Diary of a 'Diary'

Well, I have completed Diary. Let's start with what I liked best: the writing. The twisted, palpable images of Misty and the community of Waytensea Island are watermarks of Palahniuk. Misty's self-loathing and depressing lack of motivation was almost annoying in content, but that's good. That means I was strung along as I should have been. Now the bad news: the story, oh-so-promising in the beginning, unraveled towards the end, much to my disappointment. I was all packed and ready to board the express train to Crazyville which is often where Palahniuk takes us (Fight Club was fantastic in that regard). Yet somehow, he just couldn't seal the deal with me. Was it the trite, coquettish way of the mysterious green pills? (Yes.) Or the unexplained, underwhelmed, blatant acceptance of death? (Yes.) Or perhaps it was the lame-o ending? (Definitely.) All of the aforementioned was just so awful. So much so that I threatened to leave the novel in Vegas since that is where it ended for me. (I really would have left it with a disclaiming instruction to never read it, but I promised it to Kathy L. I may try and talk her out of it though.) Anyways, it's over and done with and it couldn't do so at a better time.

Next Monday, March 15th, a new adventure begins in the reading of Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success. True to form, I'm optimistic of this reading especially considering what I've just read. It can only get better, right?