Book update - The Orchid Thief

I am finally back after losing internet access for a week - which was probably really good for my productivity but made me feel sort of out-of-the-loop about life around me. Perhaps to permanently disconnect would be good for my sanity, but I just don't think that I can go back to life offline without some sort of serious calamity to force me into such an existance. (I know I CAN exist without internet, but I really don't WANT to give up online bill paying, ability to look up recipes, and daily blogs, and e-mails, and googling any subject that crosses my mind....)

Anyway, I promised an update on The Orchid Thief and here it is:

First off I must say that this is just such a strange little book. It is a non-fiction in the gardening section at the library with the feel of a novel. It is a story, but a true one. The author slowly meanders thru the story and weaves in tons of information about Florida, botany, architecture, orchids, etc. Unfortunately she meanders a little too slowly for my taste and caused me to lose the drive of the plotline by mid-book. I am afraid that this book will be a halfer for me.

I am ashamed to say that I have read a lot of "halfer" books. These are books that I get half-way thru and then never finish for some reason. Many times it is just that the book loses its compelling plot by midway, or rather, that by midway thru the book I have lost my initial curiosity about the book and the book has failed to establish a compelling enough plot for me to finish it. For me the plot of a book is like the engine on a train and all the other stuff is the cars. A strong enough engine (plot) with little else to pull will go fast and furuious to the end. A strong engine with lots of "cars" in the form of meanderings and information will slow the book down a little but still pull steadily and strongly to the conclusion. But a weak engine with too much to pull will just get bogged down. Usually I bail on the ride before reaching the end. This is what happened for me with this book. I will return it to the library half-read.