The 50 book Challenge 2011

[Bella Fortuna]

1. Moab is My Washpot - Stephen Fry
2. The Fry Chronicles - Stephen Fry
3. Good Omens - Gaiman/Pratchett
4. Earth vs. Everybody - John Swartzwelder
5. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery
6. The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters
7. At Home - Bill Bryson
8. The Man With the Getaway Face - Richard Stark
9. American Eve - Paula Uruburu
10. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson
11. Passing - Nella Larsen

[.Morticia.]

read a few

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America by Chris Hedges

The Predator State by J Galbraith

American Gods by Gaiman

Changing Places by David Lodge

Eyelids of Morning by Peter Beard ( http://www.peterbeard.com/publications/morning.htm )

A few Jack London short stories

[.Morticia.]

read a few

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America by Chris Hedges

The Predator State by J Galbraith

American Gods by Gaiman

Changing Places by David Lodge

Eyelids of Morning by Peter Beard ( http://www.peterbeard.com/publications/morning.htm )

A few Jack London short stories and essays, including How I became a Socialist and The War of the Classes

John Barleycorn by Jack London

and he he he, reading him I can see the influence of Marx ( London was a socialist activist ) in language and ideas. And Irish is a devotee of London. I knew he was an unconscious marxist. )

[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
9. The Jungle Book
10. Unseen Academicals
11. The Fifth Elephant
12. A Hat Full of Sky
13. Thud!
14. Islam, Sectarianism and Politics In Sudan Since The Mahdiyya
15. Jingo
16. Guards! Guards!
17. Trio of Horror: Three Tales From the Holocaust
18. Men at Arms
19. The Wyrd Sisters
20. Lords and Ladies
21. The Truth
22. The Kid; What happened my when my boyfriend and I decided to get pregnant.
23. It Gets Better: The Book
24. Dracula
25. Huanuco Pampa: The Architecture and Ceramics

[Sælir]

I will have to participate next year. Don´t have time to read anything now

[.Morticia.]

read a few

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America by Chris Hedges

The Predator State by J Galbraith

American Gods by Gaiman

Changing Places by David Lodge

Eyelids of Morning by Peter Beard ( http://www.peterbeard.com/publications/morning.htm )

A few Jack London short stories and essays, including How I became a Socialist and The War of the Classes

John Barleycorn by Jack London

The Road by Jack London

[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.

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.

11. The Ascent of Money- Niall Ferguson
I was somewhat familiar with this book before I read it-- saw some of the television programs developed concurrently with the writing, as well as some articles in Newsweek, comments for the LongNow Foundation, etc. So I didn't get the pleasure of encountering some of his big ideas for the first time. I definitely have a far better understanding of the history of finance-- but then, since i went in with a knowledge base of close to zero, that wouldn't have taken much. Ferguson is a lively writer, entertaining on a subject that could be deadly dull in the hands of someone less passionate. However, his frequent footnotes and parenthetical comments, though elucidating, really harm the flow of the narrative-- I often had to read pages several times through to get their whole intent. And the closer his history came to the current time, the less effort he spent explaining technical terms so the layperson could understand (What do these percentages MEAN? What the hell is a credit spread? etc.)
A bit of a slog at times, but worth it.

12. Exposure- Kathryn Harrison
Not surprising this author is able to write with utter credibility about a creepily sexualized relationship between a father and a daughter. Three generations of photographers, two generations of mental illness-- a downward spiral of character portraiture that is compelling, subtly drawn, and, as I've noted, entirely believable. Well done.

13. Black Elk Speaks-- as told through John G. Neihardt
Joseph Campbell notes this book as one of his most important reads-- an autobiography of a Lakota warrior/medicine man, which tells the story of his people, from the days of Custer to the tragedy at Wounded Knee. A heartbreaking first-hand account of one of the most shameful aspects of United States history, and a useful resource for those interested in understanding totemic imagery. The chapter describing Black Elk's great vision was, for me, a bit of a slog-- but the book as a whole was well worth reading.

14. The Children's Book-- A.S. Byatt
Hm. Hm.
Not sure what to say. Enjoyed it. Lots of great details about Art Nouveau, English pastorale, Liberty dresses, anarchy, socialism, Fabianism, women's suffrage, uber-puppets, the Aesthetic Movement at large, and late-Victorian/Edwardian sexuality. But after 500 or so pages, I'm left with soup.

I like soup. But it was a bit of a narrative let-down.

15. Jane Eyre-- Charlotte Bronte
There's little I can say about this book that you haven't already heard-- it's a re-read, anyway. All I'll add is that if you're only going to read one book by C.B., I'd recommend Villette over Jane Eyre, any day of the week (Villette is one of my all-time favorites.) The emotional depth and breadth of Villette is far greater than J.E., and I suspect, closer to C.B.'s life experience. When she writes about an actual, realized love affair, her ear for language seriously suffers-- people speak in extended, florid perorations that fail to convince. I suspect she was depending more on imagination than experience for these intimate scenes, and her imagination failed her.

16. Monkeys- Susan Minot
A short series of vignettes about a large, semi-Catholic family living in New England in the 60's and 70's. Truthful, spare, and melancholy.

