| I Alone Have Escaped to Tell You by Ralph McInerny, 167 pages Micaela Larkin 23 June 2006 Ralph surveys his life, Notre Dame, and academics. I think the best part is his accounts of a little summer loving in between seminary stays. | I Am America (And So Can You!) (2007) by Stephen Colbert, 240 pages Brad Snyder 30 August 2009 So funny. |
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, 312 pages Steven Krise 19 January 2009 A collection of various stories by Matheson with the eponymous story being the first in the collection (and really the only one worth reading). In the subsequent stories, the author tries to create a surreal atmosphere like the later PK Dick novels or the Twilight Zone, but executes the narrative with such a heavy hand that he fails. |
I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to be Destroyed by Me: Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World (2007) by Trevor Paglen, 136 pages Brad Snyder 15 February 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. |
I Know What U Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan, 198 pages Jeff Gadd 14 September 2001 |
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, 304 pages Julie Gephart 21 January 2004 Hard autobiography of a hard childhood. Here's your trivia: her real name is Marguerite, and her beloved brother gave her the nickname "Maya" for "mine." |
I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle, 272 pages Brad Snyder 26 June 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. |
I Remember Nothing More by Adina Blady Szwajger, 181 pages James Donahue 27 March 2003 The most haunting Holocaust memoir I have ever read. Period. Szwajger was a Jewish pediatrician in Warsaw and saw the worst of the worst. Her account is unforgettable. |
I Think, Therefore I Laugh by John Allen Paulos, 155 pages Steve Gadd 12 June 1995 |
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, 192 pages Steven Krise 03 July 2004 Wir funktionieren automatik. Jetzt wollen wir tanzen mechanik. Wir sind auf alles programmiert und was du willst wird ausgeführt. Wir sind die Roboter. |
Idoru by William Gibson, 383 pages Steve Gadd 23 May 1998 The inventor of cyberpunk finally goes to Japan. |
If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell, 302 pages Kristin Schrock 04 January 2002 The writing isn't great, but the stories of the beginnings of Evil Dead are very funny. Plus, pictures! |
Ignorance by Milan Kundera, 195 pages Tony Pisarenkov 09 December 2002 Kundera's take on the question of the possibility of returning to the country from which one emigrated and the life one left behind. Although I was initially skeptical and disappointed at Kundera's decision to treat the topic at all, the delightful inconclusiveness with which he does it made it a sublime experience once again. To the extent that it is possible to choose, this is not his best -- the amputated ear sequence, although sufficiently Kunderian, is a bit contrived to say the least -- but Kundera's "good enough" is still orders of magnitude greater than many other writers today could ever hope for. |
I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson, 288 pages Steve Gadd 24 November 2007 This collection of weekly columns for a British newspaper following Bryson's return to the U.S. after 20 years draws comparisons to Dave Barry. Each makes light of some aspect of American lifestyle and ends with a weak zinger. |
I'm the King of the Castle by Susan Hill, 223 pages Steven Krise 22 January 2005 Another novel from a British author about a pathetic character I'm supposed to feel sorry for because of his inability to act. |
I'm With Stupid by Gene Weingarten and Gina Barreca, 240 pages Steve Gadd 15 February 2004 "10,000 years of misunderstanding between the sexes cleared right up." The authors acknowledge that the differences between men and women is the most hackneyed, overdone subject in the history of publishing. They aim to stand out from the Venus-Mars canon as the first book cowritten by a man and a woman. In this case, the fact that both authors are hilarious writers makes all the difference. |
Imagined Worlds by Freeman Dyson, 208 pages Steve Gadd 12 July 2000 An imaginative and sensitive scientist looks deep into the future and imagines what might become of the human race. Other essays contrast Napoleonic and Tolstoyan modes of doing science. |
Immortality by Milan Kundera, 345 pages Steve Gadd 21 March 2002 The author needlessly inserts himself as a character in the story, despite the fact that most of the book is taken up by his ponderous musings on life and love anyway. Some parts are memorable, but I was often wishing for a bit more of the 'dramatic tension' the fictional author disparages. |
Imperial Germany and the Great War (2002) by Roger Chickering, 211 pages James Donahue 14 November 2006 |
Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground by Robert Kaplan, 421 pages Jonathan Misirian 12 November 2005 The first of planned series of books, Kaplan provides a masterful account of the fighting life of the American military. Living with Special Forces in Columbia, Philippines, Yemen, Afghanistan and Iraq afforded Kaplan unparalleled access from which he wrote a honest and gripping insiders-look at the American military in action. |
Impossible Victories by Bryan Perrett, 215 pages Steve Gadd 07 October 2003 Disappointing collection of battle stories. Despite the maps, I had a hard time following the action and learned very little about battlefield tactics or military history. The chronological format (from the 1811 Peninsular War to 1967 Vietnam) does give a vivid feel for the the improvements in the brutal efficiency of warfare. |
In A Place Dark and Secret by Phillip Finch, 313 pages Jeff Gadd 25 March 2003 A man named Joseph Sherk loss of a daughter from a house fire, but after awhile he thinks his daughter is still alive, and goes looking for her. |
In a Strange City by MS. Laura Lippman, 376 pages Mike Gadd 25 March 2003 Decent enough story once you got into it. It tended to get a little too descriptive with details that had nothing to do with the story. The author must have been paid by the page. |
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson, 331 pages Mike Gadd 17 April 2002 |
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson, 304 pages Steve Gadd 28 August 2007 Quite a charming travel book about Australia, with much attention given to the ways you can die or be maimed there. Little-known fact: Australian prime minister Harold Holt died in power when he went for a swim in the sea and was carried off by a rip current, never to be seen again. |
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, 343 pages Tony Pisarenkov 30 December 2005 I fully admit that I picked up the book after seeing the film "Capote," but I am glad I did. Very well written, reads much more like a novel than I expected, and, most amazingly, betrays none of Capote's over the top personality. |
In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason, 245 pages Kristin Schrock 15 June 2002 This is the second book in a row to feature an egret. This one takes place in 1984 and Sam, our spunky heroine, is trying to find out what Vietnam was like. But when she finds out, she realizes she didn't really want to know. Isn't that always the way? It begins with dialogue, and I'm just never going to be a fan of that. |
In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd by Ana Menendez, 229 pages Jaqi Ross 15 January 2004 This delightfully rich collection of interrelated short stories focuses on Cuban immigrants in Miami. |
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan, 244 pages Tony Pisarenkov 06 January 2009 Though it lacks the adventure of Pollan's best-seller "The Omnivore's Dilemma," and comes off as far more polemical, I still found it informative and, dare I say, inspirational. You could say I drank the Kool-Aid, though as a processed food with artificial ingredients, it wouldn't qualify. |
In Evil Hour by Gabriel García Márquez, 183 pages Steve Gadd 10 October 1997 |
In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner, 421 pages Kristin Schrock 15 July 2005 Enjoyable summer beach book. It even has discussion questions at the back, one of which claims that a multi-character point of view story is an "unusual technique." Yes, this author is totally breaking new ground. Also, Amazon.com revealed the following stastitics--it's a 6 grade reading level book, the author uses "again" 167 times, and I got 12,540 words per dollar--which seems like a good deal. |
In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon, 251 pages Brad Snyder 22 August 2005 The book that started the bracelets! This fictional work was originally prepared as a series of sermons. By the end of the story, Sheldon was preaching to extremely large crowds. The story follows the lives of several people that decide to make every single decision based on what they think Jesus would do. Some find happiness in obedience, some lose everything. It would be interesting to see the faithful try it out. What a different world it would be... |
In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, 48 pages James Donahue 29 March 2004 A cranky old Japanese nationalist writes a beautiful and moving paean to the darkness, the simplicity of silence, and the mysteriousness of the hidden alcove. All to counter the garishness of the electric light bulb, the wastefulness of trying to alter one's environment, and the inanity of enlightenment. |
In Search of Schrödinger's Cat by John Gribbin, 302 pages Steven Krise 30 March 2002 Engaging survey of the history of the theory of quantum mechanics. Oddly, focused more on the double-slit experiment (which Feynman calls *the* fundamental mystery in physics) than Schrödinger's Cat paradox. Finishes up with a whole chapter devoted to the Aspect experiments that offer final empirical evidence that the Copenhagen Interpretation (as odd as it may seem) is correct. |
