Books I have read

 
The Scarlet Pimpernel
   by: Baroness Orczy

10905 book about brit noble saving french nobiles from the terror. Really it is a boddice ripping romance about the woman who makes mistakes and tries to atone, and ends up getting carried by a hunk across miles of desolate landscape to safty while feeling the full depths of love. Quite fun, actually, but the ending is irritating in the traditional what the hell is wrong with you paple way. Also, weird plot twists don't make sense upon reflectin, at times.


 
The House of Tomorrow
   by: Peter Boganni
   rec: found

boy lives with grandmother in dome in midwest. Very isolated, but then he suddenl y is put into contact with some of the rest of the world and comes into his own. Punk rock, Bucky, strangeness. It was quite an awesome and funny read, actually. Touching too.


 
The House on Mango Street
   by: Cisneros
   rec: klinginsteen, boston

Very short chapters adding up to a loose story, more like a portrait, of life in latoni part of Chicago. I didn't particullart find it great. Fairly typoical, and nothing good in terms ot twists. Vut a fast reed.


 
Warm Worlds and otherwise
   by: James Tiptree, Jr
   rec: stephanie and others

coudln't finish. Short stories, all quite weird and disorienting. I can't deal with disorienting anymore. Perhaps I am lazy. That being said, the stories are interesting little explorations into humanity from a sci-fi point of view. Cute twists and turss and all that. Fun. Just... too much.


 
Lucky Jim
   by: Kingsley Amois
   rec: jessica

very british comedic book about anman living in acadamia with horrid boss-professor and weird woman trouble and a generally poor disposition. But you grow to love the protagonist as time marches on, and root for him in the end.


 
Travesties
   by: Tom Stoppard
   rec: maitland

Too weird for me. Play about man remembering his holdentimes with SLenin, Dada and Jouce. But I couldnt do it and quit a quarter of the wya through. Life is too short. THere are gems of lines but the whole things too mixed or hard to penetrate.


 
What's Next
   by: Max Brockman (ed)
   rec: romy

Roy Collection of essays about the future by various scientists. Some are good, many have interesting tidbits (e.g., bonobo monkeys and pysic stuff.) Quick, very soft pitching, and somehow hard to parse maby times. I guess scientists can't write very well sometimes (or some scientists can't anyway)


 
Beowulf 
   by: ed Seamus Heaney
   rec: casseses

Beowulk... epic, man, epic. The fixation on treasure throughout and a small remark at the end that puts mortality in eprspective. The struggle for people dto define what statesmanship and leadership is. The individual protector. Interesting themes. Plus some classic monsters, including dragons with gol. I never knew that dragon mythology was actually from our past pretty mch in full D7D style.


 
Worth Dying For
   by: Lee CHild
   rec: clio

Reacher in a flat cold place fighintg (reluctantly) for the good people there against the gang of brothers engaged in horrible intimidation and whanot with ex football players. The people are cowards, have little dignanty. Reacher believes in disabling all he comes across, except once. And of course, that fails to work out for him. Moral: extreme justice is the way to go.


 
61 Hours
   by: Lee Child
   rec: clio

Reacher in a small down, as usual, kicking as ... well, he doesn't much. Most of the book is going around and trying to find a mytsterious killer. But the end has some good ol fashioned violence. Good read, keept me distracted. Cliff hanger, damn it.


 
World War Z
   by: Max Brooks
   rec: clio, jessica

zombies rise and take over the world. Humans fight back. Interesting style as an oral history going through the times from 10 years byond the end of thw war. Eventully I lost belief in the story---felt that there were a lot of better ways to go about things than what folks did, and the losses and defeats were not plausible. Too many zombies too thickly spread (there is no way, for instance, that any random part of the ocean floor would have zombies, as was implied in some instances)


 
The Professional
   by: Parker

The morality of this book is entirely fucked. Women are being blackmailed for having affairs, and Spenser's view is "no crime has been committed"---somehow the womens ambivilence about the situation or their married lives means that this is fair game? Gross. THe more I read these books, the more I find the moral code so touted to be repugnant and incidious.


 
Stranger in a strange land
   by: RObert A. Heinlein

Growingly offensive. The esexism, of course, is problematic. the ideology seems horribly inconsistent---the killing of people without pause, yet preaching about individul liberty just boils down to might makes right, I suppose. The idea of freedom being following the man from mars in everything was also creepy. The idea of everyone being simplistic and the same, somewhow, I also disliked. The ending nonsensical.


 
The World Is Flat
   by: Thomas L. Friedman
   rec: cws

Could not make it through. Globalization with no discusion of poverty and the underclasses. A burbling joyous bout of propaganda for capitalizsm. Gross. Gross gross gross. I said "what a rightwinger" and my friend had to gently imform me that he was no right winder, possibly even a moderate. Gross gross gross.


 
His Dark Materials
   by: Philip Pullman

Three books--the compas series. A steady decline into strange inscurutable offensiveness. THe people were toy, and awful. The actions made no sense to me. The ending was opaque and melodramatic, perhaps. I wsas irritated. Maby unanswered questions (e.g., how did Lord A end up with his army and empire---and why was it referred to a s a "republic"? Why were the women all trading on deceit and looks. Why did the girl turn herself into a servant to the boy. What is up with the demands onf the mysterious sipirits that guided everything (i.e., God, even so.)


 
Neverwhere
   by: Neil Gaiman

normal man finds himself in magical "london below". A adventure---evil chasing, random events in a sequence. Readable, but not in the end that deep, I felt.


 
Potshot
   by: Robert B. Parker

Spenser and all the bad baddies gather together for a showdown in a small western town against a hoard of filthy parasites. Fun, but too much dewey eyed love Susan crap and the ending sucks donyky.


 
Farm City
   by: NOvella Carpenter
   rec: mary

Woman in nasty bit of oakland starts an urban farm and goes through a series of raising animals for eating. After first chapter or so I got hooked; it is a good and fun story. Interesting stfff, interesting ways of doing about things.


 
Rain Gods
   by: James Lee Burke
   rec: mom

Texas sherriff vs small time crooks and a crazy killer named Preacher. Good characters, action that moves along, msmall people trying to be large, in their own way. A good story.


 
Bring tMe the Head of Willy the Mailboy!
   by: Scott Adams

Dilber t cartoons. Not as fantastic as some, but it had its moments. Good ones about parenting for example.


 
San Francisco Noir 2 -- the classics
   by: various
   rec: found

Collection of short stories. TRhe first few were interesting in that they were set in SF and were dated in the 1900s. One on class by Jack London was particularly fine (about an academic who posed as a working man and then slid into that life). The later ones were shock and such, less good. But there were notable exceptions.


 
The Girl who kicked the hornet's nest
   by: Stieg Larsson

the third in the series. Nice weaap yup, good story.. It moved along. Cyberstyff quite annoying (as Nathan had fortold). The rest was good.


 
In Her Day
   by: Rita Mae Brown

Interesting peek into the world of lesbian culture and womens movements in the 1970s. Book rantsand preeaches sometimes, and is not terribly well written. The prose gets in the way a bit. But it is fun and entertaining. Art historian and young activist have steamy affair, is the basic arc.


 
Second Book of Lost Swords
   by: Fred Saberhagen

Unfortunately, this was the sequenl to the second series he wrote. I was very confused since it all ahappened 30 years late r and it seemed like I missed a lot from the birst book. I learned why when I finally looked at the cover again after I read it. Plus, the book was lousy. Fantasy drek, not as compelling as the first book I read by him. Epic evil, implausible things, gods amongst humans, and so on.


 
The Dark Wind
   by: Tony Hillerman

excellent mystery. Jim Chee following a windwill vandal, a plane crash, drugs, a dead John Doe. Good twists and turns, funny observations and interactions. Nice resolution. Food stuff.


 
Iodine
   by: Kimmel
   rec: romy

My god. Punched in face repeatidly by insanity and darkness. Incest begins, rules, and ends the book. Problematic relationships galore and one is left not understanding exactly what indeed came to pass. But moments of greatness, I kept reading despite it all. Lots of literary musings and connections to plot. Thus a book for book geeks and philosophy geeks and all that. Jung, blah blah. I glazed over. Perhaps thus I missed the essence.


 
Laughable Loves
   by: Milan Kundera
   rec: lex

collection of short stoies. Some are brutal. Problematic use of woman as foils for old men. Some are gret, especially he first whcih has enoggh self-reflection to capture some real humanity that I enjoy.


 
The Debt to Pleasure
   by: John Lanchester
   rec: d/k

This is not an ordinary cookbook. Amazing ly overdone writing and crazy prose from the narrator. You love it and hate it all at once. As the book progresses things get weirder and dweirder. It builds, but perhaps runs a bit too long for my tastes. But I admit that I regularly laughed aloud at a particular purple turn of phrase.


 
The Once and Future King
   by: T.H. White
   rec: joe

(Didn't finish.) King arthur a child. A strainge and rediculous Merlin. Adventures with archtypes from around the past. I grew bored and stopped, but felt guilty about it. Sigh.


 
Storm Prey
   by: John Sandford

Small time crooks keep killing people and it just escalates into nasty. Davenport runs them down through pretty standard police work. Actually a good story in terms of how it just builds and builds to more and more aweful.


 
Gates of Eden
   by: Ethan Coen
   rec: found

Collection of strange but somewhat good short stories by one of the Coen brothers. In particular the one about the weights and measures man stands out. Some others are good too.


 
Blue-Eyed Devidl
   by: Parker

Old west book. Pretty good. They end up back in the town fo the first book and a man is trying to take over. THey politely resist andviolence ensues. But I get so tird of the themes: love a woman that is no good for you, might makes right struggles, etc. Everything is somewhat static.


 
The Mermaids Singing
   by: Val McDermid
   rec: jessica


 
Hugger Mugger
   by: Ribert B. Parker

Family of horse raisers and dysfunction are getting inspected by Spenser who wanders around and eventually blunders into the truth. It was not terribly satisfying, but it was okay.


 
For Kicks
   by: Dick Francis
   rec: romy

Man goes undrercover to try and find out some kind of scheme people are using to cheat in horse races. He works in the bottom rung, funds out stuff, and adventures ensue. Quite readable and fun. Moves along nicely.


 
The Crystal Cave
   by: Mary Stewart

Merlin as a god-driven prophet, everything set in stone by the true lord, etc. I confess I am irritated by prophesy that locks on as the inteventable. Gripe, gripe, gripe. But at least I could read it, unlike Sword in Stone, which I set down due to weariness.


 
The Girl Who Played with Fire
   by: Steig Larson
   rec: jessica/joe

Second book in series. People are after our protagonist, she goes undergroupd. Good story, nice moving along, good villians working to bring doom and destruction. Ends with the hospital and hope for the future. But it did seem to end apbruptly.


 
The Girl Who Played With Fire
   by: Steig Larsson
   rec: jessica

Good book--very "novel-like" with rich description and character building. Plot good, ending gripping. Annoyed that I keep crossing paths with things that mythologize torture; protagonists regularly do so, but only to bad people, and because they need information. It is sickening, like reading about your protagonist (without any remorse, etc.) eating shit or throwing innocent childen down stairs.


 
The First Book of Swords
   by: Fred Saberhagen

Nice fantasy book about low boy and magic swords and adventure, etc. Swords all have different powers, made by meddling "gods". Weird: major lit-crit essay in back of book. What the fuck?


 
The Mermaids Singing
   by: Val McDermid
   rec: jessica

Detective about seriel killer that tortures and kills men. London. Good times. in that it is dark as heck. Not sure I have the guts to read the next in the series although the cmain characters are great.


 
The Nudist on the Late Shift
   by: Po Bronson

collection of nonfict stories about Silocon Valley. Interesting reading, left me feeling a bit ill due to my delicate morality and judgemental nature. Is such sacrifice worth such glory? Some part of me feels like I maybe missed out.


 
Teaching Iraq
   by: Kirk Stapp
   rec: judy

High school teacher struggling with Bush, teaching his students, etc. while talking with a person in Iraq and reflecting on being in Vietnam. Quite good; growas and grows on you as you read it. Small press can carry it, sometimes.


 
Fool
   by: Christopher Moore

while I laughed, I was also annoyed. Writing cutsy, book not worth reading. Annoying retelling of King Lear. Writing terrible. Why has Moore declined so, or have I gone weary with him?


 
Split Image
   by: Parker

Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall, the final book. It gives closure to both of these protagonists. Fine book, with good parts and the usual yammering about monogomy and true love that Parker likes to dump on his trusting readers. Not as bad as the swinger-bashing Sone previos.


 
Night and Day
   by: Parker

Night and Day Parker spends some time bashing on swingers as the town worries about the "Night Hawk" that is a peeping tom that is starting to escalate. An irritating book that wallows in a narrow definition of love and sexual health. But then again, perhaps due to who I am I am not so responsive to the portrayel of various groups.


 
Stranger in Paradise
   by: Parker

One major bad ass from Trouble in Paradise shows up again on a bounty hunt. Checks in with Stone and the hero/machisimo code of honor kicks in as they work together to deal with dishonerable bad asses. Fun book.


 
Trouble in Paradise
   by: Parker

Decided to finish off stone series to get to the final book Clio sent me. Decent one---crime folks take rich island hostage. Some bad asses running about.


 
The Magicians
   by: Lev Grossman
   rec: jessica

This book got under my skin and made me on edge for the few days I read it. It captures what it means to not have a sense of purpose, be privalidged, free---and some potential consequences. People did not grow, and it was frustrating. The characters had such potential, won you over, and then you are stuck with them through general failure all around. Book sloppily written--gaps, contradictions, whatnot, but still very effective.


 
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town
   by: Cory Doctorow
   rec: judy

Truly fucking bizzare. Jesus Chist God Damn. A*** is child of a mountain and a washing machine---no really, he is. He enters society, fiddles around, and a weird plot develops having to do with his past. Wonderful book. Ending was... somehow confusing and I wish I could talk to someone about it.


 
Chance
   by: Parker

Parker goes to Vegas. Mafia. Not the greatest Spenser. Ugly and disjointed. Sad to boot.


 
Paper Doll
   by: R. B. Parker

Woman killed with hammer, and distant family hires spenser to find killer. Interesting and fun to read.


 
The One-Armed Queen
   by: Jan Yolen
   rec: random

Very strange tale of a young woman destined to be queen in a semi-matriarchal society, living under the shadow of her mother. It is an interesting book in that it is all very small (the elements of high fantasy epic is there, but it is all more wretched, smaller gestures, smaller wars, more individuals). That itself says something. I am not sure what ot make of it, but I think I am glad I read it.


 
Fortune Turns the Wheel
   by: Danny Carnahan

Sweeney and Rose are in England. Dead people turn up, and many different plots intertwine. Fun read, enjoyable characters and plot.


 
War is a force that gives us meaning
   by: Chris Hedges
   rec: cws

Examination of how society handles war from many levels. Sets up love as something in opposition, and uncovers how people need to create simpler constructs of good vs. evil, etc., and romanticize war. Also has a lot of examples taken from S. America and, more often, the Bosnian/Serb mess. Interesting for the view into that.


 
Double Deuce
   by: Robert B. Parker

Nice Spenser novel. Hawk and Spenser clean out an inner city projects of the gang there. But it looks at what is going on on a larger scale, in an interesting way. Good example of this breed.


 
This is where I leave you
   by: Jonathan Tropper
   rec: renee

Despite some serious undercurrents of objectivication of woman (in a larger, general sense where they are all measured implicitly through description and narration as being primarily things of varying levels of physical beauty, and yes there is a first person narration excuse but no, I think that it is something deeper with the author) it is an amazing and gripping book. Full of smashing of varuous tropes, the pain of life and love, and general humor to illustrate said. Shockingly awful people having moments of true tenderness and love. Good stuff.


 
The Drunkard's Walk
   by: Leonard Mlodinow
   rec: josh

Casual history of development of probability and statistics; fun tidbits. Some explanations about how we misperceive randomness in the world. Casual.


 
Rough Country
   by: John Sandford
   rec: mom?

Quite excellent detective story with Virgil Flowers, a laid back but smart cop. Book packed full of interesting characters and conversations; a joy to read. Nice ending, good twists.