17. A Will and a Way- Nora Roberts
Yeah, I like Nora Roberts. Shut up.

So, I re-read a couple more crap books, but I feel like it's cheating to list them all. I need to do another book-store run, soon.


18.Waterfront- Phillip Lopate
a walking tour/history/rumination of the waterfront perimeter of Manhattan-- a series of personal essays by a native son. I enjoyed the first half, which covered the West Side from Battery Park to Inwood. But that could just be because I live here. The second half was less enthralling-- in part because of literary excursions that didn't seem to serve any function within the structure of the book, but were there just to please the author's ego; and in part because, well, I don't give a shit about the East Side. Ha.

19. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed- Jared Diamond
I gave our copy of Guns, Germs, and Steel to my father before reading it. Now I'm regretting that move, since I enjoyed Collapse quite a bit. Diamond explores a number of historic and pre-historic societies that have collapsed due to environmental and other pressures. He explores current societies at risk, and looks at how we can use our understanding of the failure of past societies to avoid similar outcomes in the present and future. Diamond's writing is intelligent, yet lucid and conversational. A well-traveled, gregarious scholar-- likeable-- it's easy to imagine sitting down with him and discussing the issues of the world over a pint or two.

That seems like a strange reaction to have to a book about societal collapse. Which is a good reason to read it.

So, midway through a book with some heft, I stopped and read another dime-store Nora, then this:

20. The Happiest Baby on the Block-- Dr. Harvey Karp
Learn all about the fabled ' fourth-trimester', along with swaddling, side or stomach, shushing, swinging, and sucking-- or, more succinctly, how to make your screaming baby shut up, in a nice way, before you shake him to death. A quick, easy read, highly recommended as effective by most mothers I know. A little too "try my fail-safe patented techniques!!!" in tone for my taste, and there was a troubling lack of condemnation for homeopathy (though he admitted supporting evidence was hard to find), but the book seemed helpful. And the drawings were cute.

And hey-- next time I post I get to use a whole second spoiler! So exciting!

[.Morticia.]

read a few

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America by Chris Hedges

The Predator State by J Galbraith

American Gods by Gaiman

Changing Places by David Lodge

Eyelids of Morning by Peter Beard ( http://www.peterbeard.com/publications/morning.htm )

A few Jack London short stories and essays, including How I became a Socialist and The War of the Classes

John Barleycorn by Jack London

The Road by Jack London

People of the Abyss by Jack London

[Bella Fortuna]

1. Moab is My Washpot - Stephen Fry
2. The Fry Chronicles - Stephen Fry
3. Good Omens - Gaiman/Pratchett
4. Earth vs. Everybody - John Swartzwelder
5. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery
6. The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters
7. At Home - Bill Bryson
8. The Man With the Getaway Face - Richard Stark
9. American Eve - Paula Uruburu
10. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson
11. Passing - Nella Larsen
12. The Outfit - Richard Stark
13. The Disappearing Spoon - Sam Kean

[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
9. The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa- Neil Peart
10. Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind- V.S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee
11. The Science of Fear- Daniel Gardner
12. Unweaving the Rainbow- Richard Dawkins
13. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors- Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan
14. Animal Farm- George Orwell
15. The Selfish Gene- Richard Dawkins
16. Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe- Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee

[hadespussercats]

^^^Shit, I have to read "A Selfish Gene."

There are woo-woo reasons I haven't yet.
I need to figure out if they're still important to me.

Is anyone else weird about when they'll read certain books, and why?

[.Morticia.]

^^^Shit, I have to read "A Selfish Gene."

There are woo-woo reasons I haven't yet.
I need to figure out if they're still important to me.

Is anyone else weird about when they'll read certain books, and why?

I'm gearing up to read The Iron Heel by Jack London. It's about socialist revolutionaries in a far future fascist America.

I kinda know people like that and it's scaring me.

And his last book I read disturbed me too. The People of the Abyss, a later study in the style of Conditions of the Working Class. It changed my view about what people will endure.

I always thought, used to say, people will start to fight for change when the children start dying in big numbers.

But they won't. In the past infant/child mortality was 75% and the people didn't rise up. They accepted it as fate and natural causes, not as the preventable outcome of social inequality and exploitation that it is.

[hadespussercats]

^^^Shit, I have to read "A Selfish Gene."

There are woo-woo reasons I haven't yet.
I need to figure out if they're still important to me.

Is anyone else weird about when they'll read certain books, and why?

I'm gearing up to read The Iron Heel by Jack London. It's about socialist revolutionaries in a far future fascist America.

I kinda know people like that and it's scaring me.

And his last book I read disturbed me too. The People of the Abyss, a later study in the style of Conditions of the Working Class. It changed my view about what people will endure.

I always thought, used to say, people will start to fight for change when the children start dying in big numbers.

But they won't. In the past infant/child mortality was 75% and the people didn't rise up. They accepted it as fate and natural causes, not as the preventable outcome of social inequality and exploitation that it is.

Yeah, there are a lot of books i think would probably be good to read, but I'm leery of the emotional place they might put me in, so I put them off...

Do books like the ones you've described make you feel more capable of fighting the good fight, or do they leave you feeling hopeless?

[.Morticia.]

Less hopeless.

But a bit sadder.

[hadespussercats]

Less hopeless.

But a bit sadder.