"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." Groucho Marx



Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart


This book was a nice change from the norm. I enjoyed the bizarre and witty story line and I always love British authors.  What I loved most about this author was her uncanny ability to amuse in one breath and wrench your heart in the next. This book is about love in all of its forms and stages. The love of a widow, a parent, a long-married couple. The loneliness of a single, the thrill of a new relationship, the attachment to a family pet. Every type of scenario fostered by the heart makes an appearance and then the characters are brilliantly woven together using the readers laughter and tears to connect them with the thread of their common residence and veritable humanity.
You can find an official plot line description at:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8777432-the-tower-the-zoo-and-the-tortoise

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Pursuit by Thomas Perry


I didn't really read this book, I would say I endured it. This one had the distinct feeling of a suspense/psychological thriller relayed in deadpan. Droning on and on and then the conclusion wraps everything up neat as pin in less than a chapter. I found myself wondering at what stage in his career the author was in when he produced this. There were moments when you could tell he thought he was on a roll in a descriptive sense. He carries on about the look of a person or a street and then the 'but I digress' is nearly audible. The moral of the story: when you create a good sentence or a great paragraph it must also be relevant, otherwise it's really not that wonderful after all.


You will find an official description of the plot line at:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2971066.Pursuit