February 6, 2010

The Weight of Silence

Within ten minutes of waking up this morning, all of the power went off in our apartment, thanks to the crazy snow storm currently sweeping through the northeast. This, combined with having answered a question just last night about my reading habits (and feeling embarrassed at how little I read), was just the encouragement I needed to curl up with a book (and my Snuggie) for a few hours.

I had begun reading "The Weight of Silence" a month or two ago but I admittedly hadn't made much time to read lately. I finally finished the last 2/3 of the book today, and while the story kept me captivated, I am a tad disappointed that I figured out the twist about halfway through. (Although, maybe this should make me feel particularly smart.) Each chapter is told from a different point of view of one of the main characters, and I enjoyed the way this developed the story; I did not find the writing itself entirely interesting, though. There were certain chapters I rushed through just to find out what happened next, without being particularly sucked in by the writing itself.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5. I enjoyed the overall story, but the writing itself could have been less simplistic and better developed at times, in my opinion.

What are you currently reading, or what good books have you read lately that you'd recommend?

7 comments:

  1. The Hubs and I just started a book club, so I'm in the middle of The Great Gatsby - and three other biz-related books (bleh, hehe).

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  2. Depending on your taste... here are a few I read in the last 8 months or so.

    The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield (twists and I love stories within stories)
    Pride and Prejudice - Austen (surprisingly, this is one classic I had't read yet! I get the hype :) )
    A Year of Living Bibilically - AJ Jacobs (hysterical account of one guy's attempt to learn and follow the rules of the Bible. Not a religious book per se)
    Woman's Murder Club Series - James Patterson (I've only read the first one and it was a gripping but very quick read, it's perfect for my commute. I just got books 1 - 7 on Ebay for 12 bucks!)

    (BTW - Kate Miller I just reread Gatsby last fall and fell back in love with it!)

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  3. I finally read Kitchen Confidential a few months ago, and it was fascinating, mildly horrifying and hilarious. I also read North & South (by Elizabeth Gaskell) and it was really, really good (and I also recommend the miniseries by the BBC).

    I'm now finally getting around to reading The Bell Jar, which for now is quite amusing--you can tell I'm not that far into it yet.

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  4. Oh, I read A Year of Living Biblically too, and I really enjoyed it! I'm currently reading IV by Chuck Klosterman. It's just a collection of his articles, mostly about bands, so it's light and entertaining. I don't make time to read much other than magazines unfortunately. I loved The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (the One Book One Philadelphia book this year) and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Hmm, now that I think about it, I don't read much fiction. (Except Twilight, which I admit I read a few months ago!)

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  5. I recently read "American Wife" and couldn't put it down! I can send it if you want! Too many books, too little space.

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  6. ooh i read that book too on one of my work trips. i agree, it was a little dissapointing. i recently read middlesex (great read), julie and julia (okay read) and darkly dreaming dexter (good but exactly like the show so very predictable if you watch dexter). i'm reading gilead right now and its good but slightly depressing

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  7. I'm reading "The Seeress of Kell" because I'm a great big dork and like fantasy fiction. What can I say?
    I recently read "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" which is a children's book and took me about half an hour. I cried for like 24.5 out of those 30 minutes. It is a beautiful story.
    I really need to read more NEW books, I have a bad tendency when I'm busy or stressed to re-read.
    What I really want is a book club, but I just moved to a new city and don't really know how to find one. :(

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