Water for Elephants, Edgar Sawtelle, I Was Told, The Revolution, The Road

It's been a long time. I don't know why. These are the only books I've read since my last entry. September was a bit of a dry spell.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
A quick, fun read. An interesting era in time and in this subculture.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
This was engaging and mesmerizing. I couldn't imagine what kind of story about a mute boy and breeding dogs could fill that many pages, but my imagination is obviously not in the same range as Wroblewski. A really great read. The narrative was so rich and so descriptive it was enveloping.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake: Essays by Sloane Crosley
I have a special admiration for essayists for some reason. I think that is mostly because their stories are true, and they find a way to tell a true story in a captivating way. This is what Crosley does. Now, I've read other collections of modern essays. In fact I read one this summer by someone who was quite like Crosley. Young, female, New Yorker, etc., but her essays weren't nearly as funny as Crosley's. Instead, Crosley's are laugh out loud funny.

The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul
Well, let's just say that if I could vote for Ron Paul, I would. What a nice departure from the lines we are thrown from politicians seeking votes. Could it be that Ron Paul is actually looking out for the best interests of Americans? Shocking, I know. What a great read.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I had heard so much about this book, but never really thought about reading it. But then, a while ago, I heard it was being made into a movie, and not just a movie, but a movie filmed in Oregon. So I knew that I would have to see it, and I have this thing about reading books before seeing the movie. SO I requested it at the library and started it.

Except I started it and wasn't that into it. I picked it up again Monday out of boredom, and read about 30 pages and became enthralled. I read it again last night in bed. And at a very boring nanny job today, I finished it. HAUNTING. That's the word that comes to mind when thinking about this book.

There are fiction books that seem realistic because they are just stories about life. There are fiction stories that are unreal because they are so far out there. And then there are these kind of fiction books where it seems unreal, yet so plausible at the same time. And that is truly scary. I can't wait to see how it translate to the screen. In the meantime, this was amazing.