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  • 2 weeks later...

I am currently reading The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin. I like it for the most part. I dont like how it tries to claim that he was an atheist because of some things he did and said in his younger years. It shares this in common with a few of the recently written biographies of prominent Americans I have read, but it simply isn't true.

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This is my most-recently read book. I bought it in Poundland for the rather obvious price of ?1, and since it was a hardcover I thought that was a pretty decent price. The story is set around the fall of the USSR in 1991, so it appealed to me for the history. The story could almost be considered the transition that Russia went through on a small-scale with the attempt to privatize a vodka distillery, from which the title is derived. I had assumed, considering the artwork, it was something to do with Leon Trotsky. While it wasn't anything to do with Trotsky, I still think this was a well written book since it had some powerfully written scenes and took an interesting look at the work of the Russian 'mafiya'. Admittedly the language used at times can be confusing, since it uses transliterated Russian, but never offers a further explanation of the words that appear.

I then moved on to this:

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Since I haven't read Darkly Dreaming Dexter this could be a confusing start but at the same time, it seems understandable enough so far since I know the concept: forensics officer moonlights as serial killer, hunting serial killers, and that forms the basis for the story. From what I know this is also the story of the second season or so of the programme, though in its original form.

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I've had this book sitting on my shelves for some time now, since I enjoyed a few of Smith's earlier novels. It's quite large though, with a small font size, and I'm hoping it is a decent read because I'm not the sort of person to abandon a book I'm reading even if I'm not loving it all that much. I actually managed to get my copy for 33p, since it was a paperback and there was a '3 for ?1' deal with paperbacks at the shop I bought it in. :p

Finished American Gods. Interesting concept, just don't get the greatness of it. David Stag, author of Empire of the Gods, contacted me and asked if I would be willing to read and review his book. I agreed and he sent me a copy:

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