2013 YTD book reviews in five words or less (probably):
1/4 Madsen: Eternal Man- Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
1/8 Bryson: Neither Here nor There- Uproarious.
1/15 O'Rourke: Don't Vote, It Just Encourages the Bastards- Disjointed but hilarious.
1/20 Madsen: Joseph Smith the Prophet- Must read if you haven't.
1/28 Chabon: Maps and Legends- Very interesting.
2/1 Lomborg: Cool It- Awful grammar, incisive analysis.
2/10 Hillenbrand: Unbroken- The pinnacle of survival stories.
2/20 Collins: Good to Great- Deeply insightful.
3/5 Crichton: State of Fear- Preposterously, comically bad. This book was so awful it made my question whether the other Crichton books I read years ago and liked were actually any good. Read the endnotes and bibliography for a good dose of common sense on global warming, though.
3/8 Schweizer: Throw Them All Out- Disappointing, given the awesome title.
3/15 Collins: How the Mighty Fall- Not bad.
3/29 Hsieh: Delivering Happiness- Mediocre, but Zappo's is fantastic.
4/13 Dalrymple: Our Culture, What's Left of It- Must read essays, pure genius.
4/14 Wasserman: Man of La Mancha- Really good.
4/14 Voltaire: Candide- Zany but worthwhile.
4/17 Gawande: The Checklist Manifesto- Solid.
4/25 Satrapi: Persepolis- A nice change of pace.
4/29 Wharton: Ethan Frome- Amazing writing.
5/4 Matheson: I am Legend- The perfect vampire story.
5/5 Dostoyevsky: Notes from the Underground- Rough sledding, but the last 15 pages redeem it.
5/17 Shakespeare: The Tempest- Marginal.
5/19 Shakespeare: Othello- Classic for a reason.
5/21 Nibley: The World and the Prophets- Best work on the apostasy.
5/23 Eyring: Faith of a Scientist- Good, but a little one-note.
5/28 Kurlansky: Salt: A World History- Truly fascinating.
6/3 Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray- Meh, I expected more.
6/5 Ishiguro: The Remains of the Day- Elegiac and deliberate. Recommended.
6/9 Zuckoff: Lost in Shangri-La- Breezy rescue tale.
6/17 Frankl: Man's Search for Meaning- Life-changing. Really.
6/18 More: Utopia- Surprisingly relevant, highly recommended.
7/2 Weschler: Everything that Rises- A glimpse inside a very interesting artistic mind.
7/6 Orwell: 1984- Stunningly good, only sorry it took me so long to read this.
Read anything great lately? Please share.
Excellent post and idea. I'll follow up with one of my own soon!
ReplyDeleteI notice the Book of Mormon isn't on here, jack. Also, State of Fear was bad in the sense that it was jarring and a lot like the worst of Rand with pigeon-holing politically and economically relevant and didactic prose into a something like a plot, but I wouldn't say it was comically bad. I loved Dorian Gray, liked 1984, and adored the Tempest simply because it has a wizard.
ReplyDeleteI started Notes, but lost the book somewhere. It is one of Fyodor's major works I have yet to read.
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ReplyDeleteTwo minute rebuttal:
ReplyDelete1. You need a review to know whether or not to read the Book of Mormon? Here goes: You should probably read the Book of Mormon.
2. Nope, State of Fear was bad in all senses. Think about the plot. Think about the patent absurdity of the hero, an LA lawyer, escaping from a crevasse in Antarctica, dodging lightning bolts, and fending off cannibals in the South Pacific...and all in the span of a week! The stilted, didactic dialogue was merely the icing on the cake.
3. Your effete, dissolute lifestyle predisposed you to love Dorian Gray. Some of the writing is excellent, I admit.
4. The Tempest was fine, in spite of the wizardry...it just doesn't rate compared to the real masterpieces.
Meanwhile, I will be happy to critique your book reviews, as soon as you have provided them, at no extra charge
You missed the point of me pointing out that the Book of Mormon wasn't on your list. It wasn't because I'm wondering if I should read it or not, the point was that, because this is presumably a list of all the books you've read this year and the BOM is not on it, you are, as heretofore mentioned, a jack.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the offer of a review of my reviews, but I am ashamed to say that I haven't read much outside of fantasy novels of late because of the sad fact that I'm no longer literate due to the implosion of the reading centers of my brain after being coaxed into perusing the NYT editorial page during scandalamania. I am dictating this rejoinder using a very well-trained pigeon.
Also, my lifestyle is not effete--my shorts almost always reach mid-thigh now.
If Jonny is conferring "Jack" status on those not living gospel standards, I must ask that he then dub himself a Jack--mid-thigh shorts are likely a little too revealing for a stalwart, temple-attending Mo-mo.
ReplyDeleteJon- I did get the drift of your BoM comment, I was just being snarky in return. Truth be told, I have tackled the Old Testament for the second time in my life, and I am currently wading through...Leviticus. It is exceedingly slow going.
ReplyDeleteNYT editorial page is what done you in, huh? I was a little morbidly curious around the time the IRS stuff was breaking to try and find someone who was defending the indefensible, but it sounds like I made the right choice to not do that.
Tony- two words: Phillipino length
DeleteI understand more than you'll ever... never know.
Delete