Mission Somewhat Accomplished

Reason No. 3 for this blog (You can find it RIGHT ON THE BLOG. Yes, it's here. Look on the right side. About halfway down the page. Yeah, that's it.)

"3. I, too, want book recommendations from those I trust (so I may or may not read your recommendation). From this blog, you can see what I've liked--you may not like my taste, may never come back to the blog--that's ok. If, though, you like some or all of what I like, tell me. And, more importantly, tell me what else I'd like!"

I have read two (almost three) books that I wouldn't have read if not for the blog:
1. Blindness by Jose Saramago.
2. American Pastoral by Philip Roth (like I said, I had never finished it. . .)
3. (70% through) Anathem by Neal Stephenson.

All have been (or are) great reads. So, MISSION SOMEWHAT ACCOMPLISHED, right?

I suppose. I'm not sure if anybody has read or not read a book after seeing it on the blog.

I did want to provide a compendium of books/authors that/who have been recommended by others--either on this site or via email or other medium--to me. Some I've read, some not, as indicated:

In no particular order

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (haven't read it; always want to make his last name "Gladstone" like he's a Flintstones character; haven't read The Tipping Point either; both on my long list)

Blind Side by Michael Lewis (outstanding)

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (OK, so Dave Eggers also did the script for the movie "Where the Wild Things Are" and recently published a novel entitled "The Wild Things." [Interlude:
Well, on the old set you could slide the men up and down the ice, and now all they do is spin around. It was more like real hockey the old way. Why did they change it?]  A virtual Diet Coke to she/he who first identifies the movie)

Other Novels by Jose Saramago

The Bone People by Keri Hulme

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

Ghostwritten (and others) by David Mitchell

Keep up the good work and, remember, RIF