Mark's Book Blog

Shuttin' 'er Down

2011-03-21T19:44:00.001-04:00

It is with a heavy heart that I officially shut down Mark’s Book Blog, a.k.a. Mark’s Book Diary. (If a tree falls in the forest, and there's no one around. . .)

I’m just not posting as often as I’d like. A blog must contain fresh information. As with all readers, the time it takes for me to finish a book, as well as the time that I may take between books, varies. I had intended to supplement book-specific posts with features like, “The Classics Never Die” (about classic novels), “Quick Hits” (featuring a sentence or two on previously-read books), “Random Musings” (which were frequently random and discussed book resources, other blogs, etc.) and other book information (like e-book reader developments, award-winning books, etc.). I have let myself down by not posting regularly.

I intend to continue to maintain a list of books I read and books I want to read. I will also jot down a note or two about each book I read since a big reason that I started the Blog was to keep track of what I read.

I want to THANK the 2 or 3 (ok, 1 or 2?) loyal readers out there who wasted their valuable time on my ramblings. Please keep in touch with book recommendations and let me know if you want to know “what I’ve read recently and whether I recommend it.”

LIVE LONG, READ AND PROSPER. WE’LL LEAVE THE LIGHTS FOR YOU.

Seinfeld Post - A Post About Virtually Nothing

2011-03-07T17:15:00.000-05:00

So, there I was, browsing my list o' books, undecided about what to read next. I still haven’t read all of my “misses” from 2010. And who knows if I will ever pick those up.

I stumbled upon some information regarding HBO’s upcoming series, “A Game of Thrones.” A book, I might add, NOT on the list o' books.

[Aside: If you are “A Song of Fire and Ice” devotee, you will note that the remainder of this post is written from the point of view of me, “A Song of Fire and Ice” and George R.R. Martin neophyte. When I question the double middle initials below, please don’t post that I’m a heathen who is undeserving of reading the books because I don’t know the backstory. And, if I misidentify a reference to one of Mr. Martin's books below, please don’t call the world wide interweb police on me. I hadn’t read Word 1 written by Mr. Martin before last Friday, and I am only about 1/3 of the way through “A Game of Thrones.” While I’d love a succinct list of characters or family tree (to keep all of the characters straight), I was unable to easily find one that didn’t have spoilerability (a newly-coined term (by me) meaning, “the power or capacity to crush a reader’s hopes and dreams by exposing a significant narrative event”). As a result, some of the family relations (heh heh) and geographic connections are difficult to follow. Therefore, instead of pointing out my inadequacies, any assistance on this front would be greatly appreciated. End of aside. Question, if an “Aside” turns out to be the focal point of a post, does that render it not an “Aside” and instead render the rest of the post as the “Aside”? Tough question for a Monday.]

The book, “A Game of Thrones,” is the first in George R.R. Martin’s series entitled, “A Song of Fire and Ice.” (OK, what’s with the two middle initials? Am I the only one of finds that a bit much?)

The series had been recommended to me in the past and had actually been compared favorably to Stephen King’s “Dark Tower” series (more on that in an upcoming post). Apparently, Martin’s series was initially meant to span three books and now in intended to span seven. Of which four have been published, one is scheduled for release, one is titled and the last is nowhere (as far as I can tell). Martin is 62, and I am reluctant to invest the kind of time necessary to read the approximately 3,000 existing pages much less the 2,500+/- that will comprise the last three novels, if Martin makes it that far.

That being said, I am greatly enjoying the first book. I am particularly fond of Martin’s approach to character development. There are several characters that Martin uses for the telling of his story. Each chapter has the title of a character’s name, and the chapter is then written from that character’s point of view. As a result, you learn more and more about each character in each of the character's “chapters.”

I will post on “A Game of Thrones” once I complete it. I do not expect to immediately pick up the second book, but assuming that I intend to forge ahead, I will probably read one or more books before doing so. Just in case you’re keeping score at home.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

RIP Borders and Why I Feel Culpable

2011-02-28T16:23:00.000-05:00

As discussed at length on this blog in the past, I am a recent Kindle convert. I don’t know about the other Kindle converts out there, but I now have a difficult time reading an actual physical book. I keep a “non-Kindle Wish List” in my Amazon account, and those titles are comprised mainly of books not offered on the Kindle. That whole list is just gathering dust.

Despite my affection for online shopping (one of my wife’s pet peeves for sure), I still love going to bookstores. I love paging through books, seeing what might interest me. In the past, I often felt compelled to buy something. Be it the mega-Barnes & Noble or neighborhood bookstore, I wanted to lend my support.

I still feel this way about the neighborhood bookstore. I’ve blogged about one of my all-time favorites in Columbus, Ohio (The Book Loft) before. I always buy something there—for myself or members of my family.

Of course, Amazon has led the charge in commoditizing books. 30% off? How about 40%? 45%? For a while there it was so ridiculous (and I was so ridiculous) that I’d shop Amazon, BN.com, Buy.com, Walmart.com, any-other-discount-book.com website looking to save 23 cents on a book. Yes, it was a game. And among those online retailers playing the discount game, I was ok. Fact is, the quaint neighborhood bookstore had been dying a slow death since long before the evil empires of Walmart and Amazon achieved international prominence.

Well, the commoditizing has its price. Yes, I still love browsing through bookstores, but as a Kindle guy now, I leave the bookstore empty handed except for the titles of books to be added to the reading list. I’m not even buying the damn books any more. And, unfortunately, the e-book industry can’t get its act together and allow (without, in some cases, some techno-mumbo-jumbo-unscrewthis-plugthatintocomputer nonsense) multiple venders to supply your e-reader. So, you buy a Kindle and your only easy option is to download your books from Amazon—as much as you might feel compelled to “buy” from Barnes & Noble because, guess what? That’s where you saw the book in the first place.

To Borders. I went to college in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1971 (long before I arrived), the first Borders Book Shop opened in Ann Arbor. Borders was still there during my time 1985-1989. It had begun to expand and open in new markets by that time as well. It was a great bookstore. It was nestled among all of the “college bookstores” selling text books (all at the same price, by the way), college apparel, etc. Borders was the bookstore your parents wanted to browse through on visits.

Yeah, Borders was purchased and went corporate. But I, and countless others like me, effectively abandoned brick and mortar bookstores. So, does it come as any surprise that Borders is going through bankruptcy. And it’s not like Barnes & Noble is a picture of economic health, though there’s hope that someone will step up and take it private.

Anyway, RIP Borders. It’s possible that Borders could emerge following bankruptcy. Nobody knows at this point. My local Borders is having its “Store Closing” sale, however. And I am not aware of any "neighborhood bookstore" in my neighborhood. I find it a shame.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

Scorecasting by Tobias J. Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim - A-

2011-02-26T16:52:00.000-05:00

This book is likely for a narrow audience. Scorecasting was written by two boyhood friends--one is now a sports journalist for Sports Illustrated (Wertheim) and the other is now a finance professor at the University of Chicago and colleague of Stephen Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics.

For a non-sports fan, the rest of this entry can be summarized thusly: blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah BLAH! Those who continue on do so at their own risk.

Scorecasting is basically a Freakonomics of sports. The authors select a number of accepted sports beliefs (home field advantage, there's no "I" in team and others) and attempt to prove or disprove them through statistical analysis. Where they find truth to the beliefs, they further analyze the data to try to reach a conclusion about the underlying reasons.

For instance (and I have heard this discussed on radio interviews with the authors, so this, in my opinion--which is the only opinion that matters on my blog--does not violate my "no spoilers" rule), the authors show that home field advantage is a truism in all sports. Larger in some than others, but applicable to all sports, from the US major sports to soccer (over the pond) to Japanese baseball. After analyzing the data, however, they prove that performances of home team players vs. visiting team players do not vary. Among other data used to prove the point, the authors looked at certain statistics where they could isolate a statistic and factor out all of the "noise." For example, the home team in the NBA makes precisely the same percentage of free throws as the visitors. Soccer penalty shots are identical as well. And so on.

What does differ, however, is the way that the umpires or referees call the games. This "referee bias" is surprisingly prevalent and noticeable in looking at the data. Home teams are called for fewer fouls than visitors in the NBA. The strike zone is bigger for the pitcher, and smaller for the hitter, with respect to the home team. The basic conclusion (I'm being intentionally overly-simplistic) is that, well, if you were an umpire, and 30,000 fans cheered every time you called a strike and booed every time you called a ball, wouldn't you be predisposed to call borderline pitches a strike?

Freakonomics was, in many ways, revolutionary. Whether you "buy" the authors' conclusions or not, their ability to turn conventional wisdom on its head was thought-provoking.

Scorecasting doesn't have as much impact. For a sports fan, it is a fun, quick read. Its conclusions aren't going to keep you up nights with your brain tied up in knots, though.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

The Long Ships by Frans G. Benggston - A-

2011-02-21T14:36:00.000-05:00

The Grandson: A book?

Grandpa: That's right. When I was your age, television was called books. And this is a special book. It was the book my father used to read to me when I was sick, and I used to read it to your father. And today I'm
gonna read it to you.

The Grandson: Has it got any sports in it?

Grandpa: Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...

The Grandson: Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try to stay awake.

Grandpa: Oh, well, thank you very much, very nice of you. Your vote of confidence is overwhelming.

Grandpa: Westley didn't reach his destination. His ship was attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who never left captives alive. When Buttercup got the news that Westley was murdered...

The Grandson: -Murdered by pirates is good...

"The Long Ships" by Frans G. Benggston is a tremendously fun adventure. Taking place at the turn of the first millennium, "The Long Ships" follows the life and adventures of Orm Tosteson, a Norseman from a long line of Vikings who was initially thrust into the Viking life after being captured. Orm is not what you would consider an ordinary Viking. Sure, he plunders and fights. He's immensely strong. He's also a bit of a hypochondriac, more worried at one point in the book, for example, of fighting (to the death, I might add) outside in the cold where he might get a chill than he is about fighting at all.

Orm goes on many voyages and meets many great friends and characters along the way-Toke Gray-Gullsson, Father Willibald, Olof Sommerbird, and others, including Orm's wife, Ylva. There's murder, revenge, plundering, quests, religious conflict, torture and general skullduggery. I just wanted to use the word "skullduggery."

But this is much more than a story. It can be read like a story, of course, but there are numerous themes to ponder as well, including ye olde standby, sin and redemption, religious themes, fate (including luck) vs. free will, many others. Benggston also often leaves the reader hanging, and there are many questions that are left unanswered to be discussed and considered.

Benggston was a Swede who lived from 1894-1954. "The Long Ships" is actually a combination of two books written by Benggston in 1941 and 1945. For some reason, the book was recently republished (and Kindled). One of my favorite authors, Michael Chabon, wrote the introduction to the most current version.

"The Long Ships" is a great book, recommended to anyone who enjoys a good adventure.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

War and Peace - 2011's Failed Experiment

2011-02-04T14:06:00.000-05:00

I may have mentioned that one of my “book resources” is a website and podcast called, “Books on the Nightstand.” I’m particularly drawn to this resource because, pre-Kindle, I kept dozens of books on or under my nightstand. These books were the bane of my wife’s existence (along with: failing to put dirty clothes in the hamper, putting shoes away, leaving plates/bowls/cups in the sink, failing to close bagged foods, toilet issues, hogging blankets, others).

Anyway, the site and podcast are hosted by two people who work for Random House. They are very up-front about their Random House connection. At times, it is a limiting factor to the breadth of a podcast as, for example, when they previewed upcoming books to be released but were obviously much more familiar with Random House releases (and informed listeners of the fact).

Anyway, they do some neat stuff. They have a retreat in Vermont this April. They also have book club read-alongs. One of them is coming up as some will read “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” by Michael Chabon with them. This is an excellent novel, and I’d read it again except so little time, so many books…

One of the two podcast hosts will also do a “War and Peace” read-along.

So, I start thinking, why not? I’ve never read “War and Peace.” That’s one you can cross off the bucket list, right? It’s a classic—some say the best novel ever written.

I try to get some of my reading friends to join me.

For the most part, the silence of the responses was deafening. However, one brave soul said he was in.

As luck would have it, we both started “War and Peace” earlier this week. We also both abandoned the project less than 24 hours after starting it.

I can’t speak for my reading buddy, but here were my initial problems:

(1) The book was written in the 1800s and, although translated, reads like, well, a 19th Century novel. Ok, I expected that. But it still made for slow, rough reading.

(2) As the introduction to my edition told me, Tolstoy wove a bunch of French and German in the original Russian novel. Tolstoy, himself, translated the French and German in footnotes. Commentary indicates that Tolstoy’s translations were not necessarily 100% accurate—which was either intentional or not. I find that to be a fun fact. Anyway, the translators, correctly in my humble, small brained opinion, retained the original French and German and translated only the Russian. The French and German was, again, translated in footnotes. And there’s the rub. For those of you Kindle readers out there, navigating through footnotes is my hugest Kindle pet peeve. You have to click on the footnote number in the text and then jump to another location and then go back and find your former spot—it’s a huge headache. [As an aside, it’s also a big difficulty that I had in starting “Decoded” by Jay-Z. Not sure how to fix this in the Kindle, but footnotes are a stumbling block for me. Now, it’s entirely possible that I’m a moron and there’s an easier way to do this, but I don’t know].

So, anyway, my buddy and I chose to read another book together.

We went to college together, and the movie, “The Princess Bride” came out our senior year (I think??). Anyway, we often quote “The Princess Bride” to one another. (Wow. Is the previous sentence as geeky and loser-ish as I think it is. Yeah, it is.)

So, taking a quote from “The Princess Bride,” if “Murdered by pirates is good” then perhaps “Murdered by VIKINGS is better.” We’re reading Frans G. Bengtsson’s Viking novel, “The Long Ships.”

And who wrote the introduction to the edition of “The Long Ships” available on Kindle? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Michael Chabon, of course.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

“The Emperor of All Maladies—A Biography of Cancer” by Siddhartha Mukherjee - Solid A

2011-01-30T11:23:00.003-05:00

Every once in a while, I read a book which I describe as, from beginning to end, one of the best books I have read in a while. Sometimes, a book starts off strong (see “The Instructions”), I get excited and then my hopes and dreams are dashed as the book either fizzles altogether or stretches out too long. Sometimes, I have a difficult time initially with a book. I may put it down for a while or forever. I may struggle through it. I may experience a breakthrough making the book no longer difficult. And then there are the books that are just ok.

“The Emperor of All Maladies—A Biography of Cancer” is one of the best books that I’ve read in a while. I was skeptical about whether I would enjoy this book. It was written by Siddhartha Mukherjee, an oncologist and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia, and my skepticism was two-fold. First, I could not imagine how a non-fiction book about a disease could hold my attention. Second, I was concerned that the science would be overly technical.

I was incorrect on both counts.

“Biography” is the right description for the book. Dr. Mukherjee tells the history of cancer discussing everything from factors involving causation to diagnostic techniques to the evolution of treatment.

Dr. Mukherjee clearly recognized that a purely chronological history would have been a nonsensical approach because discoveries relevant, for example, to isolating the cells responsible for producing cancer cells in the body occurred over many time periods. Also, parsing the subject purely by topic (causation, treatment, etc.) would have required significant temporal overlap and would not have created a cohesive narrative.

Therefore, Dr. Mukherjee’s approach is generally period-based where early approaches to treatment and diagnosis transition to the next evolution in thought and innovation. In other words, he has chapters on forms of chemotherapy and approaches to surgical treatment in the early 1900s and then often reviews those topics when new discoveries lead to innovations in future periods. He talks about environmental and behavioral causation generally when discussing the mid-20^th Century after virtually no discussion preceding the period since the link between smoking and lung cancer, for example, was not considered until the later period. In this way, the reader clearly understands the evolution regarding causation, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Also, Dr. Mukherjee backtracks where necessary to earlier periods and reviews material for the reader to assist in context for later periods.

Dr. Mukherjee also interweaves vignettes from his own experience in treating cancer. We meet some of his patients, and we meet some of the physicians with whom he has worked.

The book has a “mystery” feel to it. For instance, some early research often focused on leukemia because at that time, unlike cancer of an organ, cancer in blood could be measured. The problem (leukemia) is presented, the players (researchers, physicians) are introduced or reintroduced, the process (investigation, research, trials) is discussed, and then there is a conclusion. In some cases, the conclusion is a huge disappointment—more so for the researchers and physicians than for you as reader. In any event, tension builds as the reader invests in the history.

Back to the science. Yes, there are a number of techno-babble terms in the book. Dr. Mukherjee does an excellent job of defining them. I found it more impressive, however, that Dr. Mukherjee could explain difficult concepts by comparing them to everyday situations that anyone can understand. While I am certain that Dr. Mukherjee was being somewhat simplistic, he knew the depth of the topic that he needed to explain in order for his lay reader to understand the concept. Some of the science was more than my brain could handle, but I expect that readers will not find, and have not found, the science to be an obstacle to reading and enjoying the book.

Even with all of these positives, the book could not succeed on such a high level without Dr. Mukherjee emotional connection to the disease and the patients. He takes the reader with him to visit his patients. He effortlessly describes the patient’s state of mind, the states of mind of the patient’s family members, his own state of mind. He cares a great deal about his patients, really about all cancer patients and the families of cancer patients. Dr. Mukherjee’s emotional investment draws the reader in to the subject matter. He is clearly a post-cancer William Hurt from the film, The Doctor.

My family has had its health issues, but we have fortunately not been hit hard by cancer. I am curious whether those with family or close friends who have suffered from cancer will want to read this book and, if so, how they will feel about it. I wonder the same about cancer survivors. My suspicion is that because of the tone and approach of Dr. Mukherjee, they, too, will be sucked into the book.

Dr. Mukherjee is a phenomenal author. He effortlessly explains his subject matter, and his language is impeccable. At every turn, he selects exactly the right wording to convey his message.

I didn’t intend to enjoy “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer” as much as I did. I actually expected that I would put the book down when I got the gist of the message. This book was never a chore for me. I was shocked at how much of a page-turner it was.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

Buy One Get One Free! The Dogs of Riga and The Redbreast - B+

2011-01-22T17:09:00.000-05:00

The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell

The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo

I’ve completed two books in the last couple of days but didn’t have the opportunity to blog in between. So, instead of splitting these up into two entries, and because the books are both from the same genre, I decided to combine both books into one post.

Isn’t this exciting? I’ve never done that before! I don’t know about you, but my feet are tingling!

Both novels are Nordic crime novels. First up is the second in Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander series, “The Dogs of Riga.” The novel takes place shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall when power was up-for-grabs in areas of Eastern Europe and criminal elements tested the limits of, and in many cases conspired with, government. Wallander, a Swedish detective, is called in when two well-dressed, bullet-ridden corpses wash ashore in a life raft. His investigation into government-sponsored corruption takes him to Riga, Latvia following the murder of a friend.

I like a number of aspects of Nordic novels such as this one. The novel takes place in a stark setting where most of the characters do not enjoy Western creature comforts. The protagonists, like Wallander, are flawed as opposed to supermen. The detectives actually do “detective work,” often without the aid of modern, quick turnaround, CSI-like science.

I’m geeky when it comes to series like this. I generally start with the first in a series and read the books in order. I had read “Faceless Killers,” the first Wallander novel, last year. This is a great series where you can pick up a novel periodically when you’re in the mood.

Next up is “The Redbreast” by Jo Nesbo. “The Redbreast” was recommended to me after it had already inexplicably shown up on my Amazon Wish List.

While not the first novel by Nesbo to feature his protagonist, Harry Hole, “The Redbreast” is the first Hole novel that is available in English. Listen, I have my “stuff,” like reading a series from Book 1 forward, but I’m not going to go to extraordinary lengths like by learning another language in order to do so.

The novel takes place in Oslo, Norway. The action shifts back and forth between present day and World War II. Hole is a recovering alcoholic who, after an unfortunate incident, is reassigned from the crime division to the Norwegian secret service. While there, he begins investigating a mysterious arms purchase through which he confronts Neo-Nazis and researches the past before the two storylines intersect.

Like Wallander, Hole is flawed. Like Mankell, Nesbo’s novel has a similar stark Nordic setting.

Which would I recommend over the other? Well, I’m giving them both B+’s. If you enjoy the Stieg Larsson “Dragon Tattoo” novels, you will likely enjoy either or both. Both novels are also less violent than the "Dragon Tattoo" novels.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Random Musings Numero Uno de 2011

2011-01-14T09:23:00.000-05:00

My daughter asked me the other day how much Spanish I remember from high school and college. The answer is muy poco (And I needed Google's English-Spanish translator to come up with "poco," which, by the way, I believe is incorrect. But I digress, which is what I do when my musings are random).

I am currently in the middle of the 2010 Man Booker Prize Winner (bonus link to the Man Booker Prize website), The Finkler Question. Let's just say that I was in the mood for an uplifting read, and I am 41% of the way in to the novel (according to my Kindle, don'tcha know). Well written? Yes. Uplifting? Not so much. I must complete the novel by Monday, for reasons too convoluted to explain, or put it down to finish at a later date. My next novel will be a fast-paced adventure or suspense novel. Possibly a Lee Child. Possibly a Brad Thor. Possibly a Nordic crime novel. I'm weighing my options.

As I've told some who may or may not read this blog, I'm taking one off my bucket list in 2011. I'm reading War and Peace. Not the Cliff's Notes version (more on that later). I have earlier blogged about another book blog (and podcast) that I follow, Books on the Nightstand. BOTN is trying to get some people to read, and perhaps chat about, War and Peace during 2011. The thinking is that all of the War and Peace readers will support one another through the arduous adventure. The "official" website of the read along is here, and as you can see, the pace is meant to be leisurely, and it is definitely contemplated that you will read other books at the same time. The Kindle price for the recommended version, by the way, is $7.09.

So back to Cliff's Notes. I wasn't as much of an avid reader in high school and college. I don't suppose that I like being told what to read. While I studied Moby Dick at least twice (in high school and in my American Literature class in college), I have never read the damn novel. There are other classics that I know I've studied but never read. The Scarlet Letter. Wuthering Heights. I read MOST of Grapes of Wrath before I started actually feeling the dust in my own throat. I never would have graduated high school without my friend, Cliff, and his notes. I'm stating it now: Bucket List Item of 2012 is Moby Dick.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Faithful Place by Tana French - C+

2011-01-06T19:15:00.001-05:00

I read Tana French’s first novel, In the Woods. It had come highly recommended to me. I came away very disappointed that I didn’t love the novel. I enjoyed it, I finished it, but when her second novel, The Likeness came out, I purposely chose not to read it. Last year, Faithful Place was released. Like The Likeness, I determined to avoid it. Then, Faithful Place started showing up on a bunch of year-end best lists. That, coupled with my mood for a fast-paced mystery, got me excited about reading Faithful Place.

I wanted to love this novel. I really did. I psyched myself up to love it. I breezed through the first quarter of the book. Flew through it. Kept telling myself how much I loved it, how great the novel was. Through about half of it, I had convinced myself that it was terrific. I was going to recommend this novel to ALL OF MY FRIENDS.

Then, the adrenaline wore off. Finishing off the novel (which I still read in four days) became a chore.

The story takes place in Dublin and opens with the protagonist, late-teen Francis Mackey, readying to run away from home with his sweetheart, Rosie Daly. Something happens that night to disturb their plans. Then, the story fast forwards 22 years as the full extent of the mystery unfolds. 22 years later, Francis is a cop, and he is forced to revisit that fateful night when he was to run away with Rosie as well as other aspects of his childhood and his family.

Listen, this is not a horrible novel by any stretch. The characters are fine, the story is taut. I think that I like my mysteries darker. I also enjoy a good noir (if, for no other reason, for the ability to say or write, “good noir”).

