You call this literature?

In yesterday's post, I shared my book reviews. But sometimes there are books that just don't catch my attention, that just don't keep me interested or invested, and often I choose to not finish those books. Sometimes I review them, because I felt like I read enough to know, but with my list from the last couple of months, the couple that I didn't finish didn't feel like they belonged with the reviews. So here I give you the books that didn't make the cut.




The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

The Story:
Josef Kavalier flees to America during WWII and moves in with his cousin Sam Clay. Sam is fascinated by comic books, and Josef is an artist. So they embark on creating their own comic book, but more than just one, and entire line/franchise.

The Review:
I got 22% into this one, and that is a long way, because it is a crazy long book. Think Cloud Atlas long. And I was interested in the characters, but not enough for the investment this book was requiring. I haven't committed to fully giving it up. I just decided to put it down for a while.




The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Gailbraith (J.K. Rowling)

The Story:
A young model dies. It's ruled a suicide, but three months later we are introduced to our private investigator hero (through the main character who comes to temp for him) as he is asked to investigate her death.

The Review:
So I got 11% into this book, which is really not very far, but I'm bored. I don't like the P.I. character and I'm not really interested in the murder. I put it down for a minute and just can't make myself go back to it.




Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

The Story:
Mindy Kaling, of The Office, writes her memoir.

The Review:
This is a humorous memoir, and Kaling tells about her life. I got 25% in, and while there are some amusing things, I was a little annoyed with her telling of the book. Rather than being funny, she is just snarky and sarcastic, and rather than having interesting funny stories to tell, she just has a completely normal middle-class American life. So the events themselves aren't funny and she's trying to make them funny with her tone, but I didn't like the tone so I decided to walk away.