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Book I Read This Month - September 2011

Survivor - Chuck Palahniuk
On my shelf, all I can see is an enormous PALAHNIUK, so I kept forgetting the title of the book; it's practically invisible on the cover. Anywho, it's a great book. Very Palahniuk-ish. Ah, isn't it great when an author has such a distinct voice that you can say something like that and everyone totally knows what you mean? And this book is weird. It's written backward. Even the page numbers are backward, counting down to the suicide of a celebrity religious leader as he dictates his life story to the black box of an airplane. It was a hilarious book, and I enjoyed it.

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
I was shocked at myself for not having read this book yet, so I decided to give it a go. It is a classic and all. Also, my high school English teacher is related to Mary Shelley. But anyway, I thought the book was great. The first half was very well written and emotional, the interlude in which the monster relays his story to Frankenstein was a bit distracting but interesting, and the concluding third was suspenseful and quite telling about human nature.

42 - M. Thomas Cooper
This is an interesting mystery about a man whose wife runs away with her daughter, leaving no clues behind. As the story progresses, more things go missing and the main character becomes the main suspect. An intriguing story and a quick read, I would recommend this book to people who want to have a little fun and just go along for the ride. The number 42 does crop up a lot and gives you the chills a bit near the end, so I wouldn’t suggest reading it alone in the dark on a stormy night where something or someone could hop out and kill you…

Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Some people claim that this is the best book ever written. And I have to say, that I really enjoyed reading it! Books published in its time period (and the ones translated from a different language, not less!) are usually difficult to read, but I found Anna Karenina surprisingly easy to read. The characters are very well developed, and the plot is twisty and exciting. And am I the only one who found it humorous? I wouldn't say it's the best novel ever written, but I have to agree that it is one of the best.

Publish This Book - Stephen Markley
Frustrated with the publishing industry, having written and pitched many stories to no avail, college student and writer Stephen Markley decided to write a memoir about trying to publish a book; the peculiar idea, however, was that the very memoir he was writing would be the book he was trying to publish. While Markley essentially wrote the book about writing the book, the events in his life quickly and cleverly became the main plot as he revealed the naivety and determination of youth that border on hubris. This is just about the funniest book I have ever read.

Conspiracies – F. Paul Wilson
Repairman Jack is back searching for a missing conspiracy theorist and uncovering some alien conspiracies on the way. I’m not sure why I’ve continued to read this series except for that I don’t like to stop reading something I’ve already started. The character Jack doesn’t seem all that interesting to me. In fact, the author goes out of his way to explain that Jack is normal in every sense of the word, except of course for the whole bad ass thing. But everyone seems to like the books, so I’ll keep reading and maybe the ending of the series will be awesome.

The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. le Guin
Blog Book Club book for this month!

Herzog – Saul Bellow
As I was reading this I kept feeling as though I’d read it before. Maybe I have. It’s a semi-autobiographical novel about a writer having his midlife crisis. Interesting and entertaining.