The 50 book Challenge 2011

[anna09]

1. A Devil's Chaplain- Richard Dawkins
2. The Anatomy of Evil- Michael H. Stone
3. God: The Failed Hypothesis- Victor J. Stenger
4. Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism- Michelle Goldberg
5. Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are- Joseph LeDoux

[Twoflower]

1. The Secret Holocaust Diaries.
2. I Sold my Soul to Ebay
3. I Shall Wear Midnight
4. Skipping Towards Gomorra.
5. Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist.
6. A Study in Scarlet.
7. The Sign of Four

[Pappa]

1. Percy Gets Probed
2. Zombie Haiku
3. Codex Necrons

[hadespussercats]

1. Her Fearful Symmetry- Audrey Niffeneggar
A good read, if a touch derivative. Not as good as The Time-Traveler's Wife, but then, few books are.

2. Solaris- Stanislaw Lem
A fascinating scholarly review of books and studies that never existed. Borges in the future. Thoughtfully and convincingly written, though the dialogue suffers in translation.

3. Sleepwalker- John Toomey
Meh. Gen-X blankness from an Irish perspective. Preachy towards the end.

4. Orlando- Virginia Woolfe
Delightful use of language, though plodding/dense at times. Sumptuous. Thoughts on gender, identity, sexual politics still fresh after the better part of a century.

5. Pale Blue Dot- Carl Sagan
Beautiful language, lucid and educational. Message still current, particularly considering recent commentary on the state of the Earth/space travel by Stephen Hawking.

6. An Object of Beauty- Steve Martin
A history of modern and contemporary art, set in fiction, spun by someone who knows and loves it well. A quick, interesting, but emotionally reserved read.

7. The Book of Joe- Jonathan Tropper
Augusten Burroughs loves this novel-- wishes he´d written it himself. It´s not hard to understand why he´d say that. Synopsis: a writer with a wildly successful first novel under his belt has to go back to the small New England town where he grew up, and face the townspeople he outraged with his thinly-veiled autobiographical depiction of them. Hilarity and life affirmation ensue.

Solid, enjoyable. Not great literature.

8. The Mismeasure of Man- Stephen Jay Gould
I want to give my dad, the I.Q.-respecting, devoted genetic determinist, a copy of this history of intelligence studies. Gould explores how racial, social, gender, and class bias can influence scientific findings-- even, perhaps especially, in the absence of conscious fraud. He provides a compelling account of the disastrous results of applying such biased studies to social policy, and does much to debunk the very notion of ranking people according to perceived intelligence.

[Pappa]

1. Percy Gets Probed
2. Zombie Haiku
3. Codex Necrons
4. Easy Sushi

[Clinton Huxley]

1) The Lying Stones of Marrakech by Stephen Jay Gould.
2) Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

[JOZeldenrust]

Hell, I'll join in this year again. Maybe this time I will reach 50.

1: Cyriel Buysse - De Biezenstekker (no idea how you'd translate that, as I don't know what it means. It's a 19th century regional Flemish pejorative for a bastard)
In 19th century rural Flanders, a violent drunk returns home from prison to find his wife pregnant with his neighbour's child. Things escalate quickly.
2: Stijn Streuvels - De Oogst (the harvest)
In 19th century rural Flanders, an adolescent boy decides he wants to help bring in the harvest in the richer, French-speaking south of the country. He's not up to the task.
3: J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring
4: J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers
5: J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King
6: Hugo Claus - Omtrent Deedee (concerning Avee, Deedee (d.d.) is short for "dienstdoende", "acting" in English. He's the acting vicar, hence "Avee", from "a.v.")
In post-war Flanders, a family gets together in memory of their mother. Over the course of the evening the veneer of civility they wear cracks

[anna09]

1. A Devil's Chaplain- Richard Dawkins
2. The Anatomy of Evil- Michael H. Stone
3. God: The Failed Hypothesis- Victor J. Stenger
4. Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism- Michelle Goldberg
5. Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are- Joseph LeDoux
6. The Pluto Files- Neil Degrasse Tyson

[Sisifo]

1. Her Fearful Symmetry- Audrey Niffeneggar
A good read, if a touch derivative. Not as good as The Time-Traveler's Wife, but then, few books are.

2. Solaris- Stanislaw Lem
A fascinating scholarly review of books and studies that never existed. Borges in the future. Thoughtfully and convincingly written, though the dialogue suffers in translation.

3. Sleepwalker- John Toomey
Meh. Gen-X blankness from an Irish perspective. Preachy towards the end.

4. Orlando- Virginia Woolfe
Delightful use of language, though plodding/dense at times. Sumptuous. Thoughts on gender, identity, sexual politics still fresh after the better part of a century.

5. Pale Blue Dot- Carl Sagan
Beautiful language, lucid and educational. Message still current, particularly considering recent commentary on the state of the Earth/space travel by Stephen Hawking.

