a charming folly

The Affected Provincial's Companion, Vol. I, by Lord Breaulove Swells Whimsy
_stranger_here does a much better job reviewing this than I possibly could. So let me just add that I haven't enjoyed puzzling out diagrams this much since I was ten, visiting my grammy, and reading Larry Gonick's intro calculus book.
(257/250)

not marriageable, but still excellent

The Philosopher's Apprentice, by James Morrow
Ok, so Morrow's last book, The Last Witchfinder, is a kind, wonderful novel that I have been known to make overtures of bigamy towards. This is no Last Witchfinder. This book was obnoxious, challenging, invigorating, frustrating, occasionally downright offensive, and demanding as hell. It's not really a novel, despite having "A Novel" printed on the cover - it's a satire, and it's completely nutbars. The back cover namechecked Pygmalion and Lolita, but I would've namechecked Voltaire and Swift instead, with maybe a nod to Matt Ruff. It's That Sort of a Book, and I thought it was great, and I was quite exhausted by the time I finished reading it.

Salman Rushdie wishes he wrote this book.

(258/250)