Thursday, January 26, 2012

Book Hungry's January ABUNDANCE

This month, the Book Hungry girls wanted something a little lighter than our recent picks, and since it was my turn to choose, I thought what better reading fare than that of the illustrious John Green.  So, minions, I give you this month's Book Hungry reading selection, AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES

Summary (as taken from Amazon):
When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy–loving best friend riding shotgun—but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

My Thoughts:
I first read this book a couple years ago, and I have to admit that on the reread, there's still some magic to be found within these pages.  As many of you fun friends know, I'm not one for light, fluffy reads.  I tend to lean more toward deep, dark tales of tragedy or mysteries or well, heavy reading. 

John Green is one of the few authors who write sharp funny stories that I gravitate towards.  For me, it's how engaging and well-developed each of his characters are, even those who show up for only a scene or two.  And, usually, my fave character in each of his stories is not so much the main character but one of the side characters.

In PAPER TOWNS, it was Ben and Radar.  In WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON, I was a Tiny Cooper fangirl all the way.  In LOOKING FOR ALASKA, it was the Colonel, and in KATHERINES, it was definitely Hassan.  He cracked me up.  All the freaking time.

Yes, KATHERINES is a somewhat quieter novel than his others, and there may be parts where the storyline meandered a bit, but the interaction between Colin and Hassan, Lindsey and Hollis, Colin and Lindsey, and of course, Colin and his abundance of Katherines that keeps you tuned in and wanting more.

What about all you fun friends?  Have you experienced the pure awesomesaucieness that is John Green?  I'd love to hear all about it in the comments.  And, until next month, peeps, when Patty has chosen DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth.

3 comments:

  1. I've never read a John Green book! How can this be? Must remedy this, because light and fluffy is usually just my cup of tea.

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  2. You made an excellent point here - the interactions between each pair of characters was the magical part of this story... Hassan and Colin should never have been friends but that they are is truly sweet.

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  3. hassan was definitely my favorite character.

    thinking back about this book, i am more impressed with john green than i was after i immediately finished the book. probably because i'm remembering the highlights and am forgetting the slow, meandering parts.......but hey, the highlights are what john green does best.

    all in all, a good pick. a challenging pick, but that's the name of the book hungry game.

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