Looks like a blast!
So far, I've got a handful crossed off:
So far, I've got a handful crossed off:
Memoir: "Girl Walks into a Bar" by Rachel Dratch. Very funny read. I'd definitely recommend springing for the Audible narration. Dratch does it herself, so she knows the precise intended delivery of her jokes and such for her anecdotes. Very different from what I've been exposed to from her in the past. She's got a lot more room to breathe and explore some different kind of humor. I'd recommend it.
Turned into a movie: "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk. One of those things I'd been meaning to get around to forever to see how it differed from the film. As people often discuss, it hasn't aged particularly well, but Palahniuk's writing's super sharp here. Oddly for a minimalist, I really recommend this more for the writing, more than the plot or character, a lot like Palahniuk's "Snuff," which consists of three guys standing in line, but is still very funny.
Read in One Day: "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" by Shirley Jackson. By the author of the very popular "The Lottery," this is a really fun book. Very atmospheric and highly sessionable at just over 150 pages. Very strongly characterized first person narration.
Translated from Another Language: "Headhunters" by Jo Nesbø. The author of the very successful "Harry Hole" series, I hadn't read anything by him before. I saw the movie on Netflix and was curious about what was going through the main character's head during the story's events. Nesbø doesn't disappoint. The narration's really funny and very readable. I love Roger Brown's smugness and general debonair attitude. A Norwegian Patrick Bateman.
A Sequel or Next in a Series: "Death Ex Machina" by Gary Corby. The latest in the Athenian Mystery series is a blast. I love Corby's sense of humor and attention to detail. Like the others, the book's a murder mystery set in ancient Greece. I can't wait for "The Singer from Memphis" later this year.
Reread because it was so good: "Stiff" by Mary Roach. Like a lot of the nonfiction books I read, I put this one on my chopping block for research purposes. I was gathering information for an RPG character who worked in the death industry, so Roach's book about the history and contemporary goings on regarding medical cadavers seemed like a natural fit. Like all Roach's stuff, it's informative and very funny.
Recommended by a Friend: "Hate List" by Jennifer Brown. My brother recommended this and I loved it. It follows the girlfriend of a school shooter in the aftermath of his murder-suicide at their school. The emotional complexity here was really exciting to me. It really focused on the aftermath rather than the event itself, which was new to me.
Not doing too bad so far.
What are you all reading this month? Have you read any of these? What did you think? Let me know in the comments. I'm always on the lookout for new stuff.
