Finished

I finished up reading Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby, and managed to find the time to consume the last 150 pages in one sitting, something that's not too easy with a toddler running around the house like some sort of crazed wolverine on a sugar buzz. But the important thing is that I actually wanted to finish the book that fast. The last third of the book was fascinating because I had no idea how it was going to wrap up, or even how Hornby was going to tie off his various story threads before the end. I thought it was a satisfying conclusion, maybe a little abrupt, but when you've spent page after page constructing your characters as well as Horby did, I feel you're allowed a little shorthand at the end.

My favorite example of finishing a book in one big chunk is Jonothan Carroll's The Land Of Laughs. It's the story of teacher who meets a girl who's as obsessive about a certain children's author as he is. The two of them travel to the author's small Missouri hometown to write a biography, and of course it all goes horribly wrong. I spent the last portion of that book in a tense little ball on my recliner, I had no idea what was going to happen, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't be a happy ending (spoilers!). Just a fantastic book, and one I need to re-read in the very near future.