6. An Object of Beauty- Steve Martin
A history of modern and contemporary art, set in fiction, spun by someone who knows and loves it well. A quick, interesting, but emotionally reserved read.

7. The Book of Joe- Jonathan Tropper
Augusten Burroughs loves this novel-- wishes he´d written it himself. It´s not hard to understand why he´d say that. Synopsis: a writer with a wildly successful first novel under his belt has to go back to the small New England town where he grew up, and face the townspeople he outraged with his thinly-veiled autobiographical depiction of them. Hilarity and life affirmation ensue.

Solid, enjoyable. Not great literature.

8. The Mismeasure of Man- Stephen Jay Gould
I want to give my dad, the I.Q.-respecting, devoted genetic determinist, a copy of this history of intelligence studies. Gould explores how racial, social, gender, and class bias can influence scientific findings-- even, perhaps especially, in the absence of conscious fraud. He provides a compelling account of the disastrous results of applying such biased studies to social policy, and does much to debunk the very notion of ranking people according to perceived intelligence.

I like the way you review books. They resemble wine tasting notes. You make me put in the "to read" list "the book of Joe and "The mismeasure of man"

I am more in the entertaining reading...
1.- The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. I was attracted by the definition of the novel as "biopunk", and the setting in a postapocalyptic Bangkok, and it surpassed my expectations. I enjoyed the genetic race against the plagues and the idea of a bioengineered retro world. The Thai and Japanese mentality of the characters was the cherry on top. I hope it starts a saga.

2.- Perdido Street Station by China Mieville Mieville defines his books as "weird fiction" and they are very impredictable. I must confess that his use of the language loses me sometimes, and I have to reread paragraphs, which makes it less enjoyable. His books remind me to Phillip Jose Farmer, with a big difference. I have the impression that China Mieville hates his characters and loves to make them suffer and die.

3.- Bangkok 8 by John Burdett It is a detective novel taking place in Bangkok. The detective is a Former Buddhist Monk (Hello FBM!!) who as penance for his sins, has to work in the Bangkok Police AND not taking bribes. It is a book gives a friendly look at the world, a sympathetic smile to corruption, mobsters, prostitutes, mama-sans and transexuals. Just a detective novel, very entertaining and lets itsself to be read very fast.

4.- Bangkok Tattoo the second book of the series. Pushed a little bit further from the first one.

5.- In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan it is an excellent book, very apropos of the McDonalds and Obesity threads. The whole book is an expansion of a single sentence: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." and food is only what our grand-grandmas would recognize.

6.- Containment by Christian Cantrell Very promising in the beginning, it lost my enthusiasm by two triple sommersaults in the story. A pity.

[Twoflower]

1. The Secret Holocaust Diaries.
2. I Sold my Soul to Ebay
3. I Shall Wear Midnight
4. Skipping Towards Gomorra.
5. Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist.
6. A Study in Scarlet.
7. The Sign of Four
8. Unionists & Separatists; The Vagaries of Ethio-Eritrean Relation 1941-1991

[hadespussercats]

Sisifo wrote: I like the way you review books. They resemble wine tasting notes. You make me put in the "to read" list "the book of Joe and "The mismeasure of man"

Thanks, Sisifo! You've intrigued me with a few of your titles, too! I hope you enjoy the last two.

Back to the list:

hadespussercats wrote:
1. Her Fearful Symmetry- Audrey Niffeneggar
A good read, if a touch derivative. Not as good as The Time-Traveler's Wife, but then, few books are.

2. Solaris- Stanislaw Lem
A fascinating scholarly review of books and studies that never existed. Borges in the future. Thoughtfully and convincingly written, though the dialogue suffers in translation.

3. Sleepwalker- John Toomey
Meh. Gen-X blankness from an Irish perspective. Preachy towards the end.

4. Orlando- Virginia Woolfe
Delightful use of language, though plodding/dense at times. Sumptuous. Thoughts on gender, identity, sexual politics still fresh after the better part of a century.

5. Pale Blue Dot- Carl Sagan
Beautiful language, lucid and educational. Message still current, particularly considering recent commentary on the state of the Earth/space travel by Stephen Hawking.

6. An Object of Beauty- Steve Martin
A history of modern and contemporary art, set in fiction, spun by someone who knows and loves it well. A quick, interesting, but emotionally reserved read.

7. The Book of Joe- Jonathan Tropper
Augusten Burroughs loves this novel-- wishes he´d written it himself. It´s not hard to understand why he´d say that. Synopsis: a writer with a wildly successful first novel under his belt has to go back to the small New England town where he grew up, and face the townspeople he outraged with his thinly-veiled autobiographical depiction of them. Hilarity and life affirmation ensue.

Solid, enjoyable. Not great literature.

