Category Archives: Reading

The Last Two

The last two books I read in 2007 were from the children’s section of my library. Whispering to Witches by Anna Dale Grade: B Whispering to Witches is a story about an everyday boy who gets caught up in a … Continue reading

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A Year of Reading

A love of reading doesn’t necessarily translate into a talent for picking literature apart and I sometimes wonder how I survived three years as an English major. I was reasonably good at it (they gave me a degree, anyway), but … Continue reading

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The Purge Continues

It seems like most of my recent posts have been reading-related. I promise to write more often about other things next year. For now, I beg your patience as I dig deeper into my library and try to sort out … Continue reading

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Miracle Drug

This is one of my favorite passages from Vonnegut’s Jailbird. So I did sit down, and everywhere I looked I saw customers of every description being received with love. To the waitresses everybody was “honeybunch” and “darling” and “dear.” It … Continue reading

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Nine Down

I finished reading Kurt Vonnegut’s Jailbird last night. Grade: A Jailbird is a tough read. It has a slow beginning and it requires some knowledge of American history, particularly the case of Sacco and Vanzetti. Everyone in Vonnegut’s generation would … Continue reading

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Murder with Deja Vu

Somewhere along the way I finished reading Murder with Peacocks but forgot to mention it. Oops. Well, here goes. Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews Grade: B This is another Meg Langslow mystery (the first, actually) and it is likable, … Continue reading

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Not a Knee-Slapper

Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut Grade: B Though Vonnegut never once mentioned the word granfalloon, this story is about the greatest group of granfalloons ever invented. The president of the United States thinks that artificial families will make everyone “lonesome no … Continue reading

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Doggone It!

I read a strange book recently. I had picked it up at an overstock store, so I expected absolutely nothing from it. Consequently, it had a real chance to dazzle me, and dazzle me it did. Lives of Monster Dogs … Continue reading

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They Were Doomed

Here’s a favorite excerpt from Breakfast of Champions to keep you warmed up for the marathon. “Earthlings went on being friendly, when they should have been thinking instead. And even when they built computers to do some thinking for them, … Continue reading

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Breakfast with Vonnegut

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Grade: B Breakfast of Champions is my least favorite Vonnegut novel so far. He said in the book that he was trying to clear his head, and the novel came off as deeply personal, … Continue reading

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