Sadly, there are a number, more so specific books than authors. For whatever reason, though, the one that comes immediately to mind is Norman Mailer’s The Castle in the Forest.

In naming it my [...]]]>

Name a book or author that you truly wanted to love but left you disappointed. (And, of course, explain why.)

Sadly, there are a number, more so specific books than authors. For whatever reason, though, the one that comes immediately to mind is Norman Mailer’s The Castle in the Forest.

In naming it my “biggest disappointment” of 2007, I said the book “took an interesting concept — the story of Hitler’s childhood from the perspective of the demon assigned by the devil to supervise him — and made it vapid.” Similarly, my review of the book ended by saying, “Given that The Castle in the Forest is promoted as an exploration of that struggle [between good and evil], it ultimately comes off as an almost banal rendition of not only that topic but evil itself.”

Just think. One of our country’s most respected authors wants to explore good and evil in the context of Hitler, demons and the devil. The possibilities were endless, simply not achieved or greatly underachieved.

Yet I’m not the only one who had issues with the book. Mailer actually won the Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction award in 2007 for a passage that said a male member was “as soft as a coil of excrement.” That certainly must qualify as a disappointment for such a literary star.

Unfortunately, Mailer died about 10 months after the book was released. Not the way to end your literary legacy.

The Indispensable Calvin And Hobbes

I’ve subscribed to the NYT Book Review for a number of years and, off and on, a variety of other book review (Bookforum) and book-oriented (The Believer) publications. And, of course, I have a number of [...]]]>

Do you read book reviews? Do you let them change your mind about reading/not reading a particular book?

I’ve subscribed to the NYT Book Review for a number of years and, off and on, a variety of other book review (Bookforum) and book-oriented (The Believer) publications. And, of course, I have a number of book review and book-oriented blogs in my RSS reader.

If I know I am going to review a book, I don’t read reviews of it to avoid any sort of predisposition or influence. I also don’t read the reviews until after I have written my review.

Otherwise, I read a large number of reviews but their effect varies. Sometimes, it is simply that I don’t think the book will interest me. Other times, a favorable inclination created by one review may be offset by a couple others and vice versa. As much as I hate to admit it, though, I don’t really pay too close attention to who may have reviewed a book in the NYT or elsewhere to see what their track record with me might be. Like with the books themselves, there’s so many reviews and so little time.

George Orwell, “Confessions of a Book Reviewer”

What books do you have next to your bed right now? How about other places in the house? What are you reading?

This item comes late today because the answer isn’t that easy. It’s more a matter of numbers. My bed not onlyhas two small headboard shelves, there’s a small bookcase next to it. [...]]]>

What books do you have next to your bed right now? How about other places in the house? What are you reading?

This item comes late today because the answer isn’t that easy. It’s more a matter of numbers. My bed not onlyhas two small headboard shelves, there’s a small bookcase next to it. This generally holds the TBR books so between the two there’s enough that I don’t want to bore people with a list of titles. Suffice it to say that as of this posting there’s 57 books bedside.

Aside from the large bookshelves scattered throughout the house, there is also a bookshelf next to the chair in our front room that I usually read in. It tends to contain library books or newer books I intend hope to get to in the near future. It also usually contains the book I am currently reading, which is now Hans Fallada’s Wolf Among Wolves. Currently, there’s 17 books on those shelves, along with a variety of magazines.

Now particularly in light of my last post about reading challenges, this could be an appropriate time to whine about the number of books again far exceeding the amount of time available for reading. But I decided that I shouldn’t really complain given that the complete review‘s Michael Orthofer noted on the site’s blog that “3607 days passed between the time I received a review copy of [Mongo Beti's The Story of the Madman] and when I finally got around to reviewing it.”

Thanks, Michael. Now I don’t feel quite so bad about all those books waiting for me. I’m hoping it won’t take me nearly 10 years to get through them. Then again, you never know, you know?