I’m not trying to be mean, but the author is infinitely more interesting than this book. The book is nonfiction and is about giant redwoods and the scientists who discover and climb them. The thing is…it’s boring in an oddly fascinating way. I had to get the large print version (because after everyone saw the author on Stephen Colbert, they too, put the book on hold) and so my copy has 406 pages. I’ve read 330 of them and I just don’t think I can go on. On the other hand, why did I read so much? Well, it’s kind of interesting. I’ve started looking at trees a whole lot differently since I began reading this book. For one thing, I look up. Also, a lot of this book takes place in Oregon and that’s where I’m from, so it’s got that local draw to it. Still…I think the biggest problem with it is that it appears to be written for third graders. I kid you not. The topic should be fascinating, but the writing is very repetitive (not to mention there are a lot of short sentences reminiscent of Go, Spot go.). Now, those of you who read this blog are all thinking to yourself, “Has Joelle gone hard on us? She usually only writes about books she likes. She never criticizes people’s writing.”. The answer to that is that this is nonfiction. I think that fiction writers deserve a little bit of tender handling because their hearts are all wrapped up in their books. And while this is probably true of nonfiction, I think if you’re gonna write nonfiction, you better do it well, or I’m going to call you on it. That said, if I didn’t think that some of you would be interested in this, I wouldn’t mention it at all. It’s oddly enticing. I do have a thing about trees though, so it may just be me that doesn’t mind ploughing through this muddle. I do think that a tiny bit of what has kept me reading is that the author was so charming and funny and genuine on the Colbert Report. I guess I’m rooting for him.

Oh, and just for the record, Preston doesn’t need my endorsement. He has great quotes for some of his other work from The Chicago Tribune, People, and Los Angeles Times Book Review, so what do I know?

P.S. I took a day off and read some other stuff and then I finished the book today. Some of the ending was pretty good. Still, it was more a matter of finishing something I started. I do feel more complete now that I finished.