Life of Pi by Yann MartelRead this for book club. So many people have praised it, it's won numerous awards, but for me, it was a total dud. Mostly boring, extremely pedantic (even the Bible doesn't have preface that says, "This story will make you believe in God"!), and unsatisfying. Martel is a wonderful writer who can create beautiful, evocative passages, which just makes this book even more disappointing. Martel's lyrical and descriptive writing style was tainted by the story and message of this novel. Number 12 on my challenge.
Unnatural History by Jonathan GreenI bought this book because it seemed like an awesome steampunk book that had everything I wanted: a 150 year old Queen Victoria kept alive by steam power, dinosaurs on display at the London Zoo, world-wide worship of Charles Darwin. Too bad the writing was deplorable. Cliche phrases EVERYWHERE, oddly choreographed fight scenes, long, boring descriptive passage about men's clothing. If the writing had been better, I would have LOVED this book. Too bad it wasn't. Number 13 on my challenge.
Mini Challenge - Harry Potter Reread
In two weeks, I will be in Orlando, Florida, standing inside the Hogwarts Castle, shaking and crying as all my dreams come true. To prepare for this life-culminating experience, I have rewatched all the Harry Potter movies and am now working my way through the book series. I've got until July 15 to reread the whole series. One book down already, and I'm halfway through HP&CoS. Look for new posts about this mini challenge.
