Books: The good, the bad, and the very ugly...

with the ugly starting to outweigh the good.

The older I get the less patience I have with books that rely on bad language, over-the-top depictions of sex, and are part of a series – all of which are now in plentiful supply.

Reading is one of my greatest pleasures.  It has been so since I started reading at about 4 years old.

 Every week during the summer my mom walked us the mile and a half to the library to restock our book supply.  During the winter, weather permitting, we drove there where the very sight of all those books made me quiver with excitement.

When I was about 9 years old and complaining about nothing to read, my mom stalked over to our bookshelf, pulled out The Caine Mutiny, and hoping that it would keep me occupied for awhile, handed it to me saying, “I think you’ll like this book.”

Like it?  I loved it!

From then on I was allowed to check out books from the “adult” section of the library after mom signed a release stating that I could check whatever books I wished.  NB: “Adult” back then did not mean what it means today.  ”Adult” was simply grown up books like The Caine Mutiny and such.

It is for this reason that Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, remains one of my all time favorite books.  I can’t imagine a world without the printed word.

“The good writers touch life often.  The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her.  The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies.” Fahrenheit 451

 Every year it seems there are way more rapists turning out books then those who are touching life.

Recently I read Say Nothing by Brad Parks.  After about 25 pages I thought, “This guy isn’t much of a writer.”  But, at 12:30 in the morning, I rethought my position.  Obviously, if I’m still reading 5 hours later, he must be better than I originally thought.

But what struck me the most was that he managed to write an entire book with not one single swear word and no sweaty sex.  So I took the plunge and grabbed another one of his books (sadly – a series) and, whoa – no swear words and no sex.

What I find most annoying is Brad Parks is a libtard who used to work for the WaPo and other lefty publications.  According to his Facebook page Trump is far from his hero.

And why does that annoy me?  Because I don’t expect a libtard to write a book without swearing and sex.  It doesn’t fit my narrative, proving we all have one.  Setting aside his politics, I’m sure I’ll read more of his books.

Tell Me the Books You Hated:
For readers, listing the books we loved could take forever.

I propose we mention some of the books we hated – even the ones we didn’t finish because the hate was so strong.

For recent best sellers that I actually finished and hated with a burning passion so bright as to make the stars jealous are Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

 I was barely into The Girl on the Train and had figured out who the villain was – not a good sign.  By the end of the book, I thought every one of the despicable characters should suffer a long and painful death, be buried in an unmarked grave, and the earth salted.  Throwing the author into the mix wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Gone Girl was even worse because I can barely remember the plot – even after seeing the movie (I’m a glutton for punishment sometimes.)  I do, however, remember hating it, the characters, the plot, and the time I wasted reading it.

So – tell me the book you most hate.

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My next purchase: Kindle Paperwhite E-reader