Lost in a Good Book, by Jasper Fforde

2012 Book 33: Lost in a Good Book, by Jasper Fforde (2/19/2012)

Reason for Reading: Fforde February

My Review: 4/5 stars
This is the second book in the Thursday Next series, and is every bit as good as the first. In Lost in a Good Book, Thursday Next must save the world while trying to rescue her eradicated husband Landen. Fforde’s writing is humorous, making for a quick, light read. Several reviewers said this book is darker than the first, which I suppose it is, though it never would have occurred to me. It has very little violence and given the nature of Fforde’s universe everything is reversible, so what does it matter if the attacks on Thursday are a little more personal in this book? I plan on reading the rest of the series, but I think I’ll take a break and clean the puns out of my brain before I start another one. Fforde’s humor is great, but I just can’t read punny humor continuously. 🙂

The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

2012 Book 26:The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde (2/12/2012)

Reason for Reading: 12 in 12 Fforde February

My Review: 5/5 stars
SpecOps officer Thursday Next is swept away into a dangerous mystery when Jane Eyre is kidnapped. She has to literally jump into the story in order to rescue Miss Eyre. This book has hilarious British humor and word play. Its alternative universe setting is creative and fun. And I love books with so many references to literature. This book is awesome, and I can’t wait to start the second in the series. I hear they only get better.

The Professor and the Madman, by Simon Winchester

2012 Book 11: The Professor and the Madman, by Simon Winchester (1/24/2012).

The Professor and the Madman is about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary, and the “dangerous lunatic” that was a major contributor of entries to the dictionary. It was a fascinating narrative—well told with an interesting and educational topic. I think there were parts where Winchester waxed a bit dramatic or put in theories based upon conjecture rather than fact…but that is what journalists do, after all. 🙂 Quite worth the read. 4.5/5 stars.