November Books

Pretty eclectic mix this month; hip hop history, teen angst, behavioural economics; Indian poverty; 19th century drama; and meditation.

The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated, and Deconstructed

by Shea Serrano

More than even I needed to know about hip hop, but captures each moment perfectly. 1998-2005 are my dark ages, and I didn't even know many of the featured songs. The Girls got me back in the game.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity

by Katherine Boo

Agonizingly hard to be poor in India; harder still when all the government actors are unapologetically corrupt. Amazing reporting.

The Three Sisters

by Anton Chekhov

Life sucks. It seems so much better over there. But maybe not. Gets a pass for being novel at the time, but hasn't aged well.

Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics

by Richard H. Thaler

Not a lot new here if you've read Nudge and Kahnemann, but the narrative is interesting, especially the unwillingness of economists to accept that people often don't act rationally, despite so much evidence to the contrary.

Mindfulness in Plain English

by Henepola Gunaratana

Overlong, but with some good tips on meditation, which I'll try.

The Bell Jar

by Sylvia Plath

After the first 100 pages, I couldn't figure out why I had disliked this so much in high school. The remaining 2/3 reminded me.

October Books

From Marcus Aurelius to Jonathan Franzen, with a stop at the 150 shelf in the library to see if there was anything interesting.

Purity

by Jonathan Franzen

Note

Overly praised. Did not live up to my expectations and did not seem to be set on the planet we live on. But I read it quickly.

The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing

by John R. Perry

Note

Could have found something better to do.

The Tell: The Little Clues That Reveal Big Truths about Who We Are

by Matthew Hertenstein

Note

Not as good as I expected from the cover and the blurb from Daniel Pink. Hmmm.

Meditations

by Marcus Aurelius

Note

Less resonant than when I read it 20 years ago, perhaps due to a more modern translation. Short take: live in the now, don't worry so much about the past or the future. Good advice, but no surprise.

Play It as It Lays

by Joan Didion

Note

Beautiful writing, but very much of its time, and a little dreamy for my taste. Like the essays better.

Station Eleven

by Emily St. John Mandel

Note

Not my genre, but the writing is very good, and the Great Lakes setting is a plus. Credible picture of post apocalyptic world grows less so on further reflection.

Enduring Love

by Ian McEwan

Note

Compelling story about love, guilt and relationships that I didn't quite buy.

September Books

Finally got around to reading the definitive book about Yugoslavia and the author Lloyd Cole name checks in Rattlesnakes.

The White Album: Essays

by Joan Didion

Beautifully concise writing about issues in the 70s. Always interesting, even when the subject matter isn't.

Huck Finn's America: Mark Twain and the Era That Shaped His Masterpiece

by Andrew Levy

Interesting look at Huck Finn in the context of life in the author's world. Twain loved minstrel shoes as a boy and became a champion of civil rights in the 1880s, but never lost his fondness for an art form that fell precipitously from public favor. Seems entirely consistent with a fantastic novel that is a bit messy in parts.

The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion Picked this up at the library when Play it as it Lays was out. Beautifully economic writing cannot save an implausible story. Learned later that this was her last book, and not considered among her best by any means.  The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman Short entertaining look at various philosophical approaches to happiness. Nobody writes books about the failures who never quit on themselves. The Big Payback by Dan Charnas Comprehensive history of the business of hip hop. Interesting throughout, but too much detail, even for this fan. Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West, Christopher Hitchens (Introduction) Been meaning to read this doorstop since 1997. Has lost some of its currency, but the history is interesting, the writing superb and there is much that still speaks to issues in the former Yugoslavia today.

August Books

Distant View of a Minaret and Other Stories

by Alifa Rifaat, Denys Johnson-Davies (Translator)

Stumbled on this thanks to the inimitable Mona Eltahawy. Incredibly vivid and powerful stories from someone who seems to understand life in Egypt for a muslim woman.

Much Ado About Nothing

by William Shakespeare

Come for the hilarity of mistaken identity; stay for the fantastic puns and wordplay. Read it in advance of the OG's company's performance, and was glad to have done so.

Nowhere to Run: The Story of Soul Music

by Gerri Hirshey

Disappointing. A little hagiographic, and I didn't learn much. Really expected to like it.

The Salterton Trilogy (The Salterton Trilogy #1-3)

by Robertson Davies

Thought I was going to like this more than I did. The characters were a little twee, and though I enjoyed the third book significantly more than the first two, a couple of plot developments at the end were implausible. Not his best, but saying that sets the bar quite high.

June/July Books

Thought I'd read more this summer, but I seem to have spent an abundance of time at the wheel. Full list for 2015 and links here.

Cakes and Ale

by W. Somerset Maugham

Got better towards the end. The points are well made about writers and the people they actually are, but the story moves slowly, despite its brevity.

Bel-Ami

by Guy de Maupassant

Thoroughly entertaining tale of an amoral rascal's ascendancy in French society. Enjoyed this much more than I had expected to. A gift from Pat.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

by Marie Kondo, Cathy Hirano (Translator)

Disappointing after all the hype. Should have been an Atlantic article; could have used some decluttering of its own.

The Run of His Life : The People versus O. J. Simpson

by Jeffrey Toobin

Fun to look back at how race and the media sabotaged this investigation and trial. Enjoyed learning that OJ was a very bad speller and a wholesale fraud. First of two in my ongoing book exchange with Pat.

Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution

by Mona Eltahawy

Life ain't easy for a muslim woman who asks questions and thinks about stuff.

I Want to Get Married!: One Wannabe Bride's Misadventures with Handsome Houdinis, Technicolor Grooms, Morality Police, and Other Mr. Not-Quite-Rights

by Ghada Abdel Aal

Very funny stories of life as a young woman in Egypt. Sex and the City for the Caged Virgin. Glad she found the humor in it.

True Grit

by Charles Portis

Great story, with a lead character who stands alongside Huck Finn and well above the others in American literature. A pleasure to read.

Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Largely repetitive after the first two books. But I am nonetheless glad that she keeps speaking out.

Real Men Do Yoga: 21 Star Athletes Reveal Their Secrets of Strength, Flexibility and Peak Performance

by John Capouya

That's what the retired army guy, now personal trainer told me as we hiked down Mount Monadnock this month, and I vowed to look into it. I've been doing one of the the no nonsense thirty minute routines in the book every other day for a week now, and I quite like it, especially for balance and flexibility.

May books

Full 2015 list here.

Memoirs of a Woman Doctor 

by نوال السعداوي, Nawal El-Saadawi, Catherine Cobham (Translator)

It's hard to be a woman in Egypt, no doubt. Kind of felt that the ending--love on her terms--was a bit of a cop out. Does it always have to end this way?

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

by Mohsin Hamid

Did not buy the Ancient Mariner plot-driver nor the relationship with the main woman character, nor almost anything else in this book. His reaction to 9/11 was implausible and poorly explained--not furthering the mutual understanding we need.

How to Be a Woman

by Caitlin Moran

Funny throughout. Learned something about the author. Not sure about the rest of the gender.

The Glass Cage: Automation and Us

by Nicholas Carr

Thought provoking look at how technology can inhibit or undermine creativity and efficiency. Worthwhile, if overlong.

All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr

Beautifully written war story that plays cleverly with time and place. A pleasure to read.

The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square 

by Steven A. Cook

Scholarly, but readable account of postwar politics in Egypt. