Sunday, December 31, 2006
Once again at Christmas, my family supplied with me months' worth of reading, and guaranteed that those one or two books I own which, for one reason or another I've never gotten around to reading, will remain unread for another year. These include "The Great Bridge," which I'm about halfway through, and "Death in the Afternoon", which I've started a couple of times only to put it down in favor of another book. Recently, I heard an interview with humorist Joe Queenan, who claims to read several dozen books at once, and is unafraid to pick up a book he started years before and start reading again where he left off. So perhaps there is hope for me yet.
Among the books I received for Christmas (and of course Christmas also brings books via Barnes and Noble gift cards) was "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond and "The Godfather Returns" by Mark Winegardner. I had never planned to read the latter until I saw that it received a starred review by Publishers Weekly. I started reading it, and while the prose is clunky in spots, Winegardner does a good job developing characters and has picked up the loose threads of the original novel and movies quite nicely.
Among the books I received for Christmas (and of course Christmas also brings books via Barnes and Noble gift cards) was "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond and "The Godfather Returns" by Mark Winegardner. I had never planned to read the latter until I saw that it received a starred review by Publishers Weekly. I started reading it, and while the prose is clunky in spots, Winegardner does a good job developing characters and has picked up the loose threads of the original novel and movies quite nicely.
Labels: Barnes and Noble, David McCullough, Ernest Hemingway, Jared Diamond, Joe Queenan, Mark Winegardner, The Godfather
