THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS (M.R. Carey) - September 27/16

I definitely enjoyed chunks of this - the demise of poor Gallagher is especially well done and suspenseful - but damn if Carey isn't way too impressed with his writing. The book just drags because of his penchant for long, descriptive passages. Just get on with it already, dude. ** out of ****

MIRACLE MILE (Walter Chaw) - September 16/16

I'm not sure why I'm surprised that a Walter Chaw book is far too academic to wholeheartedly enjoy. This was a bit of a slog to get through, and I thought it worked best when Chaw talked about his relationship with his father and his suicide attempt. Otherwise, yeah, it was too academic to get into. ** out of ****

THE TELL (Hester Kaplan) - September 15/16

Holy hell was this a slog to get through. This might be one of the most overwritten books I've ever read, and it was a challenge to go from page to page with this thing. The bones of the story are fine - the characters are decent and the subplots are interesting - but Kaplan obliterates any interest with her completely unreadable style. * out of ****

THE DEVIL'S CANDY (Julie Salamon) - September 5/16

I'm not sure how long I was reading this off and on but it felt like months. Salamon goes into INSANE detail about topics I couldn't care less about, and the book does, at times, feel endless. But it's also packed with a lot of fascinating details about the making of The Bonfire of the Vanities, and it's ultimately difficult to envision a more intimate look at a film's production. **1/2 out of ****