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When ignorance really is bliss.

3 Aug

Whenever I travel, I try to read a book set where I’m visiting. Usually I lean toward a novel and supplement it with guided walking tours so I can get a blend of fact and fiction. In preparation for my upcoming trip to Australia, I picked up something I read years ago, a non-fiction travelogue by Bill Bryson called In a Sunburned Country.

I remembered enjoying it (from the comfort of my couch in DC), so I thought it would be a nice primer.

WRONG.

Oh sure, it’s as funny and educational and telling as I remember. The problem? Bryson is fixated on takes great joy in regaling readers with tales of all the dangerous/poisonous creatures that inhabit the land Down Under. As someone who is a bit of an arachnophobe, this is NOT helpful.

(Separately, what does it mean that I’ve managed to weave phobias into EVERY post this week? I’m scaring myself. Is that a phobia too?)

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Review: When fiction jumps the shark.

8 Jan

Because my mantra is generally, “So many books, so little time,” I’ve found audiobooks are a great way to sneak an extra book in during the course of the month. So when we packed for Michigan, I hit the library and grabbed, “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” to entertain us on the drive.

About 30 minutes into it, I lost Alan. In part because his CD player was trying to eat the disc and the stress of its skipping tracks irritated him, but mainly because the narrator of the story is a dog.

Yes, you heard me: a dog.

It’s far-fetched, but I thought it was a fun and clever device… especially enjoyable for dog-lovers who would like to believe their pets are capable of complex thought and motivation akin to a human’s.

So I lost Alan but continued listening to the book after returning to DC. I just finished it this week, and would’ve given it a pretty positive review, had it not jumped the shark in the final chapters.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t read this book and are planning to, then stop reading this because I’m about to give away a major plot twist.

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