8. The Mismeasure of Man- Stephen Jay Gould
I want to give my dad, the I.Q.-respecting, devoted genetic determinist, a copy of this history of intelligence studies. Gould explores how racial, social, gender, and class bias can influence scientific findings-- even, perhaps especially, in the absence of conscious fraud. He provides a compelling account of the disastrous results of applying such biased studies to social policy, and does much to debunk the very notion of ranking people according to perceived intelligence.

9. Devil's Cub- Georgette Heyer
This is a re-read-- I can't resist Heyer's giddy re-creation of the life of the haut ton in Regency England, and she's been a favorite of mine since childhood. This particular one is a sequel of my all-time favorite Heyer, These Old Shades, and features sword fights, dueling with pistols, abductions, French elopements, and romance. Heyer's novels are well-researched and great for anyone who loves a sensuous description of sprigged muslin dresses and Hessian boots. Light reading. A real treat.

10. On Beauty- Zadie Smith
This is my first venture into Zadie Smith's writing-- I was irrationally turned off by the ubiquity of her earlier White Teeth, which I'm now thinking I should give a go, since I enjoyed On Beauty quite a bit. A tale of binaries: two families, England/America, academia/street life, black/white, representational/abstract, etc., etc., told with great humor, an enviable ear for the gamut of English speech, and warm sympathy for her characters.

[anna09]

1. A Devil's Chaplain- Richard Dawkins
2. The Anatomy of Evil- Michael H. Stone
3. God: The Failed Hypothesis- Victor J. Stenger
4. Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism- Michelle Goldberg
5. Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are- Joseph LeDoux
6. The Pluto Files- Neil Degrasse Tyson
7. Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know- Alexandria Herowitz

[Sisifo]

1.- The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. I was attracted by the definition of the novel as "biopunk", and the setting in a postapocalyptic Bangkok, and it surpassed my expectations. I enjoyed the genetic race against the plagues and the idea of a bioengineered retro world. The Thai and Japanese mentality of the characters was the cherry on top. I hope it starts a saga.

2.- Perdido Street Station by China Mieville Mieville defines his books as "weird fiction" and they are very impredictable. I must confess that his use of the language loses me sometimes, and I have to reread paragraphs, which makes it less enjoyable. His books remind me to Phillip Jose Farmer, with a big difference. I have the impression that China Mieville hates his characters and loves to make them suffer and die.

3.- Bangkok 8 by John Burdett It is a detective novel taking place in Bangkok. The detective is a Former Buddhist Monk (Hello FBM!!) who as penance for his sins, has to work in the Bangkok Police AND not taking bribes. It is a book gives a friendly look at the world, a sympathetic smile to corruption, mobsters, prostitutes, mama-sans and transexuals. Just a detective novel, very entertaining and lets itsself to be read very fast.

4.- Bangkok Tattoo the second book of the series. Pushed a little bit further from the first one.

5.- In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan it is an excellent book, very apropos of the McDonalds and Obesity threads. The whole book is an expansion of a single sentence: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." and food is only what our grand-grandmas would recognize.

6.- Containment by Christian Cantrell Very promising in the beginning, it lost my enthusiasm by two triple sommersaults in the story. A pity.

7.- The art of racing in the rain by Garth Stein It is nothing more than a dramatic story/recalling of a guy (a racing cars pilot), fighting with her wife's brain tumor, and trying to get the custody of his daughter. The story is told by the memories of his old dog, who believes that when he dies he will come back as a human, and will be a racing pilot. Truthfully, it is a meh story, with a not so original plot of a conscious dog who tries to fix things around. But it must have something, because I could not put the book down. I was even hiding at work to read it. And at the end, I found myself crying hysterically, and my employees looking to my red watery eyes and wondering what the hell is going on. I guess it is one of those books or movies that you have to accept that it's bad, but you love it, and becomes a shameful secret.

8.- Wolf Totem, by Jiang Rong (it's a pseudonym). Although I had to struggle with the style of the book, it hit my mind with amazing images of inner Mongolia. The story is writen as the old memories of a chinese who was sent during Mao's Cultural Revolution to live with the nomads shepherds in the Grasslands of Mongolia. There he gets fascinated by the relationship between humans, wolves and grass. He makes some hard criticism of policies, and the book it's a tearful memory of an ecosystem now lost for the benefit of industrial monoculture. I loved the book, and it is a book worth to keep hard cover in the library and to introduce it to others.

[Pappa]

1. Percy Gets Probed
2. Zombie Haiku
3. Codex Necrons
4. Easy Sushi
5. Blek le Rat: Getting Through the Walls

[anna09]

1. A Devil's Chaplain- Richard Dawkins
2. The Anatomy of Evil- Michael H. Stone
3. God: The Failed Hypothesis- Victor J. Stenger
4. Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism- Michelle Goldberg
5. Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are- Joseph LeDoux
6. The Pluto Files- Neil Degrasse Tyson
7. Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know- Alexandria Herowitz
8. Why Everyone (Else) is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind- Robert Kurzban