Quote from Gary Shteyngart author of Super Sad True Love Story

"As wonderful as film is, it still requires a camera lens. It does not allow you inside the mind of its creator, whereas a book still does. That experience requires a deep train of concentration and that deep train of concentration is what is being slowly chiseled away at by instant gratification forms of media."

Then We Came To The End

I believe the review that got me interested in this book described it as "hilarious". One reviewer on Powell's Books site referred to it as the best book he's read all year. All I can say is.....Seriously??? The book is set in Chicago in an advertising agency in the early part of this decade. As clients are lost the employees employ tactics to make themselves look busy. Nothing funny there. The unnamed narrator is one of these employees and this person makes observations about his or her fellow co-workers. Most of these people are rather pathetic and there are too many of them to really keep track of and make a connection with. Nothing funny there. Not interesting either. I think Joshua Ferris' has some potential, so I'm not writing him off yet, but I recommend that this one be skipped.

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

Laurel Hawthorne is a wife, mother, quilt maker, and possibly a person who is visited by ghosts. She lives in a gated neighborhood in Pensacola, Florida and has spent her whole life trying to protect herself and her family from the ugly realities of the world. Specifically, she has tried to shelter herself from her mother's hometown of DeLop, Alabama, an old mining town that is the picture of poverty and crime. The book opens with Laurel being visited by the ghost of Molly, one of her daughter's friends. Molly leads her to the body floating in Laurel's swimming pool--Molly's own. Laurel becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Molly and why her own daughter won't talk about it. She invites her crazy sister Thalia into the mix, which provides some comedy in an otherwise tragic situation.
Joshilyn Jackson does an excellent job of keeping the story moving and keeping the reader interested. I didn't feel that it hit a stall the way some books do. She wrote the characters very well. In fact, I think she may have written a character as being on the Autism Spectrum, but without stating it directly. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming is a mystery and a family drama. If you're in the mood for one or both of those....read this book. (Powell's has it in paperback for $6.95 right now.)

My Absence

Well, I checked out this blog a couple of days ago and realized that it's been about 4 months since I last posted. Yikes! I had been very busy with the end of school, yes, but I think there is another reason why I haven't written about a book in that time. The main reason why I haven't been writing recommendations is that I haven't been inspired by any of the books I've read. I didn't want to restart my posting with a so-so or a NO recommendation. Well, during the last week I finished a book that I feel that I can write positively about. So read on......!