Lazy readers' book club

A friend of mine posted an entry the other day about how she tries to read almost every book to the end before she can fully judge it. While I admire that, I'd think a few chapters would be sufficient. After that, you might be torturing yourself. There are a lot of books out there; why push yourself through 300 pages of a book whose author has not done a passable job of making it swift and interesting and well-written enough? Are there so few good books out there these days?

Actually, it's possible. It's certainly true of movies! The husband and I have had trouble finding decent flicks to rent.

I admit that I'm a lazy reader. I pushed myself through so many books as an English major in college, both books I loved and books I hated, that I don't do it so much anymore. Some books are hard to read but still worth it, of course, for what they teach you. And sometimes they're only hard to read because they're written in Olde English.

But if a book is modern, its author should try not to pile on excess verbiage just to make himself look clever. It's his job not to overwrite.

A great nonfiction book came out a few years ago called A Readers' Manifesto, tearing apart pompous passages in modern award-winning fiction. While I didn't agree with all of his criticism (some of it nitpicked), it was certainly fun and refreshing to read.

I have taken books out of the library recently that I put down after one chapter, because they just were trite, boring, or some other nonsense - and they were bestsellers that won awards. Then again, I'm a jealous writer, so I get picky and impatient.

Of course, no two people will agree on what is and isn't fun to read. Maybe everyone reads and approaches books differently. I got a memoir called Goat a few months ago, a young guy's memoir of brutality and fraternity hazing, and I absolutely loved the taut but evocative writing style. I thought everyone would agree, but I read several reviews on Amazon from people who didn't like the style or called it a "faux hipster" style, which I disagree with. Still, I think it's a breezily-written book and have mentioned it to The Hubby a few times as something he might enjoy.

I have thought that someone should write a book called "Lazy Literature" (if you use that title, pay me) that details good books that are still a pleasure to read. It doesn't have to be difficult or obscure to be classic, does it?

Some classics I absolutely loved in high school and college that were easy to read:

Catcher in the Rye
Lord of the Flies
Of Mice and Men
Goodbye, Columbus

Most of you probably read those in school already, but if you missed 'em, go for it. I would recommend any of those to fellow lovers of lazy literature. But as I said, one person's lazy is another person's tough.

Finally, friends, here are some modern classics:

Drown by Junot Diaz (okay, it's short stories, how lazy am I?)
Kissing in Manhattan by David Schickler (yes, also short stories, but read it - he's an amazing writer)

If you are interested in any of these titles, just click on www.amazon.com or www.bn.com, and type them in. Let me know what you think!