2010 Reading

In order to hold myself accountable to my 2010 Resolution to read a new book every week/biweekly, I’m going to be posting the list of books I’m reading here. A number of books are in progress – I typically read at night, and find that when I read nonfiction closer to bed, it (sometimes dramatically) impacts my ability to sleep. Thus, I’ll get through lighthearted narratives or fiction much faster than many other works.

Pura vida!

1. Zorba the Greek, by Nikos Kazantzakis
   I obviously got a little bit behind on reading this, and will have to play catchup in the coming weeks. I really enjoyed this book, though – it’s quirky and seems placid at best on the surface, but when I finally finished it I found I’d really enjoyed it. It left in me a sense that I had, simultaneously, things I need to think deeply about, and things that I should, like Zorba, cast off in favor of a life worth living. Recommended.
2. The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment, by A. J. Jacobs
   I’ve always liked A. J. Jacobs’ writing style, a way of taking a topic that often is, at best, a mild curiosity (such as living for a whole year biblically, or reading the encyclopedia) but incorporating observations and personal experiences to pull the book away from its tome-y topic and into something more interesting and, perhaps, applicable to daily life. While I don’t think this book was as good as his others – it rehashes many of his Esquire stories with small updates, and often leaves a pervasive feeling that he wasn’t as interested in this book as his others – I still enjoyed it. Semi-recommended.
3. The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown
   If you’ve read any of Dan Brown’s other books, you’ll have a pretty good idea how this novel is going to play out. I was surprised to find his usual romantic inclinations between Langdon and his cohort were downplayed, and it cast a more consistent focus on the mystery as opposed to anything else. I must admit there were a few (counter)twists I didn’t quite see coming – it’s nice to read a book where you don’t know one character is actually such-and-such about 100 pages before it’s revealed. Semi-recommended.
4. Airframe, by Michael Crichton
   I wanted to read a book that had planes as a part of it; got this awhile ago. I enjoyed it, but it hasn’t left me with a strong impact afterwards. Good if you’re a fan of Crichton’s work – the slice-of-time style he wrote with was interesting, though it did leave the majority of characters largely undeveloped. Semi-recommended.
5. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
   Quite enjoyable, I thought, and I liked the twist is takes with everyone’s idea of what London – or any city – is in the places we don’t (want to) see. Recommended.
6. Sh*t My Dad Says, by Jason Halpern
   This book, while pretty short, was awesome. Reminded me of A.J. Jacobs’ books, only more biographical. Definitely recommended.
7. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
   Just as good if not better than Neverwhere, quite enjoyable. Took about a month to finish due to busyness in life, but definitely recommended.
8. In progress: Rework, by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
9. American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot, by Craig Ferguson
   I enjoy The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, so it’s natural that I enjoyed his autobiography as well. I’ve gained an increasing interest in reading autobiographies by people I find interesting – especially those whose lives are/were so fundamentally different from mine, and this book was definitely enjoyable. He has a down-to-earthness that I imagine many celebrities have but is never publicized, and, in any case, the frankness with which he writes about his life, as well as the (occasionally dark) humor struck upon within it, combined to create something I really enjoyed reading.
10. In progress: Cheating Death: The Doctors and Medical Miracles that Are Saving Lives Against All Odds, by Sanjay Gupta, MD
11. In progress: Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever, by Ray Kurzweil Ph.D. and Terry Grossman M.D.
12. The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University, by Kevin Roose
    In the vein of A.J. Jacobs, Roose wrote about his life adventures doing something unusual – in this case, going from secular Brown (and all the political beliefs therein) to spending time at Liberty University, the late neoconservative Christian Jerry Falwell’s pride and joy. Although his writing does tend to be a bit on the younger side – and, to me, the influences of A.J. Jacobs seems all too clear – I like A.J. and so naturally I enjoyed this as well. Roose does spend an inordinate amount of time focused on homosexuality and the problems therein at Liberty – I suppose being insulated away from such discussions in my travels abroad, it stuck out a bit more to me than usual – it’s not a couple mentions, but almost a subplot (if you can call it that) coursing throughout the latter 75% of the story. I don’t mind such things, but I did find myself thinking “again?” as the topic would be brought up – the story, in that sense, maintains a journal-like quality, as though he wrote it in chunks throughout his time at Liberty and never quite got the whole thing consolidated into a non-journalized narrative. But, for many, that will just add to the story. Semi-recommended.
13. Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
    Enjoyable book, in a similar vein to the way the Gaiman’s other books were enjoyable. This one didn’t engage me as much as American Gods did, though it’s hard to follow that book up. Anansi Boys felt almost like a side story that developed out of American Gods as opposed to anything else. Semi-recommended.
14. In progress: Between the Bridge and the River, by Craig Ferguson

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