I'm joining the group late-- so I thought I'd start my list from June 1st, 2009. I took a multi-year sabbatical from reading (for fun) to focus on grad school, new job, getting married, and the birth of my daughter....and now that things have settled down a *little*, I can return to the library.

1. Home Game An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood by Michael Lewis
2. The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald
3. Slaughterhouse-Five by Vonnegut
4. World War Z An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
5. Watership Down by Richard Adams
6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
7. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
8. The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway
9. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
10. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
11. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
13. The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer
14. Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
15. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
16. The Shock Doctrine The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
17. In Praise of Slowness Challenging the Cult of Speed by Carl Honore
18. On Writing by Stephen King
19. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
20. The Shining by Stephen King
21. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
22. Bird by Bird Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamont
23. The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos
24. A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway
25. Rabbit, Run by John Updike

14. Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

Impressive debut novel-- but doesn't quite live up to the hype (aka: "the next Silence of the Lambs"). Definitely a page-turner early on, but I found myself skipping over some of the lengthy scene descriptions towards the end of the book. As a native Oregonian, I did enjoy some of the descriptions of Portland!

15. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

This was my first Agatha Christie mystery, and she didn't disappoint! All the clues were there, but I had NO idea who the villain was. A brilliant puzzle!

16. The Shock Doctine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein


Last night, I dreamed that the Chicago School (home of Free-Market Capitalism) was orbiting the earth on a Death Star built by Bechtel and Halliburton. Emperor Cheney ordered his stormtroopers/mercenaries to torture civilians and to subvert democracy around the world. Donald Rumsfeld, another disciple of the Dark Side of the Free Market Force, wore Darth Vader's mask and profited from the total destruction of a civilization and the privatization of the Empire's public service sector. And there were plenty of Jabba the Hutt-types and bounty hunters scattered across the globe, experimenting with new economic systems and profiting from economic upheaval, war, terrorist threats, and natural disasters.

The scary part? There wasn't a Luke Skywalker or Han Solo to stand up to the evil Empire.

The most disturbing part? This isn't far from the reality that Naomi Klein presents in her book. Does she write with a Leftist bias? YES. Is there a chance that some free market capitalists are well-intentioned and have a conscience? Probably. Is her story a thought-provoking tale that will make you sleep with the lights on? Absolutely.

Thanks for the nightmares, Naomi.

17. In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed by Carl Honore

A more appropriate title for this book could be "In Praise of Tedium: Challenging the Cult of Staying Awake." The author had a great premise: We're rushing through life and killing ourselves in the process. Unfortunately, he bored the hell out of me.

The author tries to legitimize the 'Slow Movement" argument by distancing himself from New Age gurus and mystics. Unfortunately, he plays it *too* safe and offers up a very bland recipe for living Slow:

+ Don't rely on the microwave; cook your meals, spend time with the family, and eat... slowly
+ Meditate and lift weights once a week... slowly
+ Focus on pleasing your lover... slowly
+ Reading and Classical music should be performed... slowly
+ The French only work 35 hours a week, and Americans would rather take more vacation than work more hours.

The author had a *great* idea for a Men's Health magazine article and stretched it into a 300 page book.

.... maybe he's trying to prove his point?? If we take extra time to read 300 pages of tedious ramblings, versus 3 concise pages, our lives will be better off for it. ??

18. On Writing by Stephen King

A MUST read for aspiring writers or Stephen King fans! King offers excellent writing advice (it's all about the story)--and I found the autobiographical info inspiring.

19. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

Amazing! A complex tale of religion and morality. I loved how Greene played around with the idea that good people do bad things, and bad people sometimes do good things. Even though Greene considered himself a Catholic, I felt he really took priests to task for helping themselves more than the poor that they serve. I look forward to reading more Graham Greene in the future....

20. The Shining by Stephen King

The Shining has been on my "to read" list for 20 years, but I have never managed to get around to it. Excellent horror story--and I was surprised how different it was from the movie. Kubrick took some liberties with the source material. I think Kubrick turned Jack Torrance into a bigger psychopath than he was in the novel-- while King really tried to make Jack a flawed, but ultimately redeemable character, with more depth. Regardless of the differences, both versions were creepy and entertaining--
Really glad I finally picked this one up!

Scott, thanks for the words on King's Jack Torrance. I'm not a big fan of King, and having seen (most parts of) the movie, gory as it was, I would never have thought I'd be interested in reading the book about it...but maybe I would now. His book on writing (#18) sounds good also.

21. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

I REALLY wanted to like this novel. The first chapter hooked me-- bad stuff is going to happen to the likable guy who sees dead people. And NOTHING happens for the next 200 pages. Well, almost nothing-- Odd discovers this Black Room with mysteriously cool properties. The Black Room keeps me hooked a little bit longer....but Koontz doesn't even explain what it is or why it's important to the plot. I spent the next 300 pages waiting for Odd to go back to the room, but it's not even mentioned again.

Minus the Black Room concept, the book is awful--lame villains, horrible dialogue, and unbelievable situations. Did I mention unbelievable situations? Yeah, Odd and his girlfriend are discussing running off and getting married in Vegas and/or eating tacos while some cataclysmic event looms.

I wanted to stop reading, but I was hoping there would be some huge payoff in the end (ie: cataclysmic event or a Black Room explanation). Instead, Koontz ends the novel with a cataclysmically bad and unnecessary plot device that ruined the book even further. As I was reading, I genuinely thought that Koontz published this novel as a big joke-- "Look, my name alone can sell a million copies of crap."

No more Koontz or Odd for me.

One side note: this novel DID inspire me to write my own fiction. If this guy can do it, anyone can.

Scott wrote: "21. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

I REALLY wanted to like this novel. The first chapter hooked me-- bad stuff is going to happen to the likable guy who sees dead people. ..." Scott, have you read 'Tic Tok' by Koontz? I'm curious if that book was the same...I only got about 50 pages in and since I was reading in spurts, never was inspired to get back to it...it was a lot of suggested uneasiness inspired by a doll left on a front porch with it's eyes and mouth sewn shut...lots of ominous vibes, but nothing concrete has happened yet, same as in your book. I'm just curious to hear how it progresses, from anybody who has read it.
Carol

Carol wrote: "Scott wrote: "21. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

I REALLY wanted to like this novel. The first chapter hooked me-- bad stuff is going to happen to the likable guy who se..."

Carol-
That was the first (and probably last) Koontz book I've read. Every chapter was the same: Odd talks about the diner he works in, has a boring conversation with a weird person, mentions how he's fallen in love and wants to marry....and something bad is GOING to happen. Lots of ominous vibes with NOTHING ominous in the first 200 pages.

Based on the reviews, A LOT of people liked this book and the "twist ending." This book really killed my "50 Books A Year" momentum--

Scott, don't give up on Koontz yet, try some of his earlier works. The first book by Koontz that I read was Watchers, and it was really good. I won't tell you too much except that it involves two animal characters who are opposites (good vs 'evil'), a 'love interest' that doesn't detract from the story, a plausible human (as opposed to 'supernatural') scientific-research side (downplayed) and plenty of action. What I like about Koontz, at least in the early books, was his redeeming-value 'good' characters. The evil in his books was sometimes grotesquely described, but the good characters were really good, humane ideals, etc. I liked the book a lot, and someone tried to make a movie of it, three times in fact, and just succeeded in butchering the book. I haven't read anything (all the way through, that is) of his for quite a long while, I think I stopped at Dragon's Tears, so I don't know about the recent stuff, but his earlier books, Watchers and about five or so other ones, were excellent. They were written maybe 15 or 20 years ago.

My family all loved Odd Thomas, and I didn't think it was Koontz's best work. It should have only been about 200 pages long. I've got the other Odd Thomas novels which I had purchased on my Kindle before I read the first one. So eventually I will get to them. However, Carol is right. Koontz has written some good books. However, some of his books can be like Odd Thomas where he takes so long to get around the the meat of the story. I really liked Door to December.

I've spoken to a few people who have told me that the Odd Thomas books are *not* like his other books-- and people either love or hate that series. I've heard that I have to read the whole series to truly appreciate the story--I don't think I'm going to read anymore Odd Thomas, BUT I'll give Koontz another try :) I'll try Watchers or Door to December--thanks for the recommendations!!

22. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont

I really enjoyed Anne Lamont's writing advice, and it was a nice companion to Stephen King's 'On Writing.'

Things I learned....
Writing is TOUGH work-- but you have to start somewhere. The first draft is 'shitty.'
Failure is part of the process-- every writer will experience it, but you must be resilient and keep trying.
Very few people make a living from writing novels--and that's not the reason most writer's get into the business.
Listen to the stories around you.
Find your true voice. If you want to write, you'll need to confront your wounds and accept the pain.
And don't worry about what people think of you--worry about not finishing your writing.

Scott wrote: "22. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont

I really enjoyed Anne Lamont's writing advice, and it was a nice companion to Stephen King's 'O..." Good advice, Scott...now I want to read 'On Writing' more than ever.

