So...another amazon.com recommendation, at the same time as The Haunted Vagina. It contains three short novels: "Monster Cocks," "Journey to the Center of Agnes Cuddlebottom" and "Crazy Shitting Planet." Turns out that it's also part of this bizarro fiction genre; I really have never heard of this before and I am not sure at all why amazon would recommend these to me.
What did I think? Well - they were okay. The stories were all a quick read, which was in their favor. Of the three I enjoyed the one about Agnes Cuddlebottom the best...interviews with people who, thanks to a new invention, were shrunk and then were up walking around Agnes's intestines. There's definitely a very satirical element to these three stories which comes across loud and clear. Essentially, this story really takes to task what we'll do for medical advancement and how we treat the earth and each other. It essentially says how we have a blatant disregard for human life - except our own, of course. But it does so in a very funny way; how they end up opening a Starbucks in her intestines, for instance, because there are so many people in there. It's...well, I guess it's called bizarro fiction for a reason, because it's bizarro.
I don't have any other bizarro books to read, and I think I'm okay with that. I think that if someone likes this genre, then this is a good book to read, but overall I don't know that I've been pulled into the bizarro genre. Doesn't mean I won't visit from time to time, though.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Grave Secret - Charlaine Harris
Okay, I have to confess. I didn't really read this book; it was more skimming/speed reading. This is the fourth book in Charlaine Harris's Harper Connelly series. I stumbled across Charlaine Harris randomly, two summers ago, and her Sookie Stackhouse series. [This was before it was made into True Blood on HBO.] I was immediately drawn in and still love the series! So I decided to read one of her other series last summer and picked this one.
It's an interesting concept - Harper was struck by lightning and now gets certain vibes/messages from corpses. I like it. I zipped through the first three and enjoyed them...but not as much as Sookie. Which isn't really a fair comparison, because they are completely different series and concepts. Anyway, Grave Secret came out in hardback, and while I wanted to read it I didn't want to spend the money to buy it in hardback. So...a bit of a confession here...I decided to speed read it in various bookstores. That's right. Part of it in Barnes & Noble and part of it in Borders.
What I liked about this book is that it dealt more with her family and her missing sister, which has been a focus of the series since the start. It was interesting to see her with family around; other than Tolliver, she's generally been on her own for the first three books. I like that it treated the family rapports with a certain complexity. As for the mystery of the book, I really didn't figure it out and was pretty shocked at the end! Which is always a sign of a good book. Maybe there were clues that I missed because I was reading/skimming it so quickly. Overall I enjoyed it, though, and if you've read the first three then this is worth reading as well. I wouldn't rush out and buy it, but it's a good library book.
I don't know if this closes out the series or not; it certainly felt like good closure at the end of the book. If it does end now, then this was a good ending book for it.
It's an interesting concept - Harper was struck by lightning and now gets certain vibes/messages from corpses. I like it. I zipped through the first three and enjoyed them...but not as much as Sookie. Which isn't really a fair comparison, because they are completely different series and concepts. Anyway, Grave Secret came out in hardback, and while I wanted to read it I didn't want to spend the money to buy it in hardback. So...a bit of a confession here...I decided to speed read it in various bookstores. That's right. Part of it in Barnes & Noble and part of it in Borders.
What I liked about this book is that it dealt more with her family and her missing sister, which has been a focus of the series since the start. It was interesting to see her with family around; other than Tolliver, she's generally been on her own for the first three books. I like that it treated the family rapports with a certain complexity. As for the mystery of the book, I really didn't figure it out and was pretty shocked at the end! Which is always a sign of a good book. Maybe there were clues that I missed because I was reading/skimming it so quickly. Overall I enjoyed it, though, and if you've read the first three then this is worth reading as well. I wouldn't rush out and buy it, but it's a good library book.
I don't know if this closes out the series or not; it certainly felt like good closure at the end of the book. If it does end now, then this was a good ending book for it.
The Haunted Vagina - Carlton Mellick III
Yes, that's right, The Haunted Vagina. Believe it or not, amazon.com suggested this book to me! I don't know why - it's not like I've ever really searched for books about vaginas. But given recent comedic discussions I've had with some friends about how scary vaginas are, I thought I had to get it.
Essentially, the plot is that Steve's girlfriend, Stacy, has a haunted vagina. So he goes inside to explore. And the story is what happens after that.
I have to say - it was pretty interesting! A short book, only about 100 pages. A quick read. Definitely comedic in parts, and completely bizarre in other parts. The idea of having a whole other world in a vagina is, well, creepy.
No particular quotes or themes that resonated with me, and I don't know that I'll rush out to read any of his other books, but it was interesting and clever. Apparently Carlton Mellick III is one of the leading authors of a new genre called "bizarro fiction." I don't know that I'm familiar with this genre, but I can see that there's a place for it.
Essentially, the plot is that Steve's girlfriend, Stacy, has a haunted vagina. So he goes inside to explore. And the story is what happens after that.
I have to say - it was pretty interesting! A short book, only about 100 pages. A quick read. Definitely comedic in parts, and completely bizarre in other parts. The idea of having a whole other world in a vagina is, well, creepy.
No particular quotes or themes that resonated with me, and I don't know that I'll rush out to read any of his other books, but it was interesting and clever. Apparently Carlton Mellick III is one of the leading authors of a new genre called "bizarro fiction." I don't know that I'm familiar with this genre, but I can see that there's a place for it.
Intro
Well - thanks to Peggy for the idea. Why not a blog to keep track of the books I read this year? Let's give it a whirl! I was thinking of trying to include certain things in each entry. Maybe...
Title, Author: duh.
How I came across the book
What I thought
Something that struck me
Any themes I related to
Quotes?
I don't know, we'll see. And I'll just let it evolve.
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