Double Cross Blind

Title: Double Cross Blind

Author: Joel N. Ross

Pages: 372

Genre: Fiction

Grade: D

Synopsis: The early days of December 1941 were eventful in the United Kingdom.  The Allies have captured a Nazi spy who was trying to infiltrate and take down their own spy network.  At the same time, an American who had enlisted with the Canadians in order to fight in the war is locked in a British Military Asylum, but may be just the person the British need in order to get information out of their captured Nazi spy.

My Review: Ok, I gave this book the old college try. In fact, I made it through more than 2/3 of the book when I realized that I really dreaded reading it, that I didn't care how it ended and that I really didn't understand what was going on.  The plot was extremely complicated and just never really caught my attention.  It's been on my 'to-read' list for years.  I've had a few books on that list lately that have really let me down...

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again

Title: A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again

Author: David Foster Wallace

Pages: 378

Genre: Essays

Grade: D

Synopsis: The book is a collection of essays on topics from a Cruise Ship in the Carribbean to the Illinois State Fair and from tennis in the hot and humid Midwestern summers to a long analysis of the films of David Lynch.

My Review: The first essay wasn't too bad, and neither was his essay about the Illinois State Fair (although it was quite long), but I could barely make it through the other essays in the book before giving up entirely.

Jamestown

Title: Jamestown

Author: Matthew Sharpe

Pages: 416

Genre: Historical Fiction?

Grade: D

Synopsis: This story is a retelling of the Jamestown story (i.e. the first English settlement in the New World), but it is set in a post-apocalyptic world.  Jamestown seems to be in the same location as it currently is (in Eastern Virginia), and the story spans from the Jamestown area up the coast to New York City, which has mostly been destroyed from how we know the city today.  A group of settlers set out from Manhattan, looking for a place to settle and create a trading post for oil when they come to the Jamestown area.  The groups communications officer starts a strange romance with Pocahontas in an effort to become trading partners with the Indians in the area.

My Review: I didn't really get this book.  It was a bizarre mixture of just about everything including rap and Ebonics and history and politics.  Too much of the humor felt forced and it took me far too long to get into the story.

The Pickwick Papers

Title: The Pickwick Papers

Author: Charles Dickens

Pages: 24 discs (Read 10 1/2)

Genre: Classic

Grade: D

Synopsis:  Mr. Samuel Pickwick is a retired businessman and bachelor that is ready to do a little traveling and have some adventures.  He forms the Pickwick Club and he and is fellow Pickwickians form a corresponding society to report back about their journeys and travels. 

My Review: Well,  this may not be fair because I actually didn't finish the book.  I don't remember the last time that I didn't finish a book, but this one was so long, it had been checked out from library for more than 2 months and I just didn't have it in me to keep trudging.  Generally, this book is well-liked, but I found it quite dry (with a little bit of humor here and there) and I had a hard time following along.  A few times I reviewed summaries of the chapters to get a better idea of the plot, but I was never sucked in to the stories.  If I make it through my current 'to-read' list, and once I've read a few of Dickens' other works then I'm willing to give this one another shot.

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882

Title: The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882

Author: Charles Darwin, edited by Nora Barlow

Pages: 243

Genre: Autobiography

Grade: D

Synopsis: Charles Darwin wrote his autobiography throughout the later years of his life. He intended it to be solely for his children, but his son first published the autobiography in 1887 (with most of the personal details omitted - which have now since been included). Darwin writes about his early life, school years and published works, spending very little on information about his family or other personal topics.

My Review: Very few books take me this long to read (4 weeks or so). Alison's had this book from some class at the U and I was interested in reading it but, there was nothing about this book that motivated me to pick it up and continue reading once I had started (and in fact, I skipped the 90+ pages of the appendix). For Darwin enthusiasts, this book is a gem. For the rest of us, I'm sure we can find something else...

On another note, The book is free to anybody who wants it (first come first served)...

Tomb of the Golden Bird

Title: Tomb of the Golden Bird

Author: Elizabeth Peters

Pages: 9 discs?

Genre: Mystery

Grade: D

Synopsis: The book is part of the acclaimed Amelia Peabody series. Emerson and his wife Amelia are back in Luxor, Egypt excavating. Emerson has an idea of where a tomb may be located, but it is in the rights area of Howard Carter who eventually locates and excavates King Tut's tomb. Meanwhile, Amelia's family is being hounded by a mysterious group of people looking for somebody.

My Review: This book has generally received good reviews, but I found it to be dreadful. That may possibly be because I've never read any of the other books in the Amelia Peabody series, but this was a difficult one to finish for me. The only redeeming part of the book was in regards to King Tut's tomb, which was mildly interesting.

The Bible

Title: The Bible

Author: Karen Armstrong

Pages: 5 discs

Genre: Non-fiction

Grade: D

Synopsis: This book is a biography of the Bible. It discusses how the Bible began, how the books in the Bible were chosen for inclusion and controversies surrounding these decisions.

My Review: I was really looking forward to this book, but it did not meet any of my expectations. While the basic history of the Bible was interesting, I had no idea what the book was talking about for most of the time. The book seems to be written more as an academic type biography than one that is accessible and interesting to the average person (and I imagined that I already knew more about the Bible than most people considering that I've actually read it...). I think that if I was willing to read the book once or twice more I would start to understand the history of the book and the Jews, but it was a little over my head right now. The book takes the stance that we take the Bible far too literally these days. There is no proof that Jesus was actually born of a virgin or that any of the miracles in the Old Testament actually took place. In fact, in the author's opinion, the only reason that Matthew and Luke allude to a virgin birth, is because Isaiah and other Old Testament prophets foretold of it. I would have enjoyed this book more had it been written by more of a believer than the author appears to be.