Not every book is destined to be your cup of tea. Not every book is destined to be your friend. But sometimes it can be surprising to read a book that is zeitgeisty, crowd-pleasing, universally adored—only to discover that — you hate it. Here are six books (two by the same author) that I, personally, deem unworthy of the profuse praise they have received. The final one is recent and is the inspiration for this list. A Confederacy Of Dunces John Kennedy Toole A satirical tale of the misadventures of Ignatius J. Reilly, an obese, fractious, misanthropic fool of a…
Category: <span>READING</span>
How The One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House Cherie Jones The title refers to the cautionary tale told to 13 year old Lala, by her grandmother, about what happens to little girls who are disobedient. At 18, Lala finds herself pregnant and living in a beachfront shack and in a volatile relationship with grifter husband, Aidan. On the night Lala gives birth, a white English tourist dies during a robbery and worlds collide. This is a harrowing story of endless contrasts. Strong women faced with the fragile egos of the men in their lives. Affluent tourism juxtaposed with the poverty of…
The Time Machine H.G.Wells It feels only right to begin a time travel book list with this granddaddy of time travel novels, published in 1895 – the book that was ahead of its time and was subsequently used as inspiration for many that followed. The Time Traveller (he is never named) recounts his astonishing story of the machine he has built and his journey to the future to a roomful of curious listeners over dinner. The book’s narrator is one of those people present. The Traveller has journeyed to the year 802,701 where he discovers that the human race has…
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Mark Haddon Fifteen year old Christopher Boone, who hates to be touched and despises the color yellow, is a self- proclaimed mathematician with a prosaic take on the world. When he wakes one morning to find his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, dead on the lawn, impaled with a pitch fork, he is initially blamed and arrested. A teacher encourages him to write about the incident which inspires him to solve the mystery by emulating one of his favorite people, Sherlock Holmes. But in the process of doing so, he stumbles upon another…
Run For The Hills Kevin Wilson On an ordinary Saturday morning, Mad Hill is working on her organic farm when a PT Cruiser pulls up and out steps Reuben Hill. He introduces himself as her half-brother, believing that they share a father that neither of them has seen in decades. He asks Mad to join him on a pilgrimage west to locate two more half-siblings, college basketball star, Pep and eleven year old aspiring filmmaker, Tom, with the intent of proceeding on to meet their father. As they travel, they trade stories of the man who was radically different for each…
Mr Dickens And His Carol Samantha Silva A fictional account of how Dickens came to write one of his most famous and beloved stories. When Martin Chuzzlewit is a supreme flop, Dickens must face the fact that his financial status is looking bleak. His publisher declares that he must write a Christmas story immediately or he will face financial ruin. His wife, meanwhile, is planning their annual lavish Christmas party and his kids are tugging on his coat sleeves begging to go to the toy store. Feeling decidedly bah-humbugish with all of this stress, he becomes fractious and irritable so…
Galileo’s Daughter Dava Sobel Sister Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun, is the oldest of Galileo Galilei’s three illegitimate children. She wrote to her father regularly and her letters set up a nice framework for this book which is, essentially, an account of the trials and tribulations that faced Galileo throughout his life. Maria wrote beautifully and despite the fact that her father’s return correspondence no longer exists, it is clear that the two enjoyed a deep regard for each other and were able to share their mutual love of both science and faith. No need to be a science geek to…
~The Lost Garden Helen Humphreys A slender, beautifully written and lyrical story of horticulturist Gwen Davis who flees London during the Blitz to take charge of a group of Land Girls on a rundown estate on the Devonshire coast, which also happens to have a requisitioned stately home inhabited by a regiment of Canadian soldiers. Upon arrival, Gwen, somewhat socially awkward, struggles to connect with people and, feeling lonely, takes solace in bringing back to life a secret abandoned garden that’s she’s discovered. Over time, Gwen softens to those around her and begins to form deep connections with the girls…
~How To Find Love In A Bookshop Veronica Henry When her father dies unexpectedly, Emilia Nightingale finds herself in charge of the bookshop he owned and operated for thirty years, nestled on the main street of a charming English village in the Cotswolds. The book weaves the stories of several customers including Sarah, the owner of the village manor house, and quiet and shy Tomasina who runs a pop up restaurant out of her tiny cottage. Unsurprising and predictable it may be but it’s heartwarming, has a bookshop makeover (I’m a pushover for makeovers), a wedding (sort of) and lots and…
~Longbourn Jo Baker Named after the house in which the Bennet family lived, this is a sobering portrayal of what must take place behind the scenes in order to make the household of a respectable family run smoothly. A world where something as simple as an afternoon walk in spring upstairs, requires an afternoon of cleaning muddy boots downstairs. And how an evening excursion to a ball creates all manner of excitement and giddiness for the young ladies attending, but also creates a mountain of laundry and sewing and patience for their servants who must make it all happen – not…