I will also say that many people love Tana French and loved Faithful Place. I think that my C+ is more a matter of taste as opposed to an indictment of French’s storytelling or writing skills. And her writing is a huge step up from James Patterson or Harlan Cobain, even if Patterson and Cobain can tell darker stories with more mystery. [Brief aside: I no longer read Patterson or Cobain. They tell great stories, but I find them to be short on the art of writing. Because reading time is limited and valuable, I prefer reading authors who bring more heft to their writing as opposed to those who tell a great story but offer little else in the way of great language. I did mark some great passages in Faithful Place where I felt that the writing was particularly skillful.]

I read one noir and two “darker” mysteries (here and here) last year. I enjoyed each of them more than Faithful Place. You, however, may love Faithful Place and question my taste in this regard. That’s your prerogative, especially since, as I said, this is just a matter of taste.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

Five Plus Three Shoulda' Coulda' Woulda'

2011-01-06T12:39:00.000-05:00

I guess you could say that the books outlined below are at the top of my list. In fact, each has been high on my list for some time. Had my reading appetite been better throughout 2010, many of these books may have been completed.

First, I will highlight five books that I did not get to in 2010 but hope to read during the first quarter of 2011.

Then, I will list three books that I started in 2010 and liked but put down for one reason or another. In the case of all three books I have a major issue: I own the books in hardcopy but refuse to read them on anything other than the Kindle. I am having difficulty motivating myself to buy the books a second time. It’s kind of an internal war.

I did not so much “compile” this list as cull through the 70+ books on my Amazon wish list, eliminating books not yet released and those that I would like to read but can’t get too excited about. I was shocked that all five are non-fiction books, and I urge those of you “fiction-only” readers out there to consider one or more of these. Each of them is somewhat different in some way—not, for instance, some history book or random biography. Each of the three other books is fiction. I present them in alphabetical order:

Decoded by Jay-Z – Yes, you read that right. A couple of early disclaimers. First, I understand that Oprah gave this book to her audience last month. Strike one for me. Second, I know zero about rap music. Strike two for me. Third, I could not pick Jay-Z out of a crowd and have never knowingly listened to (or heard) one of his songs. Strikes three and four for me. However, I have listened to people speak about this book, many of whom, like me, know nothing about the subject. I understand that the story is part memoir, part primer on the history and meaning of rap music. In addition to telling his own story, I understand that Jay-Z “decodes” some rap lyrics which even the non-rap enthusiast finds interesting. The physical book is apparently visually phenomenal with pictures and art. I will Kindle this book, but if you’re not a Kindle person, you will likely not be disappointed with the book’s appearance.

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee - A history of CANCER? Yes, a history of cancer. Call me morbid (“YOU’RE MORBID!”), but I find this a fascinating topic. I’d go into more depth, but seeing as I know little about the history of cancer, it’s tough for me to do. I suppose that I will learn about the evolution of theories regarding the causes of cancer and evolution of therapies. I will probably learn about the key figures in the search for cancer cures. Likely, I’ll discover the current state-of-play on cancer treatments.

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown (not the Bengals’ owner) – I have no idea why Pluto is or isn’t a planet. I know that kids used to consider Pluto their favorite planet because (1) it was small, like them and (2) it shared a name with a Disney dog. At some point, amid significant outrage, Mike Brown proved that Pluto was not a planet and “removed” it. (I don’t think anything was actually physically done with the dwarf planet formerly known as Pluto). Mike Brown got hate email and hate mail about this. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. If the title of this book is any indication, Mike Brown doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s also likely intellectually accessible while you’d think I guy who did the science to demote a planet to a dwarf planet would be, well, a humorless nerd. If I’m wrong, I’ll hate this book and will not finish it.

Life by Keith Richards – Come on. Part of each of you wants to read this book. The music. The era. The cast of characters. The drugs. The girls. I listened to one of Richards’ interviews regarding the book, and this book is apparently a no-holds-barred, readable account of the 60s from someone who really was there and lived it to its fullest.

Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine by George Dohrmann – I could have put other sports books here, but I did not. I do not expect this to be as much about sports as it is about young student athletes. We all know that there is corruption in high school and college sports. I do not mean to imply that there is institutional corruption at any school, but agents, alumni, rogue coaches—they exist. Look just at basketball. Exactly 30 players (many of whom are from foreign leagues) get drafted in the NBA first round every year. To get a guaranteed contract in the NBA, you have to be selected in the first round. How many junior and senior high school kids are being “advised” right now that they are slam-dunk first rounders? Hangers on see these kids as a bridge to becoming an agent, a coach, whatever. I have read an excerpt from this book, and while I would not recommend it to someone with little or no interest in the subject matter (while I suggest the Jay-Z book regardless), consider it, particularly, if you are a high school and college sports fan.

The other three. Again, alphabetically.

The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson – Initially published 55 years ago, this novel recently resurfaced. Courtesy of Amazon, 78 reviews. 72 gave five stars. 6 gave four. While I am by no means a sucker for Amazon reviews, a large and strong set of reviews is at least an indicator. What is it? It’s a book about Vikings. Not the Minnesota Vikings, the real Vikings. It’s an adventure romp.
Room by Emma Donaghue – This novel is written from the perspective of a five year old who, with his mother, has spent his entire life in one room. You have to get used to the writing style which is expectedly choppy at first. My favorite wife (the one to whom I am married) read and loved this book.
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray – Skippy dies very early in this novel. The rest of the novel, I understand, provides what led up to Skippy’s death. Along with Room, this novel is rated on many Best of 2010 lists.

Well, there you have it. I suppose these are essentially recommendations of books that I have not read. Whatever.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Five Best Books Read in 2010

2011-01-04T19:13:00.000-05:00

2010 was not what I would call a banner reading year for me. Only 25 books. I know, I know, if any of you actually go back through my 2010 posts, you will find posts on 24, not 25, books. I also finished “Hunger Games,” the first in the trilogy, late in the year but determined not to blog on the novel until I had completed all three. I am expecting that to occur in the first half of 2010.

Here is the only rule: I must have completed a book in 2010 to be eligible for consideration.

Last year, I did get some “best five” emails and comments from blog followers. I would LOVE to be able to post additional “best five” lists—bring ‘em on.

I was also going to add a bonus to this post, but I decided to split the bonus into a future post. The “Top Five Books I Meant to Read in 2010.” My Amazon wish list (which has become my Night Table o’ Books) currently lists 71 books. I look through the list periodically—in connection with book selection or just for fun. I have zero idea how some of these books ended up on the wish list. There are a number of books, however, that I REALLY REALLY want to read, and I am going to select the five that I most want to read, list them and tell you why.

I actually thought that picking five books would be difficult because I don’t think that the overall quality of the books I read in 2010 was as good as the books I read in 2009. When I went back through the books, though, I came up with seven “finalists” and about 2-3 others which would have gotten an “honorable mention” if I really wanted to stretch the list.

My Best Five Books Read in 2010 are listed below in alphabetical order. I cannot rank them 1-5, though as you’ll see below, I could give you my No. 1. Links are to my earlier blog posts (which, in turn, link to the books).

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – This book rightfully showed up on a number of year-end best lists. The story of the woman responsible for the HeLa cell line and her family, interwoven with scientific information accessible to non-doctors, was a riveting, interesting and fun read.

The Imperfectionists – I appreciate this book more as I reflect on it. My main criticism of the book when I first read it was that I do not generally love short stories, and the fact that The Imperfectionists presents a unified construction comprised of related, but not integrated, character stories was problematic for me. However, I read this book in early 2010, and a number of the characters and their stories stuck with me while there were other books I read in 2010 that I honestly barely remembered.

The Instructions – As I initially posted, this 1,080 page behemoth (not available on Kindle) is not for every reader. Plus, I didn’t love the ending. Any author of a 1,000+ page novel can be accused of being “self-indulgent,” and perhaps Adam Levin is guilty. However, the protagonist is unforgettable, and the language and style are layered with levels of meaning. Part of me wanted to start the behemoth all over again when I finished.

Matterhorn– If I had to pick a No. 1, Matterhorn would be it. Karl Marlantes' incredible story of Lieutenant Mellas and his company during a portion of the Vietnam War was an extremely emotional read. Great story, great writing. Many parts grab a reader. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys war fiction.

The Passage – Justin Cronin’s post-apocalyptic novel about a science experiment that went horribly wrong rounds out my Best Five for 2010. I am certain that some of you are “done” with post-apocalyptic fiction. And this is sort of a vampire novel, too (though the “vampires” are called “virals” in Cronin’s book)—vampires, we can all agree, have been overdone. But this is one fun read, and I anxiously await Book 2 (due 2012) and Book 3 (due 2014) which are expected to complete the trilogy.

So that's it. Again, not a great year for me. Shooting for 35 books in 2011.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Last Book of 2010 - Appropriately "The Last Boy" by Jane Leavy - A-

2011-01-03T08:06:00.000-05:00

I know I know, you guys just can't wait for my second annual "Top 5 Books Read in 2010" entry. I know you've been checking back daily, anxiously awaiting the post. It is coming this week. Truth is, I haven't picked all five, yet. I know one for certain, and 2010 was generally a light year for me so culling through and picking five shouldn't be a chore.

Before we get there, however, let's review the last book I read in 2010. I cheated just a bit. I finished The Last Boy by Jane Leavy on 1/1/11, but I'm counting it as a 2010 book because I read 95% of it in 2010. Since I make the rules, the ruling stands.

I greatly enjoyed Leavy's book from 2002, "Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy." I didn't initially make the connection that she had written both books (it was EIGHT years ago) and didn't pick up "The Last Boy" because of Leavy but rather because of her subject.

Mickey Mantle's career spanned the generation that immediately precedes my generation. His career ended just as my hometown "Big Red Machine" started revving up. I never saw Mantle play, but he is one of the more revered players in baseball history, a veritable Greek god of baseball.

I mention Greece because the classic tragedies had nothing on Mantle. His biography reads like a Greek tragedy. From a difficult upbringing to devastating injuries which sapped his strength and speed to his (losing) battle with alcoholism to his interpersonal relationships--Mantle was most definitely a tragic figure. You can add "self fulfilling prophecies" to his tragic legacy as he assumed the bad health that plagued him (and many in his family).

The only characteristic that many shared in Greek tragedy which Mantle didn't have was hubris. No, hubris was reserved for DiMaggio. Leavy wisely leaves (Like that? Leaves? Leavy? I got a million of 'em. . .) DiMaggio largely out of her book, only including him where necessary to advance Mantle's story (and to take some deserved cheap shots at DiMaggio).

Mantle is an all-time great. Of course, the reader is left with the question of what otherworldly goals he may have attained had Mantle had the benefit of just "decent" (not necessarily "good") health for any large part of his career.

Leavy writes from a familiar place. She obviously idolized Mantle in the late 1950s and 1960s. She just turned 60. She was born in Mantle's rookie year and was 16 when Mantle retired. Likely, she idolized Mantle like I idolized those players from "The Big Red Machine." It's never the same as when you were a kid. The players were bigger than life then. Flawless. I don't know that we can ever recapture that innocence about our heroes in today's internet-based world.

Leavy's obvious love for Mantle, the player, makes this endeavor all the more difficult for her. She writes about Mantle's career, yes, but she focuses on what was unspoken during his career and what followed his playing days. The womanizing. The alcoholism. The horrible family relationships. All of the flaws of her hero.

I picked up this book because I didn't "get" Mantle. Again, his career preceded my baseball fantacism. Leavy delivered big-time. I "get" him and what he meant to those around him (good and bad) and to his multitude of fans. I highly recommend this book for the baseball fan, particularly any baseball fan who grew up watching Mantle.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Fun Little Post - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2011-01-01T13:56:00.001-05:00

Just a fun little post on some of my favorite book blogs.

Lots of people love GoodReads. GoodReads is a great book social network and recommendation clearinghouse. Lots of recommendations, plus you can keep track of what you and other subscribers are reading and have on their reading lists. Arguably the best book recommendation blogs.

Omnivoracious is Amazon's book blog. Some great features including a compendium of weekend book reviews (from the New York Times, Washington Post, etc.), highlights on different types of newly-released books (including Graphic Novel Friday) and up-to-date reports on book award nominations and winners.

Always the equal opportunity guy, Barnes and Noble Review is also worth a look. I particularly enjoy the weekly emails that arrive on Friday. The site contains reviews, lists and articles regarding new and upcoming book releases. Also, like Five Books below, B&N also has posts of five books on all types of subjects from wine to Mark Twain to skyscrapers.

I really like Books on the Nightstand. I download the podcasts from iTunes and listen to them when I run. Two book lovers with different tastes host 20-30 minute podcasts on different types of books. They do a few shows at year end on holiday gift ideas. They're not hyper-technical (take a pass on the podcast "comparing" different e-readers) or hyper-intellectual. They are also excellent on kids' books.

A good friend steered me towards Five Books. Each day, the site's editors interview a renowned authority who discusses his or her area of expertise and provides their choice of the best five books to read. Often, the recommended books are on a particular topic (science fiction, books about cooking, etc.). A nice bite-sized blog.

If you like mysteries, check out Partners and Crime. The site is for an independent bookstore in Greenwich Village and has recommendations for the "top crime novels," as well as reviews of first novels and other information for the reader and book collector.

Really love McSweeney's (link to About McSweeney's Page). Founded by Dave Eggers (Zeitoun, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius), McSweeney's publishes books and literary magazines. I found McSweeney's as the publisher of The Instructions. Not a whole lot of free content but some otherwise great information.

Modern Library has a bunch of Top 100 polls and specializes on the best fiction and non-fiction in history. The site specializes on information about truly historical works.

I am always looking for fun blogs, so please forward any that you frequent.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Dead or Alive - B

2010-12-27T08:47:00.000-05:00

Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy and Grant Blackwood is a fun read. I've read a bunch of Tom Clancy novels, not all by any means, but enough that I consider myself a fan.

Clancy's last "Jack Ryan" offering, Teeth of the Tiger, which introduced characters Jack Ryan Jr. and his fraternal twin cousins, Dominic and Brian Caruso, as well as the new black ops center where they are headquartered, The Campus, was capital "H" HORRIBLE. By far the worst Clancy novel I had read. (Sometimes, when people don't want to go out on a limb, they'll give you the "it's in the conversation for [the worst meal ever] [the best game I've ever seen], etc. But you want me on that limb, you need me on that limb).

I thought that Clancy had lost it. In Teeth of the Tiger, he seemed like he mailed it in. First, it was much shorter than most Clancy offerings which made it seem like he had just lost interest. Plus, have I mentioned that the novel was bad? Because it was. Capital "B" BAD.

I have to say, now that I'm a Kindle geek, I don't study book covers as much any more. [I will say that I enjoyed my foray into Barnes and Noble yesterday, and I did find some new books to put on the neverending Kindle Wish List. I wonder how long that damn list will be when I die, 'cause I'm not getting through the whole thing. So many books, so little time.] I mention this because I again note that Dead or Alive was written by Tom Clancy and Grant Blackwood, and that had I known that Grant Blackwood had likely done most of the writing, I probably would not have downloaded the book. But I didn't, and I did, and the point is moot.

Dead or Alive centers on The Campus' search for a fictional bin Laden known as the Emir. There are ancillary plots as well which serve primarily to re-energize the Jack Ryan/John Clark (yes, Clark is here) franchise and set up an obvious sequel (or obvious sequels). Is the novel formulaic? Yes. Black ops organization tries to figure out a terrorist plot, knowing that the Emir is in the middle of it.

Just because it's formulaic, however, it doesn't mean that it's not a fun read. It is. The characters are much better defined this time around. The plot moves fairly smoothly for a typically long Clancy read. And it's nice to spend a couple of evenings with old friends.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Spy vs. Spy - And Another Thing

2010-12-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

I was reminded of one forgotten Spy today when I saw someone carrying the newish George Bush memoir.

Spy: Most serious readers like the ability to see what other people are reading. This is a particular hobby of mine while on vacation. I like to stroll around the pool and get some reading ideas. The Kindle makes this, of course, impossible (unless you don't mind being extraordinarily creepy by cozying up to someone to either "spy" (See how I worked that in? Brilliant!) or being unbelievably nosy by simply inquiring as to what someone is reading).

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Spy vs. Spy - Our New Feature

2010-12-10T20:18:00.000-05:00

We’re introducing a new feature here at TheBlog called “Spy vs. Spy.” You may recall the comic feature from Mad Magazine. I was shocked, and pleased, to learn that Mad Magazine is still being produced and that Spy vs. Spy lives on in its pages.

Our new feature is really nothing more than “Point-Counterpoint,” but we here at TheBlog thought that “Spy vs. Spy” was a cooler name for the feature.

Now that I’ve been test-driving my Kindle for over a month, I think I have a bead on its best and worst features. I have also used an Ipad for reading, but while the graphics on the Ipad are, of course, phenomenal, the Ipad is comparatively clunky to tote around while my Kindle is the size of a slim paperback book.

Spy: Love, love, love the integrated dictionary. I was reading the newish Mantle biography, “The Last Boy,” and the author was relating how Mantle (and really all men) liked childish humor. Mantle would make “dingleberry” jokes. Now, “dingleberry” shows up as a misspelling in my Word documents, but the integrated Kindle dictionary nailed the definition.

Spy: The integrated dictionary is not that easy to use. You have to, using the arrows, move the cursor to immediately precede the word you want defined.

Spy: The battery life is phenomenal. I am a little maniacal about making sure that the wireless is off when I am merely reading, but even with intermittent wireless use, the battery will last for weeks.

Spy: You don’t buy the Kindle for the graphics. The e-ink is readable but decidedly low tech. While you quickly get used to it, the brief pause from screen to screen is a little annoying.

Spy: The option to download a book sample is awesome. With print books, sometimes I pick one up and decide that “I’m not in the mood.” But I’ve paid for the book. It sits on the nightstand, starting to smell like fish that, well, sat on the nightstand. The book ultimately makes it to the Island of Unread Books. With the Kindle sample, if “I’m not in the mood,” I just hold on to the sample until I might later get in the mood.

Spy: The lack of a touch screen is a significant drawback. Navigating with arrows and a cursor is clunky and low-tech. A touch screen is the only feature that I can think of that would necessitate an upgrade to a new model.

Spy: I went on vacation a few weeks ago, and I didn’t decide what I was going to read before I left. I decided at the airport. Then, when I finished that book, I surfed the Amazon store and bought another. No lugging heavy books.

Spy: The experimental browser is fairly pitiful. I understand that it’s just experimental, but surfing on 3G is, of course, slow. WiFi is a little faster, but even then you are limited by the aforementioned arrow/cursor navigation system.

Spy: It’s nice to be able to read two books at one time. Sometimes I get a little bored and put a book down. I read another for a little while, then pick the first one back up. With the Kindle, I can bring multiple books with me at one time and flip between them.

Spy: It’s too easy to buy books. I know that sounds like a Spy but it’s not. You can rack up large charges pretty quickly. $9.99, $11.99 and especially $14.99 can add up.

Spy: I also like the multi-device functionality. If I buy a book for Kindle, I can read it on my Kindle, my wife’s Ipad, my computer or my blackberry. Not that I’d ever read a book on my blackberry, but it’s still cool.

Spy: There’s something about a physical book. Something about its feel, its smell, etc. Plus, it’s nice to be able to flip pages and see how many pages you have until the end of a chapter or a page break. The Kindle is not conducive to this, and if you don’t think ahead to bookmark a page, you can very easily lose your place if you scroll ahead several screens.

What about you? And if you have a Nook or a Sony, what do you think?

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King - A-

2010-12-04T16:51:00.000-05:00

Indiana: There's a big snake in the plane, Jock!
Jock: Oh, that's just my pet snake Reggie.
Indiana: I hate snakes, Jock! I hate 'em!
Jock: Come on! Show a little backbone, will ya!

Dear Steve:

Can I call you Steve? Thanks.

The first book of yours that I ever read was Night Shift. I was in 7th or 8th Grade. That collection of stories caused a number of sleepless and restless nights for that 13 year old.

The most enduring legacy from that collection is my lifelong fear of rats. Yes, Steve, rats. I don't know what they ever did to you, but they obviously peed in your Wheaties. They'd have had to for you to portray them as evil incarnate as often as you do.

Rats tend to show up most prominently in your short stories and novellas. I thought that I beyond getting freaked by rats, but then I read 1922 from "Full Dark, No Stars." And you did it again! I'm a 44 year old man having nightmares about rats!

I gotta tell you, though, "Full Dark, No Stars" was a fun read. In my opinion, your best in a while. I liked the characters in Duma Key a lot, but other recent works like Cell and Under the Dome were sort of retreads, weren't they? And don't get me started on the last two books of the Dark Tower series. What a letdown.

"1922," about a father and son after an unspeakable act, was the perfect first story in this collection. I greatly enjoyed the revenge story, "Big Driver." "A Good Marriage," about a husband's secret life, was terrific. "Fair Extension," about a deal with the devil, was the weakest of the four stories in my opinion. Even though weaker, the story was still disturbing and thought provoking.

Anyway, please, enough with the rats.

Signed, a big fan.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - B+

2010-12-03T13:00:00.001-05:00

I didn't think that this book was "all that." I enjoyed it--don't get me wrong. I also recommend it. But I'm having a difficult time wrapping my head around why Amazon.com picked "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot as its No. 1 book of 2010.

The book is partly a detective story, partly a science book and partly a human interest story. Skloot does a fine job of intertwining the different aspects.

Henrietta Lacks died in 1951 from ovarian cancer. Prior to her death, some of her cancer cells were harvested for research. Ms. Lacks' cells proved to be miraculously productive--or "immortal"--and were instrumental in aiding in medical discoveries from the cure of polio to treatments for AIDS. The so-called "HeLa" cells are still used today in medical research.

As was customary in the 1950s, her cells were taken without Ms. Lacks' knowledge. In addition, virtually nothing was known about the cell donor by anyone who experimented using the cells. The cells were essentially harvested anonymously.

Ms. Skloot proved to be fascinated by the story and spent many years learning about Ms. Lacks and her family. "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" essentially takes the reader through Ms. Skloot's investigation as she first discovers the history of the cell line and, once she identified Ms. Lacks as the donor, gradually earns the trust of Ms. Lacks' living family to learn about her. At the same time, Ms. Skloot relates Ms. Lacks' history that she learns. Ms. Skloot also spends a great deal of time on the science, discussing the ethical and other issues involved in harvesting cells for research as well as the history of the HeLa cells.

Again, I do recommend "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." It is a fascinating story. As far as books that came out this year, though, I have a difficult time putting it in the same class as, for example, "Matterhorn" (which showed up as No. 3 on Amazon's list).

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

First Contact: Or, It's Later Than You Think by Evan Mandery - B+

2010-11-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

The aspiring screenwriter ("Justin") walks in to the office of the lower level studio exec ("Rob").

Rob: So, Justin, Mr. Brooks says that you have a screenplay that we'd find interesting.

Justin: Yeah, Mr. Brooks fell in love with the idea.

[Note: Mr. Brooks is Justin's father-in-law and the head of the studio. Mr. Brooks thinks that Justin is a moron and that his daughter, Trudy, is even more of a moron for marrying him.]

Rob: So tell me about it.

Justin: Well, it's kind of like Slaughterhouse Five meets Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. You know, the satire of Vonnegut meets the fantasy of Douglas Adams.

Rob: But those guys are novelists, not screenwriters.

Justin: EXACTLY! That's what makes this so exciting!

Rob: Story?

Justin: Aliens contact the United States. Turns out that the alien planet is very friendly and easy going. But the US President thinks he's missing something and authorizes an attack on the alien planet. There are some other side stories taking place on the alien planet, etc. The main character is an aide to the President. There's action, space travel, humorous subplots, it's a fun read, er, story.

Rob: Sounds more like a novel than a screenplay.

Justin: That's why this is so innovative.

Rob: Sounds like a winner. Let's make a movie!

Justin: Great, thanks!

Rob: I'll give you a call to network and talk about leads.

Justin: I'm thinking Brad Pitt.

