I also found it difficult to forgive the narrator in the Kite Runner, and the ending was particularly lame. “Ok, I’m out of ideas, I’ll just end this ummm, here.” And yet I still was riveted through most of the book. Perhaps because my knowledge of that area of the world is so limited.

We’ll be reading Alice in Wonderland aloud to the class this month. I don’t think I’ve ever read the book. Slaughterhouse-Five is also on my short list. Maybe over spring break. Until then, I’m working my way through some non-fiction and guidebooks.

What did you enjoy about The Kite Runner? That was actually the first book I read in 2006. I didn’t like it very much. It was formulaic and I saw the ending coming as soon as he introduced Assef. That and I hated the narrator almost immediately for what he did (or rather, what he didn’t do) to Hassan. Hosseini, the author, needed a better editor. He can tell a story, but this book reads like a Hollywood blockbuster in terms of its obvious plot.

I read Curious Incident in 2005 and really enjoyed it. Haddon’s got a good ear and his narrator is strangely appealing. I plan to read A Spot of Bother sometime this year.