9/52: Duma Key, 10/52: The Dead Don't Dance

The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin, 3/5 Stars
I come to expect a lot from Martin because, so far, his books have captivated me. However, I ho-hummed through most of the this novel until the end, where at least he got me to laugh out loud. It dawns on me that maybe the ho-hum was intentional because part of the protagonist's life was missing--and maybe I'll never know the answer to that--but, I'm willing to give Martin the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to another good experience in his writing mind.

Duma Key by Stephen King, 2.5/5 Stars
I blew through the first four or five hundred pages of this thing thinking, "This is the Stephen King that I miss; the one that can capture the edge of the surreal and leave me believing that it's a true story--suspended disbelief, you know--saying to myself that it's possible, it's possible... and it lends credibility to my own experiences with the intangible metaphysical." And then, ghouls storm into beach-side houses in the middle of the night, not just as figments of the imagination, but as true physical hellbent-on-killing beings that are going to drag you back into the sea where you will spend the rest of your days eating Krabby Patties. Boo. Yawn. I shoulda stopped a hundred pages short and wrote my own ending.

READ MORE!

Book #10 = The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin, 3/5 Stars
Book #09 = Duma Key by Stephen King, 2.5.5 Stars
Book #08 = Every Woman Has a Story by Daryl Ott Underhill, 2/5 Stars
Book #07 = Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin, 3/5 Stars
Book #06 = Maybe (Maybe Not) by Robert Fulghum, 4/5 Stars
Book #05 = The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt, 1/5 Stars
Book #04 = The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis, 2/5 Stars
Book #03 = Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L'Amour, 3/5 Stars
Book #02 = The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson, 3/5 Stars
Book #01 = Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis, 3/5 Stars

Follow us at the Twitter hashtag #52bks52wks!

See last year's list of 53 books...

The #Freebook Experiment

Last week, when I was in Chicago's Midway airport, I finally remembered to test an idea that I'd had long ago--which is very similar to Book Crossing--to leave a book in a crowded place with a note that it was free for whomever was interested in reading it.

How that book ended up in Midway is quite the story; a journey in itself. I bought "Lisey's Story" by Stephen King in Kansas City and took it to San Diego about a month ago. I didn't finish it on my first trip there (in fact, I had a hard time getting into it), so it sat at a friends' house until my return when, again, I didn't finish it. So, it made the trek with me to Alaska's Glacier Bay and during my incredible stay there I forced my way through it to the end (read my review of Lisey's Story here). I had intended to drop it in the airport in Anchorage, but I was so distracted by the people and the noise that I forgot. So, the book traveled with me all the way back to Chicago. I'm sure it was as tired of being in my backpack as I was tired of lugging it around in there.

In the note that I left, I asked that the finder of the book please drop me an email or a tweet (follow me @zamees). Yesterday, I got an email that thanked me for the book and that it had made it's way to San Antonio, Texas. She also promised to leave it somewhere!

It kinda made my day!

BTW, I've been using the #freebook hashtag on Twitter if you're interested in following.

23/52: "Lisey's Story" by Stephen King

Book 23/52: "Lisey's Story" by Stephen King, 1/5 Stars
This book is, perhaps, my least favorite King book. Ever since he began to insert more reality into his fantasy, I’ve not been a huge fan of his writings. The last book that he wrote that I liked is, in fact, what I think is one of his greatest works, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon; it is one of the few books that I’ve read that’s made me cry.

In Lisey’s Story, I know what he’s trying to accomplish because it’s a similar theme that I’ve been working with in the writing of my first book. King tries to balance the now and the past with alternate worlds and he ends of up with a bit of a mess. I found it difficult to connect to the story or the characters when they weren’t in the same place or the same time long enough for me to establish a relationship with them. Add to that the Kingesque style of grotesque physical horror and you’ve got a book that makes you wonder more about the author’s state of mind rather than Lisey’s.

I did like King’s attempt at trying to show the process of the mind in words. But, because I never got into the story or the characters, it turned into a personal exercise of skimming torture. There is always one thing to learn from every person you meet and every book you read, unfortunately, that one thing in this book, to me, was a “what not to do” when it comes to representing the inner-workings of the mind in a book.

Bool. The End. Have a Coke and a Smile.

[I gave this book away in my #freebook experiment... read about it!]

GOAL: 52 books in 52 weeks!

Book #22 = "My Favorite Place on Earth" by Jerry Camarillo Dunn, 4/5 Stars
Book #21 = "Wisdom 2.0" by Soren Gordhamer, 4/5 Stars
Book #20 = "Oath Of Gold" by Elizabeth Moon, 5/5 Stars
Book #19 = "The Age Of Engage" by Denise Shiffman, 3/5 Stars
Book #18 = "What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20" by Tina Seelig, 4/5 Stars
Book #17 = "Animal Farm" by George Orwell, 4/5 Stars
Book #16 = "Divided Allegiance" by Elizabeth Moon, 3/5 Stars
Book #15 = "The Curious Incident of the Dog..." by Mark Haddon, 2/5 Stars
Book #14 = "The Sheepfarmer's Daughter" by Elizabeth Moon, 3.5/5 Stars
Book #13 = "Love Is The Killer App" by Tim Sanders, 4/5 Stars
Book #12 = "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk, 4.5/5 Stars
Book #11 = "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger, 5/5 Stars
Book #10 = "The Finder" by Colin Harrison, 3.5/5 Stars
Book #9 = "Veronika Decides To Die" by Paulo Coelho, 1/5 Stars
Book #8 = "By The River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept" by Paulo Coelho, 3/5 Stars
Book #7 = "Stiff" by Mary Roach, 2/5 Stars
Book #6 = "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, 1/5 Stars
Book #5 = "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, 3/5 Stars
Book #4 = "Eleven Minutes" by Paulo Coelho, 2/5 Stars
Book #3 = "The Good Guy" by Dean Koontz, 3/5 Stars
Book #2 = "My Ishmael" by Dan Quinn, 2/5 Stars
Book #1 = "The Zahir" by Paulo Coelho, 3.5/5 Stars

READ MORE!