WWRW: Orange Grass

Do you have Netflix?

Have you watched Orange is the New Black? It's intense. It's crazy. It make you laugh. It makes you  cry. It makes you think. And it makes you sick to your stomach. Because it seems so insane that somewhere things like that are going on. The corruption in the name of justice? The crazy? It's just intense. I could go on but you get it. It is not a show for the faint of heart. I can't even believe I watched it all but it sucks you in. 

So I was telling my friend Kathryn about it, and she had some time to kill in Barnes and Noble while she got her oil changed and wound up buying the book it's all based off of. Then after she read it she passed it to me. What book? Well... I know this may surprise you but it's called, wait for it now, Orange is the New Black. 

The book is every bit what you'd expect. There are times when watching the show that you just can't believe that Piper (the main character) would get into such a mess. Situations that seem just a little too ridiculous to actually happen. (The final moments of the season anyone?!) And the book reassures you that in fact, that's just Netflix making it dramatic. 

Piper for real, in the book Piper, acts every bit the way you'd imagine her. Fumbling through minimum-security prison keeping her head down. That's not to say there aren't interesting anecdotes in the book or there aren't moments of injustice that will make you rethink the justice system in America. Quite the contrary. 

What the book lacks is the disgust and nausea that the dramatic visualization brings, but it is not lacking in heart and insight. I honestly don't know if I would recommend the Netflix Original Show. But the book? I can safely say is for adults only but one worth reading. There are some moments that seem out of place or out of order but I imagine after 13 months of doing literally the same thing it all kind of blends together in the memory and that makes it way into the writing style of this memoir. 

So apparently when I pick Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet for November's book club we got on some sort of WWII kick. The January book (we took December off) was supposed to be Code Name Verity which I wrote about here. 

If you don't want to click over I will sum it up as not a happy book but brilliantly written. Anyhow, our host picked the book without reading it, but it was recommended by the librarians. Apparently it had made the rounds through all the librarians and they could just not stop talking about it. There is a lot to say and discuss. A good book club choice then right?

Nope. When the host read it she realized that a lot of the people wouldn't like it (I'm sure she's right) and picked a second book. So Sandra Dallas' Tallgrass. It has similarities to Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet as it is about the Tallgrass Japanese Interment camp and how it affects the neighboring town. 

I could not get into this book. It usually takes me about a day to read a book. I kept falling asleep when reading this one. (That is about as thumbs down from me as it gets.) It was slow to start and then because Dallas had apparently reached her page count the book wrapped everything up with a bow very quickly. It wasn't terrible and there were some strong moments but for the most part I'm mad that I am stuck with this non-lendable Kindle version that was expensive for a not great Kindle book. ($8.89!!) 

If you're especially a fan of Sandra Dallas you may really like this one. If you were on a long road trip and a companion had a copy/you find it at the library and you've got nothing else to do or read I wouldn't turn you against it. But please don't run right out and buy this, there are so many great books out there, this isn't one of them. If we were handing out grades it's a solid C.

Linking up with Jessica and her snazzy new blog design. Odds are good she's got a snazzy new book to hear about too!