[Justin departs. Rob throws the screenplay on the top of a pile three feet high and forgets about it. He never hears from Mr. Brooks who thinks Justin is a moron.]

First Contact is a fun read. If you like Vonnegut and Douglas Adams, you'll really enjoy First Contact. The satire is not nearly as biting as Vonnegut, but Vonnegut was, of course, brilliant. If you do not like Sci Fi, you will hate First Contact. If you want a "serious" read, you will hate First Contact. If you like short fun reads, give it a try.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Post 100 - I'm in Love - Back from Fishin'

2010-11-21T18:21:00.001-05:00

The book diary, er, blog has reached Post No. 100. The blog started for the purpose of giving and receiving book recommendations, hopefully with and from like-minded readers. 100 posts in, I think that the blog serves primarily to memorialize what I have read in a style that only I find entertaining. But I digress. [Can one digress when communicating with oneself? Discuss.]

If you have read earlier posts, you may know that about a year ago (October 21, 2009, to be exact), I blogged that my experiment with Kindle 1 was not successful. I actually re-sold it on Craig's List.

I just read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and finished The Hunger Games (blog entries pending) on my new Kindle 3G and Wi-Fi, and I love it. I've gotten past the "where am I in the book" issue. Still don't love it, but I can deal. Some of my favorite features so far:

1. The built-in dictionary. The ability to scroll over a word and have the meaning pop-up is a feature I have used multiple times already.

2. Searching. You can search for a word or phrase within a document or a book.

3. The built-in Kindle manual. Not sure how to do something on the Kindle? Easy enough to pull up the manual and search for whatever.

4. The Kindle cover that I selected. A built-in book light? They really did think of everything.

More on the Kindle as I continue to explore. Also, blog entries for the two books listed above and others will be forthcoming, hopefully this holiday week.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

The Instructions by Adam Levine - B

2010-11-08T19:30:00.000-05:00

This is a tough blog entry for me. Possibly the toughest that I have posted. Why? Because I wanted to love this novel. This behemoth of a novel. This dictionary (as several people called it when seeing me carrying it) of a novel.

100 pages in, I thought the novel was brilliant. 200 pages in, I thought the novel would be in the running to become my favorite all-time book. 600 pages in, I was still loving it.

Fact is, I didn’t love the last 300+ pages. I wanted to, I really did. As my enthusiasm for the book waned in those last 300+ pages, I went through all five stages of grief:

Denial: “This novel is still really really good.”
Anger: “No. No. Noooooooooooooooo!”
Bargaining: “OK. If just this happens, I’ll continue to love this novel unconditionally.”
Depression: “What a letdown. I’m really sad.”
Acceptance: “It’s ok. It’s ok.”

The Instructions purports to be scripture written by the protagonist, Gurion Maccabee, and tells the story of how Maccabee, who is at least a child prodigy and at most the messiah (Gurion is also the narrator so the theme of how reliable he is at telling his own story is only one of many themes) recruits allies and tries to cripple what he sees as an unjust and unfair school system. All of the action takes place in a four-day period.

Maccabee is Jewish, and many of the themes and references in the novel are Jewish-related. I suppose that you could call The Instructions “Jewish fiction,” and I want to make sure that if you commit to this novel, you are not turned off by my failure to highlight this.

Despite the fact that I didn’t love the last quarter of the novel, I greatly enjoyed this read. I’d almost have to do so to work my way through 1,030 pages. Let me break this down:

The Good: Listen, Adam Levine is a phenomenal writer. Rich, dense language. Many times, I found myself doubling back and being grateful for doing so because I would have missed something. A large part of me wanted to start the novel all over again because I know that I missed things. I also know that much of the novel was “over my head.” There’s plenty that I missed, and I would have liked to have read this novel in graduate school so that I could spend a couple of months studying it. Great characters that will stick with you. Many thought-provoking themes.
The Bad: I’ve got kids these kids’ ages, and I can buy one child prodigy (Gurion), but not only are most of these kids too smart for their ages, they’re wise well beyond their years. [As indicated above, I have a real narrator reliability issue here. I think that, on many levels, that’s part of the point of the novel, but to disregard the narrator’s reliability in total is to trivialize 1,030 pages of text. So I can’t do that, either.] If you’re looking for plot development (there is plenty of character development), you don’t get a whole lot until the last “act.” Remember, the “action” takes place over a four day period. Literary, religious and cultural references are strewn throughout, and I have no idea whether I caught 10%, 25%, 50% or 90% of them—I clearly didn’t catch 100%. You have to be very well-read to catch them all.

The bottom line is that there is a tremendous amount here. In the end, I asked myself, “Was it worth it? Was it worth the time investment?” For me, unquestionably yes. I’m glad that I committed to The Instructions.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

Bear With Me

2010-11-07T16:06:00.000-05:00

I am thisclose to finishing The Instructions, a 1,030 page behemoth.

Then, I'm going away, with my brand spanking new Kindle (the behemoth is not available for the Kindle, but I digress), and you know how I often come back from a holiday (albeit that this one will be brief) with a cornucopia of blog material. So, bear with me.

I will preview my The Instructions blog entry, if only to say that I could not disagree with this NYT Sunday Book Review more. I don't know if it's him (Joshua Cohen, the reviewer) or me. But I suspect that it's just what makes the world go 'round.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

More Random Musings

2010-10-26T19:59:00.000-04:00

We have a couple things on our plate to discuss today. I’m going to start with a little “The Classics Never Die” spotlighting “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley.

[Lengthy aside. When I was in 9^th Grade I had a most excellent English teacher—Mrs. Steele. Mrs. Steele would retire after my freshman year. I don’t know how old she was then, but you know that anybody with gray hair is “ancient” in the eyes of a 9^th grader. Mrs. Steele was “old school.” First, she taught writing from the ground up. We’re talking starting with simple paragraph structures. Second, she actually taught the lost art of grammar. I owe my goal of adhering to the rules of grammar to Mrs. Steele and my biological mother (who used to teach English herself). Anyway, one of the “big projects” in 9^th Grade was doing a project on a “classic” book which Mrs. Steele selected for you. She strived to match a classic with its reader—including by trying to give each student a novel that would interest them. For me, she selected “Brave New World.” She somehow pegged me as a student who enjoyed science fiction. No, I don’t speak a word of Klingon (despite seeing every original Star Trek multiple times), and yes, I saw Star Wars three times in the theater (during its initial release in 1977, not the recent re-release). However, I’m not sure that Mrs. Steele knew any of that. I very much enjoyed “Brave New World.” We all look back on those “special” teachers that we had. Mrs. Steele was truly a special teacher.]

“Brave New World” is often grouped with “1984.” [You know why “1984” was titled, “1984,” don’t you? Orwell started writing “1984” in “1948” and simply reversed the last two digits.] This grouping does a disservice to both excellent novels. The only similarity is that both novels picture a world far in the future.

Suffice it to say that many of Huxley’s predictions for future technology proved eerily accurate. Others, well, let’s hope that they we don’t move in the direction of Huxley’s future vision. One of the main characters in the novel is Bernard Marx (an homage to Karl, of course), and the form of government in Huxley’s “Brave New World” is totalitarianism. I don’t want to get too much into the plot here, but many themes in the novel have surprisingly aged well since the novel was first published in 1931. I believe that “Brave New World’s” continued relevance is the true genius of Huxley’s novel. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Next up, my anticipated foray to the Kindle. That’s right, I’m considering converting to the dark side. Fact is that, in my opinion, this third generation of the Kindle is the perfect size to carry around. Plus, I’m decidedly NOT an “early adopter” and intended to wait until user gripes about the earliest Kindle editions had been considered. Finally, while I was waiting to be a non-“early adopter” of the iPad as my e-reader, my wife has the current iPad, and I don’t love it. I don’t love it as a “computer” and I don’t love it as an e-book reader.

I know that you are all dying to ask, “What was the tipping point that pushed me to the dark side?” I am reading this most excellent novel, and it’s almost 1,100 pages long. I’m lugging it all over the place, and it’s killing me. Irony of ironies, the book is NOT available on Kindle. So, even if I did have a Kindle, I’d either be lugging this monstrosity or forgoing the read unless/until a Kindle version comes out. By the way, I think that the novel may be brilliant, but it’s difficult to make such a statement roughly 440 pages in to an 1,100 page novel, so hold on tight.

I leave you with this quote, apropos of nothing except that I recently saw the hilarious movie for the 10^th time or so:

“I crashed a funeral today. . . It wasn't my idea, I was basically dragged to it. . .I went with Chazz who you forgot to tell me is totally insane. He also might be a genius because it actually does work, he’s cleaning up.”

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

Random Musings

2010-10-13T20:21:00.001-04:00

It’s been quite a while since I did a Random Musings blog entry, but the blog has been sparse of late.

READER WARNING: The opinions, descriptions and accounts of media expressed below are the exclusive property of this blog and shall not be reproduced, republished or redistributed without my prior written consent, which I hereby provide.

I’m in the middle of or have recently completed a number of books. I briefly toyed with the idea of changing the names of the books and authors to protect the innocent, but that’s just stupid. I do not think that there is a fundamental problem with any of these books (i.e., none of them suck). Clearly, it’s not them, it’s me. I’m just not in a place right now in my life where I can commit fully to any book. Not sure why, but there you have it.

Here’s the rundown of recent reads and partial reads along with an explanation about where I am in the book, why I’m there and whether I’ll finish. Read on at your peril.

“Skippy Dies” by Paul Murray: So, I’m in Barnes and Noble with my 10-year old daughter picking up “Skippy Dies”. I had seen a couple of reviews of the novel, particularly this one from the New York Times. My daughter says to me, “Why do you want to read that? You already know what happens.” Kids say the darndest things, don’t they? Skippy does, indeed, die about three pages in to the novel. I was enjoying the novel for about 120 pages but it takes place in [Ireland], is written in [English from across the pond], it was just too much work for me at the time. [Corrected per actual comment from a reader of the blog. A READER OF THE BLOG!] It’s in the pile, and I plan to finish it when the spirit so moves me.

“Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett: I noted that Ken Follett is publishing a new novel, “Fall of Giants.” Sometimes I get all jonesed up about new novels, forgetting that I haven’t read the author’s other highly praised works. Before I get too excited about this new novel, I recall that I have an old copy of “Pillars of the Earth” lying around. (For those of you from Cincinnati, I found the book’s receipt still in it. The book was purchased in 1989 from Kenworthy’s bookstore in Montgomery. Do any of you even remember Kenworthy’s?). So, I start “Pillars of the Earth.” I’m actually enjoying it for about 75 pages until I remember that I don’t particularly like historical fiction. I don’t mind anything taking place after 1900, but Middle Ages historical fiction? I think not. This novel has been officially put down.

“Room: A Novel” by Emma Donoghue: Here’s another novel that I picked up after seeing a couple of reviews, most notably this one from the New York Times. The premise is interesting. From Amazon: “In many ways, Jack is a typical 5-year-old. He likes to read books, watch TV, and play games with his Ma. But Jack is different in a big way—he has lived his entire life in a single room, sharing the tiny space with only his mother and an unnerving nighttime visitor known as Old Nick.” Here’s my problem: the novel is written from Jack’s 5-year-old perspective. And it’s well written. Which means that I both have to dumb myself down to understand a 5-year-old’s perspective and also consider the broader implications of everything he relates and describes. Too much freaking work for me right now. I’m 60 pages in.

“Ultraprevention: The 6-Week Plan That Will Make You Healthy for Life” by Mark Hyman: I read this whole book before I remembered that I don’t usually “do self help.” As stated before on this blog, I’m pretty set in my ways. The book interested me for various personal reasons that none of you would find in any way interesting, and therefore, the book is not worthy of a standalone blog post.

“The Glamour of Grammar: A Guide to the Magic and Mystery of Practical English” by Roy Peter Clark: I’m kind of a grammar geek. Don’t come to my office and say that “Pete talked to Jim and I.” Don’t write a compound sentence omitting the comma before the conjunction. [Brief interlude. I am very well aware that my blog entries do not always follow the rules of grammar. Some of the sentences are, well, not sentences. The preceding examples are, however, equivalent to running your fingernails across a blackboard. Also, understand that many of your kids do not understand this analogy because blackboards are no longer often used in schools. End of interlude.] This book is okay, and I was heartened to learn that my frequent use of the dash is correct, but it’s a book of bite-sized pieces that doesn’t require a beginning-to-end read. I’m halfway through.

“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins: I know, I know, this is a kids book. I like to see what the young people are reading, you know? My 14-year old read it, and she raved. My son is reading it. And therein lies the problem: I tried to read our copy, but the kids keep taking it away. My wife even downloaded a copy via the Kindle app on to her Ipad. But seeing as SOMEBODY in the house is constantly using the Ipad, reading it there is just not practical. I will finish “The Hunger Games”—I’m about halfway through it just need an uninterrupted hour or two to finish. I will also read the other two novels in the trilogy. The reason that I have been able to put it down is because, well, it’s written like a book for young adults because, well, IT’S A BOOK FOR YOUNG ADULTS.

“The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams: Here’s another kids book. My 12-year old read this first novel in the five-book series as well as the second novel, “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.” Putting aside the “I like to see what the young people are reading, you know?” jokes, I think that reading and discussing books with your kids is not only enjoyable but also rewarding. This one is at the top of the list right now and will be completed when I can get 30-45 minutes to do so. “Guide” is not a long novel at all; the edition we have is about 175 pages. If I were selling the book as a screenplay, I’d say, “It’s kind of like Kurt Vonnegut meets Isaac Asimov.” Then, I’d sit back and see the other person squirm since I find it unlikely that anybody in the movie industry has read both Vonnegut and Asimov. The satire isn’t as biting as Vonnegut, but it is interesting nonetheless. My son’s interest in the series shows me that he will enjoy Vonnegut. [A brief Vonnegut interlude: My three favorite Vonnegut books, in no particular order, are “Cat's Cradle,” “Slaughterhouse Five” and “Breakfast of Champions.” One of my favorite quotes from Vonnegut is from “Breakfast of Champions”: “1492. As children we were taught to memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America. Actually, people had been living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America for hundreds of years before that. 1492 was simply the year sea pirates began to rob, cheat, and kill them.” End of interlude.]

I think that’s all of them. I’ll supplement this entry if I think of any other book I haven’t finished. I just ordered a novel entitled, “The Instructions” by Adam Levin. Why somebody having difficulty committing to a book would buy a 1,000 page novel is beyond me. However, I am going on a brief vacation in about 30 days and may save the novel. Of course, Stephen King is publishing a short story collection the week of this brief vacation, and I can’t lick my Stephen King addiction.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

Half a Life by Darin Strauss - B+

2010-09-25T11:46:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to me!

It took a 200 page (lots and lots of white space, by the way) non-fiction novel to get me out of my longest reading dry spell in at least two years.

I’ve had dry spells before. We all do. The way that I get out of it is generally by picking up and getting through a “quick read.” (For some reason, I call this a “chaser” book).

Half a Life is one of those “I can’t remember where I saw it” books. Actually, I picked it up initially because I thought that my lovely wife and my No. 1 (age only) daughter would enjoy it. I have recommended that they read it.

The author, Darin Strauss, has written several novels. [Brief aside. Dave Eggers is acknowledged by Strauss as an editor of the book. Small world.] [Brief aside No. 2. Dave Eggers missed the misspelling of “followed” (it’s not “follwed”) during his editing. Just saying. I DO read every word.]

Half a Life is a non-fiction memoir of a living nightmare. The first line of the book is, “Half my life ago, I killed a girl.” Strauss, then an 18-year old high school senior is driving home one afternoon with friends in the car. As he is passing a classmate on a bike, the classmate crosses in front of the car. A collision ensues. The classmate is rushed to the hospital, but she doesn’t make it.

The book then relates some of Strauss’ story. Strauss is now around 40, married, with twin boys. The book is difficult to explain because it’s not exactly a biography or memoir relating Strauss’ life from the age of 18. Instead, writing the book was clearly meant to be therapeutic for Strauss. He talks of his feelings and his grief, and he is hard on himself at times for his very human feelings. The gift of this book is Strauss’ honesty and his ability to both describe and evaluate his own emotions. Any reader with half a heart will identify with how Strauss is dealing with his living nightmare in Half a Life.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

Rumblin' Stumblin' Bumblin'

2010-08-21T19:06:00.000-04:00

Keith Jackson couldn't have said it better himself. My "book diary" is nearing post number 100. At the same time, I'm having book commitment issues.

Since I finished "The Last Child," I have started three books. Three. "They task me. They task me." (You must know why things work on a Starship...)

One was put down after 11 pages. I made it through 70+ of the second. About 20 of the third. I was really enjoying the third, but I tired. Then, I couldn't get excited about picking it up the next day. Or the day after. Or the day after that.

It's not their fault. I keep telling them, "it's not you, it's me." ("Well, what am I supposed to do? You won't answer my calls, you change your number. I mean, I'm not gonna be ignored, Dan")

I hate hitting the dry spots. I really WANT to get excited about a read, but I can't. I've probably got two dozen unread books on and under my night table, and I cannot for the life of me pick which one to read next. Or whether to pick up one of the three I started.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

The Last Child by John Hart - A-

2010-08-08T16:15:00.000-04:00

I love a good mystery. Always have. First, I read Encyclopedia Brown. Then, I graduated to the Hardy Boys (50+ of them) (Note to readers: In the 1970s, the Hardy Boys were just fine for kids. In the 2010s, not so much. The Tower Treasure did not age well.) I read a bunch of Agatha Christie novels starting in junior high. I have blogged on kids' series before here.

(Short interlude. The scene: a cold February, post-football Sunday afternoon when I was a kid (maybe 15?). An Agatha Christie novel that I did not read was "Murder on the Orient Express." Anyway, not a whole lot to do on this particularly cold afternoon, so I settled in my favorite recliner to watch the movie version of Murder on the Orient Express. Snacks to my right. Drinks to my right. I'm comfortable. My very favorite sister asks me what I'm doing, and I say, "I'm going to watch Murder on the Orient Express." She says to me [SPOILER ALERT!] "Why are you going to do that? You know that everybody did it.")

I had previously read John Hart's "King of Lies." Interestingly, I finished that book on a similarly rustic vacation to the vacation on which I finished "The Last Child." I often tend to remember books read on vacation. I recall enjoying "King of Lies."

That's not why I picked up "The Last Child," however. In fact, I had forgotten that I had read "King of Lies" until reminded by the style of this novel. I picked up "The Last Child" because it had won the 2010 Edgar Award for "Best Novel."

As I said above, I love a good mystery. I don't like it when an author screws with the reader by withholding a crucial piece of information to "solve the mystery." ("Oh, did I not mention or even hint that Mr. Smith was having an affair at the time his wife was killed? You would have found that possibility enlightening? I know I said that 'Mr. Smith had stood behind Mrs. Smith, serving as unfailing caregiver, always there, never a moment to himself.' You couldn't surmise that an affair was a possibility?")

"The Last Child" picks up about a year after Alyssa Merrimon, twin sister of Johnny Merrimon, had disappeared without a trace. Alyssa was 12, and her disappearance literally and figuratively tore the Merrimon family apart. Johnny is both lost without his twin sister and the strongest remaining member of the nuclear family. Johnny's father had fled resulting from the guilt he carried from having been the one who was supposed to pick Alyssa up on the fateful day. Johnny's mother has engaged on a downward spiral into alcohol and drug abuse and pretty much ignoring her remaining family--Johnny.

13 year old Johnny is a marvelous character. Treading the line between adolescence and adulthood, Johnny will stop at nothing to find his sister. With his family gone, Johnny's only caretaker is Detective Clyde Hunt, in charge of the investigation into Alyssa's disappearance. Det. Hunt keeps an eye on Johnny from a distance and seems to be the only character who understands Johnny.

The mystery has a satisfying conclusion. Again, I love a good mystery.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Short Interlude - Rookie Mistake

2010-08-07T09:33:00.000-04:00

I'm on a short weekend getaway with the family and another family in Norris Lake, TN. Beautiful country. Nothing to do but boat, lounge and relax.

Anyway, I made a big time rookie mistake. I brought my current novel, The Last Child by John Hart. For a myriad of reasons, I failed to follow one of my own rules. I'll bore you with only a couple of the reasons why I failed to bring a provisional book:

1. Fantasy football season is a'comin', and I brought this most excellent football preview magazine which is jam packed with statistical nuggets. I thought I'd read that if I finished my novel.

2. I'm undecided on my next book. Lots of candidates. The night table pile o' books is overflowing. I suppose that, before I left, I wasn't in a place in my life where I could commit to my next book.

3. I've been on this trip before, and in the past, I haven't done much reading. More on this in my next post.

I know that you're waiting with baited breath for my review of The Last Child. As a preview--good read.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Book Series - An Interlude (Part 2 of 2); "The Whisperers" by John Connolly - D

2010-07-25T15:30:00.000-04:00

I know, I know. That title is a mouthful.

This is part 2 of my thought-provoking series on book series. I know that the last entry was quite the mind-bender. We delve deep here on Mark's Book Blog. We really do.

So, about two years ago my biological mother calls me and asks, "What happened to John Connolly?" No freaking idea what she was talking about. I'd never heard of John Connolly. Apparently, she had read numerous John Connolly novels, and the latest one was not to her liking. After a few web searches and a few more cryptic clues from my biological mother, I said, "Nothing has happened to John Connolly. Now, the fact that you're reading John Connolly and expecting a Michael Connolly novel. That's a problem."

I've read a couple Michael Connolly novels. Connolly has written the Harry Bosch series. I think I read "The Lincoln Lawyer," which is not a Harry Bosch novel. But I digress. Where was I?

Oh yeah. Well, I look up this John Connolly. He's got a series of his own, the Charlie Parker series. At this point, I think Connolly was 4-5 books in to the series. I researched John Connolly (I'm going to refer to him as "JC" for the rest of this post), and it sounded like his books wouldn't suck. Sounded a little like Michael Connolly who had gone on a Stephen King bender.

As discussed in Part I, I had to start with Book 1, "Every Dead Thing." I liked this Charlie Parker character as well as his nefarious friends, Louis and Angel. I read Book 2, "Dark Hollow." OK, OK, I'm not going to give you a play by play here, I've read them all. Starting with Book 1. And I just completed the latest, "The Whisperers."

I saw an interview with Daniel Silva the other day on the Today Show while I was getting my car serviced (Bear with me here. I hate the Today Show. But I wasn't the first one at the dealership, and I was therefore unable to switch over to Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN2. And, I know I'm jumping around, but again, bear with me.) I've read a couple of Daniel Silva novels. He has written the Gabriel Allon series. Allon is a former Israeli spy turned art restorer. (I hear that's the preferred retirement job for old spooks--art restoration. I can think of 1,000 retirement job for old spies, but I never would have come upon "art restorer.")

Anyway, Silva said that publishers pretty much demand a novel a year, and that he's had novels come out the same week each of the last several years.

That's the problem with The Whisperers. JC's publishers require a novel a year, and JC is running out of stories to tell. There's not much plot in The Whisperers. More disappointing, however, is that there's not much Louis or Angel, and not enough Charlie Parker.

As I've tried to communicate on this blog in prior entries, I'm primarily a character guy. I want to see compelling characters described skillfully. There has to be enough story to help the characters along, but if I'm not interested in your protagonist, you've lost me.

JC's earlier novels in the Charlie Parker series had more than enough plot. Now, it seems like he's in the four corners offense just delaying some major character development or series conclusion.

I used to like James Rollins' Sigma novels, too. Same problem. I've sworn them off. Too much "been there, read that" in his latest two, "Doomsday Key" and "The Last Oracle." Even his latest non-Sigma novel, "Altar of Eden," was too formulaic.

And there's always the possibility that, instead of the authors becoming lazy and formulaic, they were ALWAYS lazy and formulaic, but I was too lazy and oblivious to notice. My head is spinning.

