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May 14
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James
is currently reading:
The Somnambulist (Hardcover)
by Jonathan Barnes
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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April 17
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James
gave
to:
The GM: The Inside Story of a Dream Job and the Nightmares that Go with It (Hardcover)
by Tom Callahan
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in April, 2008
James said:
"The GM is Moneyball for Football. Not in the sense that it looks at statistical analysis being applied to sport, but in the way it chronicles the thoughts and methods of a General Manager as he builds his team. A very well-written look at everythin...more
The GM is Moneyball for Football. Not in the sense that it looks at statistical analysis being applied to sport, but in the way it chronicles the thoughts and methods of a General Manager as he builds his team. A very well-written look at everything that goes on behind the scenes at a professional sports franchise, although given that the author and his subject (former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi) were close friends, at times it felt like the shining portrait of Accorsi and his talents might be a bit overstated. Overall an interesting read, probably a great read for Giants fans (who suck)....less
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February 12
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James
gave
to:
Bloodsucking Fiends (Paperback)
by Christopher Moore
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in February, 2008
James said:
"A quick read, funny and a bit goofy. Nothing particularly memorable here, just a fun little story.
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February 06
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James
gave
to:
The Chess Machine: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Robert Lohr
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in February, 2008
James said:
"Overall an enjoyable work of historical fiction, based on the true story of a late 18th century chess-playing machine that was, in reality, just an elaborate hoax. The story is told with lots of eccentric characters, and the narrative is well-paced ...more
Overall an enjoyable work of historical fiction, based on the true story of a late 18th century chess-playing machine that was, in reality, just an elaborate hoax. The story is told with lots of eccentric characters, and the narrative is well-paced and helped along by occasional flash-forwards that slowly reveal how things worked out for these characters over time. By the end I think the author may have tried a little *too* hard to be unpredictable and defy the readers' expectations by making characters act out of line with their established personalities, and turning a few hints from the future into completely meaningless red-herrings, but overall it was a very enjoyable read....less
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January 17
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James
gave
to:
Everything Bad is Good for You (Paperback)
by Steven Johnson
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: people who want more reasons to think i'm smart
read in January, 2008
James said:
"Everything Bad is Good for You makes the case that modern pop culture is significantly more complex and intellectually nourishing than the popular media available in the "good old days." The book does an excellent job of explaining how med...more
Everything Bad is Good for You makes the case that modern pop culture is significantly more complex and intellectually nourishing than the popular media available in the "good old days." The book does an excellent job of explaining how media has become increasingly complex and intellectually stimulating over the last 30 years or so. I particularly enjoyed the in-depth discussion of why reality television helps develop and enrich the mind. I knew there was a reason I have Celebrity Apprentice on my Tivo. The only complaint I have about this book is that the last 50 pages or so seemed kind of superfluous. It was supposed to have something to do with brain chemistry, I think, except he just kinda reiterated the same points he already made. But it's not really that big of a deal, I just flipped through those pages and didn't read them. Good stuff....less
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January 07
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James
gave
to:
Then We Came to the End (Hardcover)
by Joshua Ferris
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in January, 2008
James said:
"I thought this book's unusual first-person-plural narrative was interesting and fun at first, but after 100 pages or so it really started to feel contrived, just a gimmick to prop up some otherwise run-of-the-mill office comedy shtick. The very best...more
I thought this book's unusual first-person-plural narrative was interesting and fun at first, but after 100 pages or so it really started to feel contrived, just a gimmick to prop up some otherwise run-of-the-mill office comedy shtick. The very best part of the book was when that pretense was finally dropped and there was some regular old third-person narration. I was just about ready to put the book down after 200 pages of amusing little stories about office life that began to feel repetitive and pointless when finally the temporary turn to a more conventional narrative gave the book some real emotional content and something more clearly resembling a plot. The remaining half or so of the book ended up being very good and overall I would recommend it--it's a quick read with interesting characters and some funny stories. But I'd be a lot more enthusiastic in recommending it if it had got to the point a little more quickly rather than taking an absurd amount of time just rambling about this and that before the story actually started to go somewhere....less
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January 02
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James
gave
to:
Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure (Hardcover)
by Michael Chabon
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: fans of chabon or jews with swords
read in January, 2008
James said:
"It took a while to get into this book--I feel like I have a pretty strong vocabulary, but I had to go to the dictionary every other page at first. However, it became clear that this was not because I'm not amazingly smart (obviously) but rather beca...more
It took a while to get into this book--I feel like I have a pretty strong vocabulary, but I had to go to the dictionary every other page at first. However, it became clear that this was not because I'm not amazingly smart (obviously) but rather because Chabon kept drawing on archaic terms relating to the governments, games, and weapons of 10th century muslims...once google helped me figure out what the hell beks, shatranj, and kagans were, I found a very entertaining little story. If you have ready access to google and a little bit of patience, it's a good quick read....less
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December 29
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James
is currently reading:
I Am America (And So Can You!)
by Stephen Colbert
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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November 01
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James
gave
to:
The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Michael Chabon
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: Chabon fans, fans of yiddish
read in November, 2007
James said:
"As a big Michael Chabon fan, I was very excited about the release of this book. I definitely enjoyed it--the characters are great, the story is engaging, the alternate world where Jews have been relegated to Alaska in the late 40s makes for an inter...more
As a big Michael Chabon fan, I was very excited about the release of this book. I definitely enjoyed it--the characters are great, the story is engaging, the alternate world where Jews have been relegated to Alaska in the late 40s makes for an interesting premise. But it was just very good, not quite great (more Wonder Boys than Kavalier & Clay). I put it down saying "Well that was nice," not "I'm so sad this book is over, I'll have to reread it like 20 times in a row now."...less
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James
gave
to:
Soon I Will Be Invincible: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Austin Grossman (Goodreads author!)
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: only hardcore comicbook fans with nothing better to do
read in August, 2007
James said:
"This book wasn't terrible, but it was ultimately pretty disappointing. I picked it up because I'd seen a very positive review of it on The Onion, and it sounded great--an ironic, comedic take on the superhero stories I enjoyed so much as a kid. Unf...more
This book wasn't terrible, but it was ultimately pretty disappointing. I picked it up because I'd seen a very positive review of it on The Onion, and it sounded great--an ironic, comedic take on the superhero stories I enjoyed so much as a kid. Unfortunately, this book ended up just being barely enjoyable enough to justify finishing it.
Soon I Will Be Invincible: A Novel alternates between two narrators--the evil villain, who is supposed to provide the book's comic relief; and the new heroine, who I guess is supposed to pull along the exposition parts of the story. The villain's side of the story is surprisingly light on humor--the villain's scheming does the bulk of the work in generating laughs, and there isn't much to even that small chunk of comedy. Any single episode of The Venture Brothers has 10-times more laughs than this book. The heroine's more serious narration similarly fails on the drama and excitement. She doesn't have much of a personality, and while the villain's schemes aren't silly enough to be very funny, they're also too silly to be that dramatic. The supporting cast seems to derive their identity more from the comic book icons they're so clearly ripped off of, rather than being unique new creations. But it doesn't matter too much that you don't care about what happens to the characters, because you know the villain's ridiculous plan can't possible work anyway.
This book isn't terrible, and I suppose if you really desperately love superhero stories, maybe you'll pick this up no matter what. For everyone else, you'll find a book that tries to be both funny and dramatic, but isn't particularly successful at either....less
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