| Naked by David Sedaris, 291 pages Kristin Schrock 24 April 2003 I thought this was going to be a LAFF RIOT, something I could breeze through as I make my way up the booklist. A million years later, I'm finally done. Maybe it's because these are essays instead of stories. Or maybe they just didn't grab me. I'm just glad to put this one back on the shelf. | Napalm & Silly Putty by George Carlin, 269 pages Steven Krise 11 August 2008 If you've read any one of Carlin's books and any two of his HBO comedy specials, you've seen or heard all the material in this book. |
Napoleon's Pyramids (2007) by William Dietrich, 284 pages James Donahue 30 July 2008 Ethan Gage is a lazy ex-protege of Benjamin Franklin, bouncing around Revolutionary Paris until he wins an Egyptian medallion in a poker game, gets framed for murder, and runs away with Napoleon's army on its quest to invade Egypt, cut the British off from India, and harness the ancient's world's secrets. The adventure story of this novel is excellent, though little more than a well-honed rendition of the Indiana Jones-type exotic-orientalist adventures, except this time with Masons instead of Turkish secret societies and Napoleon instead of Nazis. The real enjoyment of this book for me lay in the historical fiction aspect of the book. The bizarre invasion of Egypt in 1798 opened up the Ottoman world to Westerners for the first time since the Crusades. The author liberally laces his novel with real characters that seem so far-fetched they could only be from the French Revolution. Great vacation read for those us who hate the insipidity of most vacation reads. |
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, 124 pages Steve Gadd 28 January 1998 Somewhat short but insightful autobiography. |
Native Sources of Japanese Industrialization by Thomas Smith, 270 pages James Donahue 05 November 2003 |
Nature's Numbers by Ian Stewart, 150 pages Steve Gadd 21 January 2002 Poorly written, but introduces some interesting concepts in chaos theory. |
Neanderthal by John Darnton, 368 pages Steven Krise 25 February 2004 Col Kurtz with modern day Neanderthals, except not good. |
Neither Right Nor Left by Zeev Sternhill, 379 pages James Donahue 27 November 2002 Traces the French roots of fascism to demostrate the popular support for Vichy. |
Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era (2005) by Carl Sferrazza Anthony, 418 pages James Donahue 03 December 2007 Nellie Taft drove her husband into the presidency (he fancied the Supreme Court) and then became the first political First Lady of the modern era. Among her achievements: handling the Phillipino occupation with her husband; creating the Potomac Basin park in DC and planting all those cherry trees; and promoting women's education and suffrage. Unfortunately she was struck down halfway through the term by a stroke, unable to deal with TR's ambitious betrayal in 1912, and forced to watch her husband happily ascend to the Chief Justiceship in 1921. |
Neuromancer by William Gibson, 271 pages Steve Gadd 28 November 1995 |
New Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian, 398 pages Steven Krise 20 May 2005 This mad Armenians enthusiasm for beer and brewing is boundless and contagious. A worthwhile read everytime. |
New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) (2006) by Stephenie Meyer, 608 pages Brad Snyder 07 August 2008 Bella's dreamy vampire leaves, although madly in love with her, in order to protect her from bad vampires that want to kill her. So, she falls for a werewolf, the sworn enemy of vampires. Relationships are so complicated, why can't we all just be friends? |
New Orleans Sketches by William Faulkner, 173 pages Tony Pisarenkov 21 November 2009 A delightful collection of Faulkner's early sketches, written when he lived briefly in New Orleans in 1924-1925, and inspired by it. Very enjoyable, and made more so by my recent trip there. The editor's introduction is very well-written as well and gives some interesting information on Faulkner's early life. |
New Rules by Bill Maher, 228 pages Jonathan Misirian 10 March 2006 Maher's acerbic wit is on display in this brief collection of thoughts. A few laugh out loud comments are interspersed among his musings on everything from CNN to Michael Jackson. |
Newjack by Ted Conover, 319 pages Jonathan Misirian 31 March 2006 When the NY State Corrections refused journalist Conover access to write about the inside, Conover became a Corrections Officer. Stationed at the infamous Sing Sing for nearly a year, Newjack richly chronicles life within the prison walls. |
Next: A Novel by Michael Chricton, 423 pages Micaela Larkin 04 May 2007 Do you own your genes? |
Nicholas II: Twilight of the Empire by Dominic Lieven, 269 pages James Donahue 22 September 2004 |
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, 221 pages Steve Gadd 24 September 2006 A courageous bit of journalism, as the author takes minimum-wage jobs and tries to make ends meet. She doesn't let you forget that she's really a writer though -- required vocabulary: tchotchke, encomium, aphasic, intercalation, hortatory. |
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, 221 pages Jaqi Ross 11 February 2004 "Valuable and illuminating... We have Barbara Ehrenreich to thank for bringing us the news of America's working poor so clearly and directly, and conveying with it a deep moral outrage... She is our premier reporter of the underside of capitalism." -The New York Times Book Review |
Nickel and Dimed: on (Not) getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, 221 pages Kristin Schrock 02 June 2004 Writer goes undercover as a low-wage worker to discover that (surprise!) you can't really live on $7/hour. Tell me something I don't know. Although there's not much new here (I've worked as a waittress and in retail), it was interesting to read about her experience working for the evil, evil Wal-Mart. Also, as I was writing this, when I wrote "evil, evil Wal-Mart" the first time, the site suddenly closed down. Be gone ghost of Sam Walton! |
