Share the Book-Love

I realized that for a big and eclectic reader like myself, I don’t write nearly enough about the good books I read on here.  I read about three or four books a week, so it’s about time I caught everyone up on the spectacular books I’ve read lately.  

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.  I love Neil Gaiman.  He wrote one of my favorite books of all time, Neverwhere, and ever since I read that, I’ve been in love with his works.  Anansi Boys is set in the same “universe” as his previous book, American Gods, which I didn’t like as much.  The whole premise is that the different “gods” aren’t just a myth, and that when people immigrated to America, they brought all their “gods” with them.  Anansi Boys is primarily the story of Fat Charlie Nancy, whose dad just died in perhaps the most ignominious way possible (he died of a heart attack in a karaoke bar and pulled off a woman’s shirt while he was falling off the stage.)  After the funeral, Fat Charlie finds out that his dad was the spider god, Anansi, and that he also has a brother named Spider.  That’s where everything gets really funny.  I swear, this is that absolutely funniest book I have read in a long time.  I laughed so hard at several parts that I had to stop reading just to laugh.

Suspect and Lost by Michael Robotham.  These books share characters, but I wouldn’t say that Lost is a sequel to Suspect.  There’s not any information in Suspect that you have to know to understand the action in Lost.  I had never heard of Michael Robotham before reading these books, but I just loved both books and wish he would write more about these characters.  His style kind of reminds me of Dennis Lehane, if Dennis Lehane were British.  (I love Dennis Lehane, so that’s a huge compliment.)  Suspect is a tense psychological thriller about a doctor who is set up for murder by one of his mental patients.  Lost is more of a crime drama (still with the psychological components thrown in) focusing on an investigator looking for a kidnapped child.  These books aren’t just the run-of-the-mill thriller that clutters the bookstore shelves; instead, they’re smart, literary dramas that delve into the human psyche as they tell tense stories of murder and revenge.  

She got Up off the Couch, by Haven Kimmel.  I wish I could tell mundane stores of my childhood the way Haven Kimmel does.  She takes the smallest details of her life growing up in a small town and makes them something that you want to read about.  This is the follow-up to her breakout book A Girl Named Zippy (what is up with me and sequels?  Gosh.)  I think that what I like best about these books is that she writes from her childhood point of view without ever making it seem childish.  Plus, these books are so funny that I nearly stopped breathing.  While A Girl Named Zippy more focused on Zippy and her take on life (my favorite part of that book is when she’s talking about her cat, PeeDink, who was the runt of the litter and one of his brothers “didn’t even have a butthole.”) She Got Up Off the Couch was about her mother’s decision to go to college and start a career in the middle of her life.  Even when Zippy’s mom isn’t in the foreground of the action, she’s still there, tempering the storytelling.  

Looking for Alaska by John Green.    This is John Green’s first novel, and I read somewhere that it won the Prinz Award this year (an award for outstanding YA literature.)  This is one of those books that is considered YA because it’s about teenagers, but even adults who are not obsessed with YA like I am can enjoy it.   It’s all about Miles “Pudge” Halter, who goes to boarding school in Alabama his junior year of high school.  While there, Pudge meets his roommate (who everyone calls “The Colonel”) and Alaska, a beautiful a beautiful and mysterious girl from down the hall.  I’m not going to lay out the entire plot of the book here because that would take away from the action for anyone who plans on reading it.  The reveal in this is the center point of the book, so I can’t give it away.  It wouldn’t be fair.  Disclaimer:  I would not recommend this to younger teens or anyone who is sensitive to profanity or graphic sexual images.  Those things notwithstanding, Looking for Alaska is one of the best books I’ve read all year.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now.  Those aren’t the only books I’ve read, and they’re not even the only good books I’ve read.  I read a whole bunch of books by Scott Westerfeld that totally rocked my world.  They’re so good that I can’t pick a “best” one.  I also read Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks, which impressed me.  Not to mention the incredible fun that the Princess Diaries books by Meg Cabot are.  I just don’t have time to talk about them all right now.  I love books!  If you can’t tell.  Till next time,

Brianne <><