Lagging

I haven't been staying on top of my blog, but I have been staying on top of my reading. Although the reading process of going through the Guardians list is a grueling one and some of the books....I wish didn't exist, it's been an adventure. I'm able to scratch several books off the reading list.

The Three Musketeers was a beautifully written and exciting book and why all the movies can't just stick to the book is beyond me. Nothing bothers me like a drawn-out, money-burning BOOK BOTCHING. To squeeze all the glory out of this book, you have to really pay attention. There is no skipping. Alexander Dumas adds little bits of humor in some pretty interesting scenarios, but it makes the reading fun and unpredictable.

Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell is good, but there are a couple of her books in the Kay Scarpetta series that are much more intriguing. If you like CSI, then you'll like her books. They definitely take a more left-wing view in terms of topics. So, conservative readers (like myself) should be prepared to be open-minded. If you want to get a taste of Patricia Cornwell, I would recommend Cruel and Unusual.

Catcher In the Rye describes an ADD personality type. I didn't learn much of anything. What did cross my mind during the book was....'this type of thinking sounds just like my husband...'. Too much hype for such a bore of a story.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy makes me laugh only because of it's stupidity. I learned nothing from the story. It wasn't enjoyabe. It made no sense. I felt like my brain had gone into another galaxy...a galaxy where I didn't have to think at all. It was so bad that if I had heard it in the radio back in 1978, I probably would have flipped the station. Sorry, Douglas Adams. Even underground junkies are over this book. It may have been good for it's time, but it's not even classic anymore.

With that being said, I can move from my negative points of view to Cry, the Beloved Country where I am able to learn more about Apartheid from a simple storyline than I could from a well-written historical document. Getting into the minds of the people who had to experience it was much more interesting to read than just the plain facts. It was beautifully written and had my brain working full speed.

-Coming up on the list
The Little World of Don Camillo
& A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man