I enjoyed these books more when I stopped thinking of them as literal, factual memoirs, and more as fiction in the uncomfortable-funny vein of Michael Scott or David Brent. Handler’s character is less a poster-girl for bad decision-making (although there’s some of that for sure) than a celebration of unchecked id. I suspect for [...]
Entries Tagged as 'a-title'
Chelsea Handler: Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea; My Horizontal Life
02 Jun 2010 · No Comments
Tags: a-title · autobiography · h-author · m-title
George Mann: The Affinity Bridge
31 Oct 2009 · No Comments
The Affinity Bridge sets some derring-do and a Sherlock Holmes-ish mystery in an alternate history where England had much more sophisticated technology under the Victoria’s reign (some of the tech, in fact, extends Victoria’s lifespan farther into the 20th century). Sometimes it seems like Mann is juggling a few too many plot threads — a [...]
Tags: a-title · fantasy · historical · m-author · science fiction
Robert Sheckley: The Alternative Detective
24 Jun 2009 · No Comments
I saw it opined in several places that the third of Sheckley’s mysteries featuring Hob Draconian was so good it would make me want to go back and read the first two — and since I’m a “save the best for last” kinda person, I opted to read them in chronological order. I found The [...]
Tags: a-title · mystery · s-author
Doug Dorst: Alive in Necropolis
15 Nov 2008 · No Comments
The book jacket description and a handful of pull quotes (from writers with ties to the McSweeney’s camp, mostly) were enough to get me to read Alive in Necropolis, but the novel exceeded the expectations I had of it. It sounds perhaps a bit silly in capsule form: emotionally fragile rookie cop Michael Mercer rescues [...]