Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins (#26, Contemporary Literature)

Tom Robbins. He has been a question mark to me ever since I was buying his novels for my high school boyfriend over 10 years ago. Nick loved the books, guys in general seem to enjoy Robbins, even Steph read him and said it was hard to get past reading in the second person, but once she accomplished that she enjoyed the book. I had high hopes.

Skinny Legs and All on the inside flap starts by saying it is about a Jew and an Arab who get together and open a restaurant across the street from the United Nations building. After my Jewish education at Emory I am always interested in immersing myself in the culture. Turns out what I should have paid more attention to on the inside flap was the reference to a talking spoon, can of beans and dirty sock . . . . ummmmmm??? Yeah, I am not kidding. There was also a talking conch shell, painted stick and . . . wait for this one . . . Vibrator!

Underneath the incredibly bizarre facade, Robbins tackles very deep and important questions about religion. Why are we fighting in Jerusalem? Who started it? Who is right? Who is worthy? Who is wrong? Apparently I was unable to compartmentalize and get over the fact that these questions are being discussed by a conch shell and a can of beans.

I gave Tom Robbins a shot. I am not sad.

Love Story by Erich Segal (#30, Reader's Choice)

I texted my good friend Sarah for a recommendation for a book about a love story and she said to read Love Story by Erich Segal. I am not sure to count this as a classic or not, as it is a quintessential story about love. How have I not read this book until now? Everyone knows of the movie with Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal--this is the novel on which it is based. A definite quick read, I finished the book while getting my hair highlighted and I had to stifle my tears so as to not look like the idiot crying with pieces of tinfoil sticking out all over their head.

Segal's sparse style and use of young, hip slang (for the 60's) reminded me a lot of J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. The most memorable quote--"Love means never having to say you're sorry" still applies today. I enjoyed reading a book that uses the idea that love should be unconditional as its central thread.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (#29, Nonfiction)

Andy recommended this book to me and eager to add another notch to my nonfiction stick, I jumped at the chance to read about Gladwell's theory that little things can make a big difference. I enjoy revolutionary theories that help explain the way the world works and that is exactly what The Tipping Point delivers--a theory on how the world works. I found the beginning of The Tipping Point riveting--I didn't want to put it down. I really enjoyed the chapters that explained what connectors and mavens were and I secretly hoped that I was a connector or a maven. Who doesn't want to be involved in creating a fad or spreading an idea?

While I found Gladwell's book highly interesting, the way that it was written for the masses annoyed me. He repeated a lot of his main points at the end of every chapter, obviously trying to drive home the key components of his theory but to someone who is used to reading scholarly articles, it just seemed redundant and boring. I wanted Gladwell to challenge his readers, to leave us with an unanswered question--something for us to ponder long after we closed our copy of his book. We didn't get a question to ponder, but we did get an insiders knowledge on how Sesame Street and Blue's Clues were created. My main question is what does Gladwell want us to with the information he presents to us? At the end of the book, we know that little things make a big difference but it can't just be any little thing. The context, timing and people all have to be right. I will be waiting for the follow up.

The Watermelon King by Daniel Wallace (#28, Reader's Choice)

I am a big fan of the movie Big Fish and I kept seeing this book on the shelf at the library. It called out to me and I decided to give it a chance--there was in fact a mystery at foot and I got hooked by the first chapter. Daniel Wallace is a born storyteller. I liked the southern flavor of his story, and the way he used multiple narrators to keep the reader in the dark for as long as possible. Some things he was able to keep hidden until the final revelation, others not so much. I knew who our main character was going to run away with from the moment the two characters met, but the secret of who his father was remained a mystery until Wallace revealed it.

Big Fish is better, but if you are looking for a strange story that is in its own way about the art of story telling, I'd recommend The Watermelon King. Think To Kill A Mockingbird crossed with The Mists of Avalon. An unusual combination but somehow it works.