Books

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” – C.S. Lewis

I wish I could read for a living. But I also wish I could star in a Broadway musical so I’m not holding my breath. Meanwhile, here’s a monthly account of books I’ve read. At the bottom of each cover you’ll see a tiny number that will give you my On-A-Scale-Of recommendation. Not a perfect system but here’s how it shakes out:

5: The writing is so beautiful it will blind you. And the story telling is ridiculous – seamless and so compelling you cannot put the book down. You might laugh but mostly you’ll cry and suffer heartbreak and delirium for at least 24 hours. This book is unique or unsettling or unbearably perfect, or all three. Drop what you’re doing and read this book now.
4: This is a damn good book. You don’t want it to end and when you do finish you feel totally satisfied, like you just polished off an amazing Italian meal. Any flaws you noticed can be totally overlooked because when all is said and done you’re going to recommend this book to anyone who loves reading.
3: This book is entertaining or thought provoking or better than expected. It’s a book you enjoy and enjoy talking about. A great Book Club recommendation or beach book. Easy to read, a few warts but totally kissable.
2: This is a book a lot of people love. The reviews are good and it may even be selling like hotcakes, but you just don’t see what the hype is about. There were definitely some good things (maybe nice setting, good sex, funny side-kick, cool history) but not enough to feel like it all came together. Let’s put it this way, it’s a book you don’t mind lending to friends who don’t return books.
1: Wow. You barely have words for this one. Best Seller or Self-Published E-book – it doesn’t matter. it just plain sucked. There wasn’t a simile to be found or else the writing was so overblown it was unreadable. Formulaic, flat characters and slow as molasses. Will you even finish it? Who cares?! You wouldn’t recommend it to your nemesis.