 
To Kill a Mockingbird
   by: Harper Lee
   rec: jessica

It seems to be the book that started the genre of rich(ish) white girl in the south learning about race while being funky, independent and awesome. It is a good start to the genre to be sure, full of the verve of youth and the pain of society.


 
Storm Front
   by: Jim Butcher
   rec: found

Wizard in modern times schlepps around in a greatcoat getting beat on and, of course, not sleeping. Fairly generic, and yet I slogged my way through to find a typical ending of a big fight and cult-like shocking sex and whatnot.


 
Spare Change
   by: Robert B. Parker

The Sunny Randal books have betrayed Parker to me. His infatuation with love of horrible women, for no reason, grates on me. His protagonist's obsession with looks makes me realize all his woman (that we are supposed to like) are beautiful, poised, made up. Where are the shabby but likable geniuses, etc? Also, his direct lines between intellectual and unintelligent also weighs on me. This book is about an old seriel killer who Sunny's dad had tried to find resurfacing. Sunny uses herself as bait, etc. Her female friend is recast as dumb and horrid.


 
Blue Screen
   by: Robert B. Parker

Sunny is a bodyguard for a woman taking a shot at pro baseball (who is also an 'actress'). Super rich playboy, crime, movie industry and Jesse Stone. Good times.


 
Mortal Engines
   by: Philip Reeve
   rec: found

Steampunk. Cities are mobile and race around eating eachother (Municipal Darwinism). Adventures in airships, etc. Fairly enjoyable, but consistently irritating too.


 
Gods Behaving Badly
   by: Marie Phillips
   rec: mom

Gods, greek, indeed behaving horribly badly. Greek gods living in modern london, having fallen on quite hard times. Nice plot, nice resolution.


 
Uglies
   by: Scott Westerfeld
   rec: found in cottage

A world where folks get turned pretty at age 16. There are outsiders. Our protagonist wants to be pretty and live pretty, but things come up causing her to question it. It is the first in a decent, fairly engaging series it seems.


 
Shrink Rap
   by: Robert B. Parker

Sunny goes to psycho shrink to nail him on unethical horrible stuff. Some beating up on D&S relationships, albeit unhealthy ones. Some murder thrown in, and some angst. Pretty good, but I tire of the same themes repeated.


 
Mote in God's Eye
   by: Larry NIven and Jerry Pournelle
   rec: jazz

Moties are newly discovered alien race, the first. Military imperialism goes to meet them, scientists are wankers and hard-nosed rightwing hawks save the day. There is a woman character, who is a woman. The moties are a great alien race; quite interesting. Fun book, overall.


 
The Samurai's Garden
   by: Gail Tsukiyama
   rec: found

Quiet book about a sickly boy living on the coast with a caregiver. He builds a relationship with him and a woman living as a recluse. WW II rages on, and he is Chinese in Japan. Interesting book, sometimes quite beautiful.


 
Magician: Master
   by: Raymond E. Feist
   rec: william (cws)

Continuation of Magician:Apprentice. War continues, our protagonists get unthinkable power. Good book.


 
Magician: Apprentice
   by: Raymond E. Feist
   rec: william (cws)

Pug is orphan lad, becomes apprentice to magician. Meanwhile, a war across a rift in worlds begins. Pretty good. 1/2 of larger book.


 
Intuition
   by: Allegra Goodman
   rec: mom

Scientists doing research. One makes an amazing discovery, and another gets tormented by his success. Pressures build. It does seem to capture the (dark, horrible) world of biomedical research. The end was not satisfying, and left me confused.


 
Juliet, Naked
   by: Nick Hornby
   rec: Jessica

Nick is back! People dealing with love, but badly. Acting terribly, but making witty observations about it. Main arc is woman dealing with dead relationship and lost time as she gets interested in someone else. Really supurb. Sets up some scenes at the end that kept me laughing so much I couldn't sleep.


 
Gunman's Rhapsody
   by: Parker

Wyatt Earp and his obsessive love for a woman. Many people die, many people act like cowboys and drink and mutter into their mustaches. Not Parker's best. Kind of boring.


 
High Profile
   by: Robert B. Parker

National level media star shows up dead. Jesse Stone tracks it down and it, of course, has to do with messed up relationships, cheating, and adultry.


 
The Time Traveler's Wife
   by: Audrey Niffenegger
   rec: mary?

Classic romance style: woman worships obnoxious, "bad boy" man for no discernable reason. Except this one has time travel, so the man gets to sleep with her when she is young young young. Add some random melodrama and you are good to go. Ick.


 
Great Expectations
   by: Charles Dickens
   rec: myself

We follow Pip from young childhood to solidly an adult (two endings in this read). Amazing pieces of this novel. I love the lawyer's assistant, and his home, for example (wth the Aged). Overall Pip is a fine name to have, and I am glad I have given it to my son.


 
Wrack & Ruin
   by: Don Lee
   rec: mom

Brussel Sprout farmer who used to be an artist wanders through his life as folks try to buy his farm to develop it. Many characters, especially his neurotic film-producing brother, swirl around him. Lee is brilliant in nailing people, and this book is no exception. The ending is... eh, compared to the sharp, biting, engaging beginning and middle. But overall quite a ride.


 
The Best American Short Stories- 1983
   by: Anne Tyler (ed)

Some good ones. "Hard to Be Good"--coming of age with semi-father-in-law and reformed mother, Sur (antartic exp. of women) by Le Guin, Scales was uplifting (no pun intended)--woman with indian jailbird of mystic proportions.


 
A People's History of the United States
   by: Howard Zinn
   rec: mpb

Amazing history of the US. I thought things were bad and messed up, but this gives some real depth to how much, how so, and how awful. It reads like an epic story, the scope just grows until we have world-empire. All solidly coming from our origins of 'settlement'. Quite an experience. The struggle of labor and capital across time.


 
Death In Paradise
   by: Robert B. Parke

Girl killed, parents don't even acknowledge her existence. Jesse stone follows it through. Nice an ddarkish. Stone #3


 
A Savage Place
   by: Parker

Spenser novel: Spenser in LA holding hand of sexy news reporter trying to chase down nasty men.


 
Stone Cold
   by: Parker

Second reading of Jesse Stone and some serial killing couple. Fun times.


 
The Incredible Double
   by: Owen Hill
   rec: AK Press / Romy

Semi-detective/book hound wanders berkeley, working for nasty, nasty wal-mart-esque tychoon and being all anti-establishment at the same time. Fun and quick


 
Perish Twice
   by: R. B. Parker
   rec: box

Sunny book. Marrages and affairs and some murder. Rich people doing bad things. Lesbians and death threats. Generally good read.


 
The Quiet Girl
   by: Peter Hoeg
   rec: judy

Too strange for me. Couldn't finish. Skipped to end, people flying away on children power and it didn't seem that conclusive. I put it down. A clown wanders a strange land and weird conspiracies are afoot.


 
NIckel and Dimed
   by: Barbara Ehrenreich
   rec: misc

Memoir of working minimum wage jobs in various cities, and what happens as she does so. Pretty compelling in painting a picture of what it might be like to be poor.


 
Night Passage
   by: Robert B. Parker

First Jesse Stone novel in order (although not first made). Deals with the guy falling apart, heading east to his new job, and the nasty stuff he finds there. It is a good book; interesting broken-down character.


 
Nothing to Declare
   by: Mary Morris
   rec: mary(?)

Memoir of living in Mexico as a single woman and traveling in Latin America in the early 80s. NIce collection of essays about lonliness, travel, relationship across class lines. Interesting book.


 
I-5, A Novel of Crime, Transport, and Sex
   by: Summer Brenner
   rec: Romy

A sex-worker who exchanged freedom for a ticket from Eastern Europe has to be moved from LA to Oakland. Many things go wrong on the journey, and many aspects of many dark worlds are revealed. It is a good read, nicely Noir with an ending that is tolerable to boot.


 
Love and Glory
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: dad box

A novel, of all things. About a man who loves a woman when he hits college, stakes all on her and ends up without anything, drunk and lost. He rebuilds to get the girl. Very weird--prose heavy. Classic novel feel. But still Parker. The overall arch is distrubing as a view of love.


 
Family Honor
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: dad box

First of the Sunny books--she is a fun detective. The true-love theme continues in Parkers work, unrelenting. Already Sunny has a 15yr old ward.


 
The Toughest Indian in the World
   by: Sherman Alexie
   rec: mary had just read it

Collection of shorts, some of which are really good. I think I have read it before, but much was not memorable (although some scenes and snippits were). Overall, fragments really stood out, but no whole story did me in. But worth reading


 
Brimstone
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: dad

3rd in the western series. Our heros land in a town with a preacher and a salon owner. THhings devolve, they end up with a orphan girl, many people die. Good times.


 
Apex Hides the Hurt
   by: Colson whitehead
   rec: mom

"Nomenclature Consultant" goes to small town... to judge over its name. He is messed up and disaffected, the small town weird. The book goes on, but is somehow engaging. One nice aspect is how it is in many ways about race, but not in the direct "this is about race" way.


 
Black Hat Blues
   by: Rick Dakan
   rec: romy

3rd of Geek Mafia. Wanders and is not as zippy as previous ones. Picks up towards the end. Some of the superpowers seem too far out to believe, but so be it. Nice twists and nastiness. The main characters are getting too nasty and manipulative, which undercuts the nice anarchist feel. Foo.


 
Sailing Alone Around the Room
   by: Bily Collins

A mix of cute poems and some really good ones. I would not recommend reading a lot of Collins at once--one becomes irritated at his glib self-serving posturing that is the spine of so much of his work.


 
Pasttime
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: romy

These are like crack, and romy the supplier. This one is Spenser talking about his past while he looks for his ex-ward's missing and fucked monther. Also introduces Pearl. Good one.


 
Then Again, Maybe I won't
   by: Judy Blume
   rec: childhood

Read again. It is everything I had hoped: young boy dealing with many family and personal things as he hits puberty.


 
Promised Land
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: romy

Spenser book, an early one where he works on his relationship with Susan. Reconnects with Hawk. Deals with radical group stealing guns and gangsters charging interest. A really good one, actually.


 
Dead Until Dark
   by: Charlaine Harris
   rec: romy

Vampires in the south. A romance novel. Unrelenting ditziness and something akin to "Oh My Godd!" and the typical traditional jealousy and conventionalism mixed with the spice of naughty.


 
School Days
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: romy

Not the best Spenser novel in the world, sadly. School shootings and not well written. Eh.


 
The Jook
   by: Gary Phillips
   rec: romy

Black sploitation thriller about a football player getting involved in a money grab while trying to put his life together. Not the best writing, not the best plot, but readable


 
A Brief History of Time
   by: Stephen Hawking
   rec: gift from old student

A passing over of physics. Too vague to really understand anything, but I suppose it gives some hints as to what the theory is. I suppose I am glad to have it read.


 
Runner
   by: Thomas Perry
   rec: joe

Jane Whitefield helps preggers girl escape from evil ex and his fucked up family. Good story, grippig. Ending not horribly satisfying, but that is the problem with books like this--no change that takes people to happiness.


 
The Invisbles (comic)
   by: Grant Morrison
   rec: james

Strange comic about how the world is fight between the alternative, freaky good and the dronelike souless bad. Some magic, some blowing shit up, lots of incoherence and lsd-like what have you. Good times, inconclusive.


 
Anansi Boys
   by: Neil Gaiman
   rec: mpb

Fun--read in a day off and it was perfect for that. Neil writes like Neil--and I don't think there is much depth to it. Enjoyment, yes.


 
Harriet the Spy
   by: Louise Fitzhugh
   rec: childhood

Girl writes shit down, friends read it. She really is nasty in her observations, and that is never really addressed. Weird ending. Good book, I suppose.


 
Out of Their Minds
   by: Shasha Lazere
   rec: ?

Bios of computer scientists who invented the field. Just not gripping--quite early, no regrets.


 
Imperial America
   by: Gore Vidal
   rec: ?

Rants about various things from a true left-winger. Okay, but generally dated and I found myself feeling I should be reading something else.


 
Secret Life of Bees
   by: Sue Monk Kidd

White girl ends up in black house in the south, circa 1960s(?). Well, perhaps it is more than that. White girl with horrid father and shot-dead-when-young mother tries to find ground under her feet. Once you are in, you are in. Good read, fun and rollicking at most times.


 
Intent to Harm
   by: Stan Washburn
   rec: clio?

Drunk scottish detective wandering about with other folks feeling aweful and chasing down any and all leads. Ending is perhaps unsatisfactory. Book moseys along, but I never could drop the entire thing. Something there, if you like the wretched state of the broken and lost as a novel.


 
The Naming of the Dead
   by: Ian Rankin
   rec: clio?

Drunkard, low-life detective and the G8 conference, plus some extra serial killer type stuff, plus some other characters all mucking about. Dark, decent, but not in the end grabbing of me. Ending is eh, too.


 
The Curve of Binding Energy
   by: John McPhee
   rec: raoul bookcase

Nuclear arms proliferation and the ease of stealing plutonium, etc. Mainly hanging out with Ted Taylor, a bomb maker turned watchguard. Interesting to read about the issues and problems, plus how to make bombs!


 
The Golden Compass
   by: Philip Pullman
   rec: romy

Quite enjoyable. Some issues with always having fantasy books being about sexist societies, and this one, girl protagonist aside, does like to dwell on the paternal. Some other things bothered me, but I am not sure I can articulate them easily. But a fast, engaging adventure nonetheless.


 
The DaVinci Code
   by: Dan Brown
   rec: romy

Reads like a movie, as promised. A section about math made me want to jump up and down, and it is campy to the core. But fun, fun indeed. Ending not as satisfying as one might hope, and some overall logical problems with the entire conspiricy. Sigh.


 
Now and Then
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: clio

Adultery case turns foul as people get iced. Spenser drags in folks to do some trickery and track down the terrorist poser bastard. Good times.


 
Yellow
   by: Don Lee
   rec: mom

Collection of short stories, somewhat intertwined, about Asian men in a small town south of SF. SOme really brilliant shorts, and some especially brilliant moments. About struggling with race, emotion, women, and other things of life.


 
Positively Fifth Street
   by: James McManus
   rec: david w

Positively 5th Street was both a nice, exciting read and a tour of a guy who I thought was a complete asshole. I was conflicted, but in the end the story was good enough to carry it. Glad I read it.


 
Providence (?)
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: clio

Sequel to Apoloosa--nice western, brutal. Two good friends wander around, introspect, and shoot people with skill and alacraty.


 
Crawling
   by: Elisha Cooper
   rec: mom

Memoir of 1st year of being father (in berkeley). Some really nice vignettes. Captures a lot of what being a dad is like (for me).


 
Butcher's Boy
   by: Perry
   rec: clio/joe

Prof killer runs around, gets wronged, sets matters right. FBI hot on his tail, among others.


 
Raphael
   by: R. A. MacAvoy
   rec: mpb

Final of the three book series. Weird, campy at times, fantastical. Ends with nothing so much as a winding up, or some such. The book left me meloncholic and unfulfilled, but I suppose I am glad I read it.


 
Hidden Prey
   by: John Sandford
   rec: joe

Russian spys, murders, and wandering about being snarky. Good book (or seemed such, as I read it while holding my sick child in the hospital).


 
The Wasp Factory
   by: Iain Banks
   rec: arnon

16 yr old psychotic putting animal heads on spikes and waiting for his crazy brother who lights dogs on fire to return. Quick, bizzare, probably worth the time. Not so sunny. Ends with a twist, but clumsily. A young novel, I think?


 
Tumble Home
   by: Amy Hempel
   rec: dunno

Collection of short stories, ambiguous, sad, and puzzling. Probably about family and sense of place.


 
Blue Mars
   by: Robinson
   rec: mpb

If you skip the annoying prose about the landscape that is overlong, and the many pages of old people whining about how they are trapped in their heads as they drift through time, the book is okay. Some good parts. End smarmy, perhaps. The science gets a bit out of hand. Redwoods take < 50 yrs to grow to full size, apparently, as an example at random. Perhaps I should just let it go, but if you waste my time with science, then get it right.


 
Green Mars
   by: Kim Stanley Robinson
   rec: mpb

First half interesting. Folks are terraforming planet, working towards how to set up government, align diverse differences (such as what level of terraforming is appropriate). Also dealing with a hurting earth and major corps. Second half had a long, long painful stretch where nothing much happened and we were trapped in the head of a dark, depressed character. Actually this often happens, causing the book to be draining. Could have been shorter.


