10 Most Overrated Novels

How many times have you read a book review and can't wait to read the book. But, when you finally get it, the book just isn't as good as the reviewer said it was?

It's happened to me, and I'm sure it has happened to you.

As I get older, I think it happens a little less, but occasionally, I'm caught up in the media's manufactured book frenzy. The most recent one that comes to mind was The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. It was reviewed as the great American novel and even won a prize, The National Book Award. But for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why everyone enjoyed it...I finally concluded it must be a New York City thing.

Well, on Thursday, I came across a list of The 10 Most Overrated Novels:

1. Lord of the Rings trilogy (Read it in high school and loved it.)
   
2. Passage to India (I love E.M. Forster)
   
3. White Noise and Underworld (Tried both of these, and couldn't read them)
   
4. Atlas Shrugged (Tried this and found it dull.)
   
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude (Tried this, and couldn't make my way through it.)
6. The DaVinci Code (Read it, thought it was a real page turner, but I don't think anyone thinks it's great fiction...so why is it on this list?)
   
7. The Confederacy of Dunces (Tried this too, and couldn't make my way through it.)
8. The Great Gatsby (Read it in high school and loved it.)
9. Wuthering Heights (Read it in high school and loved it.)
10. Emma (Like it, but doesn't match Pride and Prejudice by a long shot)
    

What do YOU think? The list certainly is a conversation starter....And, let me know if you liked The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen!

Online Fall Book Calendar

USA Today’s Fall Books Calendar has arrived. Listing about 150 titles to be released, it's a lot of fun to browse.

Of course, being a cat owner, I loved the opening book cover for Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. (Request it from CCLS)

The calendar is interactive and includes excerpts, book jacket covers and summaries. You can develop your own personal 'watch' list and begin thinking about your fall and winter reading now.

How fun!

Rules for Reading & Starting a Blog

Starting a blog may be a bit like starting a new book. You don't know if you are going to like it, but it seems interesting and you want to give it a try.

For most of my life, I've used a rule that my Grandmother gave me about choosing books to read. It was called the 100-page rule. If you get to page 100 of a book, and it hasn't caught your interest, stop reading. There are too many good books out there to waste your time with one that you don't like.

Now, as I've gotten older, my rule has shortened to the 50-page rule...you get the idea. Well today, I've learned of two new rules for reading. One called the "Page 69 Test" that is attributed to Marshall McLuhan. As reported by The Guardian on August 12, 2006, McLuhan recommended that "the browser turn to page 69 of any book and read it. If you like that page, buy the book." (I would amend that to say borrow the book!)

A quick browse of the Internet turned up another similar rule based on reading page 99. There are also a number of worthwhile blogs out there that recommend books and use one of these rules as a guideline:

• Campaign for the American Reader
• The Page 69 Test
• The Page 99 Test

All of this is to say, that like a new book, I'm starting a new blog. I don't know if I will like it or now, or if you will either. I can't even promise that I'll make it to 100 posts or even 50, but I'm giving it a whirl!

I hope to appeal and interest those who love libraries (especially those in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania), love books and all things related, and are interested in trying to keep up with technology.

Let's see what happens.