Saturday, November 19, 2005

Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About, Mil Millington

Title: Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About
Author: Mil Millington
Rating: Good

A while back I reviewed A Certain Chemistry by the same author - Mil Millington.

That one was funny. This one is better. Part of that is me... the main character in this book is a bit more approachable to me than was the main character in A Certain Chemistry. (My review of that book mentions that the subject matter of that book - a man having an affair - was tougher for me to read for some reason.) Both books see the author pummeling his character with all kinds of situations that would make a real person break down and cry, and yet they seem real enough that the willing suspension of disbelief isn't violated. (At least it wasn't for me.)

Though I am certain this book is fiction, Millington probably puts a fair bit of his real life into it. Mostly in the form of the arguments described between Pel and Ursula - the main characters - not in the actual plot.

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About is a comedy about, well, someone who accepts a promotion he shouldn't, I guess. It's hard to know where to start describing it, really. The contents wander all over, covering things as diverse as raising children, a car chase, remodeling a house, a Chinese triad, and many, many other items you wouldn't think were related. The writing is good, and laugh-out-loud funny at many points.

I highly recommend this one.

Tuesday, November 1, 2005

The Penultimate Peril, Lemony Snicket

Title: The Penultimate Peril
Author: Lemony Snicket
Rating: Good

A fun read. The stories continue in the same style and the content continues to get more and more confusing - for the reader and for the main characters - so there are still just as many questions as answers for me. (That's nearly all questions and nearly no answers.) That means book 13 will be very interesting, or it will be a total flop.

At this point I somewhat regret having given all of the previous volumes to my niece & nephew, as I'll probably want to reread them all at some point, once the series is complete.