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I finally finished The Great Hunger, which was as grim as expected but worthwhile. I also listened to The Reader by Bernhard Schlink, read by Campbell Scott, whom I really like. However, he couldn't save The Reader, which was the worst book I've read this year. I don't understand the plaudits as I think a book which exploits the Holocaust by dressing it in a bunch of clichés is despicable.
I'm in the middle of another Wodehouse, but I think I'm going to this well a little too frequently. I'm also listening to The Illustrious Dead by Stephan Talty, read by Stephen Hoye. It's an account of how typhus affected Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, but it's lacking rigor and is mostly just a potted history. Not recommended.
I need to break out of my rut, obviously. Once I clear the decks, I hope I come up with something more absorbing.
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