50 Book Challenge

Oh man, I'm going to have to do a mad dash towards the end if I'm going to reach 50 books this year. I can't believe how little I've read! Though I recently cancelled my Foxtel and now officially have no television other than what I download, so hopefully the reading will pick up considerably.

17. A Tiny Bit Marvellous - Dawn French.
I ordered this on Book Depository, promptly forgot about it, then bought it a few days later in Target. And it's BLOODY AWFUL. Seriously, it's one of the worst books I've ever read. Although I'm usually suspicious of celebrities who think they have a novel in them, I do love Dawn French - and who doesn't? Have you ever heard someone say, "I hate Dawn French"? But it's woeful - a supposedly 'comic' novel written from the POV of three incredibly annoying people. I just... don't go there. That's all I can say. And to think I bought it twice. Ugh.

18. Food, Inc - Karl Weber (edited)
I have a particular interest in food manufacture and ethical and sustainable eating. I'm not obsessive about it, but as I become more and more aware of what goes on out there, I lean more and more towards ethical eating. Food, Inc is an excellent (and scary) documentary about corporate farming and agribusiness in the US, and this is the companion book. It's a series of essays and factual information expanding on the themes in the doco. Not the sort of book you'd read in one go, but if you have an interest in the subject, it's well worth picking up.

19. The Abstinence Teacher - Tom Perrotta
This is my year of Tom Perrotta - I just bought another two of his books on Book Depository, and I think I might actually have all of them now. This one is about a sex ed teacher who gets on the wrong side of the evangelical Christian church that is gaining a foothold in her town, and a burgeoning romance with a born-again ex-drug addict from said church. It sounds grim, but it's not at all. I think it's one of his best books.

20. Trick of the Dark - Val McDermid
Val McDermid is one of the few crime writers I enjoy reading - I'm not a big fan of crime novels, but there are a handful of writers who can keep the pages turning for me. Unfortunately, not in this turgid mess. It was like wading through quicksand getting through this pile of shit. The crime was boring, the characters were boring and preachy, it was awful - almost as awful as the Dawn French one. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Currently reading: Bad Haircut by Tom Perrotta and The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.