In Stalin's Secret Service: Memoirs of the First Soviet Master Spy to Defect by Walter G. Krivitsky, 306 pages Tony Pisarenkov 29 June 2008 Shocking and unbelievable as it may be in spots, this is a priceless historical document. Detailed comments here |
In Tasmania by Nicholas Shakespeare, 370 pages Jonathan Misirian 29 September 2006 English author Shakespeare moves to Tasmania and discovers that his ancestors were of the first to bring Western culture to this remote island. Shakespeare finds that the history of his ancestors and of the country are linked together, in ways both stunning and shocking. In Tasmania, is a beautiful portrait of the country known as ‘Van Diemen’s Land.’ |
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (2004) by Alexander McCall Smith, 233 pages Jennifer Dear 10 December 2006 |
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, 278 pages Steve Gadd 25 February 2002 The tale of the Essex, a Nantucket-based whaleship that was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale, forcing its crew to sail for South America in three small boats. The inspiration for Moby-Dick. |
In The Hour Before Midnight by Jack Higgins, 276 pages Jeff Gadd 16 July 2001 |
In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent, 342 pages Tony Pisarenkov 27 July 2009 An absolutely fascinating and very well-written account of artificial languages throughout history, their inventors' frequently outsized personalities, and the motivation behind their quixotic undertakings. Heartily recommended. |
In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri J.M. Nouwen, 82 pages Brad Snyder 24 May 2006 Nouwen was a Roman Catholic priest who ministered to the mentally disabled after years of teaching seminary at Harvard. This small but deep book is a sermon he delivered in Washington, DC (actually, Arlington, VA) about the role of ministry in the coming (now present) century. With his gentle tone and deft understanding of Scripture and human nature, he identifies the need for Christian leaders to stop pursuing relevance, popularity, and power, and instead embrace lives of prayer, confession, and downward mobility. I have tried to read this book every year since it appeared in the mail three years ago. Thank you for the gift, Jonathan. |
In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs: A Memoir of Iran by Christopher de Bellaigue, 279 pages Jonathan Misirian 18 August 2005 de Bellaigue presents a first person account of modern Iran. As a young British reporter who lives in Tehran and married at Iranian, de Bellaigue portrays Iran in all of its hypocrisy and beauty. A stunning narrative of life, revolution and the tumult of modern Islam. |
In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, 352 pages Micaela Larkin 10 July 2006 Dorm group-read, this is a lively book that fades in the last one hundred pages. |
In The Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made by Norman Cantor, 245 pages Jennifer Dear 22 August 2002 An interesting and somewhat entertaining look at the Middle Ages and the plague. However, surprisingly biased against the Church. |
Indignation (2008) by Philip Roth, 233 pages Brad Snyder 21 May 2009 Inane and stupid. |
Infinite In All Directions by Freeman Dyson, 299 pages Steve Gadd 05 October 1995 |
Inner Workings (2007) by J. M. Coetzee, 291 pages James Donahue 16 August 2007 A collection of Coetzee's book reviews over the past eight years, including short insightful essays for the NYTimes Book Review on Greene, Naipaul, Bellow, Musil, Roth, etc. Given his bent for biographical survey, its excellent crib notes for authors I haven't read. But for those authors I have read, the analysis falls flat. (I always end up saying: "Well any reader already knows that.") But then again, the purpose of the NYTimes Book Review is not to give insight to readers of books, but to the socialites who like to cite books they haven't read. Coetzee fulfills this aim perfectly. |
Intercultural Marriage - Promises and Pitfalls by Dugan Romano, 226 pages Erik Bauer 19 September 2004 A "reality check" for anyone already in or contemplating an intercultural marriage. I had to read this for a class, otherwise I would have never picked it up. It basically spells out typical pitfalls in intercultural marriages, which, as it turns out, are very similar pitfalls to intracultural marriages. The saving grace of the book is the countless real world examples of some 30 different couples of interesting combinations (i.e. French-Kuwaiti, Iranian-Cuban, and Israeli-Brazilian) |
Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett, 368 pages Steven Krise 25 September 2005 Rincewind winced. He had always been aware that Someone Up There was doing something on him. He'd never considered it was smiling. |
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, 207 pages Steve Gadd 13 November 2007 |
Into the Wild (1996) by John Krackauer, 208 pages Jonathan Misirian 08 April 2008 Krackauer’s novel became a movie directed by Sean Penn. The author traces the steps of the young Christopher McCandless who leaves his well to do suburban family and hitch hikes across the country, ending up in Alaska, where he ultimately meets his demise. McCandless becomes a cult hero of sorts, the kind of wandering existentialist philosopher who embodies the freedom and spirit of adventure. |
Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney, 212 pages Jeff Gadd 15 October 2002 Big outerspace seed pods,Which are parasites take over people in Mill Valley. |
Inventing a Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson by Gore Vidal, 198 pages Tony Pisarenkov 04 July 2008 Vidal's cynical take on the founding fathers. More detailed comments here. |
Irish Myths and Legends by Eoin Neeson, 126 pages Steve Gadd 04 July 1996 |
Irish Tenure by Ralph McInery, 246 pages James Donahue 20 August 2002 Nothing is bloodier than tenure at Notre Dame. Thus, given the controversial style of philosophy candidate Amanda Pick, it is no surprise when she turns up dead. Throw in a missing GK Chesterton story and all hell breaks loose. Thank goodness that Professor Roger Knight continues to solve crimes in his spare time. |
Irrationality by Stuart Sutherland, 238 pages Steve Gadd 16 July 2007 This book tries to inventory a variety of ways in which people make bad decisions, such as sitting through a bad movie because the tickets were expensive (the sunk costs error), favoring evidence that confirms one's beliefs and discounting contrary evidence, and fundamental misunderstanding of statistics. Sutherland himself seems to be less than rigorous in his presentation at times, ignoring the rational behavior in a study, or citing the "availability error" as the reason for just about everything. |
Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don''t Add Up by John Allen Paulos, 158 pages Steven Krise 10 April 2009 A quirky, light read that critiques 12 classic arguments for the existence of God. With so few pages, there's not a lot of depth here, but it's a good overview of the topic, and, as the author notes, refutations of these "arguments" has been around for ages so there's not much new to say. |
Irwin Scheiner by Christian Converts and Social Protest in Meiji Jap, 243 pages James Donahue 14 April 2004 Scheiner shows how Japanese samurai, recently declassed and set adrift after the Restoration, transmogrified their samurai culture into Christian belief and Christian social commitments. |
Isaiah Berlin by John Gray, 168 pages James Donahue 22 April 2003 An interesting examination of Berlin's combination of Romantic particularism and Enlightenment liberalism. Helpful background to Berlin's ever-so-readable intellectual histories. |
Ishi In Two Worlds (1961) by Theodora Kroeber, 256 pages Jonathan Misirian 19 December 2007 In 1910, a native American wandered out of the northern California wilderness, hungry and near death. Fate brought him to the University of Berkley and two young anthropology professors, who recognized him as the last Indian and the last vestige of a world nearly extinct. For the next 4 years Ishi lived at the museum and provided an invaluable ethno-linguistic resource of the Yana Indians. Written by the wife of one of the professors, this book contains a wealth of information about the closing of the frontier and the effects upon all those who lived there. |
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, 263 pages Julie Gephart 01 January 2003 One of those award-winner books that I never would have read had I not received it as a gift. A "novel of spiritual adventure" examining man's relationship to the rest of the natural world. |
Island in the Sea of Time by S.M. Stirling, 608 pages Julie Gephart 24 August 2002 The modern-day island of Nantucket wakes up one morning to find that it's been plunked down in the middle of the Bronze Age. Thoroughly interesting look at how the town plans for survival and for building a new society with only the small reserves of food and fuel on their island to get them started. |
Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway, 435 pages Steve Gadd 25 July 1998 A favorite, left unpublished by the author. |
It Must Have Been Something I Ate by Jeffrey Steingarten, 513 pages Tony Pisarenkov 23 January 2005 Even better than his previous collection (see my entry form last year), funnier, with more recipes, and slightly less science (although still with plenty of detailed explanations of exactly what chemical processes make dry-aged steaks superior to all other kinds). |
It Will Never Happen To Me; Children of alcoholics, as youngsters, adolescents, adults by Claudia Black, 183 pages Jonathan Misirian 13 May 2005 Sorting out my family, insightful overview into the roles that children play |
It’s Not News, It’s Fark: how mass media tries to pass off crap as news (2007) by Drew Curtis, 268 pages Jonathan Misirian 18 July 2007 Curtis founded Fark.com as a hub where users can post junk news and then comment on it. This book is a combination of first-class media humor (jammed, with real life examples ), and slashing insight into how mediocre ‘news’ is force fed to us. For those who are sick of the slick. |