Book Talk

I used to run a book club, and while I still no longer have time to run the group anymore I do miss having good conversations about books. So I'm taking a page from SSE's post on his friends' blog (haha, I spied!) and starting a discussion of books I've recently known...

I'm currently reading The Historian, which was strongly recommended by SSE. I broke down and bought my own hardcover copy, but with my Barnes & Noble member discount it wasn't too expensive. I'm really enjoying it so far, about 110 pages in. It reads very quickly, and the mystery of these historians digging into the history of Dracula is pretty compelling. I like a good supernatural detective story. And as you all know by now, I do enjoy vampires. I've heard it said that this book is this year's Da Vinci Code, which is a mixed recommendation for me. I actually hated the Da Vinci Code (though I liked Angels & Demons), but I'm glad that I did read it so that I was at least informed on the big pop culture phenomenon. I decided to read this book for the same reason, but so far I'm glad that I actually really like it.

I started reading The Historian cuz I needed a break from The Egyptologist. I was really excited about this one and got it from Amazon as soon as it came out in paperback, but I had a really hard time getting into it. There are two different narratives, one written from the Egyptologist himself and one by a detective that is telling the story years later. I liked the detective parts a lot, but I truly detested seeing the page switch to the different font and style of the Egyptologist. Boring and I just had a hard time getting into it. So I set it aside at about page 100. MCB has read the book and she agreed that it wasn't great. She told me how the story ends, which sounds like a big bloated let-down, so now I'm probably not gonna finish it. Too bad, cuz I'm an Egypt freak. If there weren't those pesky modern and ancient language requirements, there was once the strong possibility that I was gonna go into Egyptology myself.

Like SSE, I also have Jared Diamond's Collapse sitting at the ready for when I want a switch to non-fiction and some heavier subject matter.

So what is everybody else reading right now? Any strong recommendations? Anything you've hated? It is getting to be time to update that Amazon wish list before the holidays....