February 25, 2020

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck - PP

February 25, 2020/ John Box

John Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. He is known for such masterpieces as East of Eden, Of Mice and Men, and The Grapes of Wrath. I’ve seen multiple productions of Of Mice and Men and have read The Grapes of Wrath and absolutely loved both.

John Steinbeck is not well known for writing comedy. Nor should he be.

The setting for this book is a small neighborhood near Cannery Row in Monterery,

December 15, 2019

Superfudge by Judy Blume - PPP

December 15, 2019/ John Box

When your inner child tells you to revisit the past by reading one of your favorite books from elementary school, tell your inner child to shut the fuck up.

In hindsight, I’m hoping that Lil Johnny Box was just duped by the exhilarating title; that he didn’t pay much attention to the actual content of the book, or maybe didn’t even read it, but that he found the title so irresistibly hilarious and mouth-watering that he just thought it was one of his favorite books. Damn you, Judy Blume! You cruel temptress! Damn you to the 7th Circle of Hell!

November 17, 2019

The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion - PPP

November 17, 2019/ John Box

As one of the great American giants of philosophy once said: “Fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can’t get fooled again.”

Well dagnabbit, I got fooled again.

Just like I was so excited to read the second Flashman book after relishing the first one, so too was I excited to read this second installation of the Don Tilman series by

October 13, 2019

Flash for Freedom (The Flashman Papers, Book 3) by George MacDonald Fraser - PPPP

October 13, 2019/ John Box

Flash for Freedom is the third book in a series of twelve comprising the memoirs of a fictional Brit making his way through actual historical events beginning in the early-mid 19th century.

Harry Flashman, our favorite cowardly yet narcissistic psychopath, is at it again in the third installation of this magnificent series.

After a card game goes awry, Flashy is forced to flee London and is launched on an

August 12, 2019

Grand Theft Octo by Niels Saunders - PPPP

August 12, 2019/ John Box

Jonathan Doe is a conman, and as he himself says, Stealing was always my hobby. Now it’s my profession.

After being fired from his office job for rampant stealing of office supplies, he lands an outrageously lucrative gig house/plant-sitting, and the story begins when he places an ad in the local newspaper for anyone in need of a freelance taxidermist.

He cancels the taxidermy ad, however, once it’s patently obvious that slipshod

July 13, 2019

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut - PPPP

July 13, 2019/ John Box

Non-Spoiler Alert: Vonnegut tells us at the onset what the climax of the story is so there’s almost no way for me to spoil anything for you. I’ll still try though. I’ll try my ass off to spoil everything for you. But again, it’s really unspoilable. Here goes.

Due to a combination of bad chemicals and bad ideas in his head, at the climax, Dwayne Hoover, a wealthy car dealer, goes on a rampage that sends 11 people to the hospital. The man responsible for those ideas is the other main character, Kilgore Trout, a prolific yet obscure sci-fi writer.

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