It's hard to say exactly what I base things on, but I'll usually rely on whether I'd recommend the book to a friend. I don't have pretensions of extreme literacy, but I think I'm smart and well-informed enough that if I can't follow an author they're going to have trouble with most other readers. Whether that's because the book is boring, incoherent, pointless.... But this is focusing on the down side! What I want are good books, basically the opposite of my previous criticisms. Something that holds my attention, takes me me along with the author, and expands my horizons or even convinces me to change my mind about something.
That said, I'll reduce everything down to a simple color-coded system....
My queue:
The Human Stain: Roth
8/04 Me Talk Pretty One Day: Sedaris Funny.... Not hilarious in spurts, but consistently amusing.
8/04 The Perfect Storm: Junger
Interesting way to write a book- Reconstruct a story with no possible direct
information to use. I haven't seen the movie, but it probably isn't quite as....
academic.
6/04 Positively Fifth Street: McManus
The story of Bad Jim McManus, a journalist covering the 2000 World Series of Poker and the Ted Binion murder trial- The best way, of course, is to spend your advance on a satellite and end up at the final table. Enjoyable read, good poker info, great insight into some of the people who've become celebrities since this all happenned.
5/04 Properties of Light: Goldstein
Romance novels for physicists.... Liz has given me a couple- This one was better than most, but certainly doesn't paint a very pleasant picture of innovation in our community. Honestly, I've seen people accept some pretty screwed up math in the last 15 years.... If people are willing to accept string theory, they'll accept a lot of other stuff.
5/04 Catalina: Maugham
Since Razor's Edge spoke so strongly to me, I thought I'd branch out into some more of Maugham's work.... I liked this, but it was a bit disjointed, essentially cut into two meditations/parables on faith. It's not too hard to pick up on this, considering the vast change in tone despite continuity in the storyline, but I'm not sure it added to the experience. Interesting, but not as impactful as my first experience with the author....
5/04 Mr Paradise: Leonard
I like Elmore Leonard, having read 6 or 7 of his books, but I think I've gotten all I'm gonna get from him. They're all cute in the same way, and I just don't feel like I'm expanding my horizons reading him anymore.
4/04 A Confederacy of Dunces: Toole
Ignatius Reilly is certainly an original.... It makes you wish the author had stuck around to write more. It was entertaining, but also kind of draining- Borderline orange.
4/04 Wizard and Glass: King
My excitement level came back down with the massive flashback.... It was good enough, but just seemed five times as long as it needed to be. I really liked how Walter's story was glossed over in The Gunslinger, and how quick images have been used to describe Roland's past rather than long tales.... Maybe a separate book would have been more appropriate. One little tiny gripe- Why is Randall Flagg's name Marten? He's always supposed to be stuck with RF! That's part of his charm....
3/04 The Wastelands: King
Getting even better.... Tying in elements of The Stand, Eyes of the Dragon, and a bunch of other King classics is pretty cool. Eddie Dean and Detta Walker are kind of getting on my nerves, but not so much that it takes away from the book.
3/04 Drawing of the Three: King
A little closer to what I was hoping for- Had more of my favorite King elements, more continuity.... Already reading the next one.
2/04 The Gunslinger: King
Strange read, but understandable considering the way it was written over a huge span of time. I have to admit that I didn't enjoy it as much I had hoped, but it gave me the distinct impression that I would enjoy the rest of the series. I've read and enjoyed most of King's books, and this has been a glaring hole in my collection for too long....
2/04 Hockey for Dummies: Davidson
This was supposed to be my secret weapon for IM street hockey this year, but it's possible that my expectations were a little high. Obviously, it concentrates more on ice hockey and NHL than college kids on a converted basketball court.... Good presentation of the sport, had a few things that I use, but after two hours I had gotten just about all I was gonna get. It did convince me to watch some hockey on TV, which is a first....
2/04 In the Name of the Rose: Eco
I started it, and it was pretty good, but I just didn't get into it for some reason. I think it was more a lack of interest in reading than the fault of the book, so I took it back to the library and will look for it again sometime. It happens....
1/04 The DaVinci Code: Brown
No fewer than six people brought up this book (one of them a priest) in the last month, which was strange because I was reading Foucalt's Pendulum. I probably would have enjoyed it more with a little space between the two, since this is a "Grisham-ized" version of the superior work of Eco. It was a little heavy-handed, but I read it with interest. This book is probably the exception that proves the rule for my book reviews: I rank it lower than Foucalt's Pendulum, but would probably recommend it to more people because of its greater accessibility.
12/03 Foucault's Pendulum: Eco
I remember my old roommate, Andy, really liked Eco so I checked this out- Very timely, considering the sweeping popularity of The DaVinci Code right now. It was pretty hard to keep up with in the beginning, but once I caught up to the back story I settled in.... Intricate historical conspiracy theory that ended in about the only way I would have found satisfying.
11/03 Timeline: Crichton
Saw the movie, decided to read the book. Book is better on almost every level.... I don't understand screenwriters sometimes- How stupid do they think we are? Dumbing this down took away all of it's impact. Anywho- The book is interesting as pulp goes, so if you've got some spare time and a cheap copy check it out.
Update: Matt says this is a definite green, and I guess I agree. Thing was, I saw it right after watching the really stupid movie, plus it gets bonus points for using quantum foam.
11/03 The Annotated Alice: Carroll
It's clever, funny, etc, but it's still a kid's book. I'm halfway through the Looking Glass, but I think I've gotten all I'm going to get out of this. Only disappointing cuz I had overly high expectations for it....
11/03 Still She Haunts Me: Roiphe
I like the insights into Dodgson (author of Alice in Wonderland) and his stories; the picture she painted of Alice was intriguing. I'm just glad things didn't go much farther at the end.... I got the Annotated Alice for my next read, hoping for some non-fiction insight.
11/03 Japanese by Spring: Reed
Started kind of slow, but I started to really like it for a while. Went away from the narrative at the end, and I felt like I was being assaulted by someone with a bunch of jargon; skimmed the last 10 pages, got no real resolution. Disappointing....
11/03 Blackhawk Down: Bowden
Took a while to get into, but it paid off. Documentation of the battle was really detailed, and probably reflected the soldiers' reality pretty accurately.
10/03 Fast Food Nation: Schlosser
I used to eat fast food 2-3 times a week; now I don't eat it more than once or twice a month. I'm not a vegetarian or anything, but it did convince me that the power of my consumer dollar is the most powerful voice I've got. I recommended this vocally and repeatedly for a couple weeks....
9/03 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay: Chabon
Interesting read, especially to latent comic book fans. More narrative than I expected at times, and took some strange turns that I'm not sure I caught all the symbolism from.
9/03 Seabiscuit: An American Legend: Hillenbrand
Read it on recommendation from a pretty smart friend, so I stuck with it through my initial reluctance to dredge up ancient horse-racing statistics.. A bit heavy-handed at times, and I suspect that it might have been polished a bit beyond reality, but otherwise I enjoyed it quite a bit.
9/03 The Razor's Edge: Maugham
Rented the Bill Murray adaptation years ago and loved it; when I heard about his similarly dramatic performance in Lost in Translation I decided to read this. I'm planning to read more of Maugham's work when I get the time....
9/03 The Life of Pi: Martel
Picked it out on Liz' recommendation from the bestsellers' rack; enjoyed it quite a bit. It's got some cute tricks, kept me interested, and paid off in the end.