Book Update

OK, so I finished The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I am not going to give anything away in case anyone else wants to read it (let me know if you want to borrow my copy). It is beautifully written - the author obviously missed his calling (he was a software engineer for most of his life until publishing his first book, which is this one). I was surprised by the way it ended - anyone looking for a happy go-lucky, everything turns out perfectly type of ending will be disappointed. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down - I read it during breakfast and lunch, and then while I was riding my spin bike in the guest house! It is not the straightforward boy-and-his-dog story I expected - there are some elements of the supernatural thrown in and it's also very suspenseful. I came out of reading it a bit confused - on one hand, I was angry at the resolution of the conflict, but on the other, I couldn't deny that it is a great book! Read it for yourself to find out what I mean.

Also, I quickly read a fun little book about the secret life of children in Manhattan private schools. It's called "Schooled" by Anisha Lakhani. The basic gist is that the rich parents pay Ivy-league educated "tutors" to complete their children's homework, essays, reports, projects, etc for them so that they get better grades. The lady who wrote it is an ex-teacher/tutor from an elite private school. It is a hilarious, if disturbing, view into a world that seems totally unfathomable to me. For some reason I get immense pleasure out of books like this - others I've read include Prep and Nanny Diaries. I think I love it because even though some things seem absurd, the fact that these things actually happen makes it even more absurd. I definitely recommend it as a fun and mindless read!