The Bounty of Best Websites

I am a fan of Best Websites, even if I do get lost in its electronic goodness sometimes. Working on the third floor reference desk for two years, I certainly appreciated being able to access websites that staff have added to the site for their usefulness, and then be able to recommend them to customers who can use them at home. Sharing is what the Library does better than anyone, and Best Websites provides an additional opportunity to share our knowledge and resources with our customers.

Books I Hate

Being a librarian, I am more than happy to recommend great books to read. What kind of librarian would I be if I couldn't do that? But sometimes I just want to be annoyed with bad books instead of recommending good ones. Here are a few annoying books I have (attempted) to read lately:

You Better Not Cry/Augusten Burroughs: How many more times is this guy going to mine his dysfunctional past for juicy book-worthy nuggets that will take him to the top of the Bestseller list? This time it's Christmas and you can bet he has a whole cargo plane of emotional baggage to share...trouble is, we've heard it all before, several times.

Remarkable Creatures/Tracy Chevalier: How I long for The Girl With the Pearl Earring when I read books like this. Is she getting tired of writing, or just tired of writing historical fiction? Stereotypical characters (ragged urchin, ridged spinster, repressed Victorian man of science) and predictable plot - not so remarkable.

Change in Altitude/Anita Shreve: Once again she disappoints with a good-ish story followed by an abrupt and predictable ending. Does she ever look at The Weight of Water or Fortune's Rocks and remember the good old days when she wasn't writing for Oprah's sycophants?