The Weekly Read: 27 & 28

Yes, I am combining 2 weeks together again. How sad is that? This is mostly because I spent one of those weeks in California with friends, at Disneyland, a wedding, and then Comic Con. So my focus wasn't on reading, it was on spending time with people I only get to see a few times a year. That's it for this week's excuses. :)

STARTED: The Lonely Polygamist | Brady Udall

I read a review for this recently published book in Entertainment Weekly and thought it sounded good, so I added it to my library holds list a few months ago, thinking it would be a while before I could get it. Unfortunately, it came in while I was in Turkey, and because it's new, I could only have it for 2 weeks, which meant it was due while I was in California, so I pretty much just had a week. To read 600 pages. Yeah. I tried, I really did. But you add to that the fact that I worked 50 hours that week, trying to get all my work done before I left again, and there just wasn't enough time, so instead, I read half of it, returned it, and requested it again, and hopefully it won't take too long to get it again. So far, it's pretty interesting, and definitely well-written. If you've seen the show "Big Love", it feels a lot like that, and not only because the main character is a man with multiple wives and countless children. I think the loneliness the title refers to is a state you find yourself in when you have so much you can never be satisfied. As wives and children increase, there is less of a husband and father to go around, and nothing left for the man himself. This is one of those books that is hard to describe, but just kind of sucks you in. So far, the only thing I wish is that we got to know more of the kids, some of which are still unnamed, as if they are faceless members of a crowd.

Up next week: I have my book club meeting on Sunday, so I WILL finish a book! I promise! :)

The Weekly Read: 25 & 26

Once again, I have over-estimated the time I will actually spend reading while traveling. PLUS, sometime during the trip, my Kindle broke. :( The e-ink layer behind the screen shattered, and now it is unusable. Luckily, I was able to download the Kindle for Android app to my phone while at the Tel Aviv airport on our way to Turkey, so I was able to do some reading, but it's definitely not the same. I did not finish a single book these past 2 weeks.

STARTED: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal | Christopher Moore

Before heading to Israel, I picked out some books that were set there that I might like to read. This book, by humor novelist Christopher Moore, might seem like an odd choice to take on a religious pilgrimage, but for me, it has been perfect. I don't get offended easily, so talking about Jesus in such a loose manor didn't really bother me as it might have bothered others. What I take from this book is like a honest (though modern and funny) look at what Jesus might have been like as a kid. Would he have known he was special since birth? Probably. Maybe. Would he have had friends growing up, people he confided in? Positively. Obviously I don't take this as actual Gospel, but I don't think that means it's any less worth reading, just because the subject is a Holy one. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one plays out. If anything, Biff is a funny, cool character, and I know if Jesus truly had known him, he would have welcomed him with open arms.

That's it for the past 2 weeks. Yep, really. Coming up: Hopefully actually spending time reading.