Literary Lollapalooza, August Edition

This month, in true summer movie fashion, we end the summer season with a handful of sequels…and a heart-wrenching true story.

This is Literary Lollapalooza, August Edition.

Books Acquired:

Fiction: The Law of Nines by Terry Goodkind

Non-Fiction: The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald

Books Borrowed: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

Books Read:

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

This sequel to the stunning debut The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo picks up right where the first one left off. Almost all of the characters from the first book make a return appearance here. I can’t say too much without giving important plot points away, but just know that the enigmatic Lisbeth Salander plays the central role here with Blomkvist in the supporting role. Salander was such an incredible creation that it is nice to spend much of our time getting into her head and into her past.
While the sequel doesn’t have the driving urgency and gut-busting impact of the first one, this is still a solid story with well-rounded characters. The plot finds itself relying sometimes clumsily on coincidences and convenient plot devices to get to where it is going, but it is still a fun ride.
Any readers who liked the first book will definitely enjoy this one as well. I’m looking forward to the completion of this trilogy when The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest comes out next year.


Evil at Heart by Chelsea Cain

Any constant reader of these pages will recognize Ms. Cain’s name. Stephen King named both of her first two books in this series on his Best Books of 2008 column in EW magazine, and I quickly fell in love with her writing as well reading both books in the last year.
In this the third entry in the serial killer saga, Gretchen Lowell, notorious serial killer, is on the loose. Archie Sheridan, the detective who first caught the Beauty Killer and became her victim and obsession, is now spending his days hospitalized in a mental facility. He’s suffered much too much and needs an extended rest. But bodies are starting to turn up with the Beauty Killer’s signature on them. Has Gretchen started killing again or is there a copycat out there committing crimes in her name. In a society that sells “Run, Gretchen, Run” T-shirts and key-chains that count down the days since she escaped, where does the line fall between celebrity and serial killer?
Evil at Heart is a taut and blazing thriller, easily the best in the series. Ms. Cain’s prose is at its best here, whether describing her hometown of Portland or a crime scene covered in human gore. She is obviously honing her craft with each book, and enjoying herself more along the way. Each page is well-crafted and terrifying suspense, with dark bits of humor and wit peppering the thrills. If you haven’t started reading this series yet…what are you waiting for? I’ve already told you twice! Uncle Stevie told you, too. Heartsick and Sweetheart are both out now in paperback, and Evil at Heart drops into stores on September 1.


You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore

This is the sequel to Mr. Moore’s Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story. The love story between Jody, recent vampire, and Thomas Flood, her minion continues here. The problem is that Jody has just turned Tommy into a vampire, too. Sometimes love sucks. So as the two fledgling vampires try to figure out how to survive in a human world without becoming vicious killers, they must also find a new minion to do their bidding during the daytime. Meanwhile a blue prostitute (named Blue, of course) has hooked up with the Animals, the overnight Safeway stocking crew Tommy used to work with, and has plans of her own. Lucky for her, the Animals have experience hunting vampires.
To tell you the truth I wasn’t really looking forward to this book. I didn’t absolutely love the first book, and I wasn’t really looking forward to reconnecting with the characters. But the book was on my shelf, and I had committed to this idea of sequels, so I read it anyway. I’m glad I did.
The humor comes fast and furious in this book, and while Moore continues to be completely immature and inane, he finds some fun and interesting ways to be completely moronic. This is a very fun story and the characters are all very ridiculous and entertaining. It’s a fast read, and one that requires no thought at all. You Suck is a blast, one hell of a good time. The funniest writing in the book belongs to the journal entries of a fifteen year old wannabe Goth girl named Abby Normal. How Moore so perfectly captures the thoughts and tone of a teen girl I’ll never know. It seems his immaturity finally finds its calling. This is one of the rare cases where a book’s sequel far outshines its predecessor.



Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

Abdulrahman Zeitoun was a 49 year old father of four, and proud owner of a painting and contracting company in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit the Louisiana coast. His wife Kathy gathered the kids and fled the city, fearing the worst. Zeitoun, a humble and stubborn man, decided to stay and keep an eye on things, after all he’d stayed through all the other storms and been fine. Besides he had clients and equipment all over town, and a few rental properties that he owned, someone had to be there to take care of something in case of an emergency. When the levees broke, leaving New Orleans completely under water, Zeitoun was there to drag the family’s belongings to the second floor, saving much. In his aluminum canoe he was able to paddle around the neighborhood, helping people who had stayed like him to safety. He was able to locate houses where abandoned dogs whined from hunger and feed them. He felt like God had put him there for a reason. But as conditions spiraled out of control in the region between looters and the American military presence, New Orleans was the last place on Earth he should have been.
This true story of the Zeitoun family is a top-notch read. Above and beyond simple reporting, Eggers revels in the details, the smallest points of interest that add up to a human life. The story told here is of a Syrian immigrant, strong-willed and well-liked, a small-business owner and loving husband and father who when called upon to act did the extraordinary; and the uplifting, terrifying, and shattering journey that followed in the wake of disaster.
I CANNOT give this book a higher recommendation. You will love this book, I guarantee it. A better biography has not been written this year. Astoundingly well-written, this one is a must read!

That’s all for now folks. Hope you find some time to do some reading.