Chris's updates

Chris's updates http://www.goodreads.com/user/updates_rss/250795 en-US Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:00:05 -0700 60 Chris's updates http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 26843628 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:00:05 -0700 Review23741208 <![CDATA[Chris added 'An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23741208 An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England (Hardcover) by Brock Clarke
bookshelves: to-read
]]> 26843233 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:59:46 -0700 Review23740883 <![CDATA[Chris added 'God Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Soulless Leagues, and Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23740883

to: God Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Soulless Leagues, and Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person Have Taken the Fun Out of Sports (And How We Can Get It Back) by Will Leitch
bookshelves: sports
I'm pretty mixed on this book. At its best it's well-written, funny and takes a different look at sports (love the story about Chris Berman). Great stuff about ESPN. I laughed out loud. A lot.

At its worst it's mean-spirited, and homophobic. In the end, a missed opportunity. ]]> 26802664 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:53:28 -0700 Review23708895 <![CDATA[Chris added 'Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23708895

to: Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You (Hardcover) by Sam Gosling
bookshelves: nonfiction
I love this book. Gosling shows that it is possible to have something interesting to say, base it on real research and be a great storyteller at the same time.

Oh yeah--the content. The book is about how "behavioral residue"--the stuff we leave behind--can tell us a lot about a person's personality. Seems obvious, but his story provides lots of nuance and unexpected findings. You'll never look at a person's office/house/room the same way again.

]]> 25536542 Wed, 21 May 2008 19:56:24 -0700 Review22725430 <![CDATA[Chris added 'How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22725430

to: How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative (Hardcover) by Allen Raymond
bookshelves: politics
Account of the life of a recovering Republican operative who did some scuzzy stuff (including phone jamming). Fairly good read, but not amazing. The most interesting part to me was about the difficulty that northern, moderate economic conservatives had getting in with Newt Gingrich and his Southern strategy pals.

]]> 24461794 Thu, 08 May 2008 17:24:26 -0700 QuestionUserStat12795 <![CDATA[Chris Cooper took the never-ending book quiz]]> http://www.goodreads.com/trivia 250795

Chris took the never-ending book quiz.

questions answered:	6
correct:	2 (33.3%)
skipped:	0
best streak:	1
questions added:	0

beat his score »

]]> 24456021 Thu, 08 May 2008 16:27:54 -0700 Review21884883 <![CDATA[Chris added 'Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21884883

to: Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age (Russell Sage Foundation Co-Pub) by Larry M. Bartels
Thoughtful, careful treatment of the causes of inequality in America. You should read it, but in case you don't, I'll cut to the chase: The Republicans did it. ]]> 23397092 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 23:06:19 -0700 Review5676020 <![CDATA[Chris added 'The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5676020 The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America (Paperback) by Erik Larson
bookshelves: to-read
]]> 23163031 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 11:42:57 -0700 Review5120301 <![CDATA[Chris added 'Under the Banner of Heaven']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5120301

to: Under the Banner of Heaven (Paperback) by Jon Krakauer
bookshelves: nonfiction
Fantastic book. I always love Kraukauer's writing. He does a great job of demonstrating how Mormans may appear wacky, but so do Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, or members of most any other religion. He's clearly an evangelical agnostic, but it's tough to argue with his history or facts, even if you disagree with his perspective. ]]> 18818332 Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:14:19 -0700 Review17487062 <![CDATA[Chris added 'The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17487062

to: The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation (Hardcover) by Drew Westen
bookshelves: politics
Written by an Emory psychologist who does consulting work for the Democratic Party. The central premise is that to run a good campaign, you need to understand that voting decisions are made based on emotions, not (only) facts. Politicians that understand how to activate emotions win elections. This doesn't have to be unethical (in fact, he makes an argument that to ignore emotion is to be pretty unethical).

One of the best books about politics I've ever read. Reminded me that (1) psychologists are smart and know stuff, (2) the Democratic party runs crappy campaigns, (3) the Democratic party doesn't have to run crappy campaigns. ]]> 17270688 Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:51:07 -0800 Review16239845 <![CDATA[Chris added 'Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16239845

to: Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More (Paperback) by Derek Bok
Good book. Derek Bok is smart. ]]>