Karl's Reading List

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company: New York, New York, 2014. One of the first reviews I posted on this blog was for internet cartoonist Randall Munroe's book How To , a book where the author took common real-life problems and provided scientifically reasoned bizarre solutions for them. The example I mentioned in that review was crossing a river by such means as freezing or boiling the river, or flying over via kite. This book, which Munroe wrote earlier than How To, takes the opposite approach: Munroe answers the bizarre and absurd questions written by his viewers with straight-forward scientific logic. Topics in this book include whether swimming in a pool that has nuclear radiation stored at the bottom would be safe, how much power Yoda has, and what would happen if all of the rain from a rain-storm fell in one giant drop. Even slightly more straightforward questions, such as how high a human could throw something, are run with to their most ridiculous-an...

Published by Penguin Books/Penguin Random House: Australia, 2024 (2023). Book 2 in the 'Ernest Cunningham' series. Preceded by ' Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. ' Followed by 'Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret.' When I wrote my review last year about the first book in this series -  Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone  -  I made the note that I enjoyed the comedic-meta elements of that book, and hoped that the author would focus more on that in later books, rather than the occasional grim/gory aspects that occasionally crept in. Well, it seems as though author Stevenson (as opposed to the main character, Ernest Cunningham, who is also an author) listened to me! This second entry still retains the comedic flavour, but the murder mysteries are a little less grim overall in tone.  Ernest Cunningham, who in the first book survived a snowed-in reunion with his murderous family, is now a published author, thanks to his book Everyone in My Family Has ...

Published by Bethany House Publishers/Baker Publishing Group: Bloomington, Minnesota/Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2005. Book 1 of 'Chronicles of the Kings.' One of my favourite Old Testament figures is King Hezekiah. I've even done two sermons talking about him. So, when I noticed this book series on my mum's book shelf (while we are staying at their house, between house purchases) I was interested enough to pick it up. The book is an easy read, and only took a few sittings to get through, but despite the easy nature and a subject that I was predisposed to like, Gods and Kings didn't really 'grip' me as I read it. I was wondering why, and eventually clicked that the narrative is a very 'literal' read - every feeling of every character is explicitly stated: he felt sad, she was angry, etc. This all makes it feel very... shallow. Weirdly. I miss the metaphors. I miss the 'show, don't tell.' I want to feel engaged by the text, but I only feel inf...

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers: USA, 2022. I got this book on a whim from the school library when I noticed the words "Agatha Christie" on the cover, and enjoyed it enough that, a day later, I am writing the review. The Agathas stars Alice Ogilvie - a rich, formerly popular girl, who as been a bit of an outcast after she disappeared for five days over the summer - and Iris Adams - a poorer, slightly nerdy girl, who has been assigned to tutor Alice. Both girls have secrets of their own and certainly mistrust one another, but also begin to work together to solve a mystery when one of Alice's ex-friends, Brooke Donovan, goes missing after a late night fight with Steve Anderson, who is Brooke's current- and Alice's ex-boyfriend. The title The Agathas refers to Alice's love of Agatha Christie novels - she has a seemingly perfect memory of plots and quotes from Christie's books, something that I find impressive, if slightly farfetched, considering how many...

Published by Century/Random House: London, 2016. This is the first ever James Patterson book I've read, and I have some mixed thoughts. Firstly, the book is very easy to read. The chapters are short, the sentences are simple, and as a result, I flew through the book at pace. If this is what other Patterson books are like, then I can see why he would be a popular author to read. Secondly, being a co-written book, I am unsure how much of the plot and writing  is Patterson and how much is his collaborator. Apparently, Patterson has written over 200 books, but as many of them are co-written, it is likely that many of his co-writers do the heavy lifting. Thirdly, although the book is easy to read, I'm not sure I would call it 'well-written.' With the chapters being short - and with a lot of plot to get through - the book doesn't dwell very long on any given scene, meaning that the reader doesn't have a lot of time to emotionally invest in anything that is going on. W...

Published by Everyman’s Library/David Campbell Publishers, Ltd: London, 1993. First published 1939. Congratulations to The Grapes of Wrath on becoming my first unfinished Pulitzer Prize winner. There were moments I thought TheAge of Innocence would be it, but Grapes pushed on in by dint of its slow pace, casual blasphemy and coarse characters. Innocence at least had pace, suspense, and clean language. Grapes was long, slow, and often felt grubby. One of the main characters was also a preacher who gave up on being a preacher because he couldn’t stop sleeping with young women who joined his congregation. I persevered with it longer than I should have, due to it being quite well known, but in the end decided to give up on it officially after about 100 pages – out of a 500-plus-page book. In making this entry I have also made a decision, which I plan to apply to both Booker and Pulitzer books from this point on. If I have tried one of those books and given up on it, I will still...

Published by Hicks Smith & Sons Ltd: Wellington, Auckland, revised edition 1954. First published 1947. We three had a few days in a friend’s bach this week, and as is the case when in a new location, the first thing I did was check out the bookshelf (especially as I was struggling with The Grapes of Wrath, which I gave up on soon afterwards). Anyway, out of the fairly meager offerings available, I chose this book on the basis of it being a) not too long, b) not too dark, and c) not a hunting or fishing guidebook. I didn’t really know what I was getting into – particularly as the dust-jacket was missing - but it turned out to be quite unique, and fairly enjoyable. From N to Z is a slightly satirical look at New Zealand, by an author writing in the late 1940s (and revised in the early 1950s). He begins by telling us that “No attempt was made to make it a truthful description of New Zealand and therefore it qualifies as a Guide Book.” (pg 9). This gives the author leeway to ex...