I know that this post was "all over," but whatever. That's right, I'm whatevering you, if you're out there.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Book Series - An Interlude (1 of 2)

2010-07-24T12:26:00.001-04:00

The Kid: You read that wrong. She doesn't marry Humperdinck, she marries Westley. I'm just sure of it. After all that Westley did for her, if she does not marry him, it wouldn't be fair.

Grandfather: Well, who says life is fair? Where is that written? Life isn't always fair.

The Kid: I'm telling you you're messing up the story, now get it right!

Grandfather: Do you want me to go on with this?

Ok, so I don’t know whether this Princess Bride quote is a worthy contributor to the subject of this post, but whatever. That’s right; I just “whatevered” you.

I have almost finished my current read, a novel called The Whisperers which is the ninth novel in the “Charlie Parker” series by John Connolly. More on that particular series in my next post, but reading Book 9 got me thinking about series in general.

A good friend of mine once called herself “geeky” because she insists on starting with Book 1 of a series. If she’s geeky for that, I too am guilty.

Look, there are certain series that you can read out of turn—Lee Child’s Jack Reaper series, for instance. If you start with Book 5, you might not be as familiar with Jack Reaper or you may have to read over a reference to an occurrence in a previous book, but you’re still going to be in a position to enjoy the plot.

On the other hand, you’re not going to start with The Two Towers. If you do, you’re a moron. You have to read The Lord of the Rings trilogy in sequence or not read it at all. Same with Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. How about Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series? If you continue to suffer through that one, you have my undying admiration. The series outlasted even Robert Jordan!

Notwithstanding the fact that you “can” read series like the Jack Reaper series out of sequence, I cannot do so. I’d feel I was missing something even if I wasn’t. So, I need to start with Book 1.

I have read “The Killing Floor,” the first Jack Reacher novel. I’ve also read “Lions of Lucerne,” the first Scot Harvath novel by Brad Thor. Both were fine. Neither wowed me. I enjoyed each for what they were—fun rides. For me, the commitment starts with Book 2. I’d better be prepared to read ‘em all if I go on to Book 2. And that hasn’t happened with either series. That’s mainly a personal failing in that I’m just not in a place in my life where I can make such a time commitment.

And how about the series that shouldn’t be? You know the ones. Did “Dune” really need multiple sequels? How about “Ender’s Game”?

Anyway, this post arose from my curiosity about others’ views on series. Not that I expect any feedback. Not that anybody is still reading. I know you’re not.

If you are out there (hellooooooooo), post your favorite series. Your guilty pleasure. Even if they are romance novels (I'm not reading those, but whatever. Yeah, I whatevered you again).

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

My New Thing (I Think)

2010-07-19T19:19:00.001-04:00

"For instance, I travel with my own wine...You never know what quality you could encounter at a soiree."

"Very classy."

"I'm into class...It's my new thing."

You undoubtedly recognize the above exchange from the classic 1987 film, Can't Buy Me Love, starring Patrick Dempsey and the immortal Amanda Peterson. Patrick Dempsey eventually went on to star in Grey's Anatomy. Amanda Peterson's fame skyrocketed following Can't Buy Me Love.

(Quick but important digression. The Can't Buy Me Love exchange related above involved two ancillary characters from the film. The line "Very classy" was uttered by Ami Dolenz, daughter of Mickey Dolenz, famous for being one of the Monkeys. I couldn't use "immortal" again in this post, but if I could, "immortal" would have preceded "Mickey Dolenz." Anyway, I always found it ironic that a Monkeys' daughter was in a movie named after a Beatles song.)

Anyway, I'm considering a new thing myself.

Inspired by a good friend and fellow book lover, I am planning to read (or re-read, as the case may be) some classic novels. I intend to intersperse some classic novels as every third or fourth book I read.

As always, I'm looking for recommendations. So far, Middlemarch by George Elliot and Jane Eyre by Charlotte "Don't Call Me Emily" Bronte have been recommended to me. I'm not a big Dickens guy, and I wonder if Moby Dick is any less boring or The Grapes of Wrath any less depressing than either was back in high school or college.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

"Await Your Reply" by Dan Chaon - B

2010-07-19T18:58:00.000-04:00

Let’s start this post with a short digression or two.

Digression No. 1:

George: “A solid ‘B’?”

Jerry: “Yeah. A solid ‘B.’ Not a pretentious ‘A.’ Not a ‘B+’ which is little more than a ‘B’ trying to masquerade as an almost ‘A.’ A solid ‘B.’ It’s not so bad.”

Digression No. 2:

(A baseball digression)

“It’s the ‘Hall of Fame.’ It’s not the ‘Hall of Very Good.’ It’s not the ‘Hall of He Played a Long Time.’ It’s the freaking ‘Hall of Fame.’”

What’s the relevance of the digressions? I really enjoyed "Await Your Reply" by Dan Chaon. The novel was a recommendation from a cousin whose opinion I value. It’s one of those books that I put on “my list” and, when thinking about what to read next, said, “Hmm. I think I’ll try this.” (Ok, truthfully, I put four books on hold at the library—as always, with apologies to the author and publisher. I subsequently said, “Nah, I’m not going to read ‘Await Your Reply’” and canceled the hold. BUT, I must have canceled it too late because it was there when I picked up the other books. So, I figured that it was fate that I read it. And I did.)

The novel is taut and suspenseful and essentially tells three different stories about three different sets of characters. Without spoiling anything, I’d say that the stories intersect in some ways.

I have blogged previously on what I call “highlighter novels.” “Await Your Reply” is more of a “college term paper novel.” The three storylines share numerous themes seen from different perspectives. I could have written a college term paper on any one of a number of these—discussing the themes themselves and the relevance of each theme to each character and/or storyline.

Back to my earlier digression. “Await Your Reply” is very good. If you have read other novels by Dan Chaon (I had not), I do not see how “Await Your Reply” could possibly disappoint you. It’s an excellent read, just a "Hall of Very Gooder" as opposed to a Hall of Famer.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

The Passage by Justin Cronin - A-

2010-07-07T20:07:00.000-04:00

“The Passage” by Justin Cronin is a fun ride, a very fun ride. This isn’t highbrow “literature,” folks, but this is a well-written novel, fairly taut for 750 pages with very good character development.

As I’ve said on this blog many times before, I’m a huge Stephen King fan. Not Annie Wilkes huge, but huge. I haven’t read EVERYTHING King has written, and usually I read everything new and one “golden oldie” I haven’t read each year. Without question, far and away, my favorite Stephen King novel is “The Stand.”

“The Passage” is a post-apocalyptic novel in the tradition of “The Stand” and of “Swan Song” by Robert McCammon, another excellent novel. “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy is a little different. “The Stand,” “Swan Song” and “The Passage” are all post-apocalyptic good vs. evil novels, while “The Road” is more of a tome of survival in a post-apocalyptic world. “The Road,” is, of course, more highbrow than any of the other three novels, but I recommend all four of them very highly. I do not, however, recommend that anyone read them in seriatim because there are similarities particularly among “The Stand,” “Swan Song” and “The Passage” which will make it difficult for any reader to evaluate any of them on a standalone basis.

Without giving anything away, “The Passage” deals with a black ops government experiment gone bad and then fast-forwards about a century in the future. (“The Stand” uses a modern plague as a jumping-off point while “Swan Song” details the aftermath of a nuclear war). The government was attempting to produce super strong soldiers who could quickly recover from injuries, but the initial batches of the “virus” didn’t achieve all of the desired results for a variety of reasons. After a significant security breach, the test subjects escape and spread the virus to trigger the apocalyptic event. Not all are infected, and the rest of the novel centers on a group of descendants of initial survivors who have led their entire lives in a segregated community. Think of a generation of a small group of people who have lived their entire lives cut off from the rest of the world who understand some of the dangers of their world but know nothing—in fact, have no frame of reference to understand—the world beyond their community.

Some readers have been frustrated because they invested in certain characters only to see those characters drop off the radar following the fast-forward. Clearly, you will have to reinvest in a new group of characters, but in retrospect, the investment pays off. Especially since “The Passage” is intended to be the first book in a trilogy.

“The Passage” is an ideal fun summer read. Fans of Stephen King will find Cronin’s writing style familiar. “The Passage” is like “comfort food” for the reading palate.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes - A

2010-07-03T09:27:00.002-04:00

Wow. That was a good read.

I have at home the novel,Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson. Tree of Smoke won the 2007 National Book Award. I never read the novel. Why? I don't know. Why do I ever buy books that I don't read? I'm sure that I had every intention of reading it. Anyway, I'm trying to move Tree of Smoke into my rotation so I can do a post comparing and contrasting it from Matterhorn. Discuss.

This novel is extraordinarily well done. Every character serves a purpose. While most of the story follows the main character, Lieutenant Waino Mellas, all of his Bravo Company comrades play significant roles. I believe that authors who write war novels must have remarkable storytelling skills. Why? First, to do a war novel "right" (and Matterhorn was definitely done right), an author must address textual issues that do not confront authors of all novels.

1. We're talking dozens of characters. And, as in Matterhorn, all of the characters must have substance.

2. The characters cannot be mere stereotypes-either individually or collectively. Yet, at the same time, they must realistically capture the war and the time period.

3. Narrating battle scenes must be precise in order for readers to follow.

Taken at its core, Matterhorn is the story of what happens to Lieutenant Mellas after arriving in Vietnam as an anxious Marine dreaming of glory. That's just the jumping off point, however. War and the jungles of Vietnam are not sugar coated. Neither are the inter-company race relations. Bravo Company's missions inevitably result in casualties and deaths (big spoiler, huh?)-some more senseless than others.

As I've said on this blog before, though, it all begins and ends with the characters. And there are some classic characters in Matterhorn apart from Mellas.

Matterhorn is a rich, outstanding, well-written novel. It is also an emotional read. The first "A" I have read in a while.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Innocent by Scott Turow - B+

2010-06-06T11:44:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed Scott Turow's first novel, Presumed Innocent. I enjoyed his follow-up, Burden of Proof even more.

Those novels were released in 1987 and 1990, respectively. As much as I liked them, I had not read another Scott Turow novel. I suppose that I figured Turow had "gone commercial." I don't know if that's true or not.

I expected to hate hate hate Innocent which focuses on Rusty Sabich, the main character from Presumed Innocent. The action takes place 21 years after the end of the Presumed Innocent. Sabich, found not guilty of murdering his lover in Presumed Innocent (no other spoilers from Book 1), is now a sitting judge. His wife, Barbara, turns up dead (evidently of natural causes) in Innocent, but the prosecutor from Sabich's first trial smells a rat. That's all you're gettin' from me on the plot.

Different chapters are told from the perspective of different characters--Rusty, Tommy (the prosecutor), Nat (Rusty's son) and Anna (Rusty's law clerk). At first, I found the "Tommy" chapters the least compelling, but those chapters improve as the novel progresses.

Like I said, I expected to hate the novel, but I didn't. True, I had a difficult time not thinking about Harrison Ford as Rusty Sabich. The narrative is fairly taut. I read the novel at a good time because I was kind of in the mood for a page turner, and I had a difficult time putting this book down.

I would NOT read Innocent unless and until you read Presumed Innocent. I also wouldn't read Innocent unless you, like I, were invested in the characters from Presumed Innocent. This novel was like visiting with old friends for a few hours, and I enjoyed the visit.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Steinbrenner - The Last Lion of Baseball by Bill Madden - A-

2010-05-29T17:24:00.000-04:00

Baseball geek here. I was looking forward more to this book than any other on baseball which is coming or will come out in 2010. As loyal blog readers know, March through June each year is the time when the new baseball books come out.

I looked forward to Steinbrenner - The Last Lion of Baseball for two reasons. First, the author, Bill Madden, had followed the Yankees since the late 1970s. If there is anyone with the ability and insight to write a definitive Steinbrenner biography, it is Madden. Second, I would argue that George Steinbrenner was the second most influential person on the game of baseball in the last 50 years—second only to Marvin Miller.

(Interlude on Marvin Miller: Miller, as head of the player’s union in the 1970s and 1980s, was responsible for more changes to the business of baseball than any person in baseball history. Period. The fact that he is not in the Hall of Fame is a crime and a shame. And I don’t even particularly like the guy. But I know what I know, and he belongs more than anyone else the Veteran’s Committee has elected in the last several decades. The only reason that he isn’t in is because the Veteran’s Committee is made up of fuddy duddies (spelling?) who are bitter that they did not benefit from Miller’s actions. Yes, I'm talking to you, Bob Feller. They didn’t make millions of dollars. Where was Miller when THEY needed him? These current players are overpaid! It’s freaking ridiculous. The Hall of Fame has become way too political. But I digress. Back to your regularly scheduled post.)

Bill Madden wrote for the New York Daily News, not The New York Times, so you’d expect a little “tabloid journalism” here. And you get it. Steinbrenner is a complex subject. What else explains his love/hate (sometimes back to love and hate again and again) for the same guys? He’s extremely volatile and ran the Yankees in line with his personality. He put too much stock in some things (losing SPRING TRAINING GAMES to the Mets?!?!) and not enough in others (managers who performed pretty well given the hands they were dealt). He could turn on you and forget about it the next day. Plus, if you were part of the family, even if you’d had a falling out with King George, he would be there for you in a time of need. Again, very complex.

Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball is a fun and entertaining ride covering the last 40 years of Yankee baseball. Like it or not, the Yankees have been on the forefront of baseball for numerous reasons during that 40 years. The initial free agent signings. Reggie. The 1977 and 1978 World Championships. The championship drought until the 1996 despite all of the players George bought. Four out of five world championships between 1996 and 2000. The new stadium. Some would say that the Yankees WERE baseball for these years. I wouldn’t go that far, but to be honest, the Yankees have been, during the whole period, the franchise that received the most ink. And Steinbrenner is the owner who received the most ink.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman - B

2010-05-29T17:22:00.000-04:00

First, some housekeeping. My office web blocker recently started blocking MY OWN BLOG! As a result, I am two posts behind and am rectifying that situation RIGHT NOW!

Now, on to The Imperfectionists, a first novel by Tom Rachman. I understand that Mr. Rachman joined some illustrious company by becoming one of only a handful of authors whose first novels received front-page treatment in the New York Times Book Review. Heady praise to be sure.

The action in The Imperfectionists relates to the lives of different people employed by a fictional Rome-based newspaper. Each chapter tells a story about someone at the paper—the editor, a financial officer, free lancers, etc. Interspersed between each such chapter are vignettes describing the inception and history of the paper—how it was conceived, history of its development, etc. It is this background that ties the novel together.

As the title implies, each character is flawed in some way. Some of the stories are heart-wrenching.

The novel is exceedingly well written. Reviews have stated that re-reading the novel will further enlighten readers. In one small way, I understand this because characters are referred to in early chapters while their stories are later told. The perception of a character in another’s story will add to one’s perspective when later reading the character’s story. I’m certain that there are much more “intellectual” nuances that one could glean from re-reading the novel, but too many books and too little time to re-read.

If this is such a well written novel, why a B then? Here’s why. I don’t love short story books, and that’s essentially what The Imperfectionists is. Yes, the stories are tied together, but they are self-contained short stories nonetheless. The overriding history of the newspaper story was not compelling enough to make me continue to turn pages. I couldn’t get in to the flow of the book. The Imperfectionists is definitely a worthwhile read. I would also add that it is an easy book to put down if you do not enjoy it because each chapter is self contained.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

Tears in the Darkness - B "I Got the Gist"

2010-05-15T17:38:00.000-04:00

Tears in the Darkness by Michael and Elizabeth Norman tells the story of the battle for the Bataan in the Philippines during WWII and its horrific aftermath following the US surrender. The ordeal started with the famed Bataan Death March and included trips to Japanese prisons and work camps.

So, I, uh, didn't finish the book. I read 300 pages of the approximately 400 pages. (I know, I know, how could I give up after 300 of 400 pages? You got me. I do that. I only do that with nonfiction, though. I call the, "I got the gist" phenomena. It usually happens when I know how the book ends. Hey, I know who won WWII. I know that some of the US Bataan survivors made it back after the war. I got the gist.)

I'm not proud of not finishing the book. Bad, bad me! Listen, I'm not a history guy. Never have been. I WANT to be a history guy. I go into books like Tears in the Darkness with great expectations. Yes! This will be the book! This will be THE ONE that leads me to read others. Well, it's never happened.

I also wanted to be the music guy. Hey, I can like music. Ok, I can't. I don't know what good music is. My music knowledge, such that it is, picks up in 1982 when I discover FM radio after learning to drive and drops off in about 1988 when I'm not longer required to be exposed to music in college. Why did I digress on music? No idea. It's probably just that I have semi-forgotten how to blog since my blog entries have been few and far between.

However (and this is a big HOWEVER), I have high hopes of completing four books in fairly rapid succession. One, The Imperfectionists, was actually on the cover of the NYT Sunday Book Review a couple of weeks back. I give my No. 1 mom props for identifying and reading the novel prior to it getting such attention.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano - B+

2010-04-26T09:20:00.000-04:00

The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano is an extremely well-written (and phenomenally translated from Italian) novel about two tortured souls suffering from childhood tragedies. I call this a "highlighter novel." Giordano's language is almost flawless which is all the more impressive in a novel translated to English.

So why the B+, you ask. A couple of aspects keeps The Solitude of Prime Numbers (an international best seller) from an A. First, Giordano suffers in my eyes as I compare Solitude to the novels of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, another author translated to English (in this case, from Spanish). For me, the difference is in the plots of the novels. Each of Solitude and Zafon's Shadow of the Wind and Angel's Game are essentially character studies. Zafon goes a bit farther than Giordano as his plots are tighter and more engaging. Zafon also captures the time period and setting (pre-1950 Barcelona for both Shadow and Angel's Game) while the setting (primarily Italy from the 1970s to the present) for Solitude is not a factor in the novel.

Another issue for me with Solitude is that the novel was so powerful and disturbing out of the gate. Gripping and tragic. Giordano does an excellent job in creating his dual protagonists, Alice and Mattia. After detailing their childhood traumas, Giordano takes us through their adolescence and adulthood. The character development is excellent. The problem, for me, was that Giordano seemed to rumble, stumble, bumble for the finish line. He never quite recaptures the power from his opening chapters. After 60 pages, I was enthralled. I wouldn't say that the novel "dragged." It didn't. I would just say that the novel was uneven.

Also, I feel some responsibility to anyone out there actually reading this blog entry. Solitude is not exactly "the feel good story of the year." I didn't downgrade it for that reason, but at the same time, I want to be honest about the fact that many will view the novel as a "downer." As a result, I can't "recommend" this novel unless you are prepared for a disturbing read. We could discuss for hours whether the novel ends on a "happy" note or a "sad" note (which is a mark of a "book club book").

In the end, I suppose that this blog entry is as uneven as its subject novel. There is a lot to love here--compelling characters, skilled writing--just not a lot that everybody will love.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

The Lions of Lucerne by Brad Thor - B-

2010-04-19T09:35:00.000-04:00

Well, okay.

The Lions of Lucerne is the first of the Scot Harvath novels written by Brad Thor. The Brad Thor novels had been recommended to me, by various friends and acquaintances, numerous times. And, as you can tell from my (lack of) blog postings, I needed a quick read. A palate cleanser, as it were. Sometimes, my brain is just fried, and to get back to my usual reading pace, I need something to flush the crap out of my brain. So I thought a new spy series might be crazy enough to work.

Scot Harvath is a former Navy SEAL currently serving as a member of the Secret Service. The action in the novel surrounds a kidnapping of the President. You can probably guess most of the plot from those two sentences.

Then, I ran in to problem No. 1. The name of the protagonist. You've seen the protagonist before in dozens, nay hundreds, of spy novels. And that's ok. THAT wasn't my problem. My problem was the lack of an additional "t" at the end of the protagonist's name. I found "Scot" (as opposed to "Scott") unsettling for some reason. Bothersome even.

Problem No. 2 was the dialogue. I hate dialogue that makes me think, "People just don't talk that way." And the dialogue in Lions often fit that bill.

Problem No. 3 involved plot development. Sometimes, Scot (with one "t") made quick connections, was quick on the draw, as it were. Sometimes, he really needed to be taken by the hand or completely missed things. Thor explained some of Scot's failures in this regard with reference to one of the numerous head injuries Scot suffered during the action. Seemed too convenient for me.

Problem No. 4 dealt with foreshadowing. In one scene, Thor makes much too much about the fact that Scot was going to a meeting without his gun. Hit us over the head, ok? Man, you think that's going to be significant?

Fact is, I still enjoyed this novel. Most of these issues are what I would characterize as "first novel" issues. Just a bit amateurish in my opinion. But I'd like to try at least one more Scot (with one "t") Harvath novel.

I felt the same way, by the way, about the first Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child. I've only read the first one. Yes, I'm one of those nutty readers who feels that he has to read a series from book one forward. I actually liked Killing Floor a bit better than Lions of Lucerne. I liked how Jack Reacher was "rough around the edges" compared to Scot (with one "t"). I'd like to hear how others who have read both feel.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the light on for you.

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine - Michael Lewis - B-

2010-03-28T13:46:00.000-04:00

I haven't read everything that Michael Lewis has written. Liar's Poker is in the pile o' books, trying to make it to the top, but it just hasn't made it yet. I loved Moneyball and greatly enjoyed The Blind Side (despite some rather obvious factual football history mistakes). Having achieved some level of "reader's block," I looked to The Big Short to get my reading going again.

I liked The Big Short, but I didn't love it. I SORT OF understood the subprime crisis and CDOs and their large part in the financial collapse. I didn't understand (like those "experts" responsible for losing billions upon billions of dollars betting on this market) the specific trading failures that led to the historic losses. And I still don't. Yes, I understand a little better, but I can sum up this book as follows (without spoiling anything):

"Blah blah blah CDOs blah blah blah crappy sub prime loans blah blah blah teaser rates blah blah defaults blah blah blah stupid traders blah blah blah here are some smart guys who made $$ blah blah these guys good blah blah blah these guys bad blah blah blah BOOM! blah blah Wall Street is and has been bad."

If you like Michael Lewis, The Big Short is worth reading. He does attempt to boil down this large part of the financial crisis, and as usual, he tells a good story. I have been told that this book is a better one to provide information and background on the financial crisis, and it is on my list.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the light on for you.

Dear (Book) Diary,

2010-03-10T12:23:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry that I haven't been writing in you as often as I used to. There's been a lot going on. And, let's be honest, we're the only ones here anyway. That's why this "book blog" is more of a "book diary" in which I can pour my heart regarding all books I read, great and small.

As for what I've been up to, click here. Let's just say that this effort has taken some serious time out of my former reading time--to the tune of about 5 hours a week. Please don't think I'm neglecting you, oh book diary.

I'm also struggling, big time, with book selection. I have my Night Table Pile O' Books, but I find none of them appealing right now. Something light? Fiction? Non-fiction? Heavy and thought-provoking? I just don't know. I have picked up five books in just the last week and continue, instead, to read a team profile in this.

Speaking of baseball, my annual rite of spring, baseball reading time, has begun. A new biography on Willie Mays is already out, and biographies of Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt, Stan Musial, Roger Maris, Al Kaline and Reggie Jackson are not far behind. Which will be good books, oh dear diary? All of the subjects interest me, but which to buy, which to borrow and which to avoid?

More soon. Stick with me.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll keep the light on for you.

Altar of Eden by James Rollins - D

2010-02-28T21:59:00.001-05:00

Yeah, yeah, I'm back. I've been busy. What can I say? If you want to know what I've been up to, click here.

But, I'm back. And I'm back with a real stinker. Altar of Eden by James Rollins. Listen, I really like James Rollins. I've read a bunch of the Sigma novels. This one was a real problem for me, though.

What I generally like about Rollins is that he works science in to his plots. Yes, the novels are usually formulaic, but they are also suspenseful and fun. I find them light reading when I don't want anything too heavy ("he's not heavy, he's my brother").

