Here are this week’s recommendations!

The History of Love

Goodreads rating: 3.92

Leo Gursky is waiting for death to take him. Alma Singer wants to fix her mother’s unhappiness. What follows is a gloriously intertwined tale that brings everything full circle.

Nicole Krauss is a very talented author. You can tell that all the sentences in this book were lovingly crafted. There were times when I felt that she was going a bit overboard with the whole “deeper meaning” thing but for the most part, I could feel myself soaking in the words because they were so rich and wonderful. This is one of those books that you have to read slowly to really enjoy it.

Norwegian Wood

Goodreads rating: 4.03

Toru Watanabe reminisces about his college life as a student obsessed with a beautiful, quiet girl named Naoko.

I didn’t enjoy this book but a lot of people seem to like it. It’s got more than 250,000 ratings on Goodreads AND it has a 4.03 average rating which is pretty rare for a book. If you’ve heard about Haruki Murakami, you probably know that he’s famous for his convoluted and mind-boggling books. Norwegian Wood is a relatively straightforward coming-of-age story which some of you may find relatable.

The Saga of Larten Crepsley

Goodreads rating: 4.26

Before Larten Crepsley became a vampire, he was simply a boy working in a factory. Then things take a drastic turn and he finds himself on the lam (a phrase which here means, “conveying this information to you while being relentlessly pursued by the law”*).

If the first thing that pops into your mind when you heard the word “vampire” is Edward Cullen and his sparkly skin, you absolutely MUST read this series. It’s a fresh take on vampires and it’s heart-wrenching and utterly fantastic. Note that this is a prequel series to The Saga of Darren Shan so you may want to read that one first.

*If you got that reference, we should be friends. 🙂

The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas

Goodreads rating: 3.86

When Stan Potts’ uncle’s canning business becomes too much to bear, he runs away and joins a fair to help out with a goldfish booth.

If you enjoy children’s books and love Roald Dahl, this is the book for you! It’s whimsical and quite cute with a touch of weird blended in. Oh, it’s also VERY short and if I remember correctly, there are some nice illustrations.

2666

Goodreads rating: 4.20

2666 is rather difficult to explain. It’s made up of five parts, each seemingly unrelated to each other. We start off with four critics (and fanatics) of a mysterious author named Archimboldi, travel to Santa Teresa, drop in on the life of a university professor, then a journalist, then a bunch of other people, and finally, into the life of Archimboldi himself.

2666 is a VERY thick and heavy book. I think I may have sprained my wrist or something when I read it. Anyway, what I really loved about this book was how it captured mundane, everyday life and made it seem magical. It may be long but reading this book is definitely worth it. (At least I thought it was worth it.)

And that’s it! Have a wonderful April break and reads lots of books!

Damn, it would have made much more sense to have published this post last Saturday. Oh well. 🙂