When I was living in Ottawa with my two best friends, I was a passionate bookworm. All three of us, geeks that we are, always had really interesting books (mostly fantasy novels, I did say we were geeks) around the house that we would share with one another. I read at least 2 books per month.
When I moved to Montreal, I’m sad to admit that reading became practically obsolete in my life…with the exception of course of graphic novels and comic books. I’ve read maybe 2 books per year in the past 6 years. Afraid for my rapidly decaying brain cells, I decided at the end of June to put a stop to the rot.
I started a BOOK SWAP CLUB at work. So far I’ve read 14 books in the past 5 months …some great, some I question how the hell they got published in the first place. I thought I’d share the winners with you:
The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr – his first book was The Alienist but you don’t have to read it to follow his second novel despite it having the same characters. I enjoyed this book because of all the research the author did to bring New York to life in the 19th century. He used real historical figures and gave them a nice twist.
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day One) by Patrick Rothfuss – the first in his trilogy, he actually wrote the whole thing in one shot but his publisher decided to break it into three parts. This book is one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read in a really longtime. I highly recommend it.
Namaah’s Kiss by Jacqueline Carey – Mon Dieu! Where to begin? This is the first book of the third trilogy in an alternate world where France is called Terre d’Ange. It isn’t necessary to read the first two trilogies to understand this story, but I would recommend starting from the beginning so you can fall in love with the author’s characters and world where everyone is encouraged to Love as thou wilt.
Sleeping Naked Is Green: How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged Her Fridge, Sold Her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days by Vanessa Farquharson – I think the title is pretty self-explanatory. Just in case you’re too lazy to read the book, you can read her posts on www.greenasathistle.com. She’s awesome…and if she were gay, I would stalk her…on foot and by bike of course…
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris – LAUGH.OUT.LOUD.FUNNY. I particularly enjoyed his anecdotes about his sister Amy. She’s a wee bit crazy…but in a good way.
Do you have any suggestions for me? Just not any horror books please. My imagination is too vivid and I need to sleep at night.
I read the David Sedaris one over the summer. I loved it as well!
I’ll keep you in mind for books, but I too have fallen off of my ‘read a book a week’ bandwagon.