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maribouAcquainted with the Night, by Christopher Dewdney
The writing in this is quite lovely; the author's other published work has mainly been poetry. This drags a bit in the science-y sections (perhaps he was a bit out of his depth and working hard not to show it?), and there were a couple of places where poor editing led to almost exact repetition between sections, but the 'humanities' parts of the books, the parts where he talks about nightclubs and star myths and the personal musings - those are wonderful and make the entire book a delight instead of an acceptable rehashing of previous writing on the subject.
(13/200)
The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
Another fun and silly kid's book about time travel, this one set in the Old West. Whee.
(14/200)
The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific, by J. Maarten Troost
Charming, self-deprecating intellectual with a wild streak follows his intrepid and effective fiancee to the island of Turawa for years of self-mockery and brutally witty observation, not to mention dancing, cannibalistic dogs, and dysentery. What's not to like? The book is also sufficiently sincere in its affections that the constant ridicule never itches.
(15/200)
The Life of the World to Come, by Kage Baker
I didn't want to like this book as much as the others in the series. It was less elegantly structured, more bizarre, not as funny. But it was so damn compelling that I could barely stand to put it down, so I find that I do like it as much, anyway. However, I don't think it would be half so much fun out of context, so I strongly recommend that anyone new to Ms. Baker's work start with The Garden of Iden instead. (Apparently that one is kind of expensive at the moment, but if you're lucky your local library probably has it, as mine did.)
(16/200)
The Reluctant Metrosexual, by Peter Hyman
In all fairness, I probably would've liked this book better if I'd read it in a month where I hadn't been immersed in so many examples of more or less the same shtick, done with much greater aplomb. A few of the essays were really funny or touching, but most of them were just blah. Clever enough, not really worth the time. I'm sort of glad I read it for the 2 or 3 essays I really liked, but really this is as close to a pan as I get unless I hate something enough to throw it across the room. The two recurring thoughts I had while reading this were, "I would probably like these better if I actually knew this guy," and "Dude, what exactly is missing from these essays that Troost and Shapiro manage to be so much funnier?" A sense of abandon, maybe?
(17/200)
Lighting Up: How I Stopped Smoking, Drinking, and Everything Else I Loved Except Sex, by Susan Shapiro
Publisher's Weekly says, "Shapiro's wit and honesty elevate the work," and they are absolutely right. Just as her previous book was a relationship memoir that one could love while retaining little interest in the genre of relationship memoirs, this is a recovery memoir, ditto. What both share is keen psychological insight and little evidence of story-weakening self-protective narrative instincts. I really really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
(18/200)
Your Mother Was a Neanderthal, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
See above... though I think this was an earlier effort, as the formula was not so polished as in the other two I've read.
(19/200)
Sex with Kings : 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge, by Eleanor Herman
Oh man, this book was just so much fun! Like sitting down for an extended and mostly good-hearted gossip session with someone who was full of interesting anecdotes. Not really about the sexually titillating aspects of the mistresses of European royalty, so much as about the context of their lives. Like Andrew Morton for people who are really just too intellectually snobbish to allow themselves to read Andrew Morton. I read this in about two days. It really does seem solidly put together, a work of history and not just gossip, though I am not up enough on European royalty to be a fair judge of that. (My tendency in these cases is to say, "Well, I loved the book, so it MUST be historically accurate!" which is the easiest reaction, but not terribly objective.) The writing was excellent, lots of information, lots of primary sources quoted, and no stultifying dry bits.
(20/200)
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, by E L Konigsburg, read by Molly Ringwald
I am relieved to find E.L. Konigsburg every bit as excellent as when I last read her. One of my most favorite of YA authors, still. Ringwald does an excellent job of reading this; the comedic voices are just funny enough without veering into caricature and the narrator comes across as reasonable and straightforward no matter how chaotic things get, just as she ought to. I don't really want to get into plot because I had absolutely no idea about what was going to happen when I started listening to this and I think it increased my enjoyment of the story. But I will say that Konigsburg's ear for dialogue - and for subtle, delicate wit in the midst of absurdist situations - remains impressive.