Altar of Eden, well, where do I start? There's just not much "there" there. The novel is mostly nothing but a couple of chase scenes with some science thrown in just because. There was little mystery or suspense here. You always knew (spoiler alert!) that the bad guys were going to get theirs and the good guys would be ok. I don't even know what to tell you about the plot. How about this? OK, there are some bad people conducting human and animal experiments which turn out badly. The bad people essentially get discovered. They try to cover their tracks, but there are a couple of Rollins' trusty heroes there to stop them.

Be a better person than me. Skip this novel. I really think that Altar of Eden cured my Rollins jones, and you won't be seeing a Rollins post any time soon.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

Freedom by Daniel Suarez - B

2010-02-10T09:16:00.000-05:00

George: Mr. Pensky. I was just working on your file. I was transferring the contents of the file into this flexible accordion-style folder.

Pensky: Where's Tuttle?

George: He's on vacation.

Pensky: He was on vacation the last time I dropped by. Give me my file. (looks through the file) Looks like you put a lot of work into this.

George: Well you know in college they used to call me the little bulldog.

I feel like I've been working on the Pensky file--rearranging this novel in a cute, accordion-style file for weeks on end. For a variety of reasons, none of which having to do with the quality of the material, it took me an inordinate amount of time to complete our second Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club (VBC) selection, Freedom by Daniel Suarez.

Freedom, like its predecessor, Daemon, is a techno-thriller. Daemon and Freedom are books that Tom Clancy or Michael Crichton (may he rest in peace) might write if they were computer gamers. The novel details the effects of a "cyberwar" unleashed against humanity by an evil genius upon his death. News of his death actually triggered (in Daemon) the cyberwar.

The action in Freedom picks up a short time after the the end of Daemon. A big criticism that I've heard about Daemon is that the story was open-ended--there was no conclusion. Those who stick around to read Freedom will not have the same reaction. Freedom does conclude though the door remains open for a third book in the series.

[Spoiler alert if you haven't read Daemon. Stop reading now. You have been warned.]

Suarez turns the "good vs. evil" argument on its head in Freedom. Is the Daemon good or evil? Was the "evil genius" Matthew Sobol really evil? How does the society created by the Daemon "compare" with society without the Daemon? What are the true motives of those trying to "defeat" the Daemon. These questions and more are addressed in Freedom.

I'm not going to tell you that either novel is among the best I've ever read. I do enjoy a good techno-thriller where most/all of the technology is here or within reach. In other words, if you're reading a book about cloning Albert Einstein using a hair preserved in a hermetically-sealed container since his death, I really don't want to hear about it. [I don't want to spoil this one for somebody who might actually read the book, I did read a novel where Hitler's head was preserved by cryogenics. This was the payoff of the novel. Seriously.] Suarez cites resources for the technology behind the story (and has an abundance of information on his website.

Do not read Freedom if you have not read Daemon. One major issue I had with Freedom is that Freedom did not include a sufficient review of the characters and action from Daemon. Unless you read the novels one after the other (and I read Daemon after seeing a review of the novel after it was first released in early 2009). Skilled authors can weave the back story into the narrative. Suarez is by no means a "great author." He tells a good and interesting story but make no mistake--it's all about the story and the technology. The character development is ok. The story does hang together. He doesn't jump the shark.

Another criticism I've heard is a reader who said (after reading Daemon) that he wishes that he knew more about computer gaming because some of the technology images were lost on him. They were lost on me, too. I got the gist, and you will as well. I wouldn't let that prevent you from enjoying these novels, but you might "get" more if you are proficient in interactive computer gaming.

In short, this novel is a solid B. If you like Michael Crichton (may he rest in peace) or Tom Clancy or one of any number of other authors who tell their stories through technology (computer or biological) you will most likely enjoy these novels.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the light on for you.

Dead Arm

2010-02-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

It's been quite a while since I finished a book. My pesky day job and some other things have gotten in the way. I'm still reading (and enjoying) our Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club selection, Freedom by Daniel Suarez. It's not slow reading. It's not boring. The problem is with me. (It's not you. It's me.)

I keep analogizing my reading slow down to "dead arm." For those of you non-baseball fans out there, pitchers often experience a "dead arm" period during spring training. Their arm just isn't as lively as it was earlier, and they have to work through it and again find their groove. That's where I think I am on reading. I just have a bit of a "dead brain" that I need to work through. Then, I'll pick up the pace.

Speaking of baseball, it's almost baseball book season once again. Every year, from about March to May, I read a bunch of newly released books on baseball. And I usually pick up a golden oldie, too.

This year, for some reason, there's a run on biographies of home run hitters--Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Roger Maris, Al Kaline and Mike Schmidt. There's also a Stan Musial biography.

I always research the authors to see if these are "good" biographies or "crappy" biographies. The author of the Stan Musial biography has written one on ARod (please) and Babe Ruth (Robert Creamer wrote the definitive Babe Ruth biography and I'm leery of anyone who thinks he can top that).

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the light on for you.

Speed Bump

2010-01-29T08:49:00.000-05:00

A friend who knows about this blog (calling her a "reader o' the blog" may be a stretch) asked me if I feel "pressure" to blog regularly. The truth is that I do not. I am well aware that no one out there is awaiting new posts with bated breath (Meaningless Digression No. 1: I understand that "bated breath" is the correct spelling of this particular term, despite the fact that most spell it "baited breath." Neither spelling makes much sense anyway as this is an idiom that must give those learning American English as a foreign language some significant pause. A later post will discuss some other pet peeves of mine when it comes to language. The pet peeviest of mine, though, is "I could care less." THAT MEANS YOU DO CARE. THE TERM IS "I COULDN'T CARE LESS." THAT SHOWS HOW TRULY LITTLE YOU CARE. MORON.).

For various reasons, the reading has slowed in the last week. I expected to have a post regarding Freedom by Daniel Suarez, the second Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club selection, in the books by now (Meaningless Digression No. 2: Get it?! "In the books." I tell ya, I've got a million horrible pun and pun like jokes). For various reasons, I am only one-third of the way through the book and cannot provide a blog entry ETA.

So, if you're reading this, you get blog filler. I sincerely hope that you haven't gotten this far. Or this far. Or this far. Stop. Seriously, stop.

After Freedom, Comprehending Columbine by Ralph W. Larkin (assuming that I motivate to the library to pick it up today or tomorrow--as always, apologies to the author and publisher) has jumped to the top of the pile o' books (see sidebar). It was recommended by someone who read this post.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

There's An App for That

2010-01-26T13:02:00.000-05:00

First of all (you all know how I love to use "first of all" in my posts), I'm not sure if you abbreviate "Application" as "Ap" or "App." I could look for it online and find it very easily--probably in less than five seconds. The fact that I know this but have not done so tells you how much I care about whether I spelled it correctly or not.

I discovered a new add-on for my preferred Mozilla Firefox internet browser yesterday. I'm wondering if the fact that I didn't know about the add-on before is one of the great conspiracies (like the Owen Meany conspiracy) of you blog followers. ("Yeah, the guy was blogging something about wish list coordination--he's such a freaking moron--I love going to his blog to see how stupid he is NOW!")

You see, there's an add-on called the Amazon Universal Wish List that lets you put any item, from whatever website exists, on to your Amazon wish list. No more reconciling your Barnes and Noble wish list with Amazon. No more bookmarking a site just for the purpose of revisiting it later in case you decide to buy something (why did I bookmark that?).

Anyway, I think it's a helpful tool. And I thought I'd pass it along.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the light on for you.

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell - B

2010-01-24T13:11:00.000-05:00

I enjoy reading series when I find an author that "spins good yarns" and utilizes interesting characters. I am one of those geeky readers who has to start from the beginning of a series instead of picking it up midway through. Of course, some series require a huge commitment. For instance, I've heard great things about The Wheel of Time series by the late James Oliver Rigney, Jr., (Robert Jordan). But the series goes on and on and outlasted its author. Glad I never picked that up--I'm not in a place in my life where I can make THAT kind of commitment.

The Kurt Wallender series by Swedish author, Henning Mankell, is perfect for me. I borrowed Faceless Killers from the library (as always, with apologies to the author and publisher) in part because I wasn't certain I'd like the series--I wanted a "taste."

Faceless Killers is about a brutal crime in Sweden and the ensuing police investigation, headed by Kurt Wallender. The novel introduces us to Wallender who, like most compelling fictional spies, investigators and police officers, is a flawed, imperfect character. Coupled with the stark background of Sweden as the setting, Faceless Killers is not a "by the numbers" mystery.

I will read more Kurt Wallender mysteries. I will pick up the next in the series when I'm in the mood for a fun read. However, if you want to read a GREAT novel that takes place in a similar setting, pick up The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon. Outstanding.

Life long, read and prosper. We'll leave the light on for you.

Fifth Business by Robertson Davies - B+

2010-01-20T20:54:00.001-05:00

A good friend recommended Fifth Business by Robertson Davies to me. I had read, and my friend reminded me, that Fifth Business had been an inspiration to John Irving in writing A Prayer for Owen Meany. He had read both novels and told me that I would find numerous parallels between them. He was interested at my reaction in reading Fifth Business so soon after Owen Meany.

I really enjoyed Fifth Business. I didn't love it. I think that I had Owen Meany, a novel I loved, in the back of my head while reading Fifth Business, and my impression of Fifth Business necessarily suffered as a result. Plus, Davies is CANADIAN. Freaking CANADIAN. So he wrote in Canadian English ("honour" with a "u") for example.

The novel takes the form of the memoir of its fictional narrator, Dunstan Ramsey, written at the time of his retirement as a teacher. The action begins with an episode involving two children, Ramsay, and his childhood friend, Percy Boyd Staunton, who is a fixture throughout Ramsey's life. The episode involves a snowball thrown by Staunton at Ramsay, and what happens with that snowball shapes the rest of Ramsey's life.

I viewed some of the predominant themes from Owen Meany through the lens of Fifth Business, and vice versa. It actually has the makings of a decent college term paper. Lord knows I could have used some good term paper ideas back then.

Fifth Business suffered from my Owen Meany experience primarily because I enjoy Irving's style, language and wit. Davies protagonist and style are more stiff and makes for a read that's not as fun as reading Irving.

Fifth Business is the first novel in Davies' Deptford Trilogy, and I definitely intend to read the other two novels. Despite my quibbles, Fifth Business is well written and made me think. It stayed with me between readings and stays with me still.

Take a look at the sidebar regarding my reading list, if you care.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the light on for you.

The Long Fall by Walter Mosley - A-

2010-01-16T11:45:00.082-05:00

The Long Fall by Walter Mosley was just a fun read. I wouldn't call it "literature" (read the previous word in the most pretentious way you possibly can--everything we read need not be, and everything I read certainly is not, necessarily "literature").

Mr. Mosley had previously written the Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins mysteries. I hadn't read his novels before. I must admit that I think I'm losing my marbles because, as I said on a previous post, I have no idea how or why I read The Long Fall.

As each year comes to a close, I peruse best books lists and add books that look interesting to a wish list on Amazon and/or BN (I know, I know, it would be helpful to coordinate those, but they have completely different books on them; that's probably part of the reason I ran in to this problem in the first place). Anyway, The Long Fall shows up on my wish list. I got a holiday Amazon gift certificate and bought a few books, including The Long Fall. Now, I can't find the novel on any year end list or figure out why I added it to my wish list or why I bought it. But I was pleasantly surprised and glad I bought it.

The Long Fall is a book written in the noir style, and it's not dated or hokey like some of the detective novels written in the 1950s or 60s can appear. Mr. Mosley's introduces a new private investigator protagonist, Leonid McGill, a man with a checkered past that this first novel only begins to explore. McGill is hired to find some men who begin turning up dead after he finds them. McGill then investigates what exactly he's been put in the middle of. (Big problem with the preceding "sentence." Ending a sentence with a preposition. I HATE doing that. I wasn't going to go, "TO what exactly he's been put in the middle." That just sounded pretentious. And as discussed above, I'm definitely not "pro pretentious.")

I very much enjoyed this novel. The second Leonid McGill novel comes out in the next few months, and I expect to read it as well. I might pick up an Easy Rollins novel (so many books, so little time). Whether you will enjoy The Long Fall depends in part on whether you like noir novels.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the light on for you.

Columbine by Dave Cullen - A-

2010-01-14T12:26:00.000-05:00

The tragedy at Columbine occurred when my oldest child was just under three years old. At the time, I thought that living in a nice neighborhood and sending your children to a good suburban school meant that your kids would be safe during the school day. The tragedy shattered my belief. Home schooling was discussed. I was, and still am, profoundly troubled by this tragedy. What led two boys to do this horrible act? Could it have been prevented? Where were the parents? Where was law enforcement?

Knowledge is power, and after doing some research regarding the author and learning about the research he undertook for the book, I wanted to read Columbine. Author Dave Cullen spent 10 years covering the story (yes, the story still lives).

No spoilers here as to specifically what you will learn by reading this book. The book will dispel many of the myths you associate with the tragedy. As I was reading the book, for example, I saw a procedural police show which offhandedly blamed the tragedy on "violent video games." Not even remotely true. Trench coat mafia? Not true. Most of what you think you know about the two boys is, likewise, probably not true. (I'M NOT TELLING YOU WHAT YOU KNOW!!)

The book explores how this happened, studying the two boys responsible. Will you feel "better" after reading the book? Will you feel like the tragedy was the product of innumerable causes and that "it can't possibly happen" where you live? I leave that to you. I did not feel "better," but I didn't revisit home schooling either.

You will note that I do not refer to the two boys by name above because I do not want them to be recognized for a deplorable act. You will also note that I do not refer to the "event" as "Columbine." Students who were there, you will learn in reading the book, feel very strongly about their school--their school is "Columbine," and they do not like when people refer to the event by that name.

I highly recommend this book if you are interested in learning about the tragedy and, in particular, the two boys at its core.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - B-

2010-01-10T13:39:00.000-05:00

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius?
A Staggering Work of Heartbreaking Genius?
An Exaggerated Work of Heartbreaking Genius?

Wait!? How did "exaggerated" sneak in there?

I've had great difficulty remembering the title of this book. I don't know why. More problematic for me is the fact that I keep wanting to insert "exaggerated" into the title. More on that later.

Because the title is so unwieldy, I'm going to refer to this book simply as "The Work" (by Dave Eggers) in this post. Recall that Dave Eggers' Zeitoun made its way onto my best books read during 2009 list.

The Work tells the true story (the author explains that some of the names and details have been altered for the purpose of telling the story and protecting the identities of certain ancillary characters) of the Eggers family, particulary Dave and Toph (Christopher). Dave and Toph have two other older siblings, Bill and Beth. Their parents both died of cancer within five weeks of one another when Toph was 8, Dave in his early 20s, Beth in her mid-20s and Bill in his late 20s. Beth was finishing up law school at the time, and Bill was out in the real world working.

Primary caretaking for Toph fell to Dave. How would you balance being the "parent" of an 8 year old at about 23 years old while trying to grow up yourself and provide your 8 year old "son" with a semi-normal life? Including a semi-normal relationship with you, your "son's" brother?

This is the story that Dave Eggers tells in The Work.

Back to "exaggerated." I don't know how that word kept making its way into the mix when I was trying to remember the title of the book. Especially because one of the last words I would use to describe this book is "exaggerated." The work comes off as extremely honest. Dave criticizes himself more than he does anyone else. Dave describes his own flaws and foibles more than anyone else's.

The book's honesty, though, worked against it a bit for me, purely as a matter of taste.

I didn't love The Work. I liked it, and I appreciated what Eggers did and how he did it (The Work has shown up on lists of the books of the decade). I think that I would have appreciated the book much more had I been unsettled and in my 20s, able to identify directly with one of the older siblings.

In other words, I am not suggesting that any of you run out and read The Work. If you've heard about it and/or think that you can better identify with the story and personalities, you won't be disappointed.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the light on for you.

Cornucopia of Earthly Delights

2010-01-08T19:44:00.000-05:00

Let’s lead off with some housekeeping. I am three books behind on posts. In the hopper are A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers, Columbine by Dave Cullen and The Long Fall by Walter Mosely (more on The Long Fall below).

I’m actually giddy with excitement over my bounty of blog material. Nonetheless, there are a number of random book thoughts that I have compiled and wanted to share.

1. Vacation Books Redux – We’ve blogged on vacation books before. When on vacation, one of my chosen activities was to peruse those reading by the beach and pool to see what they were reading. Of course, one must do this (a) while wearing sunglasses and (b) without breaking stride. Otherwise, you will, at best, be called a creep and, at worst, be questioned by local authorities. (“I was staring AT YOUR BOOK” just not believable.)

I wanted to put together a post listing the books and authors I observed on vacation to the tune of “12 Days of Christmas” (complete with, “FIVE STEPHEN KINGS”), but couldn’t muster it.

I saw lots of David Baldacci, lots of Stephanie Meyer, lots of Stephen King, too much Dan Brown (I pitied the poor sap reading Digital Fortress). Lots of self-help books and business non-fiction. Lots of kids reading Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series (OK, that one could have been one kid reading one book who I saw multiple times). Harry Potter’s still out there. I saw a bunch of books that I suppose were romance novels due to the facts that (a) I had never heard of the books or authors, (b) usually there were pink and/or yellow flowers on the cover and (c) I never saw such a book being read by someone with a Y chromosome.

Interestingly, not an e book reader to be found, ye olde Kindle snobs out there. . .

2. A quick note on The Long Fall (post pending). I have zero idea why I ordered or read this book. It showed up on a wish list of mine (so I must have put it there), and I bought it. I figured I had seen it on some year-end best book list. But I can’t even find it on a 2009 best ONE HUNDRED book list. [Spoiler Alert: The book is probably going to get an A- recommendation, so it’s not like it was a bad experience.]

This has been plaguing me for days now, as I think I’ve lost my marbles. Why did I get this book? What else am I forgetting? Why do I keep picturing myself clad in a straightjacket repeating “Th-th-th-that's all folks!”?

3. I have a bone to pick with all of you a**holes out there who have been holding out on me. If one more person freaking tells me that “A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of the best books they’ve ever read,” I’m going to stroke out! Why did it take several blog months for somebody to come forward with the recommendation? THAT’S WHAT THE DAMN BLOG IS HERE FOR! I feel like I’m the no colon butt of all of your jokes here, folks! (“Yeah, I’ve been f**king with him. Not letting him in on the whole ‘Owen Meany’ thing. What a moron!”)

You got any other bright ideas out there? Do you, punks?

4. I have recently had debates with numerous people over the “to re-read or not to re-read, that is the question” question.

My view has always been, “so many books, so little time.” Re-reading any book just takes time away from expanding the experiences of reading new books. On the other hand, re-reading a book, particularly one you haven’t read for a while, can be like reading a new book because of your changed perspective from one reading to the next.

Where I’ve landed for now is that I intend to re-read some books when my kids read them in school. My kids will, of course, hate me for this. Just wait until I ask them about themes and symbolism. Or plot points.

Look for several new posts next week.

In the meantime, I’m taking a new sign-off for a spin. A combination of the previous sign-off and a hotel slogan.

Live long, read and prosper. We’ll leave the light on for you.

Another 2009 Top 5 List - Respected Guest Blogger

2010-01-06T12:06:00.000-05:00

My head is spinning (not unlike the Great World in Colum McCann's 9/11 novel which shows up on many top 2009 lists and figures prominently on my "to read" list) from the marked site interactivity spike resulting from one (ONE!) offer to guest blog a 2009 top 5 list.

OK, so many of you (I realize that there aren't "many of you" to begin with, but bear with me here) are likely intimidated to add to the blog, via comment or as guest blogger (or, more likely, you just don't exist). I give this guest blogger great credit, and you should give her opinions some weight. She is one of my recommendation "go to" people, though we do not share an affinity for self-help books. Among other various and sundry accomplishments, she recommended Owen Meany, and the novel she listed first below would have been in the mix for my 2009 picks, but I read the novel in 2008.

She's also a Kindle snob.

In her words: "My best books are not necessarily the best books I've read, but these are the books that had the most impact on me. When I think back on the year, these stand out, each for a different reason."

Without further ado. . .

The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones

As a foodie, I was attracted to this book because of the in-depth discussion of Chinese cuisine (of which I know little about). But the two main characters, Sam and Maggie, were far more memorable than the food. They are both quiet characters -- no witty dialogue or engaging repartee -- but their taciturn demeanor is what made them real for me. I particularly enjoyed how the author wrote about Maggie's grief (she is recently widowed at the start of the book). We learn about Maggie and her dead husband through Maggie's flashes of memories of simple, every day life events with her husband. (I think this is what real grieving is -- re-living the memories of the ordinary moments with someone who is gone.) And, we learn about Sam through the history of his elders and their commitment to traditional Chinese cooking. These are characters who stick with you long after you've forgotten the ending of the book.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Settlerfield

This isn't high-brow literature (which you might expect from an author who is likened to Austen or Bronte), but it is a fun read. It's a modern day Victorian mystery, with family secrets, large country estates, and stories within stories. But the best part of this book is the pacing. The mystery slowly unravels, but you never feel as if the book plods. For someone who is known to race to the ending, I enjoyed simply letting the story unfold as the author doles out bits of the plot. I'm also partial to this book because it was the first one I read on my Kindle and I was surprised to find how quickly I was engaged in the story, forgetting that I was reading from an electronic device. (how about an entire blog entry to the pros/cons of the Kindle?) [Editors Note: click here]

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

I think most reviewers would describe this as chick lit, but it is so much more than that (which is not to denounce chick lit, of which I am a big fan; this book simply transcends the genre). It is indeed a love story -- but the real love story that shines through is the one between Cornelia (a waitress) and Clare (an 11-year-old girl in need of a mother). It's the kind of read that makes you feel a little bit more human. Yes, at times, the story is a little too tidy, with all the pieces falling into place just so, but I can forgive that because this book just made me feel good.

Getting Things Done by David Allen

Moving away from fiction, this next favorite of mine is more about what you can take away from the book, than about the book itself. With a cult-like following, David Allen's Getting Things Done is a book I would normally avoid if only because I loathe a book that is heralded as a universal fix for anything. But the methodology detailed in this book for organizing your life (and thus allowing you to be more productive) simply works. Like other productivity/self-help books, the writing is overly simplistic and annoyingly repetitive; however, within weeks of implementing the process (which involves capturing everything that is going on in your life so that you don't have to keep fretting about things) I found that I slept better (no more waking up with random thoughts of things that needed to be done), was less distracted, and had more free time. With the onslaught of information we receive today, I think everyone needs a means of dealing with their stuff. This one worked for me.

Go Put Your Strengths to Work by Marcus Buckingham (or any of the Buckingham Strengths based books)

Another entry in the business/self improvement category. And, another book that will not wow you with the writing. You could read any of the Marcus Buckingham books and come away with the same info -- what would happen if each of us had a real sense of our strengths and offered them up at every opportunity? And, what would a business look like if it worked on discovering the strengths of each of its employees and utilizing those strengths to further the business, instead of forcing employees to develop the skills they don't have? Buckingham's books challenge you to make an honest assessment of your own strengths and to start volunteering those strengths whenever possible. It's a very interesting (and refreshing) view of career development because it seems to me that most folks spend more time focusing on the things they need to improve, instead of the things at which they excel. This book made me think a lot about the best model for running a business and my own career development. This is a book I wish I had read in my 20s, so I've recommended it to several college-aged relatives.

A Prayer for Owen Meany - A

2010-01-05T07:46:00.000-05:00

My favorite book from 2009 was also the second to last book I read last year--A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. The novel was highly recommended by multiple people whose opinions I trust, so my expectations were high. Nevertheless, Owen Meany exceeded my expectations.

The novel is about the lives of John Wheelwright and his best friend, Owen Meany, who grew up together in a small New England town. Most of the action takes place during the 1950s and 1960s though the narrator, John Wheelwright, is telling the story in the late 1980s.

