The Handmaid's Tale by Margret Atwood

Title: The Handmaid's Tale
Author: Margaret Atwood
Published: Anchor Books, New York, 1998 (1986)
Pages: 311
Total pages: 9649
Text number: 29
Read for: my own enjoyment over Christmas break.
In brief: I asked for this book for Christmas because of my fondness of dystopias, it's appearance on top-100 lists, and my love of Atwood's short stories and poetry. I enjoyed the book, in particular the writing style and stunning descriptions that Atwood is so good at, but wasn't overly impressed with the text, in particular the realism of the dystopic/sci-fi aspects. I would recommend this is a book, but as a part of the dystopic genre I would recommend Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, as well as others, first.

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Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Title: Good Omens
Author: Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Published: Ace Books (Penguin Putnam Inc.), New York, 1990 (1996)
Pages: 368
Total pages: 10017
Text number: 30
Read for: my own enjoyment over Christmas break.
In brief: I asked for this book for Christmas because of my fondness of Neil Gaiman, but, in my humble opinion, it's not the best he's done. Good Omens is too pointlessly clever and amusing for its own good, and the over-emphasis on the blatantly funny means sacrificing sarcasm and even dark humor, to say nothing of meaning or point. I know this is a well-loved text, but it's not very well-loved by me, even if it's manageable, amusing read.

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Review posted here on Amazon.com.