RANT, by Chuck Palahniuk

RATING: 8

WHY I PICKED IT UP IN THE FIRST PLACE: I was told to read something by Palahniuk, so I did.

REFLECTIONS: At the beginning, I thought of putting this book down as "not my cup of tea", but quickly thought against it. After awhile, it became absolutely brilliant--the format, set up as an "oral history" of Rant Casey, rabies super-spreader, takes a few minutes to get used to, but really moves the story along and keeps the whole thing fresh and interesting.

I learned so many random things, too--like the word "bogeyman" was derived from "boneyman", which was derived from "Napoleon Bonaparte". And that the Persians have a special monster, Lulu-Khorkhore, who comes to eat small children if they don't eat their dinners.

A lot of people describe Palahniuk as being "rollicking" or "hilarious", and this was more unsettling and clever. I could see the definite link between himself and Vonnegut, however, though Palahniuk is a little more gritty. Overall, it was a great book.