What makes a great novel for me?

I always start with the characters--particularly the protagonist. Did I find Owen Meany compelling? Extremely. Will Owen stick with me long after I finished the novel? He's unforgettable.

Then, how was the novel written? In this case, beautifully. The novel flows, the language near perfect. Owen Meany is one of the few novels I have read in recent years where I somewhat wished I was back in college and had a highlighter attached to my hand. A large reason that the novel "works" is that the narrator is Owen's lifelong friend, John Wheelwright. In my opinion, Irving had to use a third person, particularly one with whom Owen had shared life experiences, in order to best capture Owen. (Book club question No. 1: How reliable is John's narration?)

Did the novel make me think? Almost too much. As I was reading the novel, I was bombarded by themes. Life and death. Fate vs self determination. Self fulfilling prophesies? Religious themes (many of which I may have missed). Sexual themes. (Book club question No. 2: Discuss the symbolism surrounding each theme.)

I could write much more here, but as per this blog's mandate, I will not give any of the plot of the novel away, and to provide more color would necessitate "spoilers."

I often say that a great book "makes me a better person." I learn something. I recognize the "art." In other words, I'm more than entertained. A Prayer for Owen Meany satisfies this criteria for me more than any other book I read in 2009. If you like reading literature (particularly literature written in a modern, non-Hawthorian style), read Owen Meany. Or read The World According to Garp which my sister, who highly recommended Owen Meany, said was "better" after I finished Owen Meany!

Live long, read and prosper.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - B

2010-01-03T12:22:00.000-05:00

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is not yet available in the US and will not be available until late May. I ordered from Amazon UK (don't be a sucker and pay over $40 in the "aftermarket"--order directly from Amazon UK if you cannot wait. The book should arrive within a week--mine came in three business days--and will cost less than $28 shipped).

The main criticism of the second entry in the Millenium Trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire, was that the novel "just ended." Fire was my favorite of the three, however, because I continue to find Lizbeth Salander to be, far and away, the most compelling character in the trilogy, and simply put, Fire had the most Lizbeth in it.

The action in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest picks up RIGHT WHERE Fire left off. Those of you who are concerned that Hornet's Nest may "not end" since author Stieg Larsson died in the midst of writing a fourth novel need not worry--Hornet's Nest ties up all of the loose ends from Fire.

I did enjoy reading all three novels, but I didn't love this trilogy as much as others. Hornet's Nest is definitely a worthy conclusion to the series and therefore earns a solid B. For those who read Dragon Tattoo and Fire, I strongly suggest that you read the concluding entry.

Live long, read and prosper.

My Five Favorite Books Read in 2009

2009-12-31T12:05:00.000-05:00

In no particular order:

1. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (may he rest in peace). My favorite of the Millenium Trilogy probably because of the amount of action involving one of the truly unique and interesting characters in recent literature, Lizbeth Salander. My post on The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest will appear after the first of the year.

2. (Blogpost pending) A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Beautifully written, funny, many thought-provoking themes, another unique character in Owen Meany. This one wins the 2009 prize for the book I'd most like to write about in a term paper.

3. (cheating) Shadow of the Wind and Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Phenomenal translations from Spanish capture these stories taking place in Barcelona, Spain in the first half of the 1900s. I anxiously await additional Zafon works translated into English.

4. Game Six by Mark Frost. My favorite sports book read in 2009 in a photo finish, Game Six actually added to the lore of the so-called greatest World Series ever played. As a lifelong Reds fan, I actually found new "stuff" in this book. Other highly recommended sports books from 2009 are two relating to Magic and Bird, When the Game Was Ours and When March Went Mad.

5. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. This work of non-fiction by the author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (post pending) (which has been named on a bunch of all decade lists) chronicles the experiences of one man and his family before, during and after Hurricane Katrina.

So that's my five. What are yours?

Live long, read and prosper.

New (Interactive) Feature: In Search Of . . .

2009-12-30T10:30:00.000-05:00

Anybody remember the classic series narrated by one of the true actor icons of our generation (Leonard Nimoy)? The series was called In Search Of. . . and was a kind of non-fiction X Files dealing with investigations into the paranormal and into conspiracy theories. It ran in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Some of it was pretty freaky.

So what's this got to do with books, you ask? Great question.

Ever wanted to sample an author but didn't know what to read? Ever want to sample a genre but not know where to start? That's where In Search Of . . . is meant to help.

I wanted to sample graphic novels about six months ago. I actually read The Watchmen (which is very good). I also started another classic graphic novel, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns but didn't love it and abandoned my graphic novel effort. After the supposedly classic The Watchmen, I had no idea what graphic novel to read. It took some research to settle on Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. This would have been a perfect In Search Of . . . Graphic Novels subject.

Recently, John Irving was recommended to me. I read A Prayer for Owen Meany recently (blog post pending). Another perfect In Search Of. . .John Irving. (The World According to Garp has similarly been highly recommended).

Somebody asked me about In Search Of. . .Robert Ludlom. The answer is The Matarese Circle or the Bourne trilogy (Identity, Supremacy and Ultimatum--skip the books ghostwritten after Ludlom's death).

Here's one I do not know the answer to: In Search Of. . .Margaret Atwood. I've never read her but have heard that she's a terrific author. I have zero clue of what to sample. Please post suggestions.

Post In Search Of . . . requests or suggestions in comments. Hopefully, I will have a suggestion (since nobody else goes to the blog but you and me anyway).

Live long, read and prosper (See? Back to Leonard Nimoy! Nice, huh?)

Happy New (Recommendation System)!

2009-12-29T12:32:00.000-05:00

There's been some confusion regarding this blog's recommendation system. The confusion is entirely my fault. I should not have gone with an A-F "grading" scale if I weren't actually "grading" books.

So, we're going to start "grading" books.

In order to accomplish the blog's goal of "recommending" books, the grading scale works out like this:

A - Highly recommended
B - Recommended
C - OK, you might like it
D - A waste of time
F - A HUGE waste of time

If a book, let's say it's a sports-themed, non-fiction book, earns a recommendation in the "A" range, the blog post will note that the book is "Highly recommended for fans of [we'll just insert the sport of tonsil hockey here as a placeholder]." In other words, even an "A" recommendation may not be a book that I suggest you read. It depends on your tastes. Certainly some books in the "A" range will be recommended to all. (Note to my son: Some books are long. Some books are bad. As a math dude, you should understand that all long books are not bad.)

I wanted to get this post in because all future posts (including posts which are in process) will utilize our new system.

One other note. I am generally a stickler for grammar and punctuation (for using made-up words like "stickler," not so much). As I've stated in various posts, I am well aware that this blog does not utilize the well-established "underline book titles" convention. There are some places where book titles are in quotes. There are other places where book titles are merely capitalized. While I apologize in advance for being such a heathen as to ignore this convention, it bothers me. It really does. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me up nights. Seriously. I decided, however, about 50 posts in that I would make the lack of consistency in the identification of book titles the consistency for the site. Therefore and henceforth, I will utilize whatever convention I want in any willy nilly fashion I see fit.

Live long, read and prosper.

New Posts - They Are A-Comin'

2009-12-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

Just got back from fishing.

I finished The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest before leaving for my fishing trip. I finished Owen Meany AND read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers while fishing.

And THAT'S NOT ALL! In addition to posts on these three books, upcoming posts will include:

1. A post on what people are reading on vacation (and one thing they're definitely not reading) AND

2. A New Year revision to the site's recommendation scale.

Look for all of these posts (and much much more) in the coming days.

Live long, read and prosper.

Goin' Fishin'

2009-12-19T21:35:00.000-05:00

This will be my last post for over a week as my family and I are goin' fishin'.

Book-wise, I'm HOPING to finish The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest before we go out on the boat because I do not want to lug the Girl with me. I do not know if the American version of the book will be thick and heavy, but the British version ("would you like a spot of tea before you get on the lift") is HEAVY. I think it has something to do with the exchange rate. . .

I'm definitely bringing A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving on the trip. It has been recommended by a couple of people, including my No. 1 sister who is goin' fishin' with us. That may be as much as I can get through on the trip, but I'll bring a provisional book (to be decided) as well.

Have a great holiday, and be sure to read Daemon and order Freedom for the VBC!

Live long, read and prosper.

One of Bill and Ted's Most Excellent Book Blogs

2009-12-18T07:49:00.000-05:00

"You killed Ted, you medieval dickweed!"

I am struck by this quote for two reasons. First, I refer you to Amazon's omnivoracious blog which has a bunch of "most excellent" features--book reviews, links to interviews with authors, information on kids books, information on book awards, etc.

I am also reminded of medieval times and wanted to comment on the perceived need to "retell" the Canterbury Tales. I don't get it. As a college English major, I've read the Canterbury Tales in the Middle English (I know that sounds pretentious but is not meant to be; I would hope that anyone who studied the Canterbury Tales in college read it in the Middle English). There are numerous versions for high schoolers as well. Why did we need a new one? That being said, I'm kind of interested to read this one as the Canterbury Tales is a true classic.

Live long, read and prosper.

Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club Selection No. 2

2009-12-12T16:17:00.000-05:00

The novel selected as the second Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club (VBC) book will not be available until early January. But this one is a bit of a two-fer.

The second VBC selection is the second book in a series. The first in the series is called Daemon (and the series has its own website). There is background on how Daemon was initially published (four years after the author completed it) here.

Oh, did I mention that the author of Daemon is DANIEL SUAREZ, the namesake of the VBC? I selected this name of the VBC because: (1) virtual reality is one of the themes in Daemon and this is a "virtual book club;" (2) I read Daemon shortly before starting this blog, and (3) I'm sure that nothing to date has been named after Mr. Suarez.

Daemon is currently available in hardback (for purchase as new or used (here's one place you can buy used) or loan from your local library--purchases of used books or books borrowed come with apologies to Mr. Suarez and his publisher) and Kindle (for you Kindle snobs out there) and will be available in paperback after Christmas.

The second book in the series, Freedom, will be released on January 7. 2010. In order to give everybody time to read both, I will not post a blog about Freedom until after January 31, 2010.

I give Daemon an A-. The story and the characters are original, and the the novel is very suspenseful.

I said on an earlier blog that I couldn't give a science fiction novel anything above the B range because science fiction doesn't appeal to all readers. I actually took (welcome) criticism from one (the only?) blog reader for this. After much thought, I am revising that view. I do think that certain science fiction (and I put Anathem in this category) will not appeal to all readers and, as a result, given this blog's recommendation system, cannot receive a recommendation in the "A" range. I know readers who would be so turned off by the premise in Anathem that they would not even give it a try. And since an "A" rating is for books "Strongly recommend; if you are a reader, you should enjoy," well, a large class of "readers" won't. Just like large classes of readers do not like non-fiction, romance novels, horror novels or historical fiction.

Daemon, though, while science fiction, is more of a techno-thriller. The novel is Michael Crichton-esque in many ways. I know many non-sci fi fans who enjoyed Crichton's "Disclosure," for example. Therefore, I feel comfortable saying that most readers would find Daemon a good read and fun ride.

Live long, read and prosper.

Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club Selection No. 2 Coming Soon!

2009-12-11T14:47:00.002-05:00

Check back later today or tomorrow for the big announcement of the second Daniel Suarez VBC Selection (after the first selection was an unmitigated disaster).

See this post, this post, this post and this post for information on the VBC and the first VBC selection.

I'm a Trendsetter! And You Can Be Too!

2009-12-09T07:49:00.001-05:00

See what you can learn from reading my book blog!

My favorite mother (mine) was, well, a little annoyed with me that I hadn't thought to include her in my whole "order the third 'Dragon' book from the UK thing" until I told her that she could borrow my copy after I had finished it (which will still be about 5 months before the book is available in the US). She was, however, impressed when she pointed me to the linked article in the NYT yesterday and called me a trendsetter.

Feeding the Beast - UK Edition

2009-12-08T12:04:00.000-05:00

First, a little housekeeping.

My current book is (sort of) the George Carlin biography. I know, I know I said I was next reading fiction. But for reasons detailed below, I wanted a short, quick read and the fiction candidates were too damn long.

Also, I know you're on the edge of your seats, and I am getting close to selecting books for vacation. I'm probably going to bring one "good" read and a quick read or two to read if I get through the "good" read.

OK, I blogged earlier about The Girl Who Played with Fire, the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. As I indicated in the earlier post, the author, Stieg Larsson died in 2004 and never saw any of his books in print. The thid book in the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is set for release in late May 2010.

OR IS IT?

I was messing around last Thursday night on the computer, minding my own business with "Suitable for All Audiences" websites, when I learned that The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is available in England. Hmmm, I say. How much would such a book cost, and more importantly, how much would such a book cost to ship (or "post" as they apparently say over there)? And where would one get such a book?

Answer: Amazon UK! I was even able to log on using my Amazon US username and password. The book was available. I bought two copies, one for me and one for a good friend. With shipping, the total order for the two books cost 27.95 pounds. That's somewhere around $46 for two copies (again, delivered to my door from freaking Great Britain). Heck, cover price in the US will be $27.95 for the book!

I ordered the books last Friday and have been very (almost maniacally so) interested in the books' progress. The package landed in Philly, PA some time this morning (TWO business days after the order), and is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. That's just crazy.

There was a bit of a stir a few years ago when one of the Harry Potter books was available across the pond before it was available here. I don't think there's going to be a stir about this, but if you're dying for the third book in the trilogy, you need not wait until the end of May 2010 to acquire a copy.

Live long, read and prosper.

Guest Blogger Interlude - The Twilight Series

2009-12-05T15:26:00.000-05:00

Introducing our first guest blogger! My 13 year old daughter!

(The following is virtually unedited. Let's just say that I find accurate spelling to be a bit of a lost art.)

Twilight. First the book, now the movies, and a rumor of a t.v. show is buzzing around. When you think of Twilight what do you think of? I think of my favorite book series!!

First off, I know what everyone thinks. I was one of the first people (that I know) to become absolutely addicted to Twilight. I first picked it up at a bookstore and was hesitant to read it because at the time, I didn't know anyone else reading it. And truthfully, I had no idea if I would like really sure I would like reading about a topic "so out there" like vampires! But, don't let the topic intimidate you.

If you didn't know, the Twilight series is about a high school girl named Bella Swan, who moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father. Bella falls deep in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen.

When I picked up the first book, I couldn't put it down. I was so addicted. I read twilight really fast. And New Moon I read in a few nights. But, I had to wait for the last two books to come out from the series (Eclipse and Breaking Dawn). The books were really entertaining. Not going to lie, when I started reading Twilight, my friends were like "ewww vampires?" Now, the books are a huge hit and everyone is on the edge of their chair waiting for the Eclipse movie to come out.

As for who I recommend this book to. Mainly, I recommend this book to girls/woman (I am not saying that guys will not like this series too). This book tends to be like love story/gushy material that girls would mainly like. If you like reading in general and are ready to try something a little different, just give Twilight a try. Who knows, it could become your new favorite book. So, just pick it up! (:

Notes From All Around

2009-12-04T11:54:00.000-05:00

1. I've noticed that my posts have grown in length recently, and I hope that has not turned off any of the multitude of loyal followers of this blog. To the extent you exist, you know who you are.

2. I am between books right now. I like to know what I'm reading next but haven't decided. I expected to pick up the George Carlin autobiography autobiography, but I determined that I was in the mood for fiction.

So, I went to what I affectionately call, my "pile o' books." My wife calls it, "when are you going to do something about that mess?"

A funny thing happened as I started to go through the pile o' books. I didn't recognize a bunch of them. How did they make it into the pile o' books? How did I acquire them? Many were paperbacks, so I supposed that I had found them on paperbackswap. SOME OF THEM ACTUALLY LOOKED PRETTY GOOD. PRETTY, PRETTY GOOD.

I was too tired to start a book last night, so I will have to choose tonight. I know that you are all on the edge of your seat.

Live long, read and prosper.

When the Game Was Ours - B+

2009-12-03T08:38:00.000-05:00

I think I've used this quote before on the blog, but I use it again now to tell anyone other than a sports fan above the age of 40 to skip to the starred paragraph below. There is not anything that will interest you between the quote below and the starred paragraph (and it's likely not worth scrolling down the starred paragraph anyway).

Obi-Wan: These aren't the droids you're looking for.
Stormtrooper: These aren't the droids we're looking for.
Obi-Wan: He can go about his business.
Stormtrooper: You can go about your business.
Obi-Wan: Move along.
Stormtrooper: Move along... move along.

SO, MOVE ALONG!

I'm not sure that I knew that college basketball existed before the 1979 Finals. OK, that's an exaggeration. But the 1979 Finals catapulted March Madness (and ultimately, the NBA) into the national consciousness. For more on that, you can read When March Went Mad, another excellent book which focuses on the 1979 Finals game itself and Magic's and Bird's lives before the game.

Magic and Bird collaborated (with Jackie McMullin, a great sportswriter for the Boston Globe) on When the Game Was Ours. The book tells the stories of Magic and Bird and how their lives have been, and forever will be, intertwined. These two were not initially friends--in any sense of the word. They weren't friends when they played on an amateur team together in 1978, they weren't friends when they met in 1979 at the NCAA championship and they weren't friends in their early years with the Lakers and Celtics. I won't spoil the story about how they became friends (no spoilers, remember?), but anyone who follows basketball knows that they are close friends now.

When the Game Was Ours is not a biography, per se, of the lives of Magic and Bird. It's not even really a "basketball" biography (the authors do not tell stories about Magic's pee wee league experiences, for example). Their family backgrounds are discussed, and the action essentially picks up with their college recruiting and ends in present day.

I must confess that I was drawn to the book because my all time favorite athlete is Magic Johnson. Why? Well, there was the smile, of course, the smile that, while jovial, tells you that Magic knows something you do not (usually, that he's going to beat you). The reason that Magic continues to be my all time favorite, though, is that you knew when you watched him play that winning was the No. 1 goal. Not the personal goals, the "numbers." Not the money. Winning. Winning unselfishly. And if that meant that Michael Cooper got the shots and Magic didn't, so be it.

Bird was, of course, the same way--just not as flashy (Showtime) as Magic.

I'm old enough now that I can, unfortunately, refer to the "good old days," the days when athletes played to win--not for the fame or the money. There was a youthful aspect to watching professional sports then. Sure, the NBA was "professional" and a "business," but it was "playground," too. Sports just isn't as much fun to watch any more, and the first guys who would tell you that, I think, are Magic and Bird. If you want to read a book about the "good old days" of professional sports, spend a few hours with When the Game Was Ours. You won't regret it.

**No idea what book is next. I have a nightstand full of paperbacks and hardbacks and a wife who wants that crap cleaned up. I also have a couple of shelves of "to be read" books in our storage closet. How do any of you decide what you're going to read next? I guess that, when I get home tonight, I'll see what I'm in the mood to read. Not an exact science, but hopefully, it'll be a good one.

Live long, read and prosper.

Harry Potter - An Interlude

2009-11-30T15:46:00.000-05:00

First things first. I have asked a potential guest blogger to blog regarding the Twilight series (guest blogger answer pending). I know zero about these books (haven't read word one) other than their covers and the fact that young girls apparently go crazy for certain boys in the movies. I was recently in Joseph Beth Booksellers buying a book in the Clique series for my daughter (I interrupt "first things first" to my interlude for the following aside: the Clique series is awful--not that I've read the books because I haven't read word one of this series either. But the books have all the themes you'd want your kids to avoid. The book I picked up for my daughter is called, PS I Loathe You. Seriously. That's what it's called. They all have titles like this. Why do I let my daughter read such books? Two reasons. First, unless someone convinces me otherwise, I think that any and all reading is a good thing. Second, it's our job as parents to teach values to our kids, so if they're picking up bad social habits from what they read, I can't blame the books, I have to blame myself. End of aside.), and my son was with me. I said to my son in front of the saleswoman, "You sure you want to read this?" The saleswoman laughed. My son, for the 1000th time in his life, wished (aloud I think) that he'd been born into another family. The saleswoman then said, "It's like all those husbands who buy the Twilight books 'for their wives.'"

Anyway, the Twilight series and Harry Potter series are arguably the most influential book series of the last decade. New novel releases were events. And, of course, the movies. Talk about events.

I love the Harry Potter series--not because I think that the books are the best stories ever told or the best written novels of our generation. My love for the series is entirely personal: I read each novel out loud to my son. I couldn't get my daughters interested in the books. My son and I must have started when he was 6 or 7. With breaks, we read the books straight through until having to wait about nine months for the last novel in the series to be released.

I picked up HP1 (I won't use titles here--hopefully you've already cracked the code--"HP" for "Harry Potter" followed by the number indicating the book in the series starting with HP1 and ending with HP7) when my oldest daughter was 3 or 4. I was curious and wanted to be prepared when she reached the age when the HP books might interest her. I loved HP1. So, I thought, "hey, the writing is somewhat simple for my tastes, but the story is pretty good, I'll try HP2."

Mistake. To this day, I think that HP2 is, far and away, the worst in the series. I could not finish HP2.

My son showed an interest in first or second grade. I read HP1 to him. We took a break. Then, we started HP2. Even 4-5 years later, I still hated HP2. This one was a struggle--for my son and for me. But we fought through HP2. Then, we took a break.

We thought that HP3 was outstanding, and it had to be to re-energize us in the series. We read each of HP3, HP4, HP5 and HP6. We took breaks between each book because reading them aloud meant less reading by my son. At some point, he became able to read the HP books on his own. But he didn't want that (and I wanted it even less). As I think I blogged in an earlier post, reading the HP series with my son is one of my parental highlights to date.

After HP6, we were months away from the release of HP7. We ordered the book on Amazon for delivery on the release date. By now, my son could read HP every bit as well as I could. Fortunately, he wanted me to read it to him as much as I wanted to read it to him.

Again, do I think that the HP series is the best written series of all time? No. Is it the best story? Some people would tell you that it's not even the best series for kids involving wizards (personally, and I understand that this will be blasphemy to some, I find the Lord of the Rings trilogy overrated and unnecessarily verbose).

The HP series continues, though, to introduce young readers (and their families) to a reading "experience." Any book that interests kids and, more than that, any book that results in discussion between parent and child or between children is a good thing, a very good thing.

There are other great series out there for kids. There are books out there for all kids--even for kids who don't love to read. There was a NYT article in the last year discussing how to get young boys to read (I couldn't easily find it--if anyone is out there and is familiar with the article, please let me know). The article mentioned books with "gross" topics, sports topics, etc. Again, there's something for everyone.

I still mist up a little when I think of the "one more chapter?" plea as I read HP with my son. Understand that the plea was posed by my son only some of the time; many times, I posed it.

I think that I've finally settled on a sign-off phrase. I like this one. I just decided to add a comma and one word to the Vulcan salute.

Live long, read and prosper

Under the Dome by Stephen King - C-? D+? C-? D+?

2009-11-29T13:38:00.000-05:00

From Poltergeist (the original): "Do NOT go into the light. Stop where you are. Turn away from it. Don't even look at it."

In the movie Poltegeist, little Carol Anne is drawn to the light. Her mother implores her to stay away. Ultimately, Carol Anne does stay away, returns to her family, happy ending (other than with respect to the Poltergeist curse which claimed the life of both the actress who played Carol Anne (at age 12) and the actress who played her sister, Dana (at age 22), but I digress).

I probably should have stayed away from the light. But per my earlier posts on the works of Stephen King, I was drawn to the light.

Under the Dome is about a transparent dome that descends on a small Maine town. The dome seems impenetrable. Cut off from the rest of the US, sides form as some seek rescue and others embrace anarchy--after all, "old" rules don't apply to the new reality, and there's power to be had.

Under the Dome is not a horrible novel. As usual, King has created some excellent characters. Unfortunately, many of them are are cheap imitations of King's classic characters. The "Chef" is no "Tick Tock Man" though readers of (WINNER BY KNOCKOUT AND STILL CHAMPION OF THE WORLD) The Stand will see the similarities, and the Chef just doesn't measure up.

