The Uncommon Reader

It's a very appealing title (at least to a librarian), and the reviews are good..."Briskly original and subversively funny,...a fun little book" from Publishers Weekly, "delightful political-social comedy by a celebrated British writer" from Booklist.....so I thought I couldn't go wrong by sending this novella to a couple of book-loving friends.

Well, I'm glad that I checked it out and read it before purchasing it and sending it as a gift.  It's short (took me about an hour to read) which is good for busy people, but I found it boring---not good for this busy person.  The Uncommon Reader is slightly funny, but it certainly didn't live up to its billing.  The "surprise ending" was a dud, too. Maybe if I was an Anglophile or a great fan of British comedy, I would have liked it better.

Now I've gone back to my usual choice of nonfiction,  and I'm reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.  The subtitle is "One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations...One School at a Time".

It's an inspiring story about Mr. Mortenson's quest to educate the children who live in the shadows of the world's greatest mountain peaks.  To read more about Mortenson and Three Cups of Tea see the website: www.threecupsoftea.com

Originally posted by Penny - November 7, 2007