| Early Autumn by Robert B. Parker, 221 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, April 18, 2002 | Earth: An Intimate History by Richard Fortey, 425 pages Steven Krise Tuesday, October 13, 2009 Fortey's thesis is (to paraphrase Dobzhansky) that nothing in geology makes sense except in light of plate tectonics. He then takes the reader on a tour of a dozen or so locations around the globe with various geological formations that either were pivotal in providing evidence for the theory or which finally made sense when explicated tectonically. |
East of Eden by John Steinbeck, 601 pages Kristin Schrock Monday, August 12, 2002 Alternative title: Sympathy for Cain. I was expecting to have to slog through this, but it was surprisingly good. There are essentially two women characters: one is an evil whore (literally) and the other a good virgin. I think the evil whore is supposed to be Eve. Also, Steinbeck wrote his own house in Salinas, CA into the story. As in, 'Past the Steinbeck house.' |
Eastward to Tartary by Robert Kaplan, 347 pages Tony Pisarenkov Tuesday, May 20, 2003 Covering a bit of the Balkans but primarily Turkey, the Middle East and formerly Soviet Caucusus and Central Asia, this is a worthy follow-up to Kaplan's now classic "Balkan Ghosts." A tad less incisive, perhaps, than the earlier volume, and, sadly, lacking the fascinating photography of "Ghosts," it is still a brilliant synthesis of ancient and recent history with a shrewd political, social and cultural analysis of the current situations in the places he covers, all written with great flair and ending with a note of caution about the West's mishandling of many of the unstable parts of the world -- a warning especially relevant today. Essential reading. |
Eccentric Neighborhoods by Rosario Ferre, 352 pages Jaqi Ross Monday, June 28, 2004 Not recommended! |
Echo Burning by Lee Child, 354 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, January 08, 2003 This book about made me sweat. It takes place in the heart of Texas in the middle of summer. The vivid descriptions of the 115 degree heat made me forget it was winter outside. Good story too. Tough guy/drifter gets picked up by a desperate woman who claims her husband beats her and she's got nowhere to go. He goes home with her and takes care of business. |
Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3) (2007) by Stephenie Meyer, 640 pages Brad Snyder Tuesday, August 12, 2008 Bella, wracked with a decision between vampire-boy and a life of being his vampire queen or brushing the matted fur of her werewolf must suddenly be protected by werewolves and vampires cooperating to save her whiny, self-centered self. |
Eichmann in Jersualem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt, 264 pages James Donahue Sunday, July 21, 2002 Arendt's controversial thesis that the true horror of the Holocaust was not in its mendacity but in its banality. Worse: its happening again in Israel in the 1960s. Thought-provoking, fascinating |
Eichmann In Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963) by Hannah Arendt, 298 pages James Donahue Wednesday, November 29, 2006 |
Eiger Dreams by Jon Krakauer, 186 pages Steve Gadd Thursday, May 22, 2003 I wish I could find a hundred books like this one, a collection of 12 magazine articles, mostly from Outside and Smithsonian. Each one profiles a mountaineering adventure or disaster. Interesting note: K2, the second-highest mountain in the world, is regarded as the most difficult ascent. The is partly because it is so remote that no permanent human settlement is close enough to see it. |
Elementary German Series - Books 1 to 5 by Peter Hagboldt, 286 pages Steven Krise Sunday, April 13, 2003 A pleasant surprise gift from S Gadd many years ago. An (apparently) innovative graded reader. I was pleased to discovery I would be competent to converse freely with a 4 year old auf Deutsch. |
Eleventh Hour by Catherine Coulter, 337 pages Kristin Schrock Tuesday, August 03, 2004 The second in my series of books bought at the grocery store. This one featured a sunset picture of the Golden Gate Bridge on the cover. This sub-par thriller featured a serial killer who begins the book by killing a priest. Then he's after a "homeless" woman who has her own dark secrets. I didn't guess the twists, but they weren't terribly interesting either. If I could just get through the "real" book I'm reading, I could quit torturing myself with books like this. |
Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee, 246 pages James Donahue Tuesday, June 22, 2004 An astounding novel centered around an aging novelist and eight public lectures. The embeddedness of Coetzee's thought within a body of language makes this book about more than ideas. |
Elske by Cynthia Voigt, 245 pages Julie Gephart Saturday, February 16, 2002 Voigt heartily reverses her earlier policy that nothing really bad happens to girls - she clarifies here that if you are a girl, your life totally sucks no matter where you live. |
Elske: A Novel of the Kingdom (1999) by Cynthia Voigt, 245 pages A Bennett Wednesday, June 02, 2004 Never less than good, at moments excellent. I have found myself deciding to read certain things as I come across them as I pack boxes, so this is a technical 're-read'. Necessary vocabulary: demesne. |
