My Snobby Reading List
Oh yes, let's talk about me some more, shall we?

I have done a bit of reading since my last post. I read Og Mandino's A Different Way To Live, which I didn't really care for.

I liked his other work, The Greatest Miracle In The World and The Christ Commission chief among those books. There's not much new stuff in "Different Way" and maybe that's why I didn't like it. Basically, his advice to people who are unhappy is to "Buck up, soldier!" "Count your blessings!" "Smile!"

Eh.

Janet Evanovich's latest Stephanie Plum book Eleven On Top was a quick, fun read. Think of Fran Drescher from the TV show The Nanny and that character as a bounty hunter, and you have the tone of these books. It doesn't sound like it would work, but Evanovich is a pretty good writer working in a genre that she is a master of (goofy yet sexy chick with an endearing cast of co-horts capers through wacky adventures in New Jersey), and I have loved all eleven books of this series.

It's not great literature, but it's a lot of fun.

I also read The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. It was an okay read, and there were a few things in there that I had forgotten.

My problem with this book (as I have with a lot of stuff on the extremes of idealogy) is the shrillness of it. The author never comes out and says "Those Libruls are wrong about just like they are about EVERYTHING" but the sentiment is there. At least I felt it.

I was hoping that this book would have been a little more ... fun. I love history, and I love trivia. It seems to me that there this a whole bunch of stuff out there that we haven't learned -- and even more that we should un-learn if we want a better understanding of where we came from.

But this book doesn't make the case.

I haven't picked up The Gospel According to Paul in a couple of days. As much as I admire Paul, and I adore reading about him, this book just hasn't engaged me. But I want to finish it.

But here is an engaging book that I started yesterday and I am about halfway through: The Last Voyage of Columbus. It's a tale of shipwreck, triumph, tragedy, irony, political intrigue and more -- and it's true. Author Dugard weaves a compelling tale about someone history has alternately lionized and reviled. You'll learn a lot about Columbus' world -- and the man himself, as he undertakes what may be his greatest adventure.

Okay, that's enough for now. Move on the next post, please.