i read a whole lot over thanksgiving week, but don’t have too much to say about it. but to keep the record accurate…

trainspotting – irvine welsh – 3 stars

i liked the book better than the movie, for starters. the movie felt like a party/drug film that got way more credit than it deserved. the book, however, is a very human story of the choices involved with battling addiction. once you get used to the scottish spellings it’s not bad and there are some great passages of reflection on life on and off drugs. still, it wasn’t something i’d read again or really recommend strongly.

the neal pollack anthology of american literature – neal pollack – 4 stars

pollack is obviously both very smart and well-versed in literature, as well as very funny. in that, this book was great, because i laughed a lot and i appreciated his tactics. all the same, if i were his writing teacher i’d prompt him to branch out, because as funny as the little details are, the book as a whole is all based on essentially one joke. because of this, even funny passages start approaching tedium by the end. since it was a quick and fun read though, it’s definitely worth the few hours it’ll take you to chuckle your way through over a long weekend.