44 - Men at Work, by Mike Gayle, 87 pages, Hodder and Stoughton, 2010
WHY I PICKED IT: I typically read everything by Mike Gayle
ELAPSED TIME: <1 day
RATING: Good
This was a very quick read... but classic Mike Gayle: Easy-going British slacker figures out what's really important: His significant other. If you're looking for guy-lit that is not as good as early Nick Hornby, and almost as good as Jonathan Tropper... Mike Gayle will consistently deliver.
This blog is a simple review of every book that I read... For all books I’ll tell you why I picked it, how long it took me to read it, and give it a rating (burn it, not good, meh, good, very good, and required reading). I ask (encourage?) all readers of my blog to post their thoughts of any of the books in my comments :). Thanks!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
2011-43 - Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, by Haruki Murakami
43 - Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, by Haruki Murakami, 362 pages, Random House Vintage Books, 2006
WHY I PICKED IT: I typically read everything by Murakami
ELAPSED TIME: 3 weeks
RATING: Good
Murakami writes two types of stories: Considered and developed characters that fall in love, and bizarre tales that I barely understand. This book had both. 24 short stories... a few were really great; others I barely understood; and at least one that seemed to fall into the first category but slid into the second category.
I recommend only if you love Murakami... and short stories.
WHY I PICKED IT: I typically read everything by Murakami
ELAPSED TIME: 3 weeks
RATING: Good
Murakami writes two types of stories: Considered and developed characters that fall in love, and bizarre tales that I barely understand. This book had both. 24 short stories... a few were really great; others I barely understood; and at least one that seemed to fall into the first category but slid into the second category.
I recommend only if you love Murakami... and short stories.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
2011-42 - The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman
42 - The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman, 269 pages, Anchor Canada, 2010
WHY I PICKED IT: Saw it in the airport book store
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Very Good
This could have been a very dry story, of an English newspaper out of Italy from it's inception through to it's end. However, Rachman takes an interesting approach to make it very good: Each chapter is written from a different character's perspective, so it reads like a series of well written short stories with the newspaper being a side note, and central to the tale at the same time.
Not sure if I'll seek out more by Rachman, but I certainly did enjoy this book and would recommend it.
WHY I PICKED IT: Saw it in the airport book store
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Very Good
This could have been a very dry story, of an English newspaper out of Italy from it's inception through to it's end. However, Rachman takes an interesting approach to make it very good: Each chapter is written from a different character's perspective, so it reads like a series of well written short stories with the newspaper being a side note, and central to the tale at the same time.
Not sure if I'll seek out more by Rachman, but I certainly did enjoy this book and would recommend it.
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