The pay's not great, but the work is hard:

It was the most of pages, it was the least of substance.  It was a week of triumph, it was a week of mind-numbing woe. 

If the beginning of January's reading escapades (like real adventures, except with more coffee and none of the pesky fun!) left me enthralled with reading and proud of our noble endeavor, February...  February... felt like the deformed calendar bastard it is. 

This week I read 4 books so I'll keep the reviews short and sweet.  Or short and bitter (like espresso / like me!), because not much could save these books from massive mediocrity.

Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann, 375p.  I SAT UP UNTIL 3AM FINISHING IT BASED SOLELY ON THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS... which, turns out, was a Bad Choice.  I'll give you the low-down.  National Book Award Winner Does Magnolia In NYC 1974 But It's Really About 9/11.  I like the first two chapters, even with the Massively Unnecessary Stylistic Whizz-Bangs, but you should probably just go watch Magnolia. 

Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse, 152p.  Nobel-prize winner's most famous novel?  Welcome to the generic new age message machine!  Let's talk about Buddhism without talking about Buddhism!  Go sit by a river and become enlightened!  Let's read allegorical dialogue!  I'm sure it was neat in 1939, but in 2012 it holds the same watered-down message of all its' Alchemist & Millman cousins.  Be present, do your own thing, and buck the system.  If you've listened to a punk rock record, you know the score already.

Oxygen, Carol Cassella, 320p.  Library recommendation.  Grey's Anatomy in book form.  Actually pretty good entertainment - the author writes some pretty great dialogue when the characters aren't advancing the plot and some pretty fantastic bits about two middle-aged adults who are, but aren't, in a relationship. 

The First World War: A Complete History, Martin Gilbert, 391p.  Finishing this book after I got out of work this week was my saving grace.  Perfect, flawless history.  The best recommendation I can make is if you like history, read the damn book.  If you don't like history, you're doing yourself a massive disservice.  I learned things about WW1 that I didn't know (big picture things, no small feat; well-researched details, of which there are legion) AND Gilbert kept me interested in the naval warfare, which usually bores me to tears.  I particularly liked his portrayal of the Balkan and Italian campaigns as well as his use of letters throughout. 

GRAND TOTAL: 4725 PAGES!

(Only 400 of which I am proud to claim this week.)

The Book Geek is strong.  I'm tackling Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children this weekend... wish me luck.  I've heard, alternatively, that it is Funny Like Wolfe or Hugely Pretentious Like Everyone In New York.  Flip a coin...

Rob