Review: The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Pages: 226

Genre: Literary/Contemporary

Publisher: Vintage

Publication Date: July 2003

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. 

Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructed universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favorite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is funny, poignant and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally.

I agree with Christopher—this book’s brilliant narrator—about three things:

1. Dogs are important.

2. Blue Planet is one of the best TV shows.

3. Anybody who touches me deserves to be punched.

Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons I Hate Your Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is characters I like in books I hate. I tried really hard to write a post about that topic, but I discovered that I usually hate books because of the characters. So, I’m doing my own thing with this week’s prompt.

Dear authors, here are ten reasons why I hate your characters.

Review: The Complete Stories Of Truman Capote by Truman Capote

The Complete Stories of Truman Capote by Truman Capote

Pages: 320

Genre: Literary Short Stories

Publisher: Vintage

Publication Date: January 1993

Ranging from the gothic South to the chic East Coast, from rural children to aging urban sophisticates, all the unforgettable places and people of Capote’s oeuvre are here, in stories as elegant as they are heartfelt, as haunting as they are compassionate.

Back when I was a morbid little teenager, I had a slight obsession with In Cold Blood. I don’t know exactly why I loved that book so much, but I think I appreciated how hard Capote tried to get inside the minds of murderers. During college, I read a few of Capote’s short stories, and I really liked them, so I decided to read all of his short stories.

The Sunday Post #142

Did you know that you can write secret messages on eggs? Write the message on the shell in white crayon and then dip the egg in dye. When you pull it out, the message will be revealed! I write swear words on mine . . .

The Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, and share news. It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Date. I get to tell you what I’ve read recently.