Quotalicious

Awesome quotation I found on Goodreads.com.

"There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it." — Bertrand Russell

The whole reason I read Moby Dick (which more than lived up to all the hype) in the first place was so I could say I had done it.

Big Wheel at the Cracker Factory

Big Wheel at the Cracker Factory by Mickey Hess

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mickey Hess alternates between descriptions of slackerism so deep as to be tragic and truly touching scenes, like a moment of deep spiritual connection with a pet iguana. I had no idea what to expect when the book began, but by the end I was fully drawn into the quirky worldview Hess espouses.

My actual rating is more like 3 1/2 stars.


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Twenties Girl

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of those books that gets much better as it goes along. The characters are sometimes nerve-wracking, but Kinsella turns them into people you can care about.

The story is pretty weird, even if you ignore the ghost aspect, but it's nothing if not entertaining.



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Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana by Anne Rice

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As wondrous in its own calm way as anything Anne Rice has written. It's a reverent and inspiring work.



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Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I don't usually read YA books, but this one sounded so entertaining. It didn't disappoint.



Each of the three sections is written from the perspective of a different sister. But it's not until the second section that connections start coming together and things start really making sense. I finally found myself racing through the pages, eager to find out all the secrets and which one would set the family free from its dire fate.



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Twain

I love it when the experts back me up. The censorship of Huck Finn continues to be criticized.

According to a recent People magazine, Jesse Sheidlower, editor at large of the Oxford English Dictionary says, "The use of [the N-word] is one way Twain condemns the prejudicial attitudes of the South."

In other words, taking out the offensive words takes the bite out of the book and its stance against racism.

The Help

I'm thinking about reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I've heard nothing but good things from the people I know who have read it and the reviews I've looked at have been good.

My college has an alumnae book club which reads a book a month, and The Help will be the book they discuss a couple of months from now. I'm trying to persuade some of my fellow alums in the Clancy Circle Book Club to attend with me.