Now that school’s out (mostly) and the summer has begun, I’ve started reading some fun books.

Here’s the tally so far:

The Brothers Bulger - Howie Carr

This is an extremely destructive tale of corruption and mob work in Boston by Whitey and Billy Bulger. It’s a very interesting read. The Author writes it like a history book, though there’s a definite feeling of bias. And as the book deals with Billy Bulger and the Senate, one can’t help but wonder if his bias results in any exaggerations. Even still, the book is an eye opener to those of us with a more innocent view of the world. There are definitely some bad people out there, and even the most steadfast of Billy Bulger supporters would likely have some questions after finishing the book.

Rock climbing rating: chossy 5.7
interesting, but hard to get through at times… not because of difficulty so much as loose rock

Shutter Island - Dennis LeHane

Described by the author as “Gothic Noir,” Shutter Island is a story about a detective sent to an island turned rehab facility to investigate the escape of a mental institute patient. The back of the book describes it as ‘chilling.’ I’m not so sure. The book was creepy at times and mildly captivating, but rarely did I get a real sense of being there with the characters. It was also a little too weird to understand. Come the end of the book I had no idea what happened.

Rock climbing rating: 5.4 lead.
fun, easy, but probably skippable

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting - Milan Kundera
in process

This is a collection of fictional stories that all revolve around the past, memories, laughter, and self worth. The text goes back and forth between a third person story of unique characters and the author talking directly to the reader* explaining the history of the story or why he used a particular descriptive word.

It’s powerful and seems to force introspective thinking. Some of the stories are depressing, so don’t go to this book if you need a pick-me-up. But Kundera’s writing is wonderful and, so far, I love it.

Rock climbing rating: 5.10c toprope
Flat face, not overly exciting from the ground, but the holds are tight… and it’s rewarding.

*I think there’s a word for this, but it escapes me at the moment.