Tuesday, December 08, 2009

DNF roundup

Here are a few books I started and didn't finish, for different reasons.

TITLE: The Secret of Lost Things
AUTHOR: Sheridan Hay

This sounded just like my sort of thing, a sort of literary mystery. I only got as far as the young heroine arriving in a new city and getting a job at a bookstore that I only wish existed in real life. Very vivid descriptions, you could just see and smell the stacks of books. I think I stopped reading when there were hints of a mysterious manuscript.

What I read was good, but I think I just wasn't in the mood for it. This was over year ago, when I moved from Nottingham to Liverpool. I started and read a few pages at a time for a few weeks, and then when I moved I had to return it to the library. I thought I'd borrow it again from my new local library, but I haven't yet. And given the time that's elapsed, it's probably time to label it officially a DNF.


TITLE: The Colour of Magic
AUTHOR: Terry Pratchett

I picked this one up after reading and adoring Good Omens, written by Pratchett in colaboration with Neil Gaiman. I'd tried Gaiman writing on his own before and hadn't been able to finish the book, but I hoped Pratchett would work better. No such luck, the humour just didn't appeal to me. Seems like I like their voices in combination, but not on their own.


TITLE: The Dead and the Gone
AUTHOR: Susan Pfeffer

I loved Pfeffer's realistic post-apocalyptic Life As We Knew It. The Dead and The Gone takes place simultaneously, but in New York City, which is experiencing even more dramatic disasters. I didn't get too far with this one, basically because it's clear from the beginning that it will be much more of an adventure read than the relatively quiet LAWKI, and I just wasn't in the mood for that. I'll probably come back to it when I am in the mood, but it's been such a while, that I'd better stick a DNF on it this time around.


TITLE: The Pregnancy Bond
AUTHOR: Lucy Gordon

Loved The Italian's Wife By Sunset, and this was the only other book they had in my library by Lucy Gordon. To be honest, I can hardly remember it. From the basics I remember, the hero and heroine get divorced (he might have cheated?) and then they sleep together anyway and she gets pregnant. It just didn't capture me at all, mostly because it featured characters acting in illogical ways I just couldn't understand.

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