God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert

God Emperor of Dune is one of those books that I'm thinking no one that could possibly stumble across this blog would have any interest in my opinion of. Hmmm...Is that sentenced phrased correctly? I'm not sure but I don't feel like taking the time to figure out whether or not it is. I'd love to have a conversation about this book but I'm presuming that no one I know has read it. And if they have it I'd guess the details are likely all scrambled up in their brain because this particular book is the fourth out of the six original books. I'd have to remind them that this one is set 3500 years after the previous book and Leto II has turned into a weird worm creature and rules the galaxy and sets in motion his own assassination. I'll give it an A-.

Book # 58 - The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne

Maybe nine years ago when I saw Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story I briefly considered reading Tristram Shandy but when I heard it was nine volumes I decided to pass on it. Now that it is on this list I didn't really have much choice and had to eventually get to it. Luckily each of the volumes are quite short. I have to say I greatly admired the structure and tone of the book. The book is quite funny and is all over the place. The narrator is attempting to write his life story but keeps getting side tracked and almost never makes any progress. In the end we hardly know anything at all about his life. In fact he doesn't get around to his birth until about a third of the way through the book. Most of the last third of the book is spent trying to tell a story about his uncle's past that keeps getting sidetracked by digressions. The narrator is pretty informal and is always talking directly to the reader and telling us of his plans on what he plans to write about next (if he gets to it). The only drawback to the book really (and I can't really fault the book itself for it) is that it was very topical to the time period it was written (the 1760's) and a lot of the information just sails way over my head. Still I'll give it an A. (Also it mentions Don Quixote.)

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll

I liked the first Alice so much I figured I'd go ahead and read the sequel next. Just like the first one, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, is a fun nonsensical adventure that offers something for both adults and kids. I'd give the edge to the first book but this one is still a lot of fun. Again, the original illustrations are awesome. This one gets an A.

Book # 49 - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

What fun it was to read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland! Some of the "children's" books on this list haven't exactly lived up to my expectations (Charlotte's Web, Winnie-the-Pooh), but Alice sure did. The whole book is just one weird imaginative scene after another... I liked how it is geared towards both adults and children and each will find different things to love about it. Really I wish I had read this one a long time ago. I was surprised at how closely the 1951 Disney film actually followed the book (the less said about the 2010 film the better). If you read this be sure to find a copy with the original illustrations... I feel like they're an integral part of the book. A+

Mystery Book # 55 - Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household

I had never heard of Rogue Male before, but now that I've read it I can say I'm glad it was on one of my lists. The story is narrated by an English gentleman that is an excellent hunter. He sets out to see if it is possible to get into his cross-hairs a famous world leader just for the fun of it (implied by the book to be Hitler), or so he tells himself. Unfortunately he is caught and savagely beaten by the leader's guards. Luckily though he manages to escape and most of the books is about his avoidance of everyone that is chasing him.  I was drawn into the story and found myself rooting that the main character would make it out of his predicament alive. Overall it was one of the better mystery books on the list so far. A.

Book # 171 - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The biggest surprise for me while reading A Christmas Carol is that even though I'd seen several film versions and was already quite familiar with the story I was still very entertained and enchanted by Dickens' tale. I guess there's a reason that this is considered a classic. There's no point in recapping this because it is one of the few stories that literally everyone knows.

 So even if you've seen countless movies based on this story it is still worth reading. A.

Mystery Book # 88 - The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett

You know how sometimes there's some movie or musician that based on your tastes that you should really like but for some reason just doesn't connect with you? Not that you think whatever it is is bad... just not the greatest thing in the world and is massively over hyped? For me this list includes Arcade Fire, Wes Anderson films, the Coen brothers, Blade Runner and now Dashiell Hammett. I read The Maltese Falcon probably some ten years ago and was disappointed... and now I give him another shot with The Glass Key and I liked this one even less.

The plot has something to do with the death of a senator's son and a bunch of mobsters and politicians. I couldn't really muster much enthusiasm for it. In the end most everyone dies or ends up in jail except for the "hero". Just thinking about the book again is boring me. At least it was short. C.