Just a Taste

I am a pretty big Kurt Vonnegut fan. I've read his short stories and Breakfast of Champions (which I totally own but can't find- Mike's convinced I made this up.) I really loved Breakfast of Champions and wanted to read more and when I found out more about him as a person he was immediately endeared to me as more than a favorite author. A humanist and humorist, reading this wonderful collection of short stories and societal commentary made me want to go out and make the world a better place. This book wouldn't exist, nor would the Vonnegut that we all know and love, if it weren't for the fact that he survived the bombing of Dresden in WWII. He writes about war affecting people in quieter and more hurtful ways than killing one another but also in the hope of humanity on the personal level.

Upon hearing about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies I decided I had to read it. One thing was getting in my way- I've never read the unadulterated Pride and Prejudice. Though I know how it ends thanks to countless adaptations and people spoiling it, I'm really, really loving this story. It took me a few chapters to get in the groove of the language but now I'm moving through and loving it. I'm finally reading my first Austen and it's not that bad. I can't say I'm going to rush out and buy all her books after this but I'm pleasantly surprised.

Here is a book that I can't say I recommend. Nancy Atherton released a new book in the Aunt Dimity canon this past spring and there was some literary hubbub over the release. I wanted to check it out so I asked for one for my birthday. Well, my mother got a little overzealous and bought me four of the books. That would be awesome if I liked the book but I didn't. I found it to be trite and lazy. All the characters are rich and just too nice. The only conflict in this book is created by a character that never materializes. Yes, a good villain doesn't have to be present in order to have an affect, but in this case when the threat, that took up the whole book, became reality, the climax took a paragraph. I read stuff like this when I was twelve and loved it but at 28 I'm just bored. At least it doesn't take too much concentration. I can read the others on the bus.

I don't really have anything in mind for when I'm done with Austen. I can't tell if I'm in the mood for fiction or nonfiction. I have an urban homestead how-to and a chi-running how-to that I've been meaning to crack open but I'm a sucker for something that I can get lost in. And I can't really get lost when learning about running from a book.