This week I 'ave been mostly reading. The 'this week I 'ave been mostly' was a sort of catchphrase on 'The Fast Show' which was for some reason renamed 'Brilliant' for the American audience. Anywho, funny stuff. I also loved the 'very very drunk' guy and of course, the sexual tension between Ted and Ralph . Ah, sometimes I miss British comedy. Anyway, back to reading. I finished the following books this week:

Snow Angels - Stewart O'Nan
A brilliant first novel by this great writer (I also loved his book 'The Speed Queen' which Christina Ricci is trying to get made into a movie). Snow Angels is heavy with dread and sadness, but somehow beautiful. A great book for this time of year, unless you want to be happy!

Crooked - Louisa Luna
This is probably the most despair-ridden book I have ever read. Louisa Luna writes real life so well that you can't help identifying with her characters. This is a book filled with unrelenting pain and suffering. And while I admire the book and auhor, I'm reluctant to reccomend it unless you're really really depressed!

Lamb - Bernard Maclaverty
Another sad (can you guess my mood recently?) story, this time about an Irish 'Christian Brother' who takes one of his students away from the abuse of that horrific institution. But in the end, there's nowhere to run. Liam Neeson starred in the movie version. The so-called Christian Brothers have recently been one of the many religious orders involved in a scandal as revelations of their abuse were revealed in Irish media.


Church of Dead Girls - Stephen Dobyns
I take back what I wrote about the lack of gore in this book. It got pretty bloody towards the end! It's still a great book, probably the most poetic suspense novel I've read. This is up there with 'Mystic River' on my list of favorites in this genre.

The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club - Laurie Notaro
An antidote to the previous four books, this is fluff. It's basically a series of humorous anecdotes in the life of a self-proclaimed idiot. Ocassionally funny, but not worth paying for.

And now I delve into 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith. Hopefully this will be more lighthearted than most of my recent books. I'm looking forward to it.