Book reviews pending!

You may recall back in July I posted that I had a few books in my reading queue.  Since then, I've redone my queue entirely thanks to a huge influx of kindle books for my birthday.  The list of pending books has grown to 21 as of this posting.  Apparently I need to learn to read faster.  That, or dedicate more time to reading and less to work.  Hey, I like that idea!  ;-)

I have managed to make it through a few of the books in both the original and updated queues.  The issue is that I've been dissatisfied with the way I review them.  I think my resistance to give spoilers limits the efficacy of the review and doesn't tell anyone interested enough about the book to know whether or not they'd really like it.  At the same time, I recently read a blog post by Carrie Green (author and marketer extraordinaire -- learn more about her here) introducing a light-weight book review method called the Magrs Method.

The Magrs Method of book reviewing looks like it was originated by Paul Magrs (pronounced "Mars"), an author, artist, and lecturer.  The first entry I can find of him using this method is here. The method entails an initial encapsulation of the book's plot in a single sentence, subsequently answering ten questions about the book, and ending with some good quotes.  Specifically (for anyone that hasn't been clicking the links so far):

1. Encapsulate the plot of this book in one sentence.
2. When and where did you get this book?
3. What year or edition?
4. Did you finish it?
5. What's your verdict?
6. What surprises did it hold, if any?
7. Which scenes will stay with you?
8. Which characters will stay with you?
9. What genre would you say it is?
10. Have you read anything else by this author?
11. Is it available today?
12. Give me a good quote.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a fast reader.  As such, the queue of read books is not very long, and I'm not sure I'll review all of them.  However, expect reviews of at least the following in the near future:

• Armada, by Ernest Cline
• Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1), by Lee Child
• A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson
• The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
• American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
• The Magicians, by Lev Grossman

I still owe you a talk about how cutting the cord with "cable" is going as well.  I might interview Tanya about that, since she's the mastermind behind that particular scheme.  That, and I like the thought of sitting her down for an interview... :-D