April saw the review of five books, ranging from Stephen King vintage horror to Oscar Wilde comedy. Let’s take a look at the Worm’s reading-action.
First review of the month fell to Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Earning a high flying 5 nods – and the first read to do so all the way since Shakespeare’s Richard III back in November 2012 – this is a delightful farce in which the two male leads manage to bumble their way to a successful settlement. This is Wilde at his peak, just before his downfall that led to his imprisonment. As all readers know, the Worm is rather stingy with 5 nodder reviews; watch and read this play whenever the opportunity arises.
Another high-scorer was Cormac McCarthy’s No Country For Old Men. This was an author-first for the Worm, who has glimpsed at the praise heaped upon McCarthy in recent years. The book failed to match the achievement of the Cohen brothers’ adapted film; however, it is an engaging book that thrills, unsettles and confuses. A worthy 4 nodder of a novel.
Stephen King’s The Shining faced the same obstacles as McCarthy’s novel; it, too, does not surpass Kubrick’s disturbing film. Unlike McCarthy’s novel, its world is sufficiently different from the movie for it to enjoy its own distinctive status. The reader gets to delve into the back-story of the ill-fated family, as well as the bond between father and child: all of which is mercilessly scraped by Kubrick. The Worm enjoyed the reading experience, and feels a tad guilty about awarding 3 nods. However, King has only himself to blame, with some shoddy passages and a seeming inability to successfully conclude chapters; and, indeed, the book itself.
Perhaps grateful to be at the 3 nodder benchmark is Will Richardson’s short Kindle-Single Why School? Read in two sittings on the Kindle, it was an engaging experience; Richardson is a man bursting to the seems with ideas about the changing state of education. Unfortunately, some of what he says doesn’t bear a direct relation to the real world. No matter, it was enjoyable and knowledgeable; the only pity is that it was so short.
And, holding up the bottom of these reads is the history textbook, United States 1776-1992. A no-thrills journey that manages to cover all key aspects of American history. As a novice in this area, the Worm always delights whenever returning to the New World: in finding out forgotten presidents, of Mexican wars, and of the Americans rise to world power status.
An interesting month of reading; not at all ‘the cruellest month’, as T.S. Eliot had us believe. But what of the future? Clearly slacking from reviewing duties the past few weeks, the Worm has much catching up to do. This includes Dee Brown’s history book, The American West; The Time Machine by H.G. Wells; Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood; as well as a growing number of graphic novels (including Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Strikes Again, and Mark Millar’s Kick Ass).
Therefore, it is time for the Worm to return to the darkness of his reading-pit, to devour more books in his ongoing quest to point the finger at every author under the sun. He will return. He will strike again.
