[2011] What are you reading?

I finished The Peach Keeper last night. It was a pretty meh book. Sarah Addison Allen's first novel, Garden Spells, reminded me a lot of the movie Chocolat (haven't read the novel): a whimsical, small town tale where couples pair up, but it grows out of the story instead of being the point of the story. Since that first book, Allen's books have become contrivances about keeping couples apart before they eventually see the folly of their ways and fall in love. I love Chocolat the movie and really enjoyed Garden Spells. Peach Keeper was just too formulaic. It would make a cute romantic comedy, but it there was absolutely no substance to the book whatsoever. Even the obstacles between the two main couples in the story seemed really forced. It wasn't terrible and only took a few hours to read, so c'est la vie.

I'm really excited to read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein next. Eric Riley and Harrisment both recommended it (and a few others in last year's reading thread). I love dogs and have an old lab right now, so this book is right up my alley. I didn't realize the book was written by a Seattle author and set here too, so that's an extra bonus. It's always nice to read about landmarks that you frequently visit or live close to. I'm about 40 pages in to the story, and so far I think Einstein from Dean Koontz's Watchers might have serious competition for the #1 spot in my all-time favorite fictional dog category.

 

I finished The Art of Racing in the Rain last night, and I was blown away by this wonderful, beautiful novel. The story follows the life of Enzo, a lab with a bit of terrier, as he looks back at his life in a first person account. Enzo is quite a smart dog, since Denny, his owner, leaves the TV on for him every day, and he has all kinds of crazy theories that he's gleaned from A&E, TLC, Discovery Channel, and more. There were times I had to put the book down I was laughing so hard over one of Enzo's comments. Throughout the novel, Enzo is obsessed with and at peace with dying because he once saw a documentary on Mongolia that said dogs are reincarnated as a human. Denny is a race car driver, so much of the story is also littered with Enzo's take on racing, which he's learned from sports channels and Denny's comments while he watches races on TV.

You are told in the first few pages that Enzo's owner goes through some very rough times, and then Enzo takes us back through those times and they were heart-wrenching. As a father and owner of two old dogs, some of the themes struck very close to home for me. Still this is a very uplifting tale despite the hellacious obstacles put before Denny and Enzo.

I have always held Einstein from Dean Koontz's Watchers as my favorite dog in literature, and I always assumed it was his spot for life. No longer. Enzo, take your spot on the podium. What an absolutely brilliant character that Garth Stein has created. I plan on picking up his other two books this week and am looking forward to reading more of his work. This is a short novel, and one that I polished off in two sittings. Still it packs such an amazing punch for a small package, so funny and charming, at times dark and harrowing, but ultimately cheeky, mischieveous, and uplifting. The ending was absolutely perfect.

I highly recommend this book. If you're a dog person, you need to go out and buy this book right now.

UPDATE: I keep thinking about this novel, and I've picked it up a few times throughout the day to reread the last few pages. What a fine novel. It's definitely etched out a spot in my list of all-time favorites. I just ordered it as a birthday gift for my sister, and I intend to get the world out on this remarkable story.

I'm reading Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz next. It's the last Alex Rider novel, so I imagine it'll be more of the same with the takedown of some of his longtime enemies. It's fun summer popcorn reading, but I'm still in the mood for some short reads after the uberlong Erikson slog.

 

I finished Scorpia Rising, which Horowitz says is the last Alex Rider novel. For those not aware, Alex Rider is a 14 year old British kid who is recruited by MI6 and goes on a lot of James Bondesque missions. Overall, the nine book series has been great popcorn reading with a ton of intense action scenes, many of them nods to the silver screen exploits of James Bond.

Scorpia is a Specter-like (for you Bond fans) criminal group that Alex has tangled with in the past, and they killed his parents when he was a young boy. This novel hinted at him finally matching up against them and taking them down.

However, this novel was probably the worst of the Alex Rider books. There has always been a setup chapter to identify the villain, but this novel took 5 chapters and over 100 pages before we ever see Alex Rider, almost a full third of the book. I appreciate a good complex conspiracy, but I felt we got too much of that and not enough Alex. The main hallmark of this series has been the over-the-top action sequences, and Alex somehow making it through them alive. He's usually aided by a slew of gadgets provided by Smithers (Q), which take the form of iPods, gameboys, and other items a teenager would have. This book was woefully short on gadgets, and criminally it had very few action sequences and those weren't carried out especially well. Only once did I ever feel Alex was in danger. The rest felt like going through the motions.

I was also a bit letdown by the end. Alex does go through some grueling events, and then it kind of wraps up quickly and fades to black with Alex retiring from the spy business. It didn't feel like an end to the story, just like the end of any of the other books. I had hoped for a bit of finality or closure to a 9 book series. I definitely felt like another 30-50 pages should have been added to wrap things up. Like all the books in the series, it was a very quick read, and I finished it in two sittings.

If you've read the rest of the series, it's worth picking up. Even with a just okay ending, I'd still recommend the books if you're looking for a fun popcorn action book. Half Price Books usually carries them.

I'm reading The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King for my book club next. I've read it twice before, but the last time was almost 20 years ago. This was always my favorite King novel. It has such a different tone, so light-hearted and whimsical. True, this is King, so there are some dark elements to it, but it reads like a fairy tale. I'm curious to see how I feel about it after all this time now that my reading tastes are much more mature.

 

The Eyes of the Dragon was pretty much exactly as I remembered it. It's one of the more whimsical Stephen King stories, although it has a few dark elements to it. I enjoyed the storyteller perspective, and the story itself is a fun tale that ties together pretty well. Still, the characters are a bit black and white, and I wouldn't consider it an all time great. It is my favorite King novel, although I haven't really been a fan of his in over a decade.

After reading the excellent The Art of Racing in the Rain, I bought Garth Stein's other two novels. Up first: How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets. I'm about 50 pages in, and I'm enjoying it so far. The beginning is a bit scattershot in approach, but it's becoming more focused. While the narration isn't as entertaining as Enzo's masterful storytelling in The Art of Racing in the Rain, it's still very engrossing.

I'm really liking Garth Stein's writing style, and I'm excited to see where this story goes.