Similarly, in most ways, Under the Dome just doesn't measure up. The problem with reading a good portion of King's works is that characters and plots recur. You can see bits and pieces of prior (better) works in each of Cell (not good), Duma Key (good nonetheless) and Under the Dome.

One other major gripe with the novel--many of the underlying themes are unnecessarily political and, like the dome, transparent. A Cheney mask? Really? The town newspaper which reports the "truth" called "The Democrat"? CNN lauded; Fox ridiculed? I have no issue with the political sentiment, but is that why people actually read Stephen King? We read him to get away, to escape. Injecting blatant politics cheapens the novel rather than enriching it. I find it a shame because there are plenty of great bad guys here without the unnecessary rhetoric.

Ok, at the end of the day, I have to give this novel a C-. ESPECIALLY if you, like me, bought the novel for $9. I did spend about 10 days of my reading life on the book, so it can't be all bad. I recommend Under the Dome only for the most avid Stephen King fans. I was, however, overcome by many "Ay yi yi, why did I stick with this for 1,070 pages" moments as I neared the end of the novel.

Remember, a good book is better than a sharp stick in the eye.

On Thanksgiving - The (American) Classics Never Die - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

2009-11-25T07:47:00.000-05:00

When many think of "the classics," they think of some dusty room filled with "old" books that aren't really classics--they're their father's (or grandfather's) classics. "That book can't possibly appeal to me. It's old."

My experience is that most kids are introduced to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer before Huck Finn. The classic fence whitewash scene sticks with kids. When urged to read Huck Finn, they think it will be more of the same and resist it.

I've read Huck Finn twice. Once in high school and again in college. I have an old illustrated, hardback copy that is displayed prominently in a common area of our house. The only other classic that I own in hardback that means as much to me is my very, very old copy of Winnie the Pooh. If you didn't read that to your kids before they turned about 7, you missed a great experience.

Anyway, my 11 year old came home the other day with an assignment to read a "classic." While I didn't read Huck Finn until later, I think he's at a great age where the book will appeal to him. I pulled my copy off the shelf (I knew exactly where it was). He was initially overwhelmed by its length as this particular copy has 448 pages. But there are some illustrations, the print is large and the pages are fairly short. He can handle it.

I actually felt a little jealous that he was reading the book. There's an excellent chance that I'll read it again after him.

Have a great Thanksgiving. A good turkey is better than a sharp stick in the eye.

Stephen King - An Interlude

2009-11-21T18:03:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to defend Stephen King. Or my not-insignificant man love for his books. If you think he's schlocky, I won't argue. He's my guilty pleasure and has been for almost 30 years.

Most people who try to defend Stephen King--say that he's a better writer than he's given credit for, say that his ability to "spin a yarn" is superior--aren't really defending Stephen King. They are defending the fact that THEY LIKE reading Stephen King. I don't feel the need for any such defense. I enjoy his books, and I'm proud to say so--even if you think less of my tastes as a result.

There are definitely best, better and okay Stephen King books. I haven't read all of them. And I'm not one of those crazy fans who has not only read everything he writes but also has a cupboard full of old VHS copies of items including The Stand miniseries and Kingdom Hospital series. I've read about 30 of his novels, short story collections and non-fiction books.

There have also been some good movies made or adapted from works. The best I've seen include Misery, the Shawshank Redemption (many don't know that was adapted from a novella entitled "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" in the book Different Seasons), The Shining (the original with Jack, of course, which, I'll add, Stephen King himself hated, which is why he inexcusably cast Steven Weber from Wings fame in his remake that I refused to see), the Green Mile and Stand By Me (also adapted from a novella found in Different Seasons entitled The Body). And, at 16 my cousin and I had to bribe some guy to buy us tickets to see Christine. Then there's Carrie which may be the one most likely to scare the bejeesus out of you or make you giggle watching John Travolta--take your pick.

My favorites, in no particular order, include: The Stand, It, Dark Tower novels (1-5 only; 6 and 7, not so much), The Talisman, Night Shift (short story collection), Different Seasons (four novellas) and On Writing.

Others that I greatly enjoyed though wouldn't rank among the "best": Misery, Christine, Duma Key, Dead Zone, Firestarter and Pet Sematery.

Those not on the top of the list: Dark Tower novels 6 and 7 (Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower), Cell and Thinner.

That's obviously not all that I've read. There are a few of the early classics that I haven't read--The Shining and Carrie among them. Nowadays, I read all that come out (like Under the Dome which is in progress) and pick up an oldie but goodie once or twice a year (last year I read The Dead Zone and Desperation).

OK, if this all sounds a little maniacal to you, I don't apologize. Those of you who know me know that my sense of humor is a little twisted, so the whole Stephen King thing likely doesn't surprise you.

If King's not your tastes, no problem. If you have dismissed him out of hand, though, as crap without trying, I suggest at least sampling something. You can dip your toe in the water and read a story or two from Night Shift, Just After Sunset or Skeleton Crew (the story The Mist, from which the movie was adapted, was in Skeleton Crew). You could avoid a horror novel and read one of his adventure novels like The Talisman or the first book or two of the Dark Tower series. You could read a suspenseful book like Misery. Or, you could jump in with both feet and read The Stand or It.

I WILL finish Under the Dome by the end of Thanksgiving weekend (I keep repeating that to myself). Because, you know, a good book is better than a sharp stick in the eye.

Vacation Books

2009-11-19T17:26:00.000-05:00

Books for vacations always present a particular quandary for me.

It used to be that I'd never bring enough books. I'd bring the book I was reading plus one more. Then, two thirds of the way into the vacation, I'd be without a book. Me, on vacation, without a book to read is a nervous me.

I also used to "save" books for vacation. I remember the "Beach Music" vacation up east during the summer of 1995. Going back even farther, I remember "The Aquitaine Progression" (Robert Ludlum will be the subject of a future post) vacation in Aruba in 1984.

Traveling with kids (and the inordinate amount of "stuff" that accompanies this), coupled with recent checked baggage weight restrictions, put a crimp in my desire to bring hardback books on vacation. And, as I've blogged before, I have not yet embraced an e-reader which is, of course, the perfect vacation book companion (as long as you don't get it wet or sandy).

So, for the last several trips, I've scoured the house for paperbacks that I haven't yet read. Or, I've gone to paperbackswap.com and obtained paperbacks "on my list." The last couple of vacations, I've actually brought more than I could read. (I've recently loaded up on paperbackswap.com recommendations from others which I have not yet read)

We are taking a family vacation a warm weather climate at the end of December. I'm already strategizing over (1) what books to take and (2) how to space my reading list.

I'm 200 pages in to Under the Dome, and it's fast reading. My post on that book will be more expansive than a normal book post because I will couple the post with a general Stephen King post (I can't call Stephen King a man crush of mine because the dude is so freaky looking, but I wouldn't mind hanging with him). My goal of reading Anathem (Check!), Superfreakomics (Check!), possibly sneaking another in (Game Six-Check!) and Under the Dome by Thanksgiving is actually on course. I plan to make this goal (though by "Thanksgiving" I may mean "Thanksgiving weekend").

The next books on my list are non-fiction books which are en route. The first is "When the Game Was Ours" about Bird and Magic; the second is "Last Words" about George Carlin (aka the best stand up comic in history not named Richard Pryor).

Anyway, as I scour the house for my upcoming vacation books, I may blog for additional advice.

Remember, reading a book is better than a sharp stick in the eye.

Game Six by Mark Frost - B+++

2009-11-16T08:15:00.000-05:00

Now THAT'S a baseball book.

After the disappointment that was The Machine, I was wary of Game Six. Why did I read The Machine before Game Six? I assumed that The Machine was about my Reds (and was written by a former Reds beat writer) and that Game Six was written more about the Red Sox (having won Game Six--if I spoiled the ending, this is not the book for you). Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Listen, I've been reading books on The Big Red Machine since 1975. Even my wife said to me, "Haven't you read enough about that?"

I gave Game Six a B+++ because I'm never going to get a non-baseball fan to read it. But if you're a baseball fan, I can't recommend this book highly enough. Frost packs an incredible amount of history into this book, along with a pitch-by-pitch account of game six of the 1975 World Series. He discusses the origin of baseball, the world series and the current American and National leagues; labor strife; the advent of free agency; mini-biographies of all of the major and minor players involved in Game Six (Luis Tiant gets much deserved attention); mini-bios of the two managers, Sparky Anderson and Darrell Johnson; and much more (how about how Dick Stockton met his wife, Leslie Visser?).

In addition, Frost shies away from dwelling on some of the more provocative story lines taking place after 1975--like Pete Rose's banishment from baseball. Like all of the other significant players, Pete's post-1975 life is chronicled (his 44 game hit streak in 1978, becoming the hit king and, yes, his gambling and banishment), but Frost doesn't make Pete's future "the story."

And, if you ever asked yourself the question, "Hey, whatever happened to Pat Darcy?"--the answer is here.

Again, I strongly recommend this book to any baseball fan--young or old, Reds fan, Red Sox fan, fan of neither team.

It may be a couple of weeks before I finish my next book, "Under the Dome." I started it last night after finishing Game Six, but it is almost 1,100 pages. I'll find some filler to blog this week.

A good book is better than a stick in the eye.

I Lied

2009-11-09T17:28:00.000-05:00

So, per my post yesterday, I was going to "take a reading break" until Stephen King's latest magnum opus, Under the Dome, arrived in my hot little hands. I had planned on resting my weary head for a few days before starting Under the Dome.

I must have an illness. I knew I had one illness. Well, two. I know that I have Diet Cokeitis and Bad Jokeitis (interesting that "coke" and "joke" rhyme, but I digress). I have learned that I also have needtoreadabookitis.

You may recall that I read "The Machine" about the 1975 Reds a few weeks ago. I was disappointed because there was absolutely nothing new to me in the book.

As I was getting ready to watch some of the Dallas-Philly football game last night, I spied "Game Six" by Mark Frost on my nightstand which I has purposefully NOT READ after The Machine. I decided to take it for a short spin.

I learned more about Sparky Anderson in the Introduction than I learned from The Machine in its entirety. I didn't realize that Sparky's mentor was a legendary USC Trojans baseball coach. I found that, and the story behind it, very interesting.

Now, the hard part. Getting through Game Six before Under the Dome arrives.

RIF

Superfreakonimics - C-

2009-11-08T13:17:00.000-05:00

Sorry that this post is a couple of days late. While I finished Superfreakonomics on Friday, I was in Ann Arbor, Michigan with my No. 1 (and only) son for the weekend. The game was no good, but I'll digress with a few non-book blog tidbits from the weekend.

1. I was heartened that Max got to see the average UM fan who is far more intense than I am. Sherri had led him to believe that I was abnormal (about this in particular).

2. College kids don't really change--just their toys do. Lots of cellphones. Lots of sex and drinking talk in line at Blimpy Burgers from the four kids in front of us. Fortunately, it went over Max's head.

3. Along the lines of No. 2, weird sights from the weekend include a nose ring--ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE NOSE HORIZONTALLY--and (it must have been a pledge) a kid in a teletubby costume carrying another kid on his back with the rider slapping the teletubby guy like a horse.

On to Superfreakonomics. I was disappointed. It was more of the same from Freakonomics with subjects that just weren't as compelling--though this might be because it was more of the same.

I was turned off early in the book. In the introduction, the authors discussed drunk driving. There were stats about the total number of miles driven annually in the US and the percentage of miles driven drunk.
Then, the authors presented the number of miles walked each year and ASSUMED that the percentage of drunk miles walked to total miles walked was identical to drunk miles driven to total miles driven. Based on this, the authors made a conclusion about the relative safety of walking. vs. driving drunk.

On the one hand, let's not take this too seriously. The whole point of the Freakonomics books is to confirm conventional wisdom or turn conventional wisdom on its head. To make you think. On the other hand, this type of "analysis" is not exactly compelling.

In this entry, Levitt and Dubner take on global warming, prostitution, the effect of tv on crime and other topics.

The book is a very quick read--only about 220 pages from start to endnotes. If you loved Freakonomics, you will enjoy Superfreakonomics. Just make sure you read the original first.

I'm taking a very short break. My copy of Under the Dome arrives later this week. I am not going to pick up a book in the interim, and this will be the first time in almost two years that I will be between books for more than a day.

RIF

Amazon's Top 100

2009-11-04T08:51:00.000-05:00

I had some dental work done yesterday and wasn't in a mood to troll for such things, but I see that Amazon posted its Top 100 books of 2009 yesterday.

I haven't had a chance to digest the list, yet. I'm cynical about any such list released by anyone with a business interest in the outcome. I'm made more cynical by seeing The Girl Who Played with Fire in the top 10--hey, it was a good read, don't get me wrong. I find it difficult to believe that it was one of the top 10 books of the entire year, though.

Thoughts?

RIF

Anathem by Neal Stephenson - B-

2009-11-02T12:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I finally finished Anathem by Neal Stephenson, our first Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club Selection. I know of no one else reading the first VBC selection as the one person who was reading it put it down about 120 pages in. We'll try again in a couple of months with this so-far failed experiment.

I had to look through my recommendation system to arrive at a B- for this book. I couldn't give it anything in the A range because it's science fiction, and a recommendation in the A range necessarily means that "if you're a reader, you should enjoy." As I told my mother, who is a huge reader, yesterday--"you'd hate it." And she would. She hates science fiction, and the whole premise of this particular novel would turn her off. Since I can't not recommend this excellent, dense, thought-provoking book, anything below a B- would be inappropriate.

Why a B- and not a B or B+? Only because this novel is work. You're not going to start and finish this book effortlesslessly, and I didn't want to imply that the novel was for everyone who likes science fiction. Ergo, B-.

I call this a "you get out of it what you put into it" novel. You cannot read Anathem solely for the story (which is a good one). There are countless themes here. I could have spent three times as long as I did reading this novel and still missed a bunch. I could have taken notes. I could have had my trusty highlighter on me at all times (though given that I borrowed the book from the library--as always, with apologies to the publisher and author--the highlighting thing would have been particularly bad form).

I did have two bookmarks for this book. One for my place in the book and one for the first page of the glossary at the back. You're going to need that glossary at times.

Anyway, here's a general synopsis (those of you who have read Anathem know why providing a synopsis is particularly difficult here), and feel free to jump to the New York Times review if you want more background.

One of our few blog readers, Josh, who was responsible for the recommendation that I read Anathem, commented on Anathem earlier on the blog, and I couldn't have said it better myself (so I'll let him say it):

"Anathem can be read on two levels: as a SciFi story set on an alternate world, or as a brilliant metaphor for the history of philosophy (from the Greeks to modern times). But if you read it for the former, which by itself is a good story though plot and character development isn't what you read Stephenson for, you can't help but pick up on most of the points of the latter because the book is so rich."

Again, you get out of Anathem what you put into it, and starting the novel is making a big commitment on your part--a big time commitment and a big brainpower commitment. If you want a light, quick or effortless read, this isn't the book for you. If you want to be challenged and tested, I highly recommend Anathem. I finished it last night, and my head still hurts.

Superfreakonomics is next, and I expect to complete it by the weekend. I know some of you out there are reading it or have read it.

RIF.

More Bests of 2009

2009-11-01T17:17:00.000-05:00

As we enter the last 60 days of the 2000 decade (was the Year 2000 hubbub actually 10+ years ago?), we also enter the last 60 days of 2009. And lists of the "best books" of 2009 will not be far behind.

I blogged on the Man Booker Award Winner, Wolf Hall, recently.

Here's Publisher's Weekly's Top 10 books of 2009. I have only read one of them--The Lost City of Z. I enjoyed the book--I'd give it a solid B. I must have liked it because I read it on my now long gone Kindle.

"Open: An Autobiography" by Andre Agassi

2009-10-31T19:56:00.000-04:00

First of all, I didn't read this book. I only read an excerpt in Sports Illustrated.

Second, I warn anybody who read past my first sentence that this post may be more of a sports blog than a book blog.

Why am I bogging on it then? I was inspired. And I was looking for blog filler. And I did read that excerpt.

Agassi grew up playing tennis. He went to Nick Bollettier's tennis academy as a kid. Like a lot of those kids, when he emerged as a pro he was a bit of a punk. As a player, he had some success in tournaments and would disappear in others.

At some point during his career, though, Andre Agassi transformed himself from resident tennis "punk" to elder statesman. It seemingly happened overnight. I trace it back to when he shed his formerly-trademark locks. All of a sudden, the guy was an adult. He had matured. Or at least that's how his public persona evolved.

For most of his career, he single-handedly made American tennis relevant. When I was a kid, American tennis was always relevant. Players like Connors, Evert and McEnroe made it relevant. Sure, the end of Agassi's career coincided with the end of the career of arguably the best tennis player of all time--Pete Sampras, another American. Because Sampras' public persona was very different than Agassi's--Sampras was basically an automaton who showed little or no emotion on the court--Agassi was the soul of American tennis.

American tennis hasn't been relevant since Agassi's retirement.

That brings me to "Open." Does the world need an autobiography on Agassi? Personally, I think not. And some of you have undoubtedly read portions of the book that have been released. Did we really need another overbearing father book? Really? Did we really need an "I took [insert drug name here--crystal meth in Agassi's case] but escaped punishment because I was a celebrity and never had to take responsibility for my actions" book? Again, I think not.

Listen, maybe the book was cathartic for Agassi to write. If this is the case, he can be forgiven. I hope he didn't write the book to make a buck or because he was tired of being "irrelevant" or because he wanted forgiveness for his transgressions.

No matter his motivation, do you really think there's anything here that we haven't seen or heard before? Lest you not be confused, I do not mean to trivialize Agassi's life, his upbringing, his challenges in life. I have no doubt that his life stories are authentic. But his audience can't identify with the typical overbearing father, drug experimentation and life difficulties of a famous wealthy world class athlete. So the only reason to read the book is to watch a train wreck, and there are better train wrecks to watch. Save your $$ and google "Open Andre Agassi" about a week from now, and you'll get all you need out of the book in about 15 minutes.

RIF

Mission Somewhat Accomplished

2009-10-29T16:44:00.000-04:00

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

Long Overdue Post

2009-10-26T11:05:00.000-04:00

The obvious flaw in a blog such as this is that I can only read so much and so fast. Consequently, when I'm in the middle of a long novel like Anathem, I'm going to struggle for material without some input from my terrific reader(s).

I am 60% through Anathem. I am hoping (fingers crossed) to be finished by the end of next weekend. Then, I will have time to breeze through Superfreakonomics before Under the Dome arrives. I might even be able to sneak a second (short) book in.

Another problem with reading a long book for big readers is backlog. My nightstand runneth over--which puts my wonderful wife over the edge. Sure, some of my book purchases stay in the trunk of my car (until I have to empty my trunk to go to Costco--let's just say that some books "magically appeared" yesterday). I hide away other books in other parts of the house. For the most part, I remember where I put them. Every once in a while, though, I see one and say, "Oh, I was wondering where that was."

And, the problem with backlog, is that some books get lost in the shuffle. I forget exactly what motivated me to buy certain books. Did someone recommend it? Did I see a review in a newspaper? Seriously, sometimes I don't know--just like I don't know how books appear on my Barnes & Noble wish list. Then, when that book makes it to the top of the pile, I'm not as interested in reading it as I must have been when I first acquired it.

Anyway, I know that there's not much real substance here. As promised earlier, I still intend to post a compendium of all book recommendations received to date from blog readers.

Until then, RIF.

E Readers

2009-10-21T17:15:00.000-04:00

So, Barnes & Noble officially launched its Nook e-reader yesterday. The Nook is available for pre-order and will begin to ship on November 30. Sony has a couple of E-Readers as well. And, of course, there's the Kindle.

I tried the Kindle (Kindle 1). I wasn't a fan. Here were my three biggest complaints, and I'm not sure whether these complaints are specific to the Kindle 1 or are applicable to all e-readers as I haven't tried any others.

1. I often have a bite-sized window to read a chapter or a portion of a chapter of a book. I like to sit down, page through my book and see, "Can I get to the end of the chapter? Is there a good place to stop if I cannot?" I couldn't do that with the Kindle. Screens obviously don't load anywhere near as quickly as you can flip them in a physical book.

2. I have no conception of "pages" on the Kindle 1. Even if I could easily figure out how many "screens" there are until the end of a chapter, I have no conception of what that means. I have around 35 years of reading experience and have come to understand the concept of, "Honey, I'll turn off the light soon--I have five pages until the end of the chapter." I know, based on the book, how long that's going to take. "Honey, I'll turn off the light soon--let me see--counting screens--still counting [See 1 above]--OK, I have 22 screens" just isn't helpful.

3. I like paging back. Sometimes, I want to remember a character's name or a reference from earlier in a book. I can generally picture in my mind approximately where in the book I need to look and where the reference appeared on a page. On the Kindle 1, I could bookmark a page, but usually I don't know that I am going to want to go back there until much later. And, as the Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club book is Anathem, complete with a glossary beginning on page 890, it's nice to be able to easily flip to and fro without having to press a bunch of numbers.

My other problem with e-readers in general is that I cannot figure out what books, magazines and newspapers I can get on what e-readers. Each manufacturer says something different about what's available. I am assuming (though do not know for sure) that items like best selling books are available on all e-readers.

If anyone can enlighten me here, please comment. I have met many Kindle lovers who have few, if any, complaints--all of which are outweighed by the convenience of the Kindle.

Remember, Reading is Fundamental. I know that because that's what they used to say on Saturday mornings.

Getting Interactive (Well, a Little)

2009-10-19T12:53:00.000-04:00

A blog reader (ok, she's my sister and she almost HAS to read the blog because, well, SHE'S MY SISTER!) suggested that I do a "blog review" of books recently discussed on the blog in case somebody wanted to refer back to the posts. I'm going to do that here, and I'm also going to list some books that are "on my list."

Readers (to the extent they exist) of this blog know that the first Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club selection, Anathem by Neal Stephenson, is my current read. I crossed the 300 page threshold over the weekend and am picking up steam. This will still take a minimum of another week--more likely closer to two. I WILL BE FINISHED BY THE TIME THAT MY COPY OF UNDER THE DOME ARRIVES!

On to the recap. . .

Recent Blog Posts for Recommended Reads:

Adderall Diaries (September 25)
Zeitoun (September 8)
This is Where I Leave You (August 21)
Shadow of the Wind and Angel's Game (August 13)
Girl Who Played with Fire (August 10)

Recent Blog Posts for Reads that I Couldn't Exactly Recommend:

American Pastoral (October 10; enjoyed the book but felt that I couldn't add anything to the Pulitzer committee stamp of approval)
Blindness (September 19; enjoyed the book but found it a read that would not be enjoyed by all)

Recent Blog Posts for Non-Fiction Reads that Require Special Interests:

The Machine (September 29; if you love the Reds and grew up in the late 80s, read it; if you grew up in the mid-70s or before, there's nothing new here)
Blood in the Cage (August 20; about ultimate fighting)
Joker One (August 19; about a marine platoon in Iraq)

Recent Blog Posts for Reads You Should Skip:

South of Broad (August 29; read only if you've read everything else Pat Conroy has written and can't resist reading his new one.

On my list:

Anybody who has read the blog knows that after Anathem, my next two books are Under the Dome and Superfreakonomics.

While I expect these three books to take me close to Thanksgiving, here are some current books which are on my list, and I'm interested if anyone has read any of them:

Wolf Hall - I've said before that historical fiction isn't my thing, but this looks enticing to me. The book just on The Man Booker Prize as well, but I have to tell you, I don't know what the hell The Man Booker Prize is exactly.

Here are the 2009 National Book Award finalists. Of these, Far North interests me the most. Far North is apparently compared to The Road, and I've referred to The Road and two other post-apocalyptic novels--The Stand by Stephen King and Swan Song by Robert McCammon--in prior blog posts. American Salvage looks good, too, but also looks depressing (which is ok). Let the World Spin looks like something I'd like as well. Of the other two, one is apparently a "coming of age" novel and interests me very little without an independent recommendation. The last finalist takes place in feudal times and sounds a little too historical fiction-y for me.