Embracing Defeat by John Dower, 650 pages James Donahue Saturday, May 22, 2004 Dower has written a remarkably comprehensive and readable (two traits not often paired) history of the American occupation of Japan. Great insight, and interesting to read while our current occupational efforts wallow in the mud. |
Emerald Aisle by Ralph McInery, 226 pages James Donahue Monday, August 05, 2002 More murder at Notre Dame. A sophmore couple in love books a reservation at Sacred Heart six years in advance, and soon break up. When the boy finds love again years later, he attempts to cash in on his previous reservation only to find that his previous girlfriend has preempted his deviousness. When he tracks her down to Minnesota to try and win back the reservation, mischief arises involving some missing Cardinal Newman documents and a estranged wive's murder. Sounds like a case fo Roger Knight philosophy professor. |
Emile Zola (1966) by Elliott Grant, 181 pages James Donahue Wednesday, October 25, 2006 Old-time lit-crit, from the times when the middle-class tried to keep up with their European literature to maintain their class status. Remember those days? |
Emily Ever After by Ann Dayton and May Vanderbilt, 307 pages Micaela Larkin Monday, January 22, 2007 The story of an evangelical girl taking on NYC and the Sex in the City publishing world. Okay read for Evangelicachick lit, but at the end of the day it is still evangelicachick lit... |
Endurance by Alfred Lansing, 282 pages Steve Gadd Sunday, April 11, 1999 Inspiring, absolutely incredible account of a disasterous attempt to cross the south pole on foot. |
Endurance by Alfred Lansing, 282 pages Jeff Gadd Thursday, June 15, 2000 |
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing, 280 pages Kristin Schrock Thursday, February 21, 2002 Shackleton, Shackleton he's our man! |
Engaging God's World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., 169 pages Brad Snyder Sunday, April 03, 2005 Plantinga has deepened my understanding of world view with this wonderfully written and mentally challenging book. The theme is that as Christians, we should be longing for "shalom", and he articulates the need to see the world through the theological understanding of the Creation, Fall, and Redemption. While it's written for a college-aged audience, it is relevant for all. |
Engineers of Dreams by Henry Petroski, 397 pages Steve Gadd Thursday, April 04, 2002 A history of bridge building in America. Petroski presents the personalities and politics behind these great engineering achievements, including embarrassments such as Tacoma Narrows. Interesting to learn that one of the most serious dangers facing early bridgebuilders was the bends, which was known as 'caisson disease,' after the large structures built midriver to support a bridge. |
England Made Me (1935) by Graham Greene, 207 pages James Donahue Wednesday, June 13, 2007 I had never read an early Greene novel before, nor realized how much he borrowed from other interwar Catholic pessimists, such as Waugh or Belloc. In this book nihilism prevails among the devolving British upper crust while Depression ravages the working man. (Read in Invermere, my ideal town.) |
England's Lost Eden: Adventures in a Victorian Utopia (2005) by Philip Hoare, 468 pages James Donahue Monday, April 24, 2006 Picture this: semi-pretentious British author digs into the religious past of his rural city to find Shakers, would-be Messiahs, a brooding John Ruskin, spiritualists and seances, and one large tower built as a 'modern church.' If this sort of thing catches your interest, its a fascinating read. If not, then this book won't retain you for a reader. |
Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality by Dean Radin, 298 pages Micaela Larkin Wednesday, May 02, 2007 Psychics & Quantum Physics |
Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett, 237 pages Steven Krise Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Eskarina is the 8th son of an 8th son, destining her for a long career as a powerful wizard. There's only one problem (to the world, not to Esk). She's a girl. |
Eraser by Robert Tine, 228 pages Jeff Gadd Saturday, January 19, 2002 If u like the movie u will like the book too. |
Eric by Terry Pratchett, 197 pages Steven Krise Thursday, July 19, 2007 "If Terry Pratchett is not yet [in] an institution he should be.... Nothing...magical." |
Ernst Troeltsch: His Life and Work (1993) by Hans-Georg Drescher, 311 pages James Donahue Tuesday, July 10, 2007 |
Escape from the Deep by Alex Kershaw, 288 pages Steve Gadd Friday, October 09, 2009 |
Essays in Pragmatism by William James, 189 pages James Donahue Thursday, May 22, 2003 |
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, 181 pages Kristin Schrock Sunday, May 30, 2004 I was warned about this book, about how I might spiral into depression after reading it. But I have to say, it didn't seem all that depressing. Ethan pines for the woman who cares for his hypochondriacal wife, but honor forbids him from leaving the wife. Angst and tragedy ensue. The end. |