23. The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos

Being a fan of "The Wire" and an ex-DC resident, I thought I'd give George Pelecanos a try-- and I'm glad I did! On the surface, 'The Night Gardener' appears to be just another urban crime story. But as one of the primary detectives points out, 'The Night Gardener' is not about solving the case-- it's about the motivations behind a detective's pursuit for justice. The mystery kept the pages turning, but I was even more captivated by the themes of the story- race, sexuality, family, & career. Also, I really enjoyed the POV shifts between the detectives and the 'the street.'

Some reviewers have criticized Pelecanos's books for reading too much like a screenplay OR resembling the 'The Wire.' That may be true-- but I think that's a GOOD reason for reading 'The Night Gardener.' I'll be adding more Pelecanos books to my 'to read' list.

Scott wrote: "23. The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos

Being a fan of "The Wire" and an ex-DC resident, I thought I'd give George Pelecanos a try-- and I'm glad I did! On ..."

I loved The Wire. I'm going to have to check out his books. Thanks for the review.

24. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway must be an acquired taste. I read "A Farewell to Arms" in college, but couldn't remember a thing about it-- and now I know why. There's a ton of mundane conversation about food, wine, and women in the midst of battle. The first time I read it, I thought "What's the point?!"

It's my understanding that these conversations were supposed to demonstrate the absurdities of war--how the front-line soldiers were more concerned with the rituals of their daily life than killing. Quite frankly, talking about nothing doesn't always translate into entertainment. Just like the main character Henry, the reader craves more than a conversation about vermouth. We want to see sex and violence--- just like Henry. Unfortunately, a lot of us spend more time drinking and dreaming, than we spend living on the front-lines of life.

His dialogue and run-on sentences can be chores. When I read Hemingway dialogue, I imagine two robots having a conversation. Was he REALLY trying to capture a human's voice in his writing??

But in the end, the dialogue about NOTHING is exactly the point he's trying to make. We spend more time talking and less time doing-- and when we stop doing, we get bored and anxious--until we die. (that's a plot summary).

Hemingway mastered the art of saying little, in order to say a lot.

Scott, I read some of the other reviews for A Farewell To Arms and I must say...you are not alone. Responses to this book ranged from 'just didn't get it' to 'eh, it was ok'. Very few 'really loved it'. I myself have not had the courage to get into anything by Hemingway, prejudging his work to be very dry, and the most I can say is that at some point, I may check out one of his and 'skim'...that is, read parts every ten or twenty pages apart, to kind of get a general idea of style, presentation, the characters, and plotline. I can do this with a book in 15 minutes to a half-hour. Sometimes when I am in the middle of a mystery or action book and it drags, I find myself doing that, and when/if I get to the end and find out who-dunnit, I don't go back and reread (but sometimes I do if I like the characters anyhow). I'm wondering tho, if doing it that way would count as a whole book, because I'd only be actually reading part of the book.

Carol wrote: "Scott, I read some of the other reviews for A Farewell To Arms and I must say...you are not alone. Responses to this book ranged from 'just didn't get it' to 'eh, it was ok'. Very few 'really lov..."

I'd be lying if I said Hemingway's not dry...he intentionally strips out the emotion typically found in dialogue and his descriptions are very sparse.

Often I felt like giving up and throwing the book across the room. HOWEVER, there's something about his work that always hits me AFTER I finish the last page and walk away from it for a day or two. I wish I could explain it.

I'd recommend starting with The Sun Also Rises--

As for skimming... I had to do that with the last 100+ pages of Odd Thomas :)

25. Rabbit, Run by John Updike

This one took me a while to get into, but it was worth the effort. Updike's novel seems to be less about Rabbit Angstrom, and more about the people who are effected by his immaturity. Rabbit refuses to grow up and continues to run from his responsibilities-- leaving a trail of emotional destruction in his wake. The novel hits close to home because I know lots of guys my age who are unwilling to accept the responsibilities of being a father and husband.

Also, I could relate to the pressures of the "American Dream." Let's face it, no one's life is perfect-- but we're lead to believe that it SHOULD be perfect. Rabbit's longing for perfection is a primary reason for his running. His wife, child, lover, etc are disposable-- once they've been used, he throws them away. (This type of behavior really hasn't changed since 1959) Imperfections are everywhere--even in religion-- and he loses interest in the subject once a flaw has been discovered.

I'm interested in reading the other Rabbit novels. I really did hate this guy--so I'm wondering what Updike does with the character later on.