Out With the Old, In With the New...Plus, A Request From the Blogger

So I just finished A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. Yes, it's the new Oprah Book Club choice and no, I've never read one of her choices before (at least, not because it was the Oprah Book Club choice). I'll write more on it later, because Mr. Frey has yet to actually appear on the show and I'm waiting until he does before I write about the whole book/TV show/website multi-consumption experience.

In the meantime, I have started Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. Read the following plot description and tell me if this doesn't sound like the coolest thing ever:

"Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japenese pulp classic, now available for the first time in the English language."

OK, are you putting everything down and running out to buy it yet? Granted, I'm sure this doesn't appeal to everyone, but to me it seems like it could be fascinating and trashy and fun, which I could desperately use after the incredibly disturbing A Million Little Pieces.

And while we're at it, why doesn't everyone out there let me know what they're reading? C'mon! Leave a comment and let me know what else I should be reading.