Or Books That Are Not For Me
Librarians will recognize Ranganathan’s Third Law of Library Science*: “Every Book Its Reader,” meaning of course that not every book is meant for every reader, but all books are meant for A reader.
When I retired, I was determined to start working through my To Be Read list, starting with my Goodreads account. I started adding titles I wanted to read as early as 2007, so I decided to start with the earliest ones.
A couple have been great reads: Moloka’i by Alan Brennert and Otherlands by Thomas Halliday.
Others were not meant for this reader:
- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson – I usually enjoy Atkinson’s work, but this one just did not resonate. I found the repetition boring and irritating after several chapters. Fascinating premise, but just not for me.
- Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen – An odd fictional exploration of Edgar Allan Poe’s relationship with his young wife. Dark, brooding, and very creepy.
- The Resurrectionist: the lost work of Spencer Black – If Mrs. Poe was dark and creepy, this one was ghoulish and bizarre.
- Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina – Enjoyed the first half but had to put it down when it got super gruesome. Not a fan.
I am moving on to more from the list – The River of No Return by Bee Ridgeway and The Malice of Fortune by Michael Ennis. Hoping these live up to the hype of 13 years ago!
Not on my old Goodreads list but a couple I read recently that also missed the mark for me:
- Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab – Schwab is one of the more literate authors writing today. Her narrative is always beautifully rendered and this book is no exception. However I am just so done with vampire stories. And really, Anne Rice wrote this story 50 years ago. Not a favorite read for me but I imagine it will be a blockbuster.
- Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams – While I think the author wants us to see her as a brave whistleblower, she must certainly bear some of the blame for the heinous things she describes. You don‘t live and work like that for so long without being complicit. Overall, I was deeply disappointed and often horrified at the ridiculous behavior and dangerous decision-making that results when ordinary people acquire an unimaginable amount of money and power.
*If you’re curious about the Five Laws of Library Science, here they are – https://www.librarianshipstudies.com/2017/09/five-laws-of-library-science.html
It's All About the Book 