Sometimes I like something that is an odd thing to "like". Like really hot Mexican food. So hot you practically can't taste the food, only the "hot". Sort of like something is so ugly it's cute. Well, it can be that way with a book sometimes. Sometimes I can really "like" a book that is really a bad story. A story of violence or war or hunger and poverty. I don't think that makes it a bad book. One of the books coming up soon, "Disgrace" is written by an pretty hot author right now. J.M. Coetzee. He's been around a long time, but is getting a lot of notice lately. Disgrace is not a nice story, and the male lead can be decided by the reader what they think of him, that's not the point. But when I first started reading it, what first came to my mind, even though it's nowhere in the beginning of the book was "oh yea, people are living in cardboard boxes in South Africa..." I think every now and then we need to be reminded of things like that. It wasn't violent or perverse but it was probably a negative I needed to have in my head, at least for a while. I need to remember there are people that live in cardboard boxes, as a way of life in South Africa, in Longmont they have the luxury of living in them just in the winter. So if you think a book is just "too negative" or "awful" to have in your head - maybe you need a kick-start in your head for a reason. I'm not saying what it is or even if you do, just to consider it for a moment before you rule it out, maybe there's a reason it's been put out there for you.....
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