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, 221 pages Jonathan Misirian 02 February 2005 Ehrenreich leaves her Blue State life, and takes up temporary residence working in what we would consider are menial jobs. At times poignant, biting, and revealing, the author shows us what it is like to work along the shadows of society. This comes as a great shock to her, but not to those of us who live and work along these margins. |
Nickel Mountain by John Gardner, 309 pages Steven Krise 07 February 2009 |
Nicolae by Tim Lahaue J,B. Jenkins, 415 pages Jeff Gadd 10 December 2000 |
Nietzsche: A Philosophical Biography by Rudiger Safranski, 371 pages James Donahue 17 April 2003 An excellent biography that concentrates on his ideas and not on his moral worth, sexual issues, or creeping insanity. Safranski places Nietzsche within his historical and social world while explaining what made him unique. The final chapter, which assesses his influence on twentieth-century scholarship, is alone worth the read. |
Night Chills by Dean R. Koontz, 364 pages Jeff Gadd 03 February 1999 |
Night Judgement At Sinos by Jack Higgins, 289 pages Jeff Gadd 29 June 2001 |
Night Over Water (1991) by Ken Follett, 400 pages Brad Snyder 15 September 2007 Disappointing |
Night Prey by John Sandford, 384 pages Jeff Gadd 17 November 2001 |
Night Screams by Ed Gorman& Martin H. Greenberg, 342 pages Jeff Gadd 29 July 2002 22 More scary story's from more author's. |
Night Shift by Stephen King, 326 pages Jeff Gadd 28 November 2002 Some scary short story's from Stephen King. |
Night Train by Thomas F. Monteleone, 337 pages Jeff Gadd 13 May 2002 Scary book I don't want to be down in a subway for awhile. |
Nightfall and Other Stories by Isaac Asimov, 312 pages Steve Gadd 19 March 1999 Despite the author's insistence, 'Nightfall' is still the best, later expanded into a novel co-authored by Robert Silverberg. |
Nikolai Gogol by Vladimir Nabokov, 162 pages Steve Gadd 20 February 1998 Somehow you feel you learn more about Nabokov than his subject. |
No Certain Rest by Jim Lehrer, 222 pages Steven Krise 26 May 2005 I think this is probably the absolute worst book I have ever read. The characters are flat, uninteresting, and unbelievable. The plot is ragged and threadbare without any unifying theme. The writing is amateurish, melodramatic and woefully unoriginal. Proof that hosts of lame Sunday morning news chat shows shouldn't attempt to write "Civil War archeological detective story as prototype for modern day strife" novels. |
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, 309 pages Steven Krise 19 July 2008 Almost hamletesque in the ruthless efficiency with which all the main and several minor characters are dispatched. Bravo. |
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, 0 pages Steve Gadd 02 August 2008 Read by Tom Stechschulte. |
No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan, 310 pages Jonathan Misirian 06 February 2006 Aslan details the history of Islam and provides the reader with a great overview of this religion. After reading this book, you are able to see the success and failure of Islam as it continues to develop. Aslan's approach counters Huntington's Clash of Civilization's view of Islam, and in my opinion greatly enhances the debate. |
No Longer At Ease by Chinua Achebe, 159 pages Steve Gadd 29 September 1997 |
No Way To Treat a First Lady by Christopher Buckley, 286 pages Jonathan Misirian 05 August 2006 Buckley serves up the political humor novel with the best of them. The President dies after schlepping a Hollywood movie star, and the First Lady is on trial for his death. Buckley leaves me laughing with his erudite word selection. A quick read for those looking to enjoy laughing and politics. |
Nobel Prize Reader by various, 576 pages Steve Gadd 12 November 1998 Short story collection by Nobel winners. |
Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo, 549 pages Kristin Schrock 30 June 2003 My second omniscient narrator in a row. And I thought that had gone out of style. Our main character, however, is Sully and it's not quite as interesting when Russo decides to roam into the mind's of other characters. It's especially entertaining when you hear the gruff voice of Paul Newman talking to you (he played Sully in the movie). It was a good movie; it's an even better book. |
North Pole, South Pole by Bertrand Imbert, 175 pages Steve Gadd 30 December 1998 |
Notes from the Underground by Fedor Dostoyevsky, 220 pages Tony Pisarenkov 05 August 2008 |
Notes From Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 110 pages Steve Gadd 20 January 1996 |
Notes From Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 110 pages Steve Gadd 12 August 2008 |
Notes From Underground and other stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 239 pages Steve Gadd 10 October 1999 A classic short work by the classic author. 'White Nights' another favorite. |
Notre Dame of Paris by Victor Hugo, 491 pages James Donahue 12 May 2003 Certainly not like the Disney movie! A wonderful read that contains Hugo's usual mixture of Christian themes of reconciliation, liberal-political allusions (written in 1830), and gripping plot. This book accomplished a difficult task: it made me love Paris all the more. Sidenote: The Penguin translation that I read was not very good. |
Numbers by God (via Moses' hand), 40 pages Ian Hassell 27 February 2002 The history of Israel's wanderings up to, but not including, the entrance into Canaan. |