Book O'the Month

Well, being the avid reader that I am I have decided to add a book review here and there. Also, it's my blog and I can put what ever I want in it. Ha!

For those of you who don't know I am in a book club. We meet once a month to discuss each months selection. I always wanted to join a club and I'm glad I did. It's really interesting how differently people "read" books. There are books out there that I absolutely LOVED and others have hated. Case in point, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez... wonderful book in my opinion but many people hated it. Although I tend to believe they are the minority since the man won a Nobel.

So, our January selection was "Mary Called Magdalene" by Margaret George. I couldn't stand this book. I suffered through the 600+ pages and finished at 1:00 AM the night before the meeting. Even Mike commented that I have never taken so long to read a book before. Usually I can read a book in a few days if I enjoy it but this book was long and drawn out. It's on the NY Bestsellers list but I believe it has only gotten there due to the fact it is written by George who typically writes really good historical fiction.

The problem with "Mary" is there is simply not enough known fact about her to fill 600+ pages. The personal story was pure ficton because no one knows who Mary really was. George crafted a very realistic "what could have been life" for her leading lady based on the little known information out there and the rest was really a laymans writing of the Bible and the Apostles' journey with Jesus... the one thing the book did do was give me a perspective on the people who started Christianity and how in today's world Jesus would be considered a Cult leader and those who literally dropped everything and everyone in their lives just to follow him would have also been considered crazy.

Our next book is Anne Tyler's "Digging to America". Hopefully it will be better. :)

For those of you who do like Historical Fiction and are interested in a good read I must reccommend what I believe to be the best books I've ever read... Sandra Gulland's "Josephine B" trilogy. The first book "The many lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B" begins the series. Get ready to go to France and live the Revolution and the French Terror though the eyes of one of histories greatest women.