I think with this book I have tripled my leisure reading total from the last 4 years. Before getting on about the book, I was told by one of my fabulous readers that I should "support my local library" instead of my plan for purchasing my books at Goodwill. I feel this is a poor plan on several fronts. In an effort to find evidence to bolster my argument, I did a Google search on "why libraries should not exist" and found ZERO results. I find this disturbing on several fronts given that we live in the most opinionated country in the world so I assumed someone must have taken the time and effort to create a web page lamenting about the evils of the public library system but alas I was disappointed. I personally would take up this crusade however I am lazy, don't know anything about web page design, and really don't care THAT much. Having said that, here is my argument on why using the library system is a bad idea:
1. They expect the books back! I mean seriously - it's like borrowing or something.
2. If you fail to return said books, they turn into Blockbuster and charge you.
3. When you are a deadbeat like me and don't return the books, the library has to buy more books - and that money comes from the city government. The city government gets their money from us as taxpayers.
4. Following that logic, I may have to pay MORE taxes to buy books
5. The additional taxes I would have to pay are far and away more than I would spend on books at Goodwill, especially since we all know that I am going to lose interest in this endeavor very quickly.
6. If you don't like their books, they don't let you write in them to improve the story or just burn them to get some value out of the experience (see #1).
7. People at the library scare me. They all seem to be just there to use the free internet.
8. I'm still mad that they did away with the card catalog system - it was such an easier way to window show without all of the requisite walking.
I think I more than proved my point. I'm pretty smart so I would know if I was wrong :p
Anyway, about the book! It is "The Dante Club" by Matthew Pearl. It is what I would consider "historical fiction" and is set in Boston in 1865. The premise of the book is that these famous poets of the 19th century (Holmes, Elliot, Longfellow, et al.) are tasked with providing the first American translation of Dante's "Divine Comedy". During the course of events, hilarity does not ensure but rather the town is shocked by a series of gruesome murders of prominent citizenry and, shock and amazement, they are all committed in a fashion related to Dante's "Inferno". These famous poets, being the only smart and non-corrupt people in the greater Boston area, are the only one's who can solve the case. And stuff happens and they do. The end.
Matthew Pearl is a Harvard grad who has a degree is something awesome (because he attended Harvard) and graduated Summa Cum Laude. His writing style is very careful to use the language and tone of the middle of the 19th century, which takes probably 30-50 pages to get used to. Once the reader adjusts, it is a fantastic book. I, being the profiteer that I am, could see the movie rendition in my head with the guy who played Dumbledore in Harry Potter playing the role of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The only problem was that I envisioned the first Dumbledore and I am pretty sue he is dead. This will make casting a bit difficult...
So in summary - libraries are bad, "The Dante Club" is good. So much so that I give it...
Vroom, Vroom, Vroom, Vroom, Vro (4 1/2 "Vrooms" on my motorcycle of awesomeness reading scale)
Next up: "The Birth of Venus" by Sarah Dunant
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