 
Spook Country
   by: William Gibson
   rec: mom

Actually quite good near-future mystery/thriller of folks wandering around trying to track something down. Many parallel stories, some quite compelling. Interesting art--locative art--is a major theme. (Art that you use VR helmets in random real places to see.)


 
trash sex magic
   by: Jennifer Stevenson
   rec: joe

Bizzare, but possibly lovely. Ending somewhat unsatisfying? Magic and trashy behavior in the south. Very weird. Very, very weird.


 
Metzger's Dog
   by: Thomas Perry
   rec: joe & clio

Great action book about folks dealing with the CIA, since they have some compramising papers.


 
Nothing to Lose
   by: Lee Child
   rec: clio

Good Reacher novel--but the ending proves he is a massive sociopath.


 
Nowtopia
   by: Chris Carlsson
   rec: romy

Collection of studies of folks working on the fringe of society. Most interesting (for me) was article on burning man, arguing quite convincingly that it is very working class. Good ideas of how labor is playing out in modern times, and how folks are seeking a life outside the working class paradigm.


 
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
   by: John Perkins
   rec: mom

Interesting read about globalization and corperate activity and its connection to US government. Sometimes one wonders about the authors recollections, dramatic events, etc., but it is probably at least somewhat true--and even somewhat makes it quite disturbing in that, oh yes it makes sense that the world is this fucked up sort of way.


 
A Memory, a Monoglogue, a Rant, and a Prayer
   by: Eve Ensler (ed)

Collection of short-shorts, all profoundly dark and horrible about dark and horrible things done to woman throughout the world. I couldn't go on after awhile, I confess.


 
Damiano's Lute
   by: R. A. MacAvoy
   rec: mpb

2nd in series. I grew tired of the protagonist and his decisions that I could not identify nor sympathise with. But it was interested to read nontheless.


 
Jane Eyre
   by: Bronte

Really quite lovely and surprisingly feminist book about orphan woman going though life and ending up... well--I wouldn't want to ruin the end. Plus the end is really not quite up to the rest of the book and its adventures. Some really quite clever witty reparte here and there. Sharp, even.


 
Damiano
   by: R. A. MacAvoy
   rec: mary

Fantasy set in early renn(?) period. Lots of connection to God and christianity, but still at heart mystical. Good stuff.


 
Stone COld
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: bookstore

New character--Jesse Stone--a drunk detective of a posh town. Serial killers running amok, good shrink scenes, wandering about. Fighting for justice. Good times.


 
Dead Watch
   by: Sanford
   rec: given on plane

Read in single day--stayed up too late. Fixer in political Washington DC scene gets involved ina weird murder investigation. Lots of intrigue and talking with folks. Quite a gripping read.


 
Lady Windermere's Fan
   by: Oscar Wilde

Quite enjoyable and full of snippiness. Rich folks and drama, ya'know?


 
The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing
   by: Melissa Bank
   rec: romy

Not what you think. No hunting, no fishing. But a lot of monogomous oriented drama about a series of relationship. Very aggrivating. But the writing is good in parts and I seem to have happily read it, even if it is about people being fucking stupid.


 
Girl Genius Book 2
   by: Phil and Kaja Foglio
   rec: james c

Overdrawn bimbos running around with mechanics and gears in a world gone mad. Possibly addicting.


 
The Canterville Ghost and Other Stories
   by: Oscar Wilde

Collection of short stories, some quite amusing. One about a man attempting assassination in order to avoid fate, one about a ghost being undone by Americans. Good times.


 
A Jig Before Dying
   by: Danny Carnahan
   rec: Danny

Fun mystery set in SF about a fiddle player. Interesting twists and story. Fast and worth a tour.


 
The Enemy
   by: Lee Child
   rec: costco

Jack in the army days. Good, but a sad one.


 
Bone Dance
   by: Emma Bull
   rec: mom's shelves

Decent sci-fi about Sparrow, an emotional cripple navigating a post-holocaust world. Bits are good, but the book is written in a cryptic mystic way which is annoying, and the character is unbelievable in many ways. So the book was hard to get into, but worth it, more or less.


 
Geek Mafia
   by: Rick Dakan
   rec: romy

Really fun thriller-esque adventure novel about a guy who ends up with a bunch of con artists in the modern day. Many fun parts, great cons, and good tension.


 
The Invisible Man
   by: H. G. Wells

Surprisingly good (and fun) tale of man who turns himself invisible and turns into a bit of a sociopath. Lots of humor via charactarizations.


 
The Stranger
   by: Albert Camus
   rec: anarc bookstore

Quite beautiful take on what it means to not be of society, and how that might treat you (and how you might fail to treat it). First half in a simple, almost annoying voice. Second in a more easy to read rich voice. The dichotomy works--nice example of style being intertwined with the significance of the story.


 
Iron Kissed
   by: Patricia Briggs
   rec: mom

Werewolf book in the form of girl werewolf(ish) person who is like a little kid to the rough-and-tumble (and very jealous) pack of big strong violent men always gets into trouble and loves too many wolves and can't choose, etc. Additional line of fae with their mystery, power, and arrogance. But fun, I suppose.


 
Mile Zero (Keek Mafia #2)
   by: Rick Dakan
   rec: romy

Fun modern day romp of folks living off the info grid getting involved in other groups wacky stuff. Very non-poly, very annoying at times, but a good read. Even if the smart folks are fucking dumb.


 
The Passion
   by: Jeanette Winterson
   rec: dunno

Strange book about lovers in the era of Napolian. Sections from various points of view. Tangled prose that gets a bit burdensom, and lots of talk about absolute, irrational love. But a good story, overall. Ending is predictably depressing and thus unfulfilling.


 
Falcon
   by: Emma Bull
   rec: mom shelf

Sci-fi, noble loses home, turns pilot. Plots and strikes for the victory of the people ensue. But, you know, led by the better, upper classes and shit. Nevertheless, fairly fun stuff.


 
Bad Luck and Trouble
   by: Lee Child
   rec: clio

Reacher and some old army buddies deal with nasty nasty. It was weaker than the previous ones--still gripping, but a bit stagnent. Lots of attempts at math and tech stuff--but not done right, exactly. Contradictions in group working together but really it was all Reacher. Huf.


 
Bangkok 8
   by: John Burdett

Detective story set in Thailand. Quite good, quite strange. It comes across as being steeped in Thai culture, but it could be some other culture for all I know. I like to think it is somewhat faithful to the feel. Good story.


 
Earth Abides
   by: G. R. Stewart
   rec: forman

Disease wipes out almost all humans. The story of a survivor of that--very good book. Read it when young, and read it now and it is still solid. Quiet and melancholic.


 
It's Too Late to Say I'm Sorry
   by: Joey Comeau
   rec: mpb

Collection of short stories, wacky yet gutting. Lots of moments of pure pain, in an inscrutible sort of way. Good.


 
The Yiddish Policeman's Union
   by: Michael Chabon
   rec: nathan

Overwritten, full of obnoxiously colorful prose that is too cute for its own good, and probably somewhat pretentious. The writer clearly is out of control with revelling in the power and cleverness of his own little brain. But that being said, the story is appealing although the ending is somewhat flat. Did I like it? Yes, I suppose I did. The world was too depressing, the conclusions nil, and the characters devoid of anything resembling happiness or brightness. But even still, it was an okay story.


 
Possession
   by: A. S. Byatt
   rec: romy, mary, jessica

Lit PhDs seeking info on relationship of two dead authors. Book grows ever more beautiful as it progressess. Lots of Romance poetry throughout, for better or for worse. Good characters, lots of awkwardness.


 
Boulevard #67
   by: various

Another nice collection of shorts. Non-fict about prison "honor yard" stood out. As did a few others. "Special" about young child w/ autistic(?) sister. "...fame..." about glamor woman. Etc.


 
River Teeth
   by: David James Duncan

Collection of shorts (fic and non). Some real gems, in particular one on garbage man being like tooth fairy. Lots of moments recalled that are really, really striking as well. Beautiful.


 
The Sun Also Rises
   by: Hemingway
   rec: shelf

Apparently I read this in high school. I remember the cagyness about the "injury" but nothing beyond that. It was a good book, actually. Not, as one would say, uplifting. Wandering around, drinking, bullfight festival, and zero progress and development. But good.


 
The Golem at Large
   by: Harry Collins and Trevor Pinch
   rec: via Jon McD

A nice set of examples of how science can be a messy business. For example, did the Patriot Missile help w/ Gulf War I? The Challenger explosion. How activists affected science with HIV treatment studies. Several other things, all spiffy. Worth a read.


 
Flight
   by: Sherman Alexie
   rec: mom

Very dark and violent spec-fic story of orphan boy who goes time-hopping to see violence across time, in particular between native americans and european americans. Choppy and young-adult novel style, but quite brutal. Not Alexie's best, but worth reading I suppose.


 
Beggars in Spain
   by: Nancy Kress
   rec: mary-ish

Bioengineering produces people who do not sleep. They turn out to be, essnetially super-human (elves). This is the tale of how the world (or actually, the USA) reacts, and how they react, and struggles to come to terms, etc. The main problem is the book seems steeped in a mindset fundamentally capatalist. It pays lip service, occasionally, to art, but the building blocks of all the morality are all about, it seems, productivity in a strange way. This ends up being quite distrubing, and for being brilliant people they are fucking stupid.


 
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
   by: Sherman Alexie
   rec: gift from mary

Quick and fun read. Coming of age story. Heavy-handed, quite brutal, and simplistic. Yet... it works as a gripping and enjoyable read. Also presents some subtlty about one view of the perpetaual destruction of native americans.


 
Stories of Your Life & Others
   by: Ted Chiang
   rec: vika

Really amazing collection of short stories, in particular a sci-fi story about building the tower of Babylon, one about shutting down the part of the brain that evaluates beauty in faces, and one about learning an alien language. Wonderful book.


 
Vox
   by: Nicholson Baker
   rec: mary shelf

'erotica' of two folks talking on a sex line. Quit reading it cause it was boring and without plot--or so it seemed at the beginning. Too many other things to read.


 
Hundred-Dollar Baby
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: clio

Spenser trying to save a high-class prostitute. Great first 2/3rds but the story doesn't resolve in a satisfying way. But the banter was as always wonderful.


 
The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed
   by: John McPhee
   rec: gpa's shelf

Story of making an "aerobody" (cross between rigid airship and airplane) in the 1970s. Great and interesting story. Makes me wonder why we do not have zepplins as transport.


 
Real Live Nude Girl
   by: Carol Queen
   rec: mary shelf

Collection of essays on sex work, sex, and porn. Nothing I had much problem with and I ended up flipping through it and putting it down.


 
Live And Let Die
   by: Ian Flemming
   rec: found in bstore

James Bond goes up against the "Greatest Negro Mastermind" who is a leader of a "voodoo cult." Kinda out of control in some ways, this book. Definitely written in the past.


 
Wicked
   by: Gregory Maguire
   rec: miranda

Wicked witch point of view. Writing is overdone and awkward. World is dark and depressing. Full of not very interesting/deep philosophizing about good and evil in simplistic terms. Ending is a break with all previous to explain actions of witch--which defeats purpose of book. Not great.


 
The Sparrow
   by: Mary Doria Russell
   rec: karl

Jesuit goes to new planet with some friends and his deep seated homophobias is revealed. All told against a backdrop of the glorification of the Catholic church. Athiests envy the believers, etc. Nice aliens, good writing, quite gripping upon occasion. But subsersive in effect, I believe.


 
M.y.t.h. Inc. Link
   by: Robert Aspring
   rec: erin of ert

Skeeve is CEO. Several short stories from the various folks point of view. Ends in Azaz bailing. Better than the sequel, but not the camp I remember in full form. Some good stuff such as unionizing and what-all.


 
Myth-Nomers and Im-Pervections
   by: Robert Asprin
   rec: erin of ert

An eh Myth book about him going to look for Azaz on Perv. Too much about his growing up and being self-sufficient. Perhaps I am too old for these books? (This was 2nd read--but I recalled little from the first from so long ago.)


 
The Ordinary Princess
   by: M. M. Kaye
   rec: erin (of ert)

Fun kid book about ordinary princess running away and having a good time.


 
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon
   by: Spider Robinson
   rec: jake (well, the author)

Collection of short stories about a bar where people come to get their problems solved, even if they happen to be aliens. It is annoying at times, yet I kept reading.


 
Stardust
   by: Neil Gaiman
   rec: via jessica k. seeing movie

Fantasy--boy marches off to fairy to find star to show love. Adventures, love, growth. In Gaiman's style which is shallower than it appears to be, I think.


 
Battle Circle
   by: Piers Anthony
   rec: 2nd read

Three novellas--the first is good, the second has moments of greatness, the third is annoying and ends badly. But good read; addictive.


 
The Goblin Tower
   by: L. Sprague de Camp
   rec: 2nd read

So-so, but it builds as it goes. King escapes mandatory 5 year beheading and then quests to fufill geas. Adventures and whatnot.


 
Plot it Yourself
   by: Rex Stout

Newo Wolfe book--nice plot, about authors and plagerism. Good times.


 
Boulevard 65&66
   by: N/A
   rec: writer contest

Nice collection of short stories with some "eh" ones mixed in. "Pendulous Beauty" was a wonderful memoir.


 
Small Vices
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: clio

Nice classic Spenser novel. Has a lot of big life/arc plot stuff in it. Weird sense of deja vu reading it--there is another with mobsters that is very, very close to it.


 
Me Talk Pretty One Day
   by: David Sedaris
   rec: romy

Essays about living in France, family, being an artist, etc. Some are simply amazing and funny. Some are so-so. Worth reading.


 
Lords and Ladies
   by: Terry Pratchett
   rec: romy

Elves are evil and are coming back. Witches save the day. Standard pratchett--somewhat annoying but funny at times.


 
When We Were Orphans
   by: Kazuo Ishiguro

Christopher Banks is a detective dealing with his past where he lost his parents as a child. Weird love affair with a woman. Classic Ishiguro first person narrative that clouds the truth and offers a picture of how repression might unfold in a variety of ways. Madness in the penultimate quintile quite well done in this vein.


 
Okla Hannali
   by: R. A. Lafferty
   rec: david b

Amazing historical novel about Choctaw indians during the trail of tears period, in particular a hero of men who raises a huge family, fights the good fight, and has many adventures. A lot of good history mixed in. Very strange book, but very, very good.


 
Cradle to Cradle
   by: William McDonough
   rec: radio show and some dude

Excellent book about closed-loop item development. The idea is to make things so they do not pollute. There is no "away." Several illustrative case studies. Excellent view of what _could be_.


 
Fall of the White Ship Avatar
   by: Brian Daley

Third book in series. While not as good as previous, I still would read a 4th if it existed. But it doesn't. Sigh.


 
Jinx on a Terran Inheritance
   by: Brian Daley

This series is really fun! Good high camp yet rich in detail sci-fi. Good read.


 
Wild Seed
   by: Octavia Butler
   rec: romy

Great story across time about two 'immortals'. One of the characters is amazing in his brutality and harshness. The other is a healer. Conflict ensues. Deals with concepts of slavery, ownership, sacredness of human life, depressing abuses of power, and other themes not uncommon for Butler. Good read. Not totally depressing overall!


 
Very Far Away From Anywhere Else
   by: Ursula K. KeGuin
   rec: mary

Novella about two outcast teenagers getting to know one another. A good story for young outcasts. Touching, lovely.


 
Requiem for a ruler of worlds
   by: Brian Daley

1st in the Alacrity & Hobart crossing space and getting beat on series. Very fun. The best of bad sci-fi camp. Or perhaps nostalgia for my youth is what drives the current love. Needless, I want to read the next one.


 
Bitten
   by: Kelly Armstrong
   rec: erin p

Not the best werewolf book in the world. Annoyingly inconsistant beast/human traits thing mixed with major dumbness on the part of the characters. Woman in search of traditional family bliss runs from werewolf self only to discover (after death and mayhem) that what she is looking for is right in front of her.


 
A Right to Be Hostile (Boondocks)
   by: A. McGruder
   rec: romy

Boondocks cartoons--begins with their move to suburbia. First half very good. Second half a bit mixed with some general unrelenting bitterness (quite understandable).


