Caribbean Book Club

August was a good reading month!

I read the best book I have read so far, World War Z, and I finally finished that albatross, The Count of Monte Cristo.

The Count of Monte Cristo was a cool story, or at least had the makings of one. However, it was just too damned long and descriptive. NOTHING was left to the imagination of the reader. There is one point where Dumas describes the color of the sheets on a bed. SERIOUSLY?!  You could've easily cut 300-400 pages out of that book. Not to mention that some of the revenge was incredibly anti-climactic. I don't really recommend this book to anyone who isn't mad at themselves for something.

My review of World War Z can be summed up pretty briefly, well made.  The oral history style of writing makes the chapters short, to the point, easy to follow, and unique.  Max Brooks (son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft!) did a great job of tying them together while still jumping through all of the various perspectives. Finally, for those of you that saw the movie, there is really only about 10 minutes of the movie that are also in the book, so you haven't spoiled anything.

So read World War Z and not The Count of Monte Cristo...

Best books I have read so far:
1. World War Z
2. A Thousand Cuts
3. The Sisters Brothers

Worst books I have read so far:
1. The Count of Monte Cristo

*= New Entry

Max Brooks
*World War Z

Phillip Connors

-Fire Season

Thomas H. Cook
*The Crime of Julian Wells

Patrick deWitt
-The Sisters Brothers

Emma Donoghue

-Room: A Novel

Alexandre Dumas
*The Count of Monte Cristo

Jennifer Egan
-A Visit from the Goon Squad

Lee Goldberg
-Mr. Monk Gets Even (Mr. Monk #15)

John Krakauer

-Into Thin Air

Simon Lelic
-A Thousand Cuts

Elmore Leonard
*The Hunted

James Patterson
-Alex Cross's Trial (Alex Cross #15)
-I, Alex Cross (Alex Cross #16)
*Cross Fire (Alex Cross #17)
*Kill Alex Cross (Alex Cross #18)

Lisa See
-The Interior (Red Princess #2)
-Dragon Bones (Red Princess #3)

Shellie Vandevoorde

-Separated By Duty, United In Love

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

-Rose of Fire

Multiple Writers
-The Best American Sports Writing 2012