Remember, RIF.

Feeding the Beast; and I Need Some Help!

2009-10-16T09:41:00.001-04:00

I wanted to pass on some information regarding the the Amazon/Walmart price war. I'm not sure how long it will (or can) last, but I'd take advantage of it if there's a book (like the new Stephen King book Under the Dome) that is impacted by the war. I just ordered my $35 copy of Under the Dome for $9.54 (free shipping all by itself) from Walmart (Amazon would have charged $3.99 for shipping--it lost the battle). The only pain in the butt was that Walmart would not let me ship the book to my address. I got an error that there was a "state restriction" (whatever that is). Fortunately, Cincinnati is close to the OH/KY border, and one of my most nicest partners who lives in KY was willing to accept the responsibility of receiving the package and bringing it to me. I will pass along more information on this price war as it becomes available.

On another note. . .

I need some post ideas for use when I'm in the middle of a book. Particularly when I'm in the middle of a long book--as I am now.

I am enjoying Anathem; I'm just not making the progress I would like because it is a difficult read. I'm hoping to be able to report that I've made a significant dent in the book by Monday, but I'm not certain.

My initial hope when I set up this blog was that I'd get some post ideas and guest postings from followers and others who read the blog. Of course, since nobody reads the blog, that's proved difficult.

I kind of see myself as the Jodie Foster character from the movie, Contact. Remember Contact? The Jodie Foster character basically spends all day, every day monitoring radio signals trying to find proof of extraterrestrial life. SPOILER ALERT: One day she thinks she finds evidence!

Well, one day I hope to find evidence that somebody is reading this blog. Even if nobody is, I will continue to blog--every couple of days whether I need it or not.

Remember, RIF.

Random Musings - And I Mean RANDOM

2009-10-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

1. Yesterday, the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book came out. My 9 year old LOVES these books. She initially wanted to pre-order it online, but I knew that her "instant gratification" bent would lead to the following discussion which would have occurred yesterday:

Her: Dad, why isn't the book here?
Me: Honey, it was just RELEASED today so it was sent today. It will be here Thursday.
Her: But my friends already have it.
Me: [With no place to go but an unhelpful "I told you so."] I told you that would happen three weeks ago.
Her: Well, can we go BUY the book today and return the other book on Thursday?

Which is what probably would have happened. So, I successfully fended off her suggestion to pre-order. We went to buy the book yesterday. For some reason I cannot fathom, the Greatest Store on Earth (some of you call it Costco) wasn't carrying the book. Also, my daughter's aunt (my sister in law) had freaked my daughter out that the book would be sold out everywhere (how this could possibly be is beyond me, and how it gets my house riled up is also beyone me). They only had, oh, 75 copies in a display at the front of Barnes & Noble and another, oh, 50 copies in a display right by the check out line.

2. The two members of the Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club started Anathem over the weekend. One of us is 100 pages in. The other is intimidated by the timeline at the front of the book, the glossary at the back and the fact that (and I quote from an email) "There was so much made up language [vs. the Lord of the Rings trilogy] (I also spent too much time on the timeline) that I had little reference for what on earth they were talking about." Dude, they're not on earth; that's part of your problem.

3. While it is confession time (see my previous post), as I may have alluded to in earlier posts, I wasn't as dedicated a reader in high school. Well, that's not entirely true--there were plenty of nights that I was up late reading Pet Sematery (not a favorite) or Christine (a surprisingly excellent book given the ludicrous premise of a haunted or possessed car). But Grapes of Wrath? Not so much. Let's just say that in 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985 I received holiday cards from John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (you know them as the publishers of Cliffs Notes--and despite my intimate knowledge here, I don't know who "Cliff" is).

4. I've blogged about paperbackswap.com, good bookstores, etc. If you want great used book options, the site to use is Alibris.com. Alibris.com is an online marketplace for independent sellers of new and used books, music, and movies. I especially like the site because I often prefer hardcover copies of books (which is a big reason why I am a library consumer for books which have been out a while), and used copies can often be purchased for under $10 (even after paying shipping). Like borrowing from the library, though, make sure that you apologize to Mr. Publisher and Mrs. Author as these books have been bought and paid for--your purchases will not result in any royalties. However, you will be helping some terrific used and rare bookstores throughout the country.

What are you reading? Remember, RIF.

American Pastoral by Philip Roth

2009-10-10T09:51:00.000-04:00

Confession time. Before yesterday, I had never finished American Pastoral. I had started the book at least twice. The paperback version that I own is 423 pages. I thought that, perhaps, I had gotten 100 pages in to the novel in the past. The dog ear on page 194 begged to differ with me.

As I passed page 194, I wondered what had caused me to put the book down so far into it in the past. Many questions arose. Was I bored? Did something happen? Did a new book I really wanted to read come out? Did I take a vacation and plan to go back to the book? Who invented liquid soap and why? (Bonus points for the somewhat obscure movie reference for the last question)

American Pastoral is a dense, rich, excellent read. Many, many themes. The novel traces much of the life of Seymour Levov, the Swede. The Swede was a high school sports legend. A Jew who looked to have the world by the gonads--smart, athletic, heir to a family business, married to a Miss America contestant. As Philip Roth's literary alter ego, Nathan Zuckerman, says, ''Swede Levov's life, for all I knew, had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore just great, right in the American grain. . . I was wrong. Never more mistaken about anyone in my life.''

Swede Levov endures a family tragedy, a parental nightmare. And Roth (well, Zuckerman), imagines a plausible construct before, during and especially after the tragedy which is used as a vehicle to show the cracks in the foundation that could have fortold the tragedy or at least given a glimpse into Swede's world--a world that clearly wasn't what it seemed from the outside. Many themes--capitalism, anti-war, Jewish issues, anti-semitism, interfaith marriage, appearances vs. reality, appearance vs. substance and that's just a start.

I cannot recommend/not recommend a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. American Pastoral won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and again, I do not feel qualified to second guess. Not that I would in this case, as American Pastoral is, again, a great read.

Remember, RIF.

Kids Reading - An Interlude

2009-10-08T17:32:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid, we didn't have remote controls for the tv's. We kids WERE the remote control!

And when I was a kid, we had the Hardy Boys. I read 50+ of those books. Why? That's pretty much all you had.

Sure, there were other books but nowhere near the selection that kids have today. If your child is a sports nut there are several series of books, for different ages, your child can read. Like horses? Books. And, if your child likes magic and wizards? Books, books and more books.

My kids are pretty big readers, mainly because, when they were younger, we always read to them at night and then transitioned them to reading every night. [We're pretty sly, huh?] Now, it's just part of the routine.

What made me think of posting regarding kids books and reading to your kids? My Anathem-reading buddy reminded me of the following Princess Bride quote as he is reading an abridged version of The Three Muskateers to his 9 year old:

"Has it got any sports in it?

Are you kidding? Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Revenge. Giants. Monsters. Chases. Escapes. True love. Miracles.

It doesn't sound too bad. I'll try and stay awake.

Oh. Well, thank you very much. It's very nice of you. Your vote of confidence is overwhelming."

[I read all seven of the Harry Potter books out loud to my son. As a parent experience, that one is going to be tough to beat. We started when he was probably about 7, and we were able to pretty much read them straight through Book 6 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). We had to wait almost a year for the last book. By then, he could have read them on his own, but we still did it together.]

[Contrast this with my girls who, when they were very young, ALWAYS selected the longest, most boring book to read EVERY night. You couldn't even skip pages because, well, did I mention that WE READ THE SAME BOOK EVERY NIGHT! My son loved Go Dog Go. We read that a bunch, too.]

As far as book recommendations for kids--well, I'm not equipped. They should ask their friends about what they read. And, of course, the teachers know. My oldest daughter LOVES sad books. ["I was reading this book about a little girl, and she got kidnapped, and the kidnapper stole her kidney for his son, and then she got rescued, but her other kidney went bad, and she needed a kidney donor, and it turned out that she got a kidney donor who was the daughter of the kidnapper, and they became great friends, but the kidnapper's daughter died during the kidney transplant, and they she got close to the son who had her first good kidney, and she married him, and they had a little girl but she died in childbirth. Isn't that great?]

I will post about American Pastoral in the next day or two. I will not "recommend" or "not recommend"--I'm not anywhere near worthy second-guessing the Pulitzer people.

Remember, RIF.

First Virtual Book Club Selection Announced! And my next three books. . .

2009-10-06T08:53:00.000-04:00

Since one (ONE!) person has agreed to read Anathem by Neal Stephenson, the selection of OUR FIRST DANIEL SUAREZ VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB selection (hardcover 960 pages; mass market paperback 1008 pages) was OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVED. With, as always, apologies to the publisher, I'm borrowing Anathem from the library.

I'm still reading American Pastoral by Philip Roth and don't expect to finish it until later this week (about 100 pages left--dense book--not much dialogue--great book, too). If it's only two of us reading Anathem, I see no reason to set a reading deadline. If, however, anyone else has interest in joining the VBC and the ensuing expected spirited discussion, let me know. I'd expect that it will take a couple of weeks to get through Anathem.

Two books are on my radar to follow Anathem (I have both on order from BN.com. While I link from this site to Amazon, I generally buy from Barnes & Noble. No real reason other than the fact that I am a Barnes & Noble member and get the member discounts. Plus, I get additional cash back if I buy through my Chase Visa. OK, so I guess there is a real reason. Also, repeat after me: Paying shipping is for suckers. Yes, Super Freakonomics--see below--comes out on October 20 and my copy won't be shipped until November 10 with Under the Dome--see below--because I needed to spend $25 for free shipping. But what of it?)

The first will be released on October 20 and is the follow up to the Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner non-fiction book entitled, "Freakonomics." The sequel is aptly named, Super Freakonomics. Freakonomics discusses apparent mysteries of everyday life and how they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. One of my favorite discussions related to the effect of home sales agents on the market prices for homes. Freakonimics is a recommended read even for those who may not or will not agree with the authors' methodology or analysis. The book is thought provoking, and I expect nothing less from Super Freakonomics.

Meanwhile, on November 10, 2009, shortly after my birthday, Stephen King's upcoming magnum opus Under the Dome will be released. This one is 1080 pages. Even with Super Freakonomics' manageable 288 pages, that's 2,348 pages accounted for. I'm thinking that I'll need until November 30 or so to get through all of that which means upcoming fluff posts if I can't get any new material from readers.

Remember, RIF.

Random Musings - Kurt Vonnegut - Update on Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club Selection

2009-10-05T08:30:00.000-04:00

I don't know what made me think of Kurt Vonnegut recently. It's not like I saw Back to School on cable or anything.

I know that some kids had a tendency to go a little Vonnegut crazy in high school. I didn't go Vonnegut crazy, though I read Slaughterhouse Five and Cat's Cradle each twice (Cat's Cradle is by far my favorite). I also loved Breakfast of Champions and read a couple of others that I don't remember as much as I remember these three.

I always enjoyed Vonnegut's sense of humor, I liked his style--a little different. Yes, the Slaughterhouse Five time traveling and the Cat's Cradle sci fi theme were right up my alley as well.

One of my favorite lines from a book comes from Breakfast of Champions where Vonnegut says something like (I remember the gist but not the exact quote), "In 1492, Columbus discovered America notwithstanding the fact that ________ indigenous people had been there for _____________." While not as striking for an adult, the quote proved memorable for a 10th grader.

I will unveil the first Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club Selection tomorrow--so if you have any last minute recommendations, let me know. The emails have been flooding in (if you describe zero emails as a flood).

Remember, RIF.

The Classics Never Die - Animal Farm

2009-10-01T12:58:00.000-04:00

As I'm in the midst of a book that I likely won't finish for a while, I thought it appropriate for another installment of The Classics Never Die.

I was all ready to write this post about Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (an all time favorite of mine that I haven't read in years). I always pair Brave New World with 1984 by George Orwell. And when I think about 1984, I think of Animal Farm. And, then, when I thought of Animal Farm, I thought of one of my all-time favorite lines from any novel, which is discussed below. So, we'll put off Brave New World for a while.

(While there are a bunch of these lists all over the place, here's a link to the Modern Library best 100 novels--as selected by its Board and by its readers. Animal Farm is No. 31 on the Board list and No. 20 on the Readers List. I do have some lists bookmarked, etc. If you have any lists that you could post or send to me, that would be great. I will then do a blog entry listing these. The lists can be fiction, non-fiction or even a particular type of fiction or non-fiction. Here's a sci fi list, for example.)

Back to Animal Farm. I've read this book at least twice though not in many years. There are many levels to the book. Of course, the book is about ANIMALS on a FARM. If that's all you got from the book, stop reading, you missed it.

It's also an allegory for the Communists coming to power in Russia-USSR-Russia. On a third but related level, it's about how power corrupts. I'm sure there are more.

My favorite part of the novel has always been the Animal Farm Constitution and how it "evolves." I had to google it (I didn't do this from memory), but here's the initial Animal Farm Constitution:

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill another animal.
7. All animals are created equal

Now, to refresh your recollection of the story, this Constitution is drafted after the animals "overthrow" the evildoer humans (which consisted of a FARMER and his wife. After all, the story takes place on a FARM). Gradually, of course, the animals in "power" on the ANIMAL FARM begin to eliminate or modify one after another of the items in the Constitution ("No animal shall sleep in a bed WITH SHEETS").

My favorite line from the novel has to do with the modification to Item 7 which, after a while, becomes, "All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal."

I urge you to re-read a favorite classic--especially if you haven't read it in many years--or pick up a new one. It may not be a page turner, and it may not be an especially good read. But it's a classic because it has something to say--something that, I guarantee you, survives to this day even if the book was written long ago--Animal Farm was published in 1945!

Remember, Reading is Fundamental.

Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club Suggestions

2009-10-01T12:03:00.000-04:00

As expected, the volume of suggestions for the VBC (Virtual Book Club) was underwhelming. (Actually, can it be both "expected" and "underwhelming"? I think so.)

Right now, the options are:

Anathem by Neal Stephenson and

100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (an oldie but apparently a goodie).

I'm still taking other suggestions before finalizing. I know that I have one blog follower (the poor speller who suggested the VBC in the first place) who will read the selection no matter what it is, and I won't even post as a suggestion anything that I am unwilling to read.

In other words, if you follow this blog and you are a good speller, you can pretty much write your own ticket and suggest any book that makes sense.

Currently, I am reading American Pastoral by Philip Roth. I have not read much of Roth, but I have had this book on the pile for, well, years, and it's time I read it. The VBC book will follow.

Remember, Reading is Fundamental.

The Machine by Joe Posnanski - C-

2009-09-29T08:30:00.003-04:00

The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds by Joe Posnanski.

I know no one will read much further than this (if they even got this far), but I digress.

If I recommended books based on nostalgia alone, you'd be looking at an A+. The summer of 1975 wasn't the best for me personally. I was 8 years old, and I spent 13 days in Children's Hospital in August. The magical season of the Reds was something that a kid that age could hold onto, though. I remember where I was when the first Reds lineup of 1975 featuring Pete Rose at Third Base was announced. You know how some people think of characters on tv as their friends? Well, Pete, Joe, Johnny, George, Tony, Ken, Davey and Cesar were my friends that summer. 1975 was special for me, and it was special for the whole city of Cincinnati.

All that being said, this isn't a good book. If you are too young to remember the Big Red Machine, you will probably enjoy the book because many of you think of Pete Rose as the guy who bet on baseball and Joe Morgan as the guy who does Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and Johnny Bench as the a**hole he is now (and was then). You may not even know who Cesar Geronimo is or that Ken Griffey Senior was actually pretty good or that, if Sparky Anderson hadn't given George Foster some PT, Foster never would have hit those 52 HRs in 1977 when "52 home runs" really meant something.

The problem with The Machine is that there's really nothing new here. Mr. Posnanski tells a story in his Afterward about getting pulled over for speeding in Indiana while doing research for the book. The police officer sees all these books on the Big Red Machine in the back seat and asks what that's all about. Mr. Posnanski says that he's researching for a book on the 1975 Reds and got off with a warning.

Well, maybe I've read all of those books he had in his back seat. Because, again, there's nothing new here. I could have written a book ALMOST as good and comprehensive without interviewing a single person. And I, unlike Mr. Posnanski (who is the same age as I am), don't travel in sports writing circles.

Maybe there will be something new in Game Six. I had planned to read one right after the other, but I don't have the strength. Maybe after the World Series.

Remember, Reading is Fundamental.

The Adderall Diaries - Stephen Elliot - B

2009-09-25T07:14:00.000-04:00

Let's start with a couple of apt movie quotes that came to my mind in reading this book. A virtual diet coke to the first person who, without the aid of google or any other search engine, movie database, etc., identifies both movies.

Quote No. 1:

Can l speak frankly? No holds barred?
Please.
That is one messed-up little dude.

Quote No. 2: There's something wrong with us, something very, very wrong with us. Something seriously wrong with us.

The Adderall Diaries: A Memoir of Moods, Masochism and Murder by Stephen Elliott is unlike any book I've read before. Part true crime non-fiction, part memoir. Mr. Elliott includes vignettes from his life history as he tells a story of his attempt to break through his writer's block by writing a book about the trial of a man accused of killing his estranged wife.

I was not familiar with Mr. Elliott before I stumbled upon his book at The Book Loft in Columbus (again, well worth a trip) (Though I did borrow this book from the library. Again, sorry Mr. Elliott and Mr. Publisher) (On another side note, you will notice from this and posts in the recent past that I conquered my inability to insert hyperlinks into the posts! Of course, I should re-name this blog the "If a man blogs in the forest, and there's no one around to hear him. . . Blog"). Ironically, Dave Eggers, author of Zeitoun (as previously discussed on this blog) edited one of Mr. Elliott's earlier books, Happy Baby.

As the two movie quotes at the top of this post indicate, Mr. Elliott is not quite right. He had a troubled childhood, and his sexual proclivities and drug use are discussed, almost in stream of consciousness form.

The book is difficult to read for a couple of reasons. First, while the events relating to the crime and trial are related chronologically, the autobiographical background woven into the book is not. Mr. Elliott has spent a great part of his life as a bit of a vagabond, meeting and having relationships with many people. It's difficult to keep people straight--particularly as Mr. Elliott jumps between time periods and locations.

Second, many will find the less savory aspects of Mr. Elliott's life shocking and perhaps even revolting. There have been a number of books about damaged people, most notably the (outed as fiction) book A Million Little Pieces by Stephen Frey and another book Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction. I have not read either, by the way, but the latter is on my list. I cannot tell you where this particular book "ranks" with some of the others, but I'm sure that the level of detail is similar.

I do recommend this book, but not for all readers. It does read like a novel--a disjointed novel, but a novel nonetheless. So if you are primarily a fiction reader, you may still find The Adderall Diaries a good read.

RIF - Reading is Fundamental (remember your Saturday morning commercials??)

The Daniel Suarez Virtual Book Club Experiment

2009-09-22T19:42:00.000-04:00

I’ve never been in a book club. I’ve never been asked to join one, and I’ve never felt motivated to start one. The other problem, of course, is that the National Institute of Book Clubs (NIBC) Comprehensive Survey (2009) shows that 92% of all book club members are female. I, in fact, have never met a man who is in a book club. I obviously do not think that reading or discussing books is only for women. [The Survey also shows that only 26% of book club meeting time is spent discussing the book. A staggering 57% of the time is spent discussing the libations at book club (with the remaining 17% comprised of various discussions—most notably 9% spent complaining about spouses/boyfriends/girlfriends). Also, while the Survey shows that 82% of book club members actually read the book, these statistics are likely unreliably high (and often includes those who claim to have read the book but who have either seen the movie or read the Wikipedia entry).]

Of course, each and every statistic in the preceding paragraph is made up (as is the NIBC).

A very good friend of mine (also one of the poorest spellers I have ever met, but I digress) suggested that, in order to make this blog more interactive (with the unreasonable assumption that the blog is “active” in the first place), we consider a virtual book club. We are going to give this a try. The worst thing that will happen is that I will end up being the only one who reads the book club selection, but I can live with that. Here’s how it will work:

1. Between now and Friday, October 2, I will accept suggestions for books. If we do not receive multiple suggestions, I will suggest a few books. I'm going to throw this book out as a suggestion for the first selection. I suggest this because (1) it's been on my list for a while and (2) since this is a "virtual" book club, a book where one theme is "virtual reality" makes some sick sense.

2. I will post 2-4 suggested books on October 3 and seek feedback (none expected). If anyone who wants to participate has already read a suggested book, the book will be disqualified from consideration (unless the person wants to re-read the book—hey, if I get ANOTHER person to participate, and he/she has already read the book, you think I’m passing on my golden opportunity???).

3. I will post the first book club selection some time after October 3 (depending on feedback) and give everybody 2-4 weeks (depending on book length) to read the book. If anybody finishes early, they may not comment on the book on the site. You may email me comments that I will post after the deadline.

Then, we’ll see if there is any give-and-take, if people like the book and the idea, etc. If there’s the expected zero interest, we’ll kill it.

Also, if you are in a book club and want to read the same book to serve dual purposes, please let me know. In other words, if I can get one more person to read the selection (even if they’re not reading it for OUR book club), it’s worth it to me.

Remember, reading a book is better than a stick in the eye.

I "Just Say No" to Oprah (Well, Sort Of)

2009-09-21T13:42:00.000-04:00

I have a couple of confessions to make.

The first is that I'm not, and have never been, an Oprah fan. I am certainly not a hater or anything like that. I just find Oprah to be at the pinnacle of our "celebrity society" in that people feel that they need to buy what Oprah buys, see movies and listen to music that Oprah likes and read books that Oprah suggests.

The second confession is that I have never read an Oprah Book Club Selection. I've read books that have become Oprah Book Club Selections (if you haven't read it, I strongly recommend The Road by Cormac McCarthy). My wife, who is an avid Oprah fan, suggested that I read A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. [I'm not a big self help book kind of guy. I'm pretty set in my ways. Even if I need help, I'm unlikely to seek or implement it unless necessary. Plus, have you seen how the author spells his name? OK, is the "h" silent or not? Why is the "c" there at all--serves no purpose. And don't get me started on the last name. He either doesn't need the two "l"s or the "e."] I actually bought the book at Costco (aka, the most wonderful place on earth--like it how I worked "earth" back into this??) and tried to read it. I gave it a valiant effort for almost ten whole minutes.

Which brings me to last week's "big announcement" of Oprah's newest book club selection: Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan [is it me or does he look like Joe Morgan?].

I see nothing inherently wrong with the Oprah Book Club. In fact, I think that it's likely that a number of adults started to read books for pleasure or accelerated the pace of their pleasure reading as a result of Oprah's selections.

I'm just not one of them.

Do not, for a second, think that I think that I am above our "celebrity centric" culture. I am absolutely not. I care way too much about who famous people are dating. I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly. I read my wife's People magazine (it's a single poop mag while, for me, Sports Illustrated takes days of poops). I begrudgingly do not hate the pop music my daughters listen to. I do not watch reality tv shows--not because I am above it but because I fear, nay I know, that each and every one of them will suck me in like the spineless entertainment jellyfish that I am.

I don' t "know" Oprah. Her selections are "one size fits all." That's ok, I would probably like all of her [non self-help] selections. I, in fact, have liked all of her selections that I actually read.

But I definitely have a reluctance to read her books, buy her products, eat her foods, watch her movies [I can't stand Tom Cruise any more--the whole scientology "attitude" (I have NOTHING against scientology or any other religion--just don't preach to me, ok? And I won't preach to you) doesn't help]. She cannot possibly be that all-knowing, can she?

Well, some people think she is. And some people are just suckers. My wife wants to buy her new selection. If she reads it and likes it, I'll probably read it also. Ok, ok, I am one of those suckers.