 
Mucho Mojo
   by: Joe R. Landsdale
   rec: clio

Hap & Leonard deal with Leonard's uncle's house, crack house, child murders, and East Texas. A good romp.


 
You Suck
   by: Chrstopher Moore

Sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends. Fun romance, although ending is a bit unsatisfying. First half is brilliant and funny and then it grows a bit wearysome.


 
A Girl Named Zippy
   by: Haven Kimmel
   rec: romy

Great memoir about little girl growing up in a small town. Very spunky, and wonderful in how happy she is as she goes through some twisted and bizzare upbringing moments.


 
She Got Up Off the Couch
   by: Haven Kimmel
   rec: Romy

Sequel to Girl Named Zippy. Story of mother was engaging. The rest was not as good as Zippy. Some great bits overall.


 
Something Rising (Light and Swift)
   by: Haven Kimmel
   rec: romy

Pool playing girl growing up and dealing with family. Beautiful spunk to it.


 
Six Easy Pieces
   by: Walter Mosley
   rec: mary cabot's shelf

Great and fun collection of six stories about a black man in the 60s trying to live a good life, and getting caught up in helping folks deal with bad folks and violence. Good times.


 
Swag
   by: Elmore Leonard
   rec: clio's shelf

Two folks get into armed robbery using a nice list of 10 rules of success. It works, until it begins to fray. Fun and quick.


 
Rumble Tumble
   by: Joe R. Lansdale
   rec: clio

Hap and his buddy go rescue a prostitute. good time. Funny.


 
Drop City
   by: T. C. Boyle

Hippie commune moves to Alaska to make it real. Alternate thread of couple living in Alaska to be out of society as well, but they are more conventional... and more competent. Brutal to the 60s, but an ever growingly engaging read.


 
Appaloosa
   by: Robert B. Parker

Western about two lawmen for hire dealing with a band terorizing a town. Really good western. Humor, darkness, and some manly characters dealing with manly emotions.


 
Back Story
   by: Robert B. Parker
   rec: mary cabot's shelf

Spencer looks into a murder from the 70s, and goes chasing around after the local mob. Lippity lop is featured as a conversation piece. Many people die.


 
Sandman Series
   by: Neil Gaiman
   rec: mpb

Highly variable, but some are excellent. In particular Brief Lives really struck me as a beautiful and wonderful piece.


 
Lysistrata
   by: Aristopanes

Greek play. Woman withhold sex, take over athenaum, to stop the war. Read old version with illustrations. Comedy. Interesting.


 
The Future is Queer
   by: ed Richard Labonte & L. Schimel
   rec: mom

Collection of sci-fi with queer theme. Some stories quite interesting, some bizzare, some bleh.


 
The Misenchanted Sword
   by: Watt-Evans
   rec: Aaron (endgame)

Fantasy romp--an everyman gets a magic sword and goes through life dealing with it. Fun story, ends well. Deals with the purpose of life and the ravages of war... sort of.


 
Worldwired
   by: Elizabeth Bear
   rec: mpb

The first half filled me with rage, as much of the second half of book two did. Why do sci-fi authors have a desperate need to replace spirituality with a human-built God? Why is there this need to have humans only able to save themselves due to the actions of very few, or arguably, a single enetwork intelligence? What is the commitment to thinking that space is small and thus it really is a race to the stars? The book ends with a betrayal: our protagonists look down at an alien planet full of alien people, and start thinking about how all the mountains, etc., will end up with their own names. Is this a statement by the author about how little people can travel when they work so hard to do so, or is it a revelation of the author herself, in that our society will always be imperialist at the core?


 
Scardown
   by: Elizabeth Bear
   rec: mpb

Second of the series. The plot gets bigger and bigger, and I get more and more annoyed. The AI gains power and godlike abilities, the world is a net, and we travel into annoyance for me. Plus, China? It is evil.


 
Hammered
   by: Elizabeth Bear
   rec: mpb

Sci-fi. This one is about a retired soldier with cyberware getting involved in a big plot. Plus: main character is 50 years old and totally fucked up, but still essentially human.


 
Song of the Lioness books 1 - 4
   by: Tamora Pierce
   rec: mpb

So I needed a time-out, and these YA books about a girl concealing her gender so she can be a knight and a hero, and then subsequently kicking ass all over, served me well. Take that. We shall count it as a single book, to maintain pride.


 
Reservation Blues
   by: Sherman Alexie

A novel about a few Spokanes who end up with the guitar of Robert Johnson--they form a rock band, and things progress in the style of Alexie. The heartbreak and humor, the desperation and fire are all warm the soul while gutting it entirely. Fun and good. Some of the scenes are amazing. Some are eh.


 
Skipping Towards Gomorrah
   by: Dan Savage
   rec: micki

Dan does the seven deadly to show that sinners should be left alone. Some great insights and jouneys. Sometimes very funny.


 
The Hard Way
   by: Lee Child
   rec: clio

Reacher deals with a kidnapping in New York--it is a good example of its kind.


 
Uncharted Territory
   by: Connie Willis

Weird novella about two explorers on an alien planet. They have a "loaner" and a woman back at camp and an alien guide that fines them for everything.


 
Winnie the Pooh Collection
   by: Shephard

Some bits are truely brilliant. It is indeed near zen, as the Zen of Pooh book suggests.


 
Swords in the Mist
   by: Fritz Leiber

Run around and kill things and chase women.


 
The Little Sister
   by: Raymond Chandler
   rec: cabot

Fun hard-boiled detective book (Marlowe). Towards the end the plot gets all convoluted and I got lost. In the beginning it was just a bunch of fun scenes of snarkiness. Chandler jumps around a bit and leaves scenes out, or so it feels. A fun read overall, no doubt.


 
Fiasco
   by: Lem
   rec: david b

Go meet aliens, and everything goes wrong. In this tale of escalation, we see how misunderstanding mixed with arrogance can lead to painful consequences. Good, ending a bit down and unfulfilling. Weirdly 50s in its feel although it seems to have been written later. Confusing, that.


 
Well of Lost Plots
   by: Jasper Fforde
   rec: Arnon and Rowan

Fforde continues to devolve and descende into a more show-off mode where he plays with language and doesn't care about little things such as consistancy, overall structure, or closure. I am tired of him, and fear I am done with Thursday Next.


 
Bringing Down the House
   by: Ben Mezrich
   rec: david w

Possibly non-fiction account of MIT blackjack team's working over Vegas and other locales. Parts believable, parts inconsistent. I think there is some truth going on, but it has been... colorized.


 
The Eyre Affair
   by: Jasper Fforde
   rec: nikki

Thursday Next works for the literary police in the alternative universe where people take literature very seriously and, it turns out, you can go into books. The first of the series. Fun, good times.


 
Ten Little Indians
   by: Sherman Alexie

Great collection of short stories. The first, about a young woman who finds a poet in the library and attempts to track him down, is really fantastic. Alexie has a way of capturing the mad humor in the face of insurmountable odds, and other aspects of the human condition, that get to me. He writes big and over the top, and I like that seemingly simplistic cut on overly complex issues. Same as the "Distant view of a minerete" writer from India.


 
THe Dispossessed
   by: Ursula K. LeGuin

Really fantastic and moving story plus a facinating examination of how society becomes calcified and riddled with ironclad law and intolerance, even if it is supposed to be an anarchistic one. Fuerthermore, it captures a portrait of anarchy that is not about blowing shit up and being selfish and childish. The ending leaves me wanting more, but the story does end there, I suppose.


 
Lockpick Pornography
   by: Joey Comeau
   rec: mpb

Short novel about a man struggling with gender and being gay in a persecuting world. It captures the frustration of powerlessness, and the anger that ensues. Very funny, very dark.


 
Lost in a Good Book
   by: Jasper Fforde
   rec: mpb

Sequel to Eyre Affair. Thursday Next runs around, gets married, fights evil. Good time. Ending was not... apparently the second half of the book is the whole next book. Fuckers.


 
Christie Malry's Own Double Entry
   by: B.S. Johnson
   rec: j.c.

Christie Malry keeps a double entry about the world and the wrongs he experiences, and sets about balancing it. Interesting book, meta-textual in a wonderful way. Explores the craft of what a book is quite nicely.


 
Native Speaker
   by: Chang-Rae Lee

Korean-American Spy deals with cultural issues, love, and life. He works to save his marrage by understanding himself. Good, but not as wonderful as other Lee books.


 
The Telling
   by: Ursula K. LeGuin

Y.A.N. Sci-fi. Woman goes to planet where they have attempted to erase history as they "March to the Stars" and hail capitalism. Woman finds history and works for saving the library.


 
Men Giving Money, Women Yelling
   by: Alice Mattison
   rec: mom

Short stories about life and living. It is nice how the stories are all tangled up. Characters are reused, but sometimes the facts change out from under you. Or someone will write a short story in a story that is one of the other stories, or a description of a play will be one of the other stories. That murkiness underlines what it means to perceive, and how we are all, perhaps, pieces of fiction that do not necessarily match.


 
Gifts
   by: U. K. LeGuin

Young adult novel. It is cool to finally read a book where the mystic witch folks book where the mystic witch folks use their powers to kill each other and vie for power. Usually they are misunderstood and outcast by folks for no reason. Here we have many good reasons. The first half was eh, but then I was hooked.


 
The Televisionary Oracle
   by: Rob Brezsny
   rec: mpb

A mad dash of a macho feminist rockstar and the reincarnation of Mary finding each other so they can kill the apocalypse. A book for beauty and truth fans. Fun. Tiring. Weird. But fun.


 
Michael Faraday
   by: Harry Sootin
   rec: Joe's childhood collection

"From Errand Boy to Master Physicist" is the subtitle. It is a very go-go biography written for young adults about Faraday's life. An interesting feature is he never pursued money--could such a famous scientist be the same now? I suppose yes--there is always Erdos. It was fun and took a nice morning to read.


 
A Thousand Pieces of Gold
   by: Adeline Yen Mah
   rec: age

"A Memoir of China's Past Through Its Proverbs" plus some memoir of Adeline Yen Mah to go with it. The book novelizes ancient China to explain the origins of some proverbs, and then demonstrates how they have been used with Chairman Mao, etc., as well as how they have unfoled in Mah's life.


 
The New Arabian Nights
   by: Robert Louis Stevenson
   rec: found on shelf?

Collection of short stories written in 1906 (?) featuring various adventures of various folks. There is a collection about a wonderful prince and a man who helps people kill each other, a collection about a diamond and the effects it has, etc. They are amusing, and perhaps give insight into the mentality of a century ago. Lots of honor and people being overcome by the slightest thing.


 
The Last Unicorn
   by: Peter S. Beagle
   rec: seraphina (sort of)

Weird meandering fairytale that has its moments, but is a bit stilted and arbitrary overall. THings in it seem to have deep meaning, but upon reflection I found myself not inspired to deeply dig for that meaning. Perhaps because I felt it may not be there, should I put the sweat in. But the ending left a meloncholic and sweet note lingering in the air.


 
Bushwacked
   by: Molly Ivins & Lou Dubose
   rec: scott

Survey of various horrors and misdealings Bush has been a part of. Depressing and wide in scope. Written in a snarky way, and backed with references.


 
The Yellow Heart
   by: Pablo Neruda

Collection of latter-day Naruda poems. Imagery is striking. Poems often opaque and hard to decipher. The William O'Daly collection has spanish alongside, and it is beautiful to look at.


 
The Art of Drowning
   by: Billy Collins

Poetry. Some is too cutsy, but some are quite nice. All is whimsical.


 
Trans-Sister Radio
   by: Chris Bohjalian
   rec: kathy

Novel about a transsexual and folks she knows as she undergoes surgery. Interesting book with interesting characters. Worth a read, but not brilliant.


 
THe Altered I
   by: Ursula K. LeGuin & Writing Group

Collection of short sci-fi written by workshop run by LeGuin in Australia. It has some good stuff, and some weird stuff. Quick and fun.


 
Must Love Dogs
   by: Claire Cook
   rec: christine

Fun and snarky.


 
Blink
   by: Malcolm Gladwell

Fast thinking and first impressions. Very thought provoking. Lots of potential stat projects testing this stuff too.


 
The Northern Girl
   by: E. Lynn

The Cron. of Tonor is a great series and when taken as a whole it makes a rather depressing arch. Meloncholic, rather. An entire culture of beauty grows, blossoms, and fades over the course of the books. And within each of the books people reach for freedom and love, and find that with love comes continual, unavoidable loss. But perhaps that is what life is, a mix of beauty and loss. Only set against this interwoven band can the gem of love truely shimmer.


 
The Turn of the Screw
   by: Henry James

Horror story written 1891. Thus... it has an interesting view on woman & strength, ghosts, and other such things. But it does have a kind of mesmerizing quality to it. Odd.


 
The Watchtower
   by: Elizabeth A. Lynn
   rec: childhood

Chronicles of Tornor, book 1. Slow start, not as good as book two, but then it picks up nicely. Ending is brutal, and captures what it means to live a life doomed to have no love.


 
Dancers of Arun
   by: Elizabeth Lynn
   rec: childhood

The second book of the Watchtower, or whatever, series. It is really good. Plus it is very spiffy with the acceptance of sexuality of various stripes, woman as equals, etc.


 
Aloft
   by: Chang-rae Lee

Another brilliant book by the author of Gesture Life. A man in suburbia thinks about his life and the events happening around him. There is great distance in the modern middle class. Funny and heartbreaking, etc. I think Lee is my favorite author, these days.


 
Shopgirl
   by: Steve Martin
   rec: from movie

Empty/fragile girl is still beautiful and thus attracts the attention of a emotionally empty older man. Weird stereotypes of men and women are reinforced as romance develops and fails as expected. Some good moments, but I think the movie is better.


 
The Life of Pi
   by: Yann Martel

Man in lifeboat--how he makes it. It starts slow, but then picks up and becomes gripping. There is a weirdness of whether he is in Toronto or India--the end of part 1 suggests India, but everything else says Toronto. Confusing as a confusing thing. Ending heavy and uncertain.


 
Entering Whitness with Conscious Intent in Post-Secondary Classrooms
   by: Judy Helfand
   rec: mom

I liked the first part on theory more than the second. A lot of interesting thoughts on whiteness and teaching whiteness.


 
The Botany of Desire
   by: Michael Pollan
   rec: mpb

Four plants and their history. Good stuff. Compelling anti-GE. Interesting piece on dope. Apples and Johnny Appleseed. Fun.


 
tehanu
   by: LeGuin
   rec: jake

Fantasy, book four of earthsea. It ended a bit strangely, with the folks going on and on.


 
Talk to the Hand
   by: L. Truss

Didn't finish. Rudeness in British culture. Funny, but I just grew bored as time went on.


 
The Power That Preserves
   by: S. R. Donaldson

The third of the thomas covenant series. I don't know why I loved it so--the man is a jerk throughout, and is never redeemed. It sems Donaldson is trying to do something amazing with the unbelief thing, but it just falls flat.


 
The Illearth War
   by: S. R. Donaldson

Book two of cronicles. Better than book 1, but that is mainly because thomas is not in this book so much. Also, some investigation of the story arc with respect of the ravages and forgiveness of rape would be good. Is Donaldson boinked in the head? Is the book reinforcing horrific stereotypes of the compassion of woman and the allure of the disgusting male? Who can say.


 
Barefoot Boy with Cheek
   by: Max Shulman
   rec: inherited from Fred Weisman

Couldn't finish. It was a satire (I think) of college life, frats, commies, etc., that was supposed to be hyperbolic and thus uncover the hypocracy of life, the universe, and everything. I found it draining, overall.


 
Thomas Covenant I: Lord Foul's Ban
   by: Stephen R Donaldson

Reread. I remember not liking the first book--and I found I was right. I am, alas, going to have to read the second book to see if I like the series as much as I recall. It is too discordantly ugly--the protagonist is constantly grimacing and snarling, and the logic is ellusive and in the end not terribly convincing.


 
In the Time of the Butterflies
   by: Julia Alvarez
   rec: marco

Four sisters living in the time of a dictator in the Dominican Republic. It follows all four stories, and is set in the frame of the surviving sister many years later. Perhaps it captures what living in a dictatorship is like. The stories are pretty good.


