I've kind of fallen off the book bandwagon because so many books suck lately . Do they suck more, or am I pickier as I get older? Not sure but it's been more of a chore than it should be.
But I have to share some stuff with you and I have to urge you to read these all for different reasons:
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
: This book was brilliant. It was seriously the funniest, most clever book I've read--ever? I was trying to put a time frame on it but I really can't think of anything that tops it. It was a smart, interesting kind of funny; irreverent but not disrespectful. It's the fictional account of Christ's first 33 years (or whatever, I read it around Easter) that weren't accounted for in the Bible, told through the voice of his candid, real, hilarious childhood friend. I loved it. If I read it again, I'd probably find funny stuff I missed the first time, it's so many layers of clever. The Book Thief
: Man, this was a good book. The writing was really different but it was beautiful. It's narrated by Death, who takes an interest in a young girl during World War II when he sees her steal a book and then continues to notice her as he comes for people in her life. It's sweet and poignant and well-written. I read a brief snippet of it to Big Kid who is desperate to read it now, but it's too intense for him. I love that he recognizes good writing, though. I really liked it.Right now I'm reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and I only got it because it was on sale in the Nook store. I don't like anything that is blatantly trying to emotionally manipulate me (even though that's the purpose of a good book) and I don't like anything related to 9/11 and I get snotty about books that become movies (I'm too cool for them or something? Not sure.) But I cannot put it down. The main character has such a great "voice", the writing is fantastic, the pace is fast, the characters are rich and real and I very much want to know what happens. It is short and so hard to put down. And I do want to see the movie.
I read other stuff that sucked that I'll add to the widget that I'll make one day but these three are not to be missed. These 3 will make it difficult to choose a Book of the Year in December (or January or whenever I finally get around to it...) and it's only May right now! There are many hopefully good books left to be read.