Ethics: An Essay on the Understanding of Evil by Alain Badiou, 184 pages James Donahue Tuesday, March 11, 2003 Badiou is a contemporary French philosopher with intriguing, original, and provocative stances. In this essay he stands opposed to rights-ethics and alterity-ethics, claiming that both are innately conservative programmes of abstraction that refuse to situate ethics in concrete human relationships. Certainly his arguments -- written in 1994 -- are compelling in such troubled times when we bomb people out of 'humanitarian' concerns. Badiou ends up arguing for an ethics based upon universal (though not transcendent) truth, fidelity to our relationship to truth, and our humility before the truth. Evil is posited as perversions of the Good. (Did I mention he is profoundly influenced by Pauline Marxism?) Evil is thus the opposite of ethical action: being content with opinions and simulcrums, betrayal of what animates us, and the imposition of truth through terror and absolutizing. |
Europe Central (2005) by William Vollmann, 752 pages James Donahue Thursday, June 01, 2006 Wow! This is the first book in a long time that I have re-read chapters simply for the pleasure of feeling the words on my tongue. |
Evelyn Waugh: The Early Years, 1903-1939 (1986) by Martin Stannard, 504 pages James Donahue Sunday, December 30, 2007 |
Event 1000 by David Lavallee, 258 pages Jeff Gadd Saturday, December 22, 2001 Interesting book about sailors trapped in a sinking submarine. |
Everthing We Had by Al Santoli, 260 pages Jeff Gadd Saturday, December 29, 2001 A great book about 33 American soldiers who fought in Vietnam. |
Everyday Apocalypse: The Sacred Revealed in Radiohead, the Simpsons, and Other Pop Culture Icons by David Dark, 160 pages Brad Snyder Tuesday, June 20, 2006 Dark's writing is dense, but the thoughts are inspiring. The first and last chapters, along with the chapter on Flannery O'Connor made this book worthwhile. |
Evil and the Justice of God (2006) by N.T. Wright, 176 pages Jonathan Misirian Saturday, May 05, 2007 Wright shifts the focus from ‘why didn’t God do something to stop evil’ to ‘look at what God has done and is doing to help those in the face of evil.’ Wright is a profound thinker and lucid writer. He traces the biblical themes of God’s love for his people in the face of evil and presents a convincing look at how God –through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus –provided the ultimate answer for evil. |
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym, 272 pages Micaela Larkin Monday, November 27, 2006 Awesome |
Exclusion and Embrace by Miroslav Volf, 310 pages Jonathan Misirian Wednesday, February 15, 2006 Volf, professor at Yale Divinity School, presents the Prodigal Son narrative in Luke 15, as a model of national ethnic reconciliation. Volf writes from the perspective of Croatian caught in the midst of the Bosnian conflict. |
Executive Orders by Tom Clancy, 1358 pages Steven Krise Monday, October 29, 2007 I'm not sure if it's the self-righteous moralism, the fascist politics, the support for the Nuremburg defense or the awful prose that leads me to hate this book. I thought previously that "Red Rabbit" may have been an anomaly but now after slogging thru more than 2000 pages of Clancy I am sure that I simply don't like Clancy's writing. |
Exodus by God (via Moses' hands), 33 pages Ian Hassell Tuesday, January 29, 2002 God keeps his covenant with man |
Expelled From Eden by William T. Vollmann, 383 pages Steve Gadd Tuesday, February 06, 2007 This "reader" includes selections from Vollmann's epic works of fiction as well as reportage from the urban underworld and various down-and-out places around the world. Thanks to Raully for suggesting this author. |
Experiment in Autobiography: Discoveries and Conclusions of a Very Ordinary Brain since 1866 (1934) by H. G. Wells, 707 pages James Donahue Monday, April 02, 2007 Amusing. Ostensibly about the evolution of Wells' "brain" in the midst of the evolution of the world-state. But not worth it for the philosophy. Better for its self-absorbed musings on the Fabian circle, the rise of standardized testing in education (Wells pioneered a Princeton-Review-esque method of beating the standards), and the wide-open nature of publishing during the publishing period to absorb the first mass audiences being turned out by the first mass educational systems. Could Wells have ridden to prevelance in any other setting? |
Experiments Against Reality: The Fate of Culture in the Postmodern Age by Roger Kimball, 359 pages Tony Pisarenkov Sunday, November 30, 2008 Thought-provoking, controversial, occasionally infuriating, usually engaging. Not recommended to cultural liberals unprepared to question their assumptions. More on the blog in a few days. |
Extreme Brewing by Sam Calagione, 184 pages Steven Krise Saturday, August 08, 2009 Despite its title, this is actually a conventionally organized book. Preamble is discussion of equipment and process to make "your first batch of beer" and the postscript is a discussion of beer and food pairings. The reason to buy this book, however, is the recipes in the middle half of the book which includes several malt extract versions of recipes for Dogfish Head classics such as 60 Minute IPA, Raison D'Etre, and Midas Touch. |
Eyes of Prey by John Sandford, 358 pages Jeff Gadd Wednesday, May 30, 2001 |
Ezra Pound Speaking: Radio Speeches of WWII by Ezra Pound, 190 pages Tony Pisarenkov Thursday, April 01, 2004 What's all the controversy about? Highly anti-semitic, yes, but beyond that, just ravings of a madman. No coherent arguments, no evidence, no critical analysis. You've read one, you've read them all. |