Book Reviews: Lunar Park, Prep, Good Omens, My Soul to Keep

Some book reviews. You should probably read more, you know?

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
I really loved Neil Gaiman's book American Gods and so I went on to read Coraline (cute, not nearly creepy enough) and Anansi Boys (slick in a way that intrigued me a little but annoyed me more than intrigued). I came away from those three books thinking, "I like Neil Gaiman. He's the kind of author I like." But having read only one of Terry Pratchett's novels (the first of the Discworld series), I knew Terry Pratchett was the kind of author I do not like. I even had a thought that reading the coauthored Good Omens might associate Gaiman and Pratchett in a way that would put me off Gaiman for good. And I fear that's what's happened.

Good Omens is funny, I suppose. In a trying-way-too-hard, "aren't we so very, very English and very, very clever, and ever so impressed with ourselves!" sort of way. In short, it's this book about the Apocalypse, and it's supposed to be funny, and it reminded me of drinking a soda which doesn't totally suck but which you realize about two sips through is way too sweet and why did you decide to get a damned Orange Crush anyway?? and you don't really want it but you already bought it and well, you can't really just dump the crap out where you're at so you take unenthusiastic sips and think how it's just another 250 cal you have to work off and another little bit of tooth decay and by the end it's flat and your tummy hurts and you just can't stand Terry Pratchett.

Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis
Amazing! Page turner + literary genius + creepy as all HELL. I cannot recommend this book enough. I ignored everything else in my life until I finished this book. As a result, I hardly noticed the fact that I moved to Tacoma. It just sort of happened in between slipping away to go read.
Briefly, it's a semi-autobiographical supernatural horror with strong ironic awesomeness. Wait till you get to the plot summary of Teenage P-. I laughed out loud really uproariously on the train. And then I almost started laughing later the same day in court, on the record, remembering how the narrator couldn't concentrate because he kept thinking about Teenage P-. Read it. Read the book now. And then if you want you can come talk to me about it at my beloved Nerd Out! bookclub, which will be October 12. This book goes on my list of favorites, which I'm starting right now.

My Soul to Keep by Melanie Wells
This was a quick little read and I feel kind of stupid for having read it. It wasn't really that great. However, I mention it in case you want to have a little mental break and read about some psychology professor who discovers that demons were somehow involved in the kidnapping of her friend's little boy. It's like watching The Closer or one of those shows. My Soul to Keep is entertaining, but the romantic line completely falls flat and the Christian overtones might annoy some readers.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfield
This portrayal of prep school culture and teenage insecurity is definitely making it to my unofficial list of favorite books. Having survived an incredibly snobby school in my high school years, it rang very true. I won't say this is a happy-go-lucky feel-gooder where you get a tear and say, "Wow, those days were really something, weren't they?" But if you're me, you'll say, "That's right. The good, the bad, and oh, GOD, the ugly was in me and everybody else."

So, read Prep and Lunar Park. Let me know what you think. Especially Lunar Park. By the way, Lunar Park would be a great choice for Halloween. Go buy it and read it and love it, please.

Thanks for reading!