(21/200)
The writing in this is quite lovely; the author's other published work has mainly been poetry. This drags a bit in the science-y sections (perhaps he was a bit out of his depth and working hard not to show it?), and there were a couple of places where poor editing led to almost exact repetition between sections, but the 'humanities' parts of the books, the parts where he talks about nightclubs and star myths and the personal musings - those are wonderful and make the entire book a delight instead of an acceptable rehashing of previous writing on the subject.
(13/200)
The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
Another fun and silly kid's book about time travel, this one set in the Old West. Whee.
(14/200)
The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific, by J. Maarten Troost
Charming, self-deprecating intellectual with a wild streak follows his intrepid and effective fiancee to the island of Turawa for years of self-mockery and brutally witty observation, not to mention dancing, cannibalistic dogs, and dysentery. What's not to like? The book is also sufficiently sincere in its affections that the constant ridicule never itches.
(15/200)
The Life of the World to Come, by Kage Baker
I didn't want to like this book as much as the others in the series. It was less elegantly structured, more bizarre, not as funny. But it was so damn compelling that I could barely stand to put it down, so I find that I do like it as much, anyway. However, I don't think it would be half so much fun out of context, so I strongly recommend that anyone new to Ms. Baker's work start with The Garden of Iden instead. (Apparently that one is kind of expensive at the moment, but if you're lucky your local library probably has it, as mine did.)
(16/200)
The Reluctant Metrosexual, by Peter Hyman
In all fairness, I probably would've liked this book better if I'd read it in a month where I hadn't been immersed in so many examples of more or less the same shtick, done with much greater aplomb. A few of the essays were really funny or touching, but most of them were just blah. Clever enough, not really worth the time. I'm sort of glad I read it for the 2 or 3 essays I really liked, but really this is as close to a pan as I get unless I hate something enough to throw it across the room. The two recurring thoughts I had while reading this were, "I would probably like these better if I actually knew this guy," and "Dude, what exactly is missing from these essays that Troost and Shapiro manage to be so much funnier?" A sense of abandon, maybe?
(17/200)
Lighting Up: How I Stopped Smoking, Drinking, and Everything Else I Loved Except Sex, by Susan Shapiro
Publisher's Weekly says, "Shapiro's wit and honesty elevate the work," and they are absolutely right. Just as her previous book was a relationship memoir that one could love while retaining little interest in the genre of relationship memoirs, this is a recovery memoir, ditto. What both share is keen psychological insight and little evidence of story-weakening self-protective narrative instincts. I really really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
(18/200)
Your Mother Was a Neanderthal, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
See above... though I think this was an earlier effort, as the formula was not so polished as in the other two I've read.
(19/200)
Sex with Kings : 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge, by Eleanor Herman
Oh man, this book was just so much fun! Like sitting down for an extended and mostly good-hearted gossip session with someone who was full of interesting anecdotes. Not really about the sexually titillating aspects of the mistresses of European royalty, so much as about the context of their lives. Like Andrew Morton for people who are really just too intellectually snobbish to allow themselves to read Andrew Morton. I read this in about two days. It really does seem solidly put together, a work of history and not just gossip, though I am not up enough on European royalty to be a fair judge of that. (My tendency in these cases is to say, "Well, I loved the book, so it MUST be historically accurate!" which is the easiest reaction, but not terribly objective.) The writing was excellent, lots of information, lots of primary sources quoted, and no stultifying dry bits.
(20/200)
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place, by E L Konigsburg, read by Molly Ringwald
I am relieved to find E.L. Konigsburg every bit as excellent as when I last read her. One of my most favorite of YA authors, still. Ringwald does an excellent job of reading this; the comedic voices are just funny enough without veering into caricature and the narrator comes across as reasonable and straightforward no matter how chaotic things get, just as she ought to. I don't really want to get into plot because I had absolutely no idea about what was going to happen when I started listening to this and I think it increased my enjoyment of the story. But I will say that Konigsburg's ear for dialogue - and for subtle, delicate wit in the midst of absurdist situations - remains impressive.
(21/200)