 
Lies My Teacher Told Me
   by: James W. Loewen
   rec: mpb, james c

Analysis of US History courses in high schools. Very, very good, especially the first chapters on Columbus, Native Americans, and more.


 
Matilda
   by: Dahl
   rec: megan t

Young girl has terrible parents, but is very, very smart. Read due to blurb on comment-writing at the beginning.


 
Break it Down
   by: Lydia Davis
   rec: jon mcdunn

Short stories--some very short (around one paragraph). Very bizzare and very bitter. The two best were "break it down" and the one about learning french in a farmyard.


 
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
   by: asdfa
   rec: jamie (sa)

Autistic kid narrator living life and trying to figure things out. Eveyrthing is very literal. Excellent book, and amazingly touching . Has my fav. flavor of narrator showing you things they don't know themselves.


 
Pattern Recognition
   by: William Gibson
   rec: dad

Some great ideas (woman who is allergic to trademarks, for example) but the whole book didn't come together for me. The writing got to me too often, I think. The ending left me with the question of (don't read this if you hate 'spoilers'): why did the sister put the watermarks on the white thingy?



The Best American Short Stories (2002)
by: ed Katrina Kenison

Collection of okay short stories. They were mostly wearingly literary, and many set in the 1920s or whatever. I found myself bored quite often, and skimmed a few even. But there were some good ones too.


Gesture Life
by: Chang-rae Lee
rec: mom

Old man reflects on life, war in Japan, assimilation in US, lost daughter, etc. First part of book is amazing. The finish is only very good.


Freak the Mighty
by: Rodman Philbrick
rec: the movie

Nicely written book about a kid in middle school.


Keeping You a Secret 
by: Julie Anne Peters
rec: rand find browsing

Young adult novel. Coming out lesbian story. Hits all bases--children, mom, friends both good and bad. Cute.


Two Trains Running
by: A Vachss
rec: clio

1959 bad guys killing each other, Vachss style. He is a bit over the top as a writer. He talks about vaginas being, essentially, tender flowers. All the woman in this novel were innocents needing safety and security, although they were cutely independent (aw, shucks, look at the doll paying her parents mortgage). Nevertheless, the book was fun even though the ending was out of my understanding.


Savage Season
by: Joe R. Landsdale
rec: clio

Fun action adventure with ex-60s dude and black homo Viet vet. It gets icky violent towards end--not sure if that was good. Fun to read. Fast.


Other Voices, Other Rooms
by: Truman Capote
rec: clio

Boy ends up in rural southern place to be with his long-lost father. Instead he finds an "uncle" and a tomboy. Very strange--mixes dream and reality quite nicely. Lots of examinations (in 1948, no less) of how homosexuality plays out when closeted, etc.


The Metaphysical Club
by: Menard
rec: grandpa

Excellent historical look at intellectual thought from Civil War to end of WW1. Especially interesting in its examination of how race conceptions played out. Also fun to see how the university systems, etc., became established. Very dense, full of stuff, and I probably missed 90% but the 10% I got, got me thinking.


One Shot
by: Lee Child
rec: clio

Yet another Reacher novel. This one was quite gripping, actually. Good story. Sniper kills 5--Reacher comes in to figure it all out.


In the Midst of Life
by: Ambrose Bierce
rec: mr forman

Short stories. Two sections: solders & civilians. "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" was the impetus. They are okay, but not fully engaging. A bit too "terror tale" for my tastes. A brief biography of Bierce is in the introduction.

 
Bloodsucking Fiends
   by: Moore

Second read. Still fun.



The Solace of Leaving Early
by: Haven Kimmel
rec: dad

Beautiful book about two people who are a bit... elitist... learning to love, etc. etc. Somewhat sappy--the ending is sudden. Very funny at parts and definitely engaging. I read it in a day, and it was a much-needed vacation.


The Horse and His Boy, The Silver Chair
by: C.S. Lewis

The Silver Chair I might not have read before--interesting that this is the case. I am tired of people doing nothing but for the grace of Aslan. Lewis also spends some time mocking different kinds of school systems. Sigh.


The O'Henry Awards 2001 Prize Shorts
by: ed Chabon, Gordon, Simpson

Great collection of short stories. Very dense language in general--fancy words, thick writing--_literary_.


Narnia--mag nep., prince C., last battle
by: c.s. lewis
rec: found at uncle's

Fun christian stuff--folks attempt to do something and then are saved by God. Hmm....


Freakonomics
by: Levitt & Dubner 
rec: barb & ellis passover conversations

Using stats to look at the world--some interesting points, some hard to take stuff. Worth reading. Fast.


Confessions of a Pagan Nun
by: Kate Horsley
rec: mbp (sort of)

Historical novel about 5th century Ireland during conversion to Christ. Interesting, sad, overdone writing at times, but the story builds and I left the book happy (and sad too)


Lamb
by: Christopher Moore
rec: mpb

Another Moore book--Christ's friend Biff tells of the early years.


The Courage to Teach
by: Parker J. Palmer
rec: sa

Book on teaching as being authentic to self. Some interesting stuff, for example a discussion on movements vs. organizations. Also an exploration on what "truth" is.


The Mathematician's Delight
by: W. W. Sawyer

Tour of math from algebra to calculus--some interesting conceptual work and ties to reality. A bit dated.


What should I do if Reverend Billy is in my store?
by: Bill Talen
rec: mom

The Church of Stop Shopping's leader writes about his life and experience discovering the way.


Emotional Intelligence
by: Daniel Goleman
rec: sa

How emotional skills play out in ones life, including affecting IQ, SAT, life, etc. A bit sparse, but a worthwhile thing to meander through. Skimmed a lot of it.


Coyote Blue
by: Moore

Coyote "helps" a man find his soul again via a ditzy woman and some violence.


Transmission
by: Hari Kunzru
rec: mom

Modern times and the high-tech industry. Indian man finds himself a contract tool in the US, struggling to make things work. He likes computer viruses. Weird people abound.


The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
by: Yukio Mishima
rec: lise s

Youth struggles, burns down temple. Much angst.


Don't Think of an Elephant
by: Lakoff

A talk of framing and the failure of the left to do so with any skill.


Encounters with the Archdruid
by: John McPhee
rec: dad

Three tales of John Bower and people who disagree with him as they hang out in beautiful, potentially doomed, wilderness areas. Amazing stuff.

 
Hellspark
   by: Janet Kagan
   rec: nikki

Nice sci-fi about learning about aliens, complete with sinister plot. Lots of stuff about language which is fairly cool, plus a very nicely done planet.



Jaguars Ripped My Flesh
by: Tim Cahill
rec: jamie

Travel writer--the essays start strong, and then the final few were not so great. Sometimes his writing is nice, and sometimes it is trying too hard to be clever and funny. Perhaps moderation (i.e. read 1/2 the book) is the key here.


The Control of Nature
by: John McPhee
rec: dad

Excellent book about three things: The Mississippi, lava in Iceland, mudflows in LA. It shows three very different attempts of humans to control nature on a large scale. Fascinating.


The Magician's Wife
by: Brian Moore

Mediocre book about France, Napoleon II, and a kind of annoying woman who is the main character hanging out in Africa.


Persuader
by: Lee Child
rec: dad/clio

Reacher goes out and kicks some serious ass as an undercover off-the-books agent. Good stuff.


The Wise & Foolish Tongue
by: Robin Williamson
rec: mpb

Celtic stories and poems edited, collected, and/or retold by Robin Williamson. It is an excellent collection of the very bizarre. Has some of the Mabinogion, some other stuff.


Group Sex
by: Ann Arensberg
rec: from dad shelf

The title is the best part, unfortunately. Neurotic, annoying woman besotted with annoying, pushy man. They fall in love, etc. Skimmed last half because frankly, I didn't give a shit. But at least I am learning to not waste time on books? Please?


The Hollow Man
by: Dan Simmons

Telepath loses his telepath wife--falls apart. Modern world, he and wife were only known ones. Typical man is scientist, dead wife is all literature, feelings and endless love. Whatever.


The Mabinogi
by: Patrick K. Ford (trans & ed)
rec: mpb

Welsh medieval tales. Amazing stuff, and totally out of our world view. Hanging mice and wandering around with talking heads. Lots of honor and whatnot.


Platonic & Archimedean Solids
by: Daud Sutton
rec: charlie y

Great and beautiful book on the above. First half is fantastic, then it gets too hard to follow.


A General Theory of Love
by: Lewis, Amini, Lannon
rec: sa counselors

Discussion of how love works--limbic brain vs. logical, etc. Interesting, a bit overwritten.


Fluke
by: Christopher Moore
rec: sam

wacky whales with "Bite Me" on them and bizarre biological things. Our protagonists are classic Moore.

 
You Can't Win
   by: Jack Black
   rec: james c

Amazing book about being a thief and in jail, etc. in the 1930s(?). Autobiography.



Plum Island
by: Nelson DeMille
rec: Christine

Cop on sick leave falls into a case where his two new friends were killed. They work for a biotech lab. Book is slow going at times, and the cop is a bit of an ass, but it builds steadily and I confess I couldn't put it down towards the end.


Darwin's Radio
by: Greg Bear
rec: mpb (sort of)

Biology near-future hard sci-fi. Weird genetic disease springs up--effects children/reproduction. World in panic. Etc. Lots of loose ends dropped towards the end, I think. (What happened to so-and-so type stuff.) Boring and slow--I just didn't really have the patience for it.


The Boy Who Reversed Himself
by: William Sleator
rec: by Singularity author

Boy can go into 4D to do stuff (and thus flip self). Adventures ensue.


Invitation to a Beheading
by: Vladimir Nabokov
rec: mary

Bizzare dream/reality of a man waiting for his execution in a false, cardboard world.


Spanish Grammar
by: Barron's pocket guide

What you would expect. Lots of example sentences, and easy to read--but knowing what the pieces of grammar are, in general, would help.


Inside Dope
by: Paul Thomas
rec: quin

Trash like "Get Shorty" or whatnot. A variety of bad to horrid folks in New Zealand try to get a long-lost stash of coke. Fun to read, sometimes a bit offensive.


The Reader
by: Bernhard Schlink
rec: becky n

German. Boy grows up--when young has love affair. When old deals with Nazi guilt and connection to said affair. Eh.


Guatemalan Journey
by: S Benz
rec: mary

Memoir of two years in Guatemala as a gringo. Very interesting. Sometimes a bit preachy with the "hate everyone" line, but so it goes. The man could be more aware, in the middle, that he is just as unlikely to really understand as all the other folk.


One Hundred Year of Solitude
by: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Story of family for 100 years (exactly? I think not quite exactly because Pilar lives to 134 or something, and dies before the end). Many strange and wonderful bits, and an ending that leaves one wondering why we try.


Song of the Lioness
by: Tamora Pierce
rec: mpb

4 book series--young adult fantasy w/ girl who becomes a knight and then a hero. Cute, often good about sex and sexuality, generic with regards to race. Fun and addictive.


The Flowering Rod
by: Kenny Klein
rec: mpb

Men and wicca--discussion and reworked rituals. Interesting.


The Witches' Bible
by: Janet and Stewart Farrer
rec: mpb

overview of Alexanderian Wicca. Interesting, but from the 70s.


Educating Esme
by: Esme Raji Codell
rec: random

Diary of a first year public school 5th grade teacher. Interesting and a quick read. Schools are harsh places.


One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
by: Ken Kesey
rec: McDunn (and cabot)

Excellent. Man vs asylum and thus man vs "the combine" as the narrator describes it. Some sexist issues, I think, that one would expect(?) from the 60s/70s, but as the book progresses there is some real amazing story.


Solitaire
by: Kelley Eskridge
rec: mom

Sci-fi. Three phases of book. Pre, during, and post. Hope of the world has doubts, gets into trouble.

 
My Year of Meats
   by: Ruth L. Ozeki
   rec: mom

Excellent novel about making an American doc on food, with each episode needing to feature meat (for increasing meat consumption in Japan). Sequence of very wonderful episodes.



You Can't Say You Can't Play
by: Vivian Gussin Paley
rec: kling

You make a rule "You can't say you can' t play." What does that rule do, and how do you convince your kindergarten kids to go for it? An amazing book about the possibilities, and the perceptions of the young.


The Talented Mr. Ripley
by: P. Highsmith

creepy man takes identity and feels torn about it. Kind of like crime and punishment with some hardship with homosexuality thrown in.


Close Range
by: Annie Proulx
rec: kamela

Collection of short stories about being depressed in Wyoming, a state apparently without hope or happiness. But it is a big and beautiful state with lots of cows and horses and rugged men and women. Some spurs too.


Xenophile
by: Phil Foglio
rec: james

Sex comic and fantasy/sci-fi comic and humor become one.


Circling the Drain
by: Amanda Davis
rec: kamela

Bizzaro collection of short stories. Fantastical elements mixed in with modern times and emotionally fucked up women (and men).


The Ethical Slut
by: Easton & Liszt

Interesting self-help book on poly relationships. Some good anecdotes and some worthwhile ideas.


Rubyfruit Jungle
by: Rita Mae Brown

A light romp through sexuality in the 60s(ish) era. Lots of fun. Some harshness and well-illustrated scenes of why it can hurt so much.


Jennifer Government
by: Max Berry
rec: mom

Great near future sci-fi. Corps have taken over. Brutal, funny, and wonderful.


The Best American Non-Required Reading 2002
by: Michrel Cart (ed)
rec: jamie

collection of shorts--good stuff.


Little New York Bastard
by: M. Dylan Raskin
rec: mom

Young misfit that is enough dysfunctional to be on the outer fringe of society rants for pages as he tries to find his soul. Some success, some laughs, a lot of pain.


The Autograph Man
by: Zadie Smith
rec: mom

Builds and gives a marvelous final. Obsession and bad decisions--the kind of book I want to write.


Tea with the Black Dragon
by: R.A. MacAvoy
rec: mary

Modern fantasy, of sorts. Nice tale of folks dealing with something a bit over their heads, but not. Moments of rough writing, but the idea is a pleasing one--of how magic lives in a modern time.


Jolie Blon's Bounce
by: James Lee Burke
rec: clio

Good detective book in New Orleans. Dark, alcohol, suffering of race. Got it all.


Village of the Damned (screenplay)
by: John Carpenter

Alian kids born and cause ruckus in horror like fashion. Eh.


Never Swim Alone & This is A Play
by: Daniel MacIvor
rec: ian

Two short plays. Second one very 'meta' and very funny. First is wild ride, kinda too artsy for me.


Pale Kings and Princes
by: R B Parker

So-so spencer book--there are better. This one is going to a small town and dealing with a coke ring.


Hunting Badger
by: Tony Hillerman

Decent detective--many of his characters in it.


Lonesome Dove
by: L McMurtry
rec: clio

Epic wild-west. At pg 900 there are a couple of scenes that only the first 900 pages could build. Brilliant moments and brutal glimpses of life and being trapped by not knowing how to express emotion.


Finding flow
by: Csikszemihalyi
rec: wharton

self-help book with some interesting ideas, but some serious issues.


The Winds Twelve Quarters
by: LeGuin

short stories, sci-fi and fantasy. Okay.


American Gods
by: Neil Gaiman
rec: megan

Good read. Interesting world. Some interesting thoughts. Spiffy story.


Disturbing the Universe
by: Freeman Dyson
rec: david b

Chapter 3 is the best thing I have read in a long time.


101 Ways to Bug Your Parents
by: Lee Wardlaw
rec: found in cws

kid book about inventor in 6/7th grade. Fun and cute.


Walking Shadow
by: R B Parker

Spenser deals with an actor getting shot on stage in a coastal town attempting to revitalize. Fun, as usual, if I recall.


The Way People Run
by: Stepehn Vaughn
rec: kamela

Christ Tilghman rather Interesting collection of quiet short stories. Man in house getting robbed, for instance.


Malafrena
by: LeGuin
rec: megan

Couldn't finish. Interesting but slow.


Widow's Walk
by: R B Parker
rec: clio

Fun. Lots of trash talk which is witty and flows and makes you feel good.


Wordfreak
by: Stefen Fatsis
rec: dad

Scrabble. Fun, but not well written in places.


The Wild Party
by: Harch (ill by Art Spiegelman)
rec: erin

A poem illustrated. Very raw, interesting rythems in it. Good stuff. Sexy.


