Since I couldn’t think of anything else to post about, I thought I’d do a little mini review of the last two books I read. I actually finished The King of Torts just a few days ago, and Bleachers while I was in Colorado. Both are by John Grisham, and I’ve been a fan of his for a while, but it had been a year or more since I’d read one of his books. The last one had been A Painted House, one of his first departures from the legal genre. When my mom asked if I wanted any books for the trip I asked for Grisham.
Bleachers The plot centers around a former high school football quarterback who played under a legendary coach in a small town. The coach lays on his deathbed, and many of his former players are returning to their hometown and coming to terms with their feelings for the former coach.
It started out a little slow, but it probably seemed that way partly from getting interrupted so much while I was trying to read. Once I got into it a little bit I was enjoying it more and I really like the way he revealed the conflict between the coaches and players. As the story goes on, you learn a little bit about some of the players and the kind of relationship they had with their coach. They either loved or hated him, and it seemed to change daily. I know from something I read a while back that this is a book he had wanted to publish for quite a while, but had decided not to for whatever reason until recently. I’m glad he did because while it’s not his best work, it was an enjoyable read. And fast at 229 pages it was perfect for vacation reading.
The King of Torts A young public defender suddenly finds himself with inside information on a bad drug that could make rich. After jumping in over his head, he gets an ego (probably typical of getting rich overnight) and his success continues. But it isn’t long before problems start cropping up. In the eyes of the media he sees himself go from a rising star to just another greedy lawyer.
As I said, it’s been a while since I read Grisham, but this one just seemed to have a slightly different feel to me. He examines greed and how money can corrupt a person, but it also goes into ethics a bit. While the main character isn’t exactly breaking the law, his actions are pretty shady. A part of me kept thinking, “OK, he’s gonna realize what he’s doing and turn it around somehow.” Still, a part of me wasn’t so sure it would happen and that’s what kept me reading. There was a love story of sorts on the side which fit in alright. This one didn’t seem to have much of a resolution, but then I guess it keeps you thinking and that’s not a bad thing. Again, not my favorite, but definitely worth a read.
Ok, I’m getting into that habit of staying up too late again. I gotta break myself of this before the semester starts. I’ve just been thinking about a lot of stuff lately. A friend is going through a tough time and I’ve been trying to help, though I don’t know that I’ve been very successful. I have my plenty of my own issues floating around, too. That feeling of uneasiness I have being single is starting to creep back into my head. Plus a new semester is about to start and I’m not as excited as I’d like to be. I’m coming back to a place where not that many people liked me at the end of the year, and I’m not in any of the positions I wanted to be in. It’s all plenty to keep me up at night thinking.
Currently Playing: Relient K – Over Thinking
I was thinking
Over thinking
‘Cause there’s just too many scenarios
To think about
To figure out
If you’re my dream please come true