challenge you, as the reader, know he's going to make it out of.  I fully believe that this looming threat of the Bugger army is going to be saved for one of the subsequent books (of which there are more than a few) leaving the only climax in this book to be graduating Battle School, and of course he will have to for there to be other books.  This lack of challenge has made Ender an uninteresting character to read.  He starts the school off as the perfect soldier, and quickly becomes the perfect army leader within the school despite the teacher breaking the rules to challenge him more differently than any other squad leader.  

The charm of the book comes from the other characters that he interacts with.  He leaves a sister and brother behind on Earth who are proving to be more involved in the story than the early chapters wold have you believe.  At the school he makes some friends, enemies, and (though I hate the term) frenemies. 

I'm passed the halfway mark, and look forward to the conclusion, no matter how predictable it may be.

UPDATE

Color me surprised, the ending was not what I expected.  In the final chapters it became evident that my earlier assumption was incorrect and what the ending was, made me really like this book. I find it unfortunate that you have to read through a couple hundred pages of predictability to get to the enjoyable ending, but if you stick with it, you'll enjoy it.

Prior to the ending I was going to rate the book lower, however as it stands now I'm giving it a "Cover to cover"


If you like science fiction, I definitely recommend reading this book.  I've heard word that some of the superlative books are also worth the read, and whenever I get around to them I'll let you know what I think.  

Rating System

If you've been following the blog you'll know that I've been posting reviews of books that I'm reading.  What I plan on doing is beginning to give a rating for these books, but anyone who knows me, knows I don't do anything normal, so here's how it'll go;

1) Inside Flap = This book is so bad you should stop reading after the inside flap, and save your money and time.

2) Chapter 2 = One and done.  The book's premise showed potential, but the writing killed any upside before getting to the second chapter.

3) Page 75 = This is typically reserved for books opposite than Chapter 2's.  The writing is at least good enough to keep you going longer than you should, but the plot ruins any hopes, and you just need to stop reading before you get sucked in past the point of no return.

4) Cover to cover = Book was well written with an engaging story, and will leave you satisfied once you close it for good.

5) Multiple Reads = The only thing better than reading and liking a book, is finding a book you enjoy reading more than once.  This doesn't happen often and isn't a rating I expect to use often.

What I'm Reading Now 3/13/13 UPDATE

Although I haven't written about it, I assure you I've read several books since my last (and first) installment of this.  I've been negligent about posting on the blog the past few months, but I've renewed my vigor and plan on posting here more often.  And in that vein, here's what I'm reading now...

Heat Wave

by Richard Castle

"Heat Wave" is the first novel by Richard Castle from the TV show 'Castle'.  Basically the premise of the show is that a mystery author follows a homicide detective as a muse to his new character Nikki Heat.  I really enjoy the show, and I always felt it'd be beneficial to have a relationship with an officer to answer questions that arise while writing.  

So "Heat Wave" is proposed to be the character Richard Castle's, played by Nathan Fillion, first book about the detective he follows, Kate Beckett.  ABC published the book through a sister company as a joint effort.  It's a great marketing strategy that promotes each other, and convinced me to pick up this book.  

Real word murder mysteries aren't my typical foray, and with that said I don't think I'd have kept reading it, however I most enjoy trying to piece together what parts of the books are inspired by the show.  

While the writing is better than I was expecting, I feel it's relying too much on the gimmick of the premise rather than the writing.  Initially I wasn't very happy with it at all thinking the characters didn't seem too analogical to the characters in the show.  Primarily the main character seemed out of place being over-sexualized.  It wasn't until a friend explained that the characters were written as Richard Castle would have liked to see them in the first season of the show, and that in the subsequent books better portrayed the characters.  

It may seem trivial reading it here if you haven't watched the show, so let's focus on the actual story within the book.  Jameson Rook is a celebrity journalist following homicide detective Nikki Heat during a murder investigation.  I won't give away details of the plot but it seems run-of-the-mill to me, and as I said earlier the actual talent of the writing is fair.  As you'd expect there's the inevitable false leads, twists and incorrect accusations. I will say the best element of the writing is the humor the characters find in the random situations they find themselves in (much like in the show).  There's enough to the book and the writing to keep me reading it, however I'm not too sure I'll be picking up the next book in the series.  We'll see once I've finished this one.

Update:

I've since finished the book, and while it was good for what it is, it is not my type of story.  Obviously, I knew this was a real world mystery from watching the show it's based on, I kept waiting for a supernatural element.  This is of course no fault of the book or the author, who did a good job of translating the characters from the show into inspirations for a book series.

For me there's some disconnect between current mysteries and the hardboiled noir from the 40's and 50's that originates in the difference in eras.  Being a part of this internet age, reading a detective hit the bars and clubs with a cigarette in mouth wherever he goes, beating up goons without abandon in a manner a modern detective could never do is like reading a time travel story.  Modern mysteries are more like watching the news tied too much in the legality of their actions.  That probably says more about my own damaged psyche than the current state of literature, but to get back on point, that's a major factor in my feelings for this book.

At this point, I'm going to pass on picking up the next novel, however if you're a fan of the show Castle, or of crime mysteries, I recommend picking this up.  

What I'm Reading Now 9/22/12

About 7 months ago I decided there's too many good books out there to waste time on bad books, so I set a page limit of 75.  This pretty much means if by the 75th page a book hasn't hooked me, I'm done with it.  Doesn't matter if the book is 150 or 700 pages if I'm at the 75th page and I don't care about the character or where the story is going, I'm putting the book down.In the time since I set that mandate, I've put many books down by page 75, which in turn has given me more time to read good books.

Currently I'm in a conundrum though, I'm reading Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut.  The only other Vonnegut book I've read was Slaughterhouse V (which if you read my Top 25 Books page you'd know it's one of my favorites).  The conundrum arises because it's not that good of a book yet, but I really want to like it because of my feelings for Slaughterhouse (coincidentally also the name of the artist I'm listening to now) and by extension Vonnegut as the author.

I've broken my own rule and read past page 75.  Initially I read to page 76 (I know big commitment there) only because it was the end of that particular chapter and I was hoping the resolution would be enough to keep me reading. Didn't work, but I kept on reading hoping to find some merit in the book.  Now I'm up to page 150, about a third of the way through, and I'm getting bored with it but I feel part of it may be that I know I read past my limit of uninteresting books and I'm subconsciously telling myself to stop. On top of that, the next book on my to read list is a book I know I'll enjoy. So I leave it to you, my faithful few followers; do I finish this book I'm currently not enjoying? or heed my own advice and move on to greener pastures?