Review Catch-up - March 11, 2015

I have finished a couple of books during the first part of the week.  Here is a short recap of my thoughts.

The Republic of Imagination by Azar Nafisi (received via NetGalley)
3.5 stars



I definitely liked the ideas behind this book and Azar Nafisi really had some profound things to say about the act of reading.  She looks at three America classics; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Bobbitt, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and how they capture the American experience.  The author also uses her own experience becoming an American citizen and sprinkles in some stories of her teaching in Iran.  Some parts of this book are extremely dry and almost boring while other parts I couldn't stop reading.  So while this was an uneven read for me, I would still recommend picking it up.  I received an electronic Galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Lucky Alan by Jonathan Lethem (received via Edelweiss)
3 stars



I have read Jonathan Lethem's fiction and nonfiction and mostly enjoyed all it.  I am a bit more torn about this story collection.  I genuinely liked a couple but the rest, I didn't really connect with.  The title story "Lucky Alan" has interesting characters and I found "The King of Sentences" strangely funny.  Overall, I enjoyed some of these stories and skimmed others.  I received an electronic Galley of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.