book report

I've finished quite a few books in the last month or so - my reading speed has bumped up with the finishing of two large tomes, whose chapter lengths were definitely slowing me down.

The first of them was Charles Darwin's The Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. I think it was well worth reading - his descriptions of the various locations they visited, the local flora, fauna, and culture, were both interesting and informative, if dense. I don't consider it a keeper, but it was good to read once.

Secondly, the whole twelve hundred-some pages of Gotham, by Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace. Fascinating book - the depth of discussion of Manhattan's entire history must have taken years of research. (Finishing it also felt like a significant achievement!) Highly enjoyable - definitely a keeper.

I also read Conrad Richter's The Trees, the story of a pioneer family. In its unflinching survey of the brutality of early frontier life and really of people's emotions and actions, it reminded me a lot of Annie Dillard's The Living. Both refuse to romanticize the people and places they're chronicling, but nonetheless paint vivid pictures. The Trees has two sequels, which I'm looking forward to.

My newest attempt to pick up a new series based on a blog was a tremendous success. I've stopped reading The Lipstick Chronicles, but I had already picked up Shop till You Drop, by Elaine Viets, one of the bloggers from that site. I was delighted to discover that I loved it - first time in a long time that I had to stay up until I finished a book! The characters were memorable, surprising, and entertaining, and the setting vividly imagined. Now I have a new series to look for - always a bonus.

Finally, I reread Scott Turow's The Laws of Our Fathers. Turow's interesting - I read I think his first five books, then apparently lost interest, since I don't know if he's even written anything in the last 10 years! Laws seems to be the last one I picked up. It's not my favorite, nor my least favorite. It's a solid read, interesting characters, compelling and tightly woven story ... but not much more than that.