Sister Water
by: Nancy Willard
rec: kamela

Intriguing. Good magic and reality unexplained like I like, instead of all the working magic system crap that fucks up fantasy.


Carter Beats the Devil
by: Glen David Gold
rec: londa

Fun, set in 1920s or so. Magician and cool plot.


A Game of Thrones
by: G Martin
rec: madeline (cws)

Fantasy epic--kind of gripping, actually. Fun characters.


Death of Ivan Ilych
rec: joel

short story. Good; ending is nice.


Banvard's Folly
by: Paul Collins
rec: rusty

Brilliant stories of forgotten people who didn't change history.


The Gun Seller
by: Hugh Laurie
rec: chris (roadkill)

Fun read. Flowing tone. Protagonist is a fun hard-boiled guy with humor.


No one writes to the Colonol
by: Marquez

Collection of shorts--nice and sad and quiet in classic Marquez style.


The Nature and Logic of Capitalism
by: R L Heilbroner
rec: mom

Good survey of what capitalism is and how it ticks.


Pygmailion
by: Bernard Shaw
rec: various/katherine

Excellent little play about class, language, and men and woman. Funny, etc., much like Importance of Being Earnest, and has the issues of what _do_ I think about whether it is offensive, etc.


The Bridge
by: Ian Banks
rec: karl

Weird book about traveling down a long bridge which is a city and then more bizarreness. Big-brother mysterious forces in collapsing worlds type thing.


The Students are Watching
by: Sizer and Sizer
rec: klingenstein

How the way schools are run and teachers act affect student development--the unspoken curriculum. Quite good and thought provoking, if a bit touchy-feely at times.


Necrom
by: Mick Farren
rec: nathan

Weird sci-fi. Meet god, drink booze, womanize. That kind of stuff. Down-and-out rock star and multiple dimensions.


The Grand Inquisitor
by: Dostoevsky

Weird rantings about religion and god. Some interesting ideas in there, such as responsibility for all, and love.


The Man in the High Castle
by: Philip K. Dick

Brutal look at alternate Nazi-ruled world.


Importance of Being Earnest
by: O Wilde
rec: clio

Amazing play. Very, very funny.


Island of the Sequined Love Nun
by: C Moore
rec: molly and david

Fun.


The Elephant Man
by: B Pomerance
rec: found in school


Entering whiteness
by: mom
rec: mom

Interesting investigation of how to educate about whiteness/racism.


The Beggar Queen
by: L Alexander
rec: childhood

Third book. Again, excellent.


Kestrel
by: L Alexander
rec: childhood

Fantastic and dark. David reminded me of these books existence. They are gripping.


Westmark
by: Lloyd Alexander

from childhood. Excellent book, very much like the black cauldron, etc./


The Blue Sword
by: Robin McKinley

read second time--needed comfort.


Jazz
by: Toni Morrison
rec: annalee shelf

Hard to get through, but in the latter part I suddenly got engaged and interested and it was great. The ending made me have some questions about the narrator and the narrator's role and the connect between narrator and author (the same I think) which reminded me of The English Patient's closing paragraph, who which I love and which was pointed out to me by my aunt.


The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963
by: Christopher Paul Curtis
rec: erin

Excellent book (for 10 and up) about kid and his life in the 1960s, dealing with poverty, racism, and family. Very funny


Demian
by: Hermann Hesse
rec: (kind of) Demian

Okay, but heavy handed about the worlds of evil and of light, and a kid dealing with complexity of thought, and then he joins a cult (?).


Fever Pitch
by: Nick Hornby

Interesting book about soccer. Love pgs 176 to 178ish. Full of what it means to drift, and why soccer can be an obsession.


The Case for Constructivist Classrooms
by: Brooks and Brooks
rec: kling

arguments for teaching in a constructivist manner. Decent and thought provovoking, but more convincing for the middle and elementary grades.


The Underdogs
by: Mariano Azuela
rec: book pile at cws

Novel about Mexican revolution. Bitter and dark--the problem with peasants is they deserve better but they are just as horrid as the rest of humanity.

 
Permutation City
   by: Greg Egan
   rec: kathy?

Sci-fi w/ artificial life. The premise is folks download selfs to computers for immortality, but they process much slower than real-time (simulation takes time). Also, someone is designing an artifical world that somehow unfolds to infinity and evolves intelligent species. The ending is strange with a my-reality-can-conquer-your-reality thing going on.



Without Fail
by: Lee Child
rec: clio

Another Reacher novel. But this one was somehow not as wonderful as previous. It was still good though.


The Ground Beneath Her Feet
by: Salman Rushdie
rec: dad

A lot of work, but pretty fun. Rushdie kind of wanders around a bit at times in ways I don't like--he is too into playing with how wonderful his writing is.


Mortal Prey
by: John Stanford
rec: clio

Good prey novel. Sadly the cool badie has an irrational break (character inconsistency it seems like) at the end which marred a perfectly good thriller.


Thief of Time
by: Terry Pratchett
rec: chris d

Discworld. I can't figure out if these books are worth reading. The middle ending part of this book was very funny with paradox signs and auditors learning how to be human.


The Memory of Earth
by: Orson Scott Card
rec: erin?

Computer removes people's ability to think about specific things, but computer is dying. Interesting premise, but the book misses some points (perhaps to be addressed in sequels). For example, if humanity is going to collectively improve, it needs to progress (or at least change) whereas the society in the book is unable to do so. More importantly, the computer justifies capital punishment (and having a citizen do it on the street) which--if this is to be the end society in mind--falls somewhat short of a society which would not devolve into war and bickering.


A Room With a View
by: E. M. Forester

Excellent book about woman dealing with stifling culture, etc. Quite funny quite often. It has what I found to be a gripping and powerful ending. The ending also showed the pain of bringing up someone who did not easily fit the culture due to beliefs.


2001, A Space Odyssey
by: Arthur C. Clark

Old sci-fi. Pretty good. Starts with Lamarckian evolution, unfortunately. He should have known better. Bit slow and obsessed with describing science.


Revenge
by: ed K. Saunders
rec: jury duty

Short stories by women about revenge. Read several--they are quite good, by and large. Great story about a woman who gets married and makes her own dress.


Dreams of Trespass
by: Fatima Mernissi
rec: commonweath

Excellent book about a woman's childhood in a harem in Morocco. Really captures some pieces of the culture and also shows how strength can live even when much power is taken.


The Great Gatsby
by: F. Scott Fitzgerald
rec: school

About the suffering of the rich and the insubstantiality of dreams. Starts a bit rocky, but then takes off and then crashes in a satisfactory way at the end. This is the second time I had read it, but nothing had stuck from the first time, interestingly enough. And I fear nothing will stick again. Why is this a masterpiece?


4 Fantastic Novels
by: Pinkwater

More novellas, but not as good--I don't think I even finished. Too random.


Master Harold and the Boys
by: Athol Fugard
rec: readings and ethics

young man and two black men he grew up with interact in South Africa. Deals with the devastation of racism and fatherhood.


ironman
by: chris crutcher
rec: erinp

(young adult) Boy who wants to be an ironman deals with anger issues and growing up. Has a lot of good addressing of tolerance and where anger comes from. Good book; story sticks with you.


Interpreter of Maladies
by: Jhumpa Lahiri

Short stories written by an Indian woman. Excellent melancholic knives that rip you apart. Deals well with the meeting of two cultures and feeling like an alien. It also deals well with aspiration and dreams in juxtaposition with reality.


Trader
by: Charles de Lint
rec: nikki

urban fantasy. Trader somehow swaps skins with another dude. The story is about the people surrounding Trader and Johnny living life, dealing with the swap, and eventually going and rescuing folks from themselves. Nice view of native American mysticism being real. The book starts awfully, being very much this "tell you what so-and-so is thinking" style which got tedious, but when he had set up all his characters, it really took off and I stayed up all night reading it.


The Big U
by: Neil Stephenson
rec: alex g

Fun book. Mega-university full of horrid folks--the forces of justice in the form of smart nerds and other thinking peoples combat the horrors of modern society writ larger than life. Degenerates into a war.


Master and Commander
by: Patrick O'Brian
rec: david b

second time read, apparently. Good historical naval 1800.


Chocolat
by: Joanna Harris
rec: erin

Excellent book. Woman shows up in town and opens chocolat shop. Priest is tormented. There is an excellent handing of magic in the book which I simply loved.


Adiamante
by: L.E. Modesitt, Jr
rec: some writing group from MIT

Sci-fi about old earth resisting the evil invading cybs. It was a bit too clean cut good vs. evil for my tastes, especially since a lot of quite interesting stuff was set up (such as environmentalism and conservationism vs. art, music, pleasure.) Also some interesting concepts regarding cyborgs and semi-cyborgs. Of course the book had Draffs, which were second class humans. Some utopia.


Midaq Alley
by: Naguib Mahfouz
rec: cws

Short stories set in Cairo. Decent book about the various eccentrics, etc., in a small alley in the city.


Impossible Things
by: Connie Willis
rec: nikki & mhcoen

Collection of short stories. Willis has some issues with what she sees as the fascist PC movement. I am skeptical. Her stories are a bit heavy with this edge. Some are good nonetheless. A lot of woman characters seemed too fragile--it really got to me. Suicidal and unable to cope. Grump. "Last of the Winnebagos" was particularly good. Thank you, Mr. Coen.


Distant View of a Minaret
by: Alifa Rifaat
rec: comm list

Excellent collection of short stories about women (for the most part) in Cairo.


The Stone of Laughter
by: Hoda Barakat
rec: comm list

Story of man in Beruit. I couldn't finish it cause I got too bored with his slumping around and spouting painful imagery.


Fear of Flying
by: Erica Jong
rec: jacki's pile/kathy

Fun book about being a woman and the issues of sex, fear of loneliness, and life in the 70s. Good humor, lots of depravity.


Finder
by: Emma Bull
rec: nicki

Good faerypunk book about dude who can find things (his brain does a hot-cold thing when he asks where something specific is) and a murder mystery he gets enmeshed in. Fun world and fun characters. Ending with no pulled punches.


Interface
by: Stephen Bury
rec: alex george

Fun spin through technology being used to control elections. Fast, fun, furious--standard ranting as Crypto, Zodiac, or Snow Crash.


The Wife of Martin Guerre
by: Janet Lewis
rec: david b

Novella novelization of old case of man pretending to be another man and taking over house and home. Wife, against all other folks, insists he is not the man she married. Good view into 1400s? culture of rural France.


Ordinary Love & Good Will
by: Jane Smiley
rec: mom

Two novellas about family. Very insightful and brutal. Second story has a man who never compromises, and he, even at the end, does not quite face that--he loses everything and just becomes aimless. First story is about woman and her children coming home for a reunion--lots of connections about what relationship means and the kinds of rights people expect of each other.


Peel My Love Like an Onion
by: Ana Castillo
rec: jacki's box

Flamenco dancer w/ polio talks of her life and loves. She is too ill to dance and we see her memories and her current (somewhat wretched) life. It is a nice story, full of interesting bits.


The Last Best Thing
by: Pat Dillon

Mediocre tale of Silicon Valley and the corruption, hot air, and frantic running about that exists there. I just couldn't get into it--the writing was trying too hard to be clever, the story was not very zippy, and the characters were all obnoxious.


The Fallible Fiend
by: L Spague deCamp

Semi-okay tale of fiend in fantasy world trying to do his job and not understanding the culture. Lots of semi-heavyhanded condemnation of the workings of human cultures.


Six Out Seven
by: Jess Mowry
rec: mom

Excellent book about poor black boy from Mississippi coming to West Oakland and seeing another version of poor. UYplifting yet brutal, full of amazing characters and a strong, compelling story. Loved the sound and dialect and imagry too.


The High King
by: Lloyd Alexander

Fifth book in Teran series. Excellent fantasy kid book. Has many scenes which capture essense of loss and sacrifice. Good images, fun characters, humor and heroics all mixed together.


Alice and Wonderland, etc.
by: Lewis Caroll

Second time read. I enjoyed it but it didn't really thrill me, frankly. Too random and nonsensical (whcih is the point) but I was hoping there would be a point to the nonsensical and I somehow missed it.


The Having of Wonderful Ideas
by: Elanor Duckworth
rec: ingrid

Collection of essays about teaching children. Read some--Piaget based. Should read more.


Catspaw
by: Joan Vinge
rec: mom/barb

Pretty fun cyberpunk/psi book about little folks up against the huge intergalactic corps.


A Trace of Memory
by: Keith Laumer
rec: barb

Fun sci-fi from 70s about man who meets amnesiac alien, rises to power, goes to alien planet, and saves a lost civilization!


Savage Inequalities

Great survey of the horrible atrocities of inner-city public schools and how systematic injustice is implemented in our fair country. The first chapter is quite powerful-reduced me to tears.


Be The One
by: April Smith
rec: mom

Mystery about sports scout who finds person from Dominican Republic who is good, but then something starts to happen but I got bored and didn't finish.


The Screwtape Letters
by: C.S. Lewis

Letters to young devil about his work trying to corrupt a single soul. Very christian, kind of droning for my tastes, but cute enough at beginning. Didn't finish.


Jump, and other stories
by: Nadine Gordimer
rec: laralyn

Good collection of short stories about wretched folks having emotional crises due to the machinations of government and society primarily in africa. Read first half--someday should read second. Had the plane and baby story, among others.


Strange Pilgrims
by: Gabriel Garcia Marquez
rec: jackie's box

Collection of short stories about being in foreign countries. Some stories are fairly touching. Many were melancholic.


Sweet Talk
by: Stephanie Vaughn
rec: jackie's box

Collection of short stories, primarily about a woman who grew up an army brat. Deals with broken relationships very nicely; sweet, funny, and sometimes poignant.


How to Talk Dirty and Influence People
by: Lenny Bruce
rec: clio

Great book--still very current. Lots of lampooning of hypocrisy.


The Yellow Dog
rec: londa

Selection of poems (from point of view of small boy) dealing with his dog and his english class. Very touching and well put together.


The City Not Long After
by: Pat Murphy
rec: sola

Great tale of SF after plague, artists abound. Lots of magic. Read it a second time cause one of my students read it (Beau) and I wanted to be able to talk to him about it. Interesting take on pacifism and war.


The Last Picture Show
by: Larry McMurtry
rec: Jacki's book box

Interesting tale of small-town texas. Lots of painful moments and matter-of-fact sex mixed with loneliness.


The Dreams Our Stuff is Made Of
rec: random man sent it to me

Only read first 1/4 till I lost it. Some interesting content about roots of Sci-Fi but the guy was a bit heavy-handed and I found his argumentative style a bit blind. I constantly found myself either not getting what he was saying or disagreeing with it and he never addressed my questions.


Early Autumn
by: Robert B. Parker

Touching story of a kid getting rescued from his parents by Spencer. Fun like usual; more people, less detecting.


The Dispossessed
by: Ursula K. LeGuin

fantastic book on a somewhat anarchistic society and a man who is struggling to work change. Very interesting in many ways; a lot of great ideas on how a society might operate.


Laughable Loves
by: Kundera
rec: jean (once upon a time)

Short stories having to do (some more some less) with love and sex. Some very sharp moments. The book, however, gave me a vague sense of uneasiness. I relate to the words, yet find those words and positions sexist; perhaps I do not like to relate to something I feel is so dark, self-absorbed, and in the end hurtful.


The Woman Who Loved the Moon
by: Elizabeth A Lynn

Good collection of short stories ranging across a lot of spec. fic styles. By auther of Watchtower, etc.


A Rulebook for Arguments
by: Anthony Weston
rec: b wharton

Good intro to argument. Kinda like Strunk and White


Pop Goes the Weasel
rec: david

Okay book--read it on the plane. Thriller with a lot of graphic description of the evil dude. Detective is a good guy, but a little too well rounded to believe, perhaps. Good stuff though.


If Beale St. Could Talk
by: James Baldwin
rec: chris

Interesting book. Man and woman. Man in jail. Woman working to get him out. From woman's point of view. Deals with the crushing weight of racism in a compelling and convincing manner.


Love That Dog
by: Sharon Creech
rec: londa

Wonderful story of a boy dealing with grief and poetry.


