Dive in, the story’s fine

So here’s how “Rolling in the Deep” by Mira Grant came to be on my reading list.

I was at the library, checking out the New Arrivals shelf and, as usual, I was paying special attention to all the skinny books. It’s how I discovered this book and this one and a few more I may or may not write about.

The title attracted me: Is this about Adele, whose hit song by the same name ran through my mind while reading the book (and writing this)? Is this a book of poetry/lyrics by her? It’s just the sort of money grab publishers do when someone popular has a new hit album out.

Hey Classics Challengers (and everyone else): I’m back from a distant planet

So I see from my previous post that I haven’t written since September.

Interestingly enough, I’ve still had a lot of of activity on this blog—almost every day for that month—mostly because of my friend Oneita’s marketing prowess and this book for people who eat.

Anyway, I’m looking at less than two months left in the year and three categories still to go in this year’s Classics Challenge so I have to write about the category just finished: A Future or Alternative World; I chose Frank Herbert’s classic “Dune.”

The Yellow Brick Road to Hell

Here’s another late-to-the-party read: Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” Is it possible it turns 20 this year?

Here’s how it ended up on my reading list: I was watching a bootleg YouTube video of the musical “Wicked,” (I’ve never seen it live. I know, shut up.) which is based on the novel. It was so clever and fun and witty and only a bit dark that I said to myself: “Hey, if the novel is as cute as the musical, this should be fun.”

(Pause goes here.)

(Little bit longer.)

(One more beat.)

Yeah, so it was anything but fun.