Remember Me?

A novel by the #1 NewYork Times best-selling author Sophie Kinsella.

Quickie Recap: Lexi wakes up in the hospital and finds that the past 3 years of her life have completely vanished from her memory. Surprisingly, she seems to be living the dream...but she soon finds out that appearances can be deceiving.

Quickie Review: That recap makes me sick. It's so formulaic. To be honest, I think the whole amnesia theme is a bit played out. I only know of Sophie because my sisters have left her stuff lying about, usually on the edge of tubs, which I think is where she belongs. This book was a bit gratuitous. Fluff. Romantic and predictable cheap thrills. The best that I can say is that I think her ladybug dress in the back cover author photo is cute. Heck, I'll even give it a really cute just to show how generous I can be.

Quickie Recommendation: It is what it is.

The Imposter

by Damon Galgut.

Quickie Recap: Adam is a middle-aged dude barely getting by in South Africa when he decides to move to the country and write poetry. Things don't go particularly well until he reconnects with someone from his past who serves as inspiration while entangling him in complications.

Quickie Review: This book definitely has its moments. There's a sinister quality that really succeeds, that really has you waiting for the other shoe to drop. And then there's this backdrop of racial tension, definitions of friendship and betrayal, and a sense of secrecy that pervades the story. All these little pieces are great, but somehow I felt they missed the mark as a whole.

Quickie Recommendation: Good, but not great.

Broken

A novel by Daniel Clay.

Quickie Recap: Reminiscing from the depth of her coma, Skunk recalls the events that led her there: the school bullies, the crush on her teacher, the absence of her mother, the disappearance of her friend, the mystery surrounding her neighbours, all of which conspire to make an 11 year old girl not want to wake up.

Quickie Review: At times, this book was utterly depressing. It's meant to be that way. An 11 year old girl should not be exposed to so much suffering in the world, she should not get to the point where she can't think of anything worth waking up for. But there's something beautiful in her quiet observation, the way her experiences are so pure. I really felt something for this book. I had sympathy for so many of the characters, probably because Skunk does. She feels with such innocence that it really rubs off on the reader.

Quickie Recommendation: Inspired.

Panic in Level 4

Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science, by Richard Preston.

Quickie Recap: Who plays with Ebola? Who gives a shit about pi? What does DNA taste like? Richard Preston answers all the questions I bet no one besides him really thought of asking.

Quickie Review: This book was disjointed, it's just 6 different topics with nothing to do with each other that Preston thought worth publishing. And actually, they are. Worth publishing, I mean. It's no great literary achievement, but there are some interesting moments. I actually came away having learned something about pi, and I have to give some credit there.

Quickie Recommendation: Have you ever wondered what would compel a person to eat their own flesh? If so, this is a pretty good source.

Literary Lapses

by Stephen Leacock.

Quickie Recap: This is Leacock's first collection of comic stories, self-published according to the afterword by Robertson Davies, and full of gems, according to me.

Quickie Review: I liked best the one story that Robertson Davies did not: Number Fifty-Six. Other than that, Davies and I seem to agree largely that Leacock is a national treasure, always a funny man, and a great read besides.

Quickie Recommendation: Never a let down.

Snuff

by Chuck Palahniuk.

Quickie Recap: Cassie Wright, an aging and declining porn star, makes one last grab at fame by setting out to set a world record while making her last film starring herself and 600 willing men, three of whom share their stories while waiting for their turns.

Quickie Review: I gushed after Rant. Gushed. It set the bar high, and even though I had Snuff in my closet just waiting to be read, I practiced some delayed gratification and held out. Held out to be horrifically disappointed, it seems. Didn't like it. Like, at all. Hey Chuck Palahniuk - way to WAY overuse the phrase 'pud-puller'. Totally ruined it for me. I had no sympathy for any of the characters. I found them lacking in motivation. With a title like Snuff, you have a pretty good indication that someone is going to die, and I felt myself willing it along. I wanted them all to keel over just so that I could be done. I'm pretty sure he only wrote the book so he could use those "clever" porn titles he's been saving up since he was 12. I mean, Chitty Chitty Gang Bang? Ugh.

Quickie Recommendation: Read Rant instead. This book is lame.

Say Goodbye

by Lisa Gardner.

Quickie Recap: An expectant mother\FBI agent learns to juggle her personal life with her career, struggling between doing what's best for her unborn baby and what the urgent needs of the missing persons in her case files.

Quickie Review: Not normally my kind of book, I still enjoyed it, at least in a throw-away kind of way. Lately I find that I need some lighter fare in between angsty literature or heavy-duty non-fiction and despite the dead bodies, this, to me, is lighter fare. Brilliant? No. Frankly, a little predictable, but in a sorbet way. You know, palate-cleansing.

Quickie Recommendation: Hm. Well, if you're a lover of the "best-selling suspense" stuff, then yeah, I think this works. Is there better out there? Definitely.