Farewell, My Lovely
by: Raymond Chandler

I am not sure how much I love this author; one of the fathers of detective fiction. His book is too dated, perhaps. I also had trouble with a very vague and wandering plot--or perhaps I was not paying enough attention. The detective (Marlow) was more than hard boiled.


Running Blind
by: Lee Child

another good book.


On Writing Well
by: William Zinsser
rec: bill wharton

Excellent book on writing. First part much better than second. Full of humor and encouragement and good advice.


Burnt Offerings
by: L K. Hamilton

I'm getting annoyed with these books again. This one was more of the silly posturing and totally illogical behaviour. If the fucking wear-beasts are human then why are they so set on being in packs, even when they all don't really want to be in packs? Well, damn.


Fuddy Meers
by: David Lindsay-Abaire
rec: erin

Little play--nonsensical and kind of dark. One of those out-of-control weird things. Obviously written by a young person. Think eraserhead, perhaps. Was okay.


Killing Floor
by: Lee Child

Not as good as his later ones, but very good. Reacher is a bit different in this book--not as cold, for example. Fun but bloody.


Sick Puppy
by: Carl Hiassen

I think I am tired of Hiassen. This book was much like the others. Man sees another littering, and decides to teach him a lesson. The other is a lobbiest fucking an island so of course there is some escelation. Eh.


The Phoenix Guards
by: Steven Brust
rec: nathan

Fantasy, written in a 'la-te-da' style where everyone is saying things such as "I've been thinking..." "marvelous" "do you think so?" "quite, I've been known to think sometimes." "lets go fight a duel for some minor slight" "yes, shall we?" "I've been waiting an hour." fashion. Entertaining, but not ground-breaking. Lots of 'races belong in their various roles and lets admire the happy little servant' stuff too, which I am not too keen on.


Other People's children
by: Lisa Delpit

Essays on teaching minorities. Very good; talks about how some liberal stances while well-meaning perhaps, are quite devistating.


Extreme Programming Explained
by: Beck

About extreme programming. Overview and argument for. Quite compelling, actually. I like it. I'd like to try it.


Tripwire
by: Lee Child
rec: dad

Excellent. Had a bad guy with a hook for chrissakes. Can't go wrong with that. Reacher is a bad-ass.


The End of Homework
by: Kralovee and Buell

Interesting comments on the possible ineffectiveness of homework and how it can cause harm and injustice. Lots of interesting material, especially with regards to effect on poor or working class children, loss of other values, and stress.


Pasttime
by: Robert B. Parker

Good detecting.


Orion
by: Ben Bova
rec: nathan

Sci-fi. Man goes back in time trying to thwart the big bad enemy. Time- line stuff never feels right to me.


Places I never meant to be
by: Judy Blume (ed)

Collection of short stories and small blurbs on censorship. Great short stories. Some of them are quite powerful. Lots are painfully open ended though. Sniff.


Slaves of the Volcano God
by: Craig Shaw Gardner
rec: nathan

Well.... it is one of those spoof/sci-fi/fantasy books, and it is kinda painful. It also leaves off on a cliffhanger, but I aint going to read any others.


Hunting Badger
by: T Hillerman

Decent mystery on Indian res.


Me Talk Pretty One Day
by: Sedaris
rec: heather

Strange and bizarre 'autobiographical accounts' of a man. Not as good as his other two books. It just got too much shock-value over the top stuff. Dunno.


House of Sand and Fog
by: Andre Dubus III
rec: mom

Painful tale of people coming together in conflict and cultural misunderstanding . Good, but such a downer. Interesting writing--got a real feel for cultural differences. Real messed up people. Not sure I believed how it spiral ed down towards the end.


Hush Money
by: Robert B. Parker
rec: mom

excellent book.; Mystery. Kick ass detective and nice writing. Fun fun fun.


Echo Burning
by: Lee Parker
rec: dad

Excellent action-mystery. Good protagonist. Fun to read. Edge-of-seat thing. Fun.


Easy Prey

Good and fun Prey book. Guy is turning out to be nice.


The Diamond Age
by: Neil Stephenson

not sure why I read this and I am not sure about the ending.


The Killing Dance
by: Hamiltoni

6th anita blake--totally awesome book--really had a lot of development and brought up a lot of issues and tragedy and it was a real page turner and the ending was devastating. Loved it. Perhaps it was my mood. Seemed to be poorly edited and sometimes confusion, strangely enough. Best of the lost though.


Jackaroo
by: Cynthia Voigt
rec: erin

Excellent medieval age set story about a strong woman coming to terms with her world. Good story.


Black Sun Rising
by: C.S. Friedman
rec: nathan

Interesting world and concept. Characters good. Interesting struggles and story. Fun to read. Had some flaws--the evil guy who we were supposed to like was not likable (david b pointed out), for example.


The Emperor
by: Kapuscinski
rec: david b

Excellent collection of interviews with people who worked in the palace of the Emperor of Ethiopia. Really captures what a palace might be like, and what absolute power and the desire to maintain status quo can do.


TGhe Lathe of Heaven
by: LeGuin
rec: marcus(?)

Good book on mind control stuff.


A Tale of Two Cities
by: Dickens
rec: clio(?)

Really great.


The Memory of Earth
by: O S Card


Final Appeal
by: Lisa Scottoline


Be Cool
by: Elmore Leonard

Sequel to Get Shorty. Okay.


Caucasia
by: Danzy Senna
rec: mom

Wow! Excellent and gripping novel on growing up, race, and culture. It's about a girl who ends up passing as white due to her mother being on the run with her, and what that does to her, and her search (in many ways) for her father and sister. Great book.


The Master and Margarita
by: M Bulgakov
rec: masha

Very strange story of the devil, etc. Not sure what to make of it--but it was definitely fun to read. I believe I may have missed the point, sadly.


Bloody Bones
by: Hamilton

Another Anita Blake--page turner as usual. Fairies and ass-kicking.


Njal's Saga
by: classic
rec: David B.

Fun. Gets a bit repetitive. Liked it though. Ends with a long lawyer trial. Kinda funky. Interesting to see 10th century Icelandic culture via 14th century p.o.v.


Lunatic Cafe

Anita Blake #4- more sex, bit less gore. Weird cause she doesn't seem to get how evil these allegedly non-true-evil folks are. Fun.


The Big Sky
rec: dad

I started reading this awhile ago and then I stopped because I got distracted. It is a slow moving book, but it slowly builds to some brutal conclusions. I am shocked that my father would have recommended it since its ending is not exactly happy. The Big Sky shows us some of what we have lost by chaining ourselves with the conventions of civilization, and also shows how the destruction of the Native Americans went about. This book is about one of the last Mountain Men who struggled with his own inability to connect and also got to watch his way of life get destroyed, in some part by his own hand. The things settlers did to make this country are nicely captured in this text, and these chilling tales will be with me for a long time.


The Seedling Stars
by: James Blish
rec: david b

Interesting. Best one was amusing story about 250 micron humans living in a world of single-cell creatures, etc. Four fun stories about modified humans adapting to new environments. Enjoyable, yet we are supposed to believe that the adapted humans are just as good, yet they lack something in brains. It is classic Sci-Fi, really pumping up the human ingenuity is cool angle.


Four Screenplays of Ingmar Bergman
by: Ingmar Bergman

Smiles of a Summer Night, The Seventh Seal, wild Strawberries, The Magician (The Face). Weird and diverse, with a common theme of sex, melodrama, tired moping about, and good humor. There is great sexual tension--very erotic and good. Humor can be quite funny. Stories are strange and I am not sure what to make of them. A bit overbearingly melodramatic and dull at times, or trying perhaps. Worth reading.


The Devil in a Forest
by: Gene Wolfe
rec: david b

Interesting story set in the middle ages about a small village in the forest dealing with an outlaw. Full of wretched brutish people doing wretched brutish things. Got the flavor of the insignificant of the era quite nicely I think, and seemed well researched in terms of how they lived (although it could be made up for all I know).


The Short Stories
by: Ernest Hemmingway
rec: c. brewster

Short stories. Quite good; subtile and quiet. Didn't read all of them cause they started to blend together.


The Blue Sword
rec: erin

preq to Hero and the Crown. Good fun fantasy story with a shit ending in some ways. Worth reading. Like the dying fantasy with 1830s tech showing up.


Gilgamesh
by: trans David Ferry
rec: comm school

Excellent and most ancient poem. Good epic. Loved themes of mortality and fear in heroes.


Cestus Dei
by: J M
Roberts

crap sci-fi about fanatic jesuits saving the universe. All hail god.


Faded Steel Heat
by: Clen Cook

Sucky fantasy book about a man who woman all fall over as he does his "noir-ish" detecting in a wild fantasy world full of racial tensions. Full of characters, too many in fact, and stupid jokes, too many in fact, and and ending which made little sense. Sucky.


American Fried
by: Calvin Trillian
rec: dad

A book about loving to eat. Funny stuff, but it gets old after a bit . Happily it is in sections so it is easy to quit if you like. Good reference to previous stuff later on though--clever and good.


The Golden Mean

Griffen and Sabine book III--wrapping it up. Nice pictures, kinda flat.


Bud, not Buddy
rec: erin

Fun book (young adult novel) about kid in depression looking for his family/father. Deals with race and poverty. Good stuff. Funny.


Salt Eaters
by: T. C. Bambara

I gave up circa pg 110. It was interesting, but too muddled and it never grabbed me. About various black people in some small town in the 1970s I think. The writing drifts into very broken and tangled--the author was a short story writer before, mainly, and perhaps that dense style is coming through.


The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
by: Sherman Alexie

An earlier collection of short stories than Toughest Indian, and it shows I think. This is a much more bitter book, and much more depressing One note: in this book, most of the indians drink, in the second book none of them do. A lot more hope in Toughest Indian. Some good tales in Lone Ranger--more autobiographical perhaps? or all the stories are about the same small group of folks.


The Circus of the Damnned
by: Hamilton

3rd Anita Blake book--more sexy and more fun than book 1 and 2. Perhaps author is hitting her stride.


The Laughing Corpse
by: Hamilton

2nd anita blake book--still fun.


Who's Irish?
by: Gish Jen
rec: mom

Excellent collection of short stories. They really take ones breath away--full of bite and humor. Soft, quiet, tragic, yet full of some kind of intangible hope. Captures what my fears of life are.


Guilty Pleasures
by: Hamilton
rec: cee

Vampire book. World has acknowledge vampires--they are all childish fit-throwing brats. Our protagonist gives them the even hand of justice. Some sex and perverson thrown in for an extra spice.


Sabine's Notebook

Sequel to Griffin and Sabine. Definitely leaves things hanging, but I think there is a third book. Good illustrations.


Sewer, Gas, and Electric
by: Ruff
rec: karl

Fun book about near-future. Massive world plot that our intrepid environmentally bent protagonists must deal with. Builds nicely, has good humor. The good guys are always accidently shooting or hurting each other.


The Toughest Indiant in the World
by: Sherman Alexie
rec: mom

Excellent collection of short stories. They start funny, then go more and more serious. The middle is more bizzare than anything but the first two stories are wonderful works.


Lust Lizard of Meloncoly Cove
by: C. Moore
rec: karl

Fun book about ancient yet well-equipped lizard coming to shore and eating people. Close to feel of Bloodsucking Fiends.


The House of Leaves
by: Mark Z. Danielewski
rec: joel

Took a long time for me to finally get through and I started skipping a bunch of stuff as the book progressed, or skimming rather. Ending kinda made up for it though. Interesting concept, but a bit long-winded about it. Lots of good satire on analysis of various forms. Story inconclusive.


The Master of Go
by: Yasunari Kawabata

Fine book about a go master in the 1935s or so. Slow, but held my interest. Based on true story, but very much a ficton. An elegy to the old times and glory of Japan, in a quiet and sedate and beautiful sense.

 
Epitaph for a peach
   by: David Mas Masumoto
   rec: judy

Beautiful book about farming in California. Japanese heritage man trying to find a place for his well-grown food. Lovely, lovely, lovely.



Watchers - Last Stop
by: Peter Lerangis
rec: given by jessica k.

A little ditty about a boy who sees mysterious things in an abandoned and skipped subway stop. Has lost his dad, two things are linked. Ending confusing.


Practical Deamonkeeping
by: Chistopher Moore
rec: karl

Not as good as Bloodsucking Fiends. Kinda fun though. Man has a demon and can't get rid of it. Small town. Plot ensues.


Bloodsucking Fiends
by: Chistopher Moore
rec: karl

Bloodsucking fiends was such a kick-ass book! Got what I like down just perfect. Loved it. Thanks! The perverse aspects of it are wild; in addition, and amusingly enough, no major characters died (well except the one animal). In fact no one died out of their time (more or less). Interesting.


Out of the Silent Planet
by: CS Lewis
rec: d burt

A very fun little sci-fi book. Written awhile back, but does not suffer from that ol 30s sci-fi feel. Good aliens. Good story. Thought provoking at times. One problem--pumps the all happy under God type idea which I confess doesn't grip me.


Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
by: R Wells

excellent little book about dealing with the devistation of a disturbed and mildly abusive childhood (the other book shows it is more than mild... well in this one it is not mild either, kill the mild.) Very funny and very touching. Made me weep on the T.


The Goblet of Fire (H.P. IV)

It was okay, actually. Better than 2 and 3. Fun to read.


Little Altars Everywhere

Good, but brutal. First half is mixed funny and painful and then the second half is even darker... the best character in the first half is a horrendous mess in the second half and her spark is gone... this is a painful thing.


Introduction to the Short Story (3rd ed)
by: ed: Robert Boynton and Maynard Mack
rec: highschool soph class

Nice collection of short stories, kinda blah discussion of said at begnning.


Queen Amadala

bad kid book on queen amadala. writing a bit grating at times.


Eating Chinese Food Naked
by: Mei Ng
rec: mom

Very funny little book about a 22 year old moving back home with mom and dealing with angst about life and its rlexxx the rolw of parents.


The Gardin in the Dunes
rec: mom

Interesting and a downer. Long book. Girl (native american) taken in by white folk round 1900, goes to europe. About her and her sister and the world of ours conflicted bvy issues of race and greed.


Mostly Harmless
by: Douglass Adams

disjoint and kind of boreing.


Fight CLub
by: Chuck Palahniuk
rec: heather

Violence and machismo. Kind of funnby, not as deep as one might hope, I think. Enjoyable. Fairly simler to movie, but has some more scenes and complexity in the middle, but the gist is the same. The woman is more rounded.


The Best American Short Stories of 1969
by: ed Mrtha Foley and David Burnett

Some okay stories . I didn't finish it, but skipped around. Nothing really springs to mind now (and I read it two days ago.)


A Voyage to Arcturus
by: David Lindsay
rec: David

Interesting little sci-fi book. Weird world. Bad philosophy. Strange ending. Some nice moments toward the center with strange people intereacting in a truely wild and alian place. Trying to make some phil. point which I missed, but seems to have something to do with "woman love to serve and men love to rule thw wilds with their will." and other things like "beauty and pleasure are not the same--pleasure is satan, more or less."


The Science of Jurassic Park
by: DeSalle & Lindley
rec: beau

Interesting exploration of building a Dino from DNA as presented in Movie. Full of catty little remarks about original book and movie's scientific failings. Also full of overview of various science bits involved, mostly DNA reconstruction and synthesis of organisms. Probably more-or-less accurate, but it is hard to tell.


The Calcutta Cromosome
by: Amitav Ghosh
rec: mom

Intreaguing mystery/suspense/sci-fi book. Not sure I entirely understand it, or the end. A page turner, but then by end strangeness was never explained or justified, and it was too perfect without cause (the plotting of the consirators that is.)


Slant
by: Greg Bear
rec: Kathy

Interesting sci-fi with nanotech. Weird view of sex and sexism implicit in book too. Dunno... ending kind of haphazard and unsatisfying. Interesting concept of the effect on society of emersion in nano though.


The Big Sky
rec: joe

Western... kind of slow but is an inteesting depiction of the life of mountain men in the old west. Might not finish it.


South of the Border, West of the Sun
by: Haruki Murakami
rec: erin

Excellent story of a man in Japan who is haunted by a childhood friend and the struggle to understand love, responsibility, and happiness. Like what I am trying to do with Image. A soft and engaging piece of writing.


