| PAGES |
AUTHOR | TITLE |
DATE |
| 240 |
John Hodgman |
The Areas of My Expertise (2005) |
17/01/2009 |
| Hodgman is best known as PC from the Mac commercials. This is a book of facts. Facts completely made up by Hodgman. He has a curious wit, one that grows on you as you read. Knowing what his voice sounds like added to the experience, making some passages much more funny. |
| 208 |
Jim Henderson and Matt Casper |
Jim and Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation about Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians (2007) |
26/01/2009 |
| Jim (Henderson), a Christian, and (Matt) Casper, an atheist, go on a road trip to see several major evangelical churches and record Casper's impressions. The list of churches is a veritable Who's Who of evangelicalism: Saddleback, Willow Creek, Mars Hill, and even that Osteen church. Casper shares his likes and dislikes with Jim, who urges the Christians reading the book to take heed and make changes so that atheists will want to come to church. It sounded intriguing at first, but it wore on me. I found the whole premise that atheists have an interest in going to church absurd. |
| 215 |
Kurt Vonnegut |
Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) |
02/02/2009 |
| Vonnegut's anti-war/science fiction/account of the firebombing of Dresden. |
| 487 |
Carlos Ruiz Zafón |
The Shadow of the Wind (2005) |
09/02/2009 |
| This outstanding book grabbed me in the first few pages and didn't let me go. It's about a boy that finds and reads a book written by an author whose works are being destroyed by a mysterious phantom-like figure. His quest to find out why leads us on a story of lost love and betrayal. |
| 136 |
Trevor Paglen |
I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to be Destroyed by Me: Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World (2007) |
15/02/2009 |
| This book was sitting on the library's display of new titles. It looks somewhat unassuming with a patch pasted on the cover of the black book. I opened it and new I had to read it. It contains pictures of patches and emblems used by several of the Pentagon's black ops units with an explanation or suggestion of what the imagery contained on each is. It also explains a little about some of the missions undertaken by each (when known). Hardly heavy reading, and lots of colorful pictures. |
| 504 |
William J. Petersen |
25 Surprising Marriages: Faith-Building Stories from the Lives of Famous Christians (1997) |
22/02/2009 |
| Mini-biographies of Christian couples throughout history: Billy and Ruth Graham, Martin and Katie Luther, etc. |
| 239 |
Rebecca Miller |
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee: A Novel (2008) |
23/02/2009 |
| I read about a movie based on this book. I wish I had never read it. I will definitely not watch the movie. |
| 304 |
Matthew Quick |
The Silver Linings Playbook: A Novel (2008) |
28/02/2009 |
| A man begins to recover from his mental illness with the help of friends, family, and the Philadelphia Eagles. |
| 368 |
Steven Pressfield |
The Afghan Campaign: A Novel (2006) |
15/03/2009 |
| Matthias is a soldier of Alexander's army. He and his brothers in arms are stationed in Afghanistan, facing a resourceful and brutal enemy. Clunky storytelling and weak plot lines. |
| 272 |
David Sedaris |
Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000) |
01/04/2009 |
| I saw that Steve read this and I remembered that it was on my mental reading list. Hilarious. |
| 752 |
Wally Lamb |
The Hour I First Believed: A Novel (2008) |
30/04/2009 |
| Messed up guy and his messed up wife get caught up in the Columbine shootings. This causes a search for sanity and meaning as he learns about his family history and finds, like so many of us, that they come from a long line of messed up people. |
| 86 |
Miko Matsumura, Bjoern Brauel, Jignesh Shah |
SOA Adoption for Dummies (2009) |
06/05/2009 |
| After sitting in meeting after meeting, reading white papers, technical specs, test plans, and previously produced user documentation, this little book was a welcome reprieve. |
| 336 |
Wendy Northcutt |
The Darwin Awards 4: Intelligent Design (2006) |
16/05/2009 |
| After years of getting "Darwin Awards" spam in my inbox, this book didn't make me so much as giggle. |
| 233 |
Philip Roth |
Indignation (2008) |
21/05/2009 |
| Inane and stupid. |
| 256 |
Joe Eszterhas |
Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith (2008) |
26/05/2009 |
| Eszterhas brought us such movies as "Basic Instinct" and "Showgirls." Then, after smoking every day for 45 years, he came down with throat cancer. Then, the man who spent his life mocking God turned to him. Now a faithful follower of Christ, he talks about how his life has changed. This is the best such testimony I have ever read. His faith is infectious, his presentation is raw, and his story is encouraging. |
| 272 |
Larry Doyle |
I Love You, Beth Cooper |
26/06/2009 |
| Read like a movie script for one of those teen coming of age movies. Halfway through, I did a search. Due in theaters July 10, 2009. Don't waste your time. |
| 213 |
Stephen King |
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1) (1982) |
06/07/2009 |
| I had only read about three chapters of any of King's works prior to this. But a cryptic post on Facebook suddenly gained clarity two days later as the cover of this book stared at me from its shelf at the public library. It's a strange tale, one that mixes settings, times, and folklore, but one that is strangely interesting. The gunslinger, a knight from some futuristic kingdom, in his quest for the man in black. But for what? It looks like I must read the next book to find out. |
| 162 |
Lemony Snicket |
The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1) (1999) |
30/08/2009 |
| Reading this out loud to my youngest daughter. I'm enjoyed the book, but loved the time with her. |
| 240 |
Stephen Colbert |
I Am America (And So Can You!) (2007) |
30/08/2009 |
| So funny. |