I've been lax on my reading lately. I just finished my third book of the year and January is over. I'm not sure why my reading has been slighted. I have been a little busier with the start of the semester, and my attitude has suffered from frostbite. But, anyway, here are my brief reviews of the three books I've read this year:


Sex and Sunsets by Tim Sandlin - I have come to love Tim Sandlin's writing. I read the wonderful Western Swing last year. He's often compared favorably to people like Tom Robbins and it's both right and wrong. It's right in that he writes about crazy people, but it's wrong in that his style is very different. One of my favorite writers, Edward Abbey, gave this book a favorable review. It's Sandlin's first novel and not as good as Western Swing, but it's still good, even with its creepy premise (the main character and narrator is pretty much a stalker).

The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature - Pollack satirizes many different writers and their writing styles, taking on a fake persona as "the best living American writer." It's very funny if you can take the pretension for the farce it is.

You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore - A fun vampire novel, a sequel to his equally good Bloodsucking Fiends. Moore clearly enjoyed revisiting these characters (it's been 10 years since the original) and the book is sharp and funny.



As per usual, I'm in the midst of several other books, though (I believe I average about 6 books at a time), so I hope my count will rise in the coming weeks. I plan a fair amount of reading this weekend.