Girl Interrupted

very interesting memoir about being in asylum. Brutal complex, and funny. Hard to say how to draw the line of sanity.


Annie John
by: J Kincaid
rec: 9th grade eng book

excellent book, but the ending is brutal, and I am not sure what to make of the end. Love faids and it is hard to grasp why except for the need to assert independence and individuality? hmmm....


Winter's Tale
by: Mark Helprin
rec: found in Commonwealth computer lab

A breathless fantasy story about New York. Had moments, but dragged and I ended up skipping pages just to finish the damn thing.


The Black Tower
by: PD James
rec: dad
(read this awhile ago, but forgot).
 
Good detective novel
 
about a guy who is a very introspective and complex detective trying to
 
figure something out in a place where there is nothing clearly wrong
 
going on.
Very cool, slow and majestic.
The writing is enjoyable and
quite colorful.


Parable of a Sower
by: Octavia Butler
 

rec: erin
Excellent story about near-future, NOT post-holocaust, world where
everything has gone to hell.
Intrepid prophetess works towards building
a chance at hope.
Very dark, but great and gripping story.
Horrid view
of slipping back into a slave times/company scrip times.


Canticle for Lebowitz
rec: Frank Forman
Interesting, but the god stuff gets to me.
Actually must have read it in distant past, butdidn't remember ending part.
Post-holocaust no way out stuff.


Destiny's Road
by: Nivin

Not the greatest sci-fi in the world. People live on planet where they need a 'spice' to get needed element in their diet. Man goes to the place that has all the high-tech folk who keep everyone else in the dark. About a journey of a man to the truth of where he comes from. Fun.


Stand
by: S King
rec: James C

Pain! Pain pain pain pain! Gargh! Fuck! Yowel! The book ends with a god-damn 50 fucking page describtion of walking through snow--and we are not talking a good description like you find in a nature book (such as Sesert Solitare by Alby) but just drivel.

And the man is a sexist, and a racist, and shit goddamn it was long, and it sucked. Did you aknow all women are supposed to be secretly lonmging for motherhood and quiet times at the side of their man? Well, apparently it is true. The 'nice black lady in the middle of the fucking field' good person is a paper-mache front disguising some major fucking issues in his majorly fucked head.


Secret Prey
by: Sandford

Hunting in forest and snipers.


Worthing Saga
by: Card

good, standard Card, I think.


Harvest Son
by: David Masumoto
rec: mom
Autobiography of being a farmer, being Japanese-American, and
 
connecting ones ellusive past to the act of farmoing and present.
A beautiful and touching book which shows how farming, and the
sweat involved, a is a sacred (possibly) and wonderful act.
Definitely worth reading.


A Medicine for Melancoholy
by: Ray Bradbury

Collection of short stories. Some are kind of interesting. I wanted it cause of Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (I saw and liked the movie). The stories are good, but a bit flat or something. Nice ideas. I suppose it is worth reading but it is not gribpping.


Hannibal
 
Sequel to Silence of the Lambs.
Harsh, disgusting, and
full of awful people.
Not sure what I think about it, aside from
the portrayal of the FBI is probably accurate and horrific and
sleazy.
The ending is I am not sure what... sad, and unfulfilling?


Giving Up America
rec: mom
A woman comes to realize she is not happy with her life
and husband.
Her background of Hasidic Judiasm plays a large
role.
Quiet, written in a nice and distinct style which is very
matter of fact.
Good book; the feelings are starkly portrayed.


The Falling Woman
rec: Erin P
About an archeologist and her daughter in a Maya ruin with a lot ogf
mysticism.
The woman sees shades of the past--and the way this is handled is very well done.
A nice story with a strange and somewhat
unsatisfying ending.
Worth reading.
Good view of Maya too. I think.


The Cathedral
by: Raymond Carverr

Good collection of short stories--quite painful at times. Final story has some real punch to it--blind man drawing one.


The Eight
by: Neville, Katherine
rec: Nathan M.a
Mystical book about chess and a secret chess set that people
throughout history are attempting to get to find some secret
formula.
Parallel stories in 1790s and 1970s -- good and fun, but
sometimes very irritating due to people's stupidity
and their failure to take an easy solution and all that.



The Man Who Loved Only Numbers
by: Paul Hoffman
rec: Uncle David
Very fun and fast biography of Erdos and the world of
mathematicians.
I highly recommend this, it is fun and funny
and is packed with lots of feel and trivia.


Distraction
by: Bruce Sterling
rec: James Q. & Joe
A very mixed book--has a lot of interesting background scenery,
and a good story about someone I dislike immensely, but the ending is
not a bang, but a whimper.
Interesting thoughts on nomadic tribes of
tech-savy poor & displaced in a drowning America.


Skin Tight
by: Carl Haasen

Yet another Cal Hiassen book. Someone is trying to kill Mick Stranahan. He kills the first intruder with a stuffed marlin.


Riding the Rap
by: Elmore Leonard

three cons trying to con by kidnapping a broker who skipped with dough. Decent, standard.


The Bombideers
 
A decent but hard to take book about high finance.
THe people are awful and messed up, and you see the evil of money.


Faces Excellent collection of short stories which has the most brilliant flow
I have seen in a long time.
The ideas are all over the map and a great mix of the dark and the humor.
We Interrupt this Semester for an Important Bullitan Old teen book from my childhood--kind of offensivly 'girly' at times-- promoting bad values, but then it turns and looks at itself with a penetrating eye that leaves you with some very funny scenes.
The Graduate Interesting--the tone of the book is the same as the movie.
There is some extra scenes that are quite nice (in the beginning he goes on a 3 week trip).
 


The Umbrella Country
by: Bino A Realyo
rec: mom

It was okay, but I didn't finish it. Not gripping.


Remains of the Day
by: Ishi Goro
rec: MIT writing club

Story of a butler coming to terms with his life. Very good; slow and majestic. Liked it a lot. Good example of a lying/self-denying narrator. Get to see thoughts being censored in a beautiful way.

Grendel
by: John Gardner
Great story of Grendel and his views on the bad situation he found
himself in.
A bit heavy-handed at points, or rather packed with philo-
sophical twattle of little interest--I gues I can't be bothered to spend
a lot of time thinking philosophically in the middle of a novel.
Snow
Crash had this same blemish.
But definitely worth reading, but not as
much so as Beuwulf
Beaowulf Great great great stuff.
Loved it, went fast.
Didn't read in original old english, and how could anyone?
Jesus christ we have come a long
way.
But I loved it, and it was fast, and I got to feel all educated and shit.
The Blue Crown Childhood book.
Great story about a girl finding her place.
It has some pieces which rub me the wrong way (immortality and those folks being 'better' than the mortals.)
But a real struggle set in a fantasy world which is harsh and tangible.
And unusual to boot. Does have a class heirarchy which I dislike--built in rights to rule always ticks me off.
But this was not of major import.

He's Scared, She's Scared Found this book in the self-help section cause my shrink told me to get a book on relationships.
It is about people with commitment conflicts and is an okay read, but not too illuminating.
Perhaps it was afew years too late for much use for me.
But decent.
Nice cover.
The Beginning Place A childhood book with enormous subtilty.
LeGuin packs her writing and demands a very carefull reading.
I reread many passages and kept finding richness in them.
A very satisfying book with an ending I do not fully understand.
But a nice connection between people who are not perfect and not beautiful.
Real life and seeing beauty in what is not classically beautiful.
Good stuff.

Turnip Blues rec: mom Very nice book--a bit rocky and hard to take, since it is really from a different economic class's viewpoint than mine (I think this is the reason, anyway, perhaps that is bad for me to say).
Brutal and funny.

Thumbsucker rec: Heather Funny, but the protagonist is irritating and I want to smack him.
The
ending is flat, and I wanted more conclusion.
A Prayer for Owen Meany rec: Due to Simon Birch This book annoyed the crap out of me.
I ended up forcing myself through it (skimming, I guess) and I liked the movie a lot better.
Owen is a twit.
Watchtowner Dancers of Aurun Northern Girl rec: given to me by mom when I was young
Three stories about finding ones place, fantasy, set about 100 years apart with vague references to previous stories in each successive one.
This 100 year sepoeration give a very interesting view of history, and pulls in a lot of feelings of nostalgia and
longing for the past.
It makes me wonder what has been lost over the years in our world.
The second book is the best story.
Invisible Man Rage and horror for many pages.
Powerfull and depressing.
Well written and hard to read.
I did not understand it, the entirety of it, and what was implied by the Brotherhood and what became of the protagonist.
But the individual scenes each contained a masterfull picture of societal horror and a plausable way conspiricies could truely and subtily be in place.
A thriller of manipulation of an honest soul--much like the movie Arlington Road in some ways.
Rubyfruit Jungle Rita Mae Brown rec: Rebecca

Excellent book (young adult level?) about a strong-willed smart girl growing up in some rural (southern?) place.
Good sense of humor throughout and excellent views and scenes of sex.
A bit heavy-handed on the political issues sometimes, and a bit over the top with peoples stupidity, but these all serve to underline truths rather than depart from them.
Ender's Shadow rec: Drew
Good book, nice parallel to Ender's Game.
Again Card has interesting outlook on motivation, humanity and good and evil.
Ties up nicely. Leaves self open for sequel.
A bit heavy handed with the family = happy life message at end.
Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask Ilyce R. Glink
Nice overview of what is involved in buying a house.
Tables to compute how much one can afford at the end of it too, based on interest rates.
(found for me by Erin)

Tumble Home
by: Amy Hempel
rec: dunno



Griffin and Sabine

Surreal little pseudo-kid book composed of letters. Fun.


Fifth Sacred Thing
by: Starhawk
rec: mom

Pacifism in a post-holicaust san francisco. Nifty because it shows how hard and horrid that route can be, and how it might work in the end. Some very strange strangeness with bee-women and magic, but the rest is fantastic possability.


Naked
by: Sedaris

More shorts by Sedaris with a closing bit on nudist camps to die for.

Down in the Zero Andrew Vaches
Burke dealing with himself as father figure and murderer of child. Interesting relationship with woman.
Ending somewhat discordant.
-- One of Us
M.M. Smith
a very nice and very bizarre book.
Science-fiction, a man gets a job holding memories and dreams for people, get stuck with a bad memory, and tries to deal with it.
Book is particularly noteworthy for its appliances -- I need say no more.
Given to me by Erin. --
Future Earths
ed. M. Resnick & G. Dozois
A nice short story collecton of (usually) USA folks in Central and South America.
Interesting stuff.
--
Time & Again J. Finney
An interesting tale about going into the past and looking around by force of mind.
Written in 70s, and it shows.
Nice, quiet sci-fi. Has illustrations of hisoric times, and a good story.
Rec by: Erin Pantteja
--
Starship Titanic Terry Jones
Annoying camp-sci-fi humor.
Some funny moments, but overall it bugged me.
--
The Black Company Cook
Annying yet gripping fantasy.
Overblown writing style, but a story which pulls you in and makes you laugh.
--

To Say Nothing of the Dog
by: Connie Willis
rec: Steven P
Great and fun book.
Time travel.
Kittens.
Victorians.

Zodiac
by: Donaldson
rec: dad Very fun book about a man who I can get behind and admire, despite the fact he is a jerk.
Nice enviromental stance and good story.

Snowcrash
by: Donaldson Fun book... the beginning is brilliant and that pretty much got me through the soggy overly philosophical middle and on to the action-filled end.
It was good trash with intellectualism I had no use for in the middle.

Good Benito
by: Alan Lightman

Interesting tale of scientists working together.


Native Tongue
by: Suzette Haden Elgin

Disturbing scifi sexist society. Brutal to read.


Hyperion
by: Dan Simmons
rec: todd

Okay scifi, but too much "ancient civ" stuff.


The Bohr Maker
by: Linda Nagata
rec: mom

generic scifi


A Secret History
by: Donna Tartt
rec: Jofish

Eeh. About a cult of classic scholars in a liberal art college somewhere who are doing their 'we are smarter than all ya mo-fos, and are into this cutl thing too' thing. They knock of f some farmer or something, and then have to vover it up. A read, not great but not bad either. Note: Christine read this and thought about me, even recommending this book to me, several years later.


Barrel Fever
by: David Sedaris
rec: joe

Great and harsh shorts. Wonderful fun and sickness. Fantastic piece on working as a santa elf.


The Fallen Man
by: T Hillerman

Longtime dead skeleton, Leaphorn is retired.


Beneath the Wheel
by: Herman Hesse
rec: Jon McDun
A boy is destroyed by the educational drive of his surroundings.
Captures school and the agony of it expertly.
Worth reading when
thinking about the pressures placed on the young academically
successful.


Golem: (something science)
by: Collins and Pinch
rec: Dunn
An analysis, using real examples (such as cold fusion and disproving
corpsal eruption(?), of how science makes truth.
It is very interesting,
and shows how the scientific method is only part of a much more complex
process in the search for truth.


Bombardiers
by: Po Bronson

Horiffic tale of bond traders and how horrid it all is.


Headcrash
by: Bruce Bethke
rec: mom

cyberpunk--okay.


Mona Lisa Overdrive
by: Gibson

god in cyberspace.


Memoirs Found in a Bathtub
by: Stanislaw Lem
rec: quin

Short stories... kind of cute.


An Acceptable Time
by: Madeleine L'Engle

Sequel of world of "Wrinkle in Time"


The Eye of the World
by: Robert Jordan

At least I've read one of these things... ick.


Xanth Novels
by: Oiers Anthiobny

Puns and wierd fantasy and lots of issues about women. Did you know the idea woman is a woman who cycles from "dumb and attractive" to "ugly and smart" because in the former you don't have to talk, iu can just fuck, and in the latter you don't have the distraction of wanting to fuck, so you can talk? Well, there you are. In Orgre Ogre, we have the "Hi-Q" plant which makes you smart, to get a taste of the kinds pof puns you are going to get.


Cadillac Jack
by: Larry McMurtry
rec: dad

Excellent tale of antique hound and his woes with women. Fun


Going Solo
by: Roald Dahl
rec: age

Collection of short stories about being in war. Very interesting and worth reading.


Boy
by: Roald Dahl
rec: age

the horrors of english schools and growing up a lad. Collection of shorts. Good.


Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book
by: Silverstein

Very funny fake kid book.


Lord of the Flies
by: William Golding

Excellent


The Black Unicorn
by: Terry Brooks

Kinda cute, but not worth going ot of ones way for. Magic Kingdom is much better and amusing.


The Unbearable Lightness of Being
by: Milan Kundera
rec: jean

A book that captures the thoughts and desires of me, in a lot of ways, when I think of women and relationships. Beautiful, funny, nails down what horrible humor is in life.


A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
by: Mark twain
rec: dad

Didn't like it. Took two attempts to read it.


Magic Kingdom For Sale/Sold
by: Brooks

Funny little fantasy of "modern folk taken to magic world and tries to find out what the fuck is going on" type. Cute, and good/ Fast.


A History of Pi
by: Beckman
rec: Kansas
Great history of Pi--lots of snide remarks about military
and people who do not appreciate thinking.
Good political angle.


The Wind's 12 Quarters
by: Ursula K. LeGuin

short stories about city


Sword and Sorceress I
by: M Z Bradley

Fantasy stories.


Magician series
by: R E Feist

Good series--lots of fun. Fantasy.


Empire of Time
by: Crawford Kilian
rec: alicia

One of my first scifi books--don't remember it.


Cruiser Dreams
by: Janet Morris

scifi


The Best of Marion Zimmer Bradley
by: ed MJartin Greeenberg

good


Tarzan Books
by: Edgar Rice Burroughs
rec: gift of grandma

Tarzan! Spiffy. Many books


The Panda's Thumb
by: Gould
rec: lick

natural history essays


Silmarillion
by: JRR Tolkien

Couldn't make it through--in this case, why not read a real history book for chrissakes.


Vengence of Dancing Gods
by: Jack L. Chalker

World where a book of rules (generic fantasy rules) is the physics--earthlings arrive and deal. Kinda fun.


The President's Daughter
by: Ellen Emerson White

young adult. Girl has a mom who is president. Teen angst.


Cronicles of Narnia
by: C.S. Lewis

Beautiful (and christian) fantasy about our world kids ending up in their world. I remember mainly the waking up of the queen by ringing a bell.

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