Books of February and March

Okay, so during February and March I did a good bit of reading. I managed to finish another Steve Martin book, the latest from Nick Hornby (one of my favorite authors), and a really short read titled Election by Tom Perrotta.

The first book I read was titled The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin. After reading Shopgirl, I decided to read some more stuff he wrote. This is a short read as well and very quirky. This was a little harder to throw myself in the story, so it took a bit of diligence to read. Here is a quick summary. The main character is Daniel Pecan Cambridge. He is not your average guy because he has a lot of neuroses and obsessions, such as not being able to cross the street except at symmetrically opposed driveways, not being able to sleep unless the wattage of the lightbulbs in his apartment equals the sum of 1,125, etc. His only social activities revolve around seeing a young therapist twice a week, visiting the Rite Aid pharmacist, and run ins with a real estate agent across the road. Even though he has a lot of crazy routines and issues, he becomes involved with his young student therapist and builds a bond with her and her son which shapes him into a more stable person. It's a pretty decent read and I'll give it 3 out of 5.

The next book I read was Slam by Nick Hornby. First of all, Nick Hornby has been one of my favorite authors over the past few years and I have read all of his novels and some of his side work. His books are so down to earth and easy to relate to that I think his style of writing would appeal to most. Even though I've appreciated all of his work, this book was a little harder for me to fall in love with. I think it was mostly because it was more of a teen novel this time around. The story is about a young boy, Sam, who gets involved with a girl only to find out that she's pregnant. Everyone is shocked and it basically shows how someone his age (15 years old) deals with such news. He eventually comes to terms with the idea of having a son, and makes some grown up choices to help raise this child. It's a really true to life and touching story and I think it's a decent read all around. I'll give it a 3.5 out of 5.

The final book I read was called Election by Tom Perrotta. I'll admit one of the reasons why I decided to read this book was because it was the basis behind the late 90's movie Election staring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon. I think the movie is cute and thought the book might be interesting. It's a pretty short read and I think I finished it within a few days. The book is mostly about a school election. The candidates are the smart/pretty girl, Tracy,The lovable jock, Paul, and his geekier sister, Tammy. The election is ran just like any other where the students make posters and pins and try to convince their fellow students to choose them for school president. Only, things turn awry when Mr. M, the all around good teacher that is behind the decision does something rather crazy. I really enjoyed this book. Even though it's a bit short and full of mini chapters narrated by different characters, it's a fun read. I give it 4 out of 5.

There's the wrap up of what I've read the past couple of months. I started my next book already and am about half way through it. I chose The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. I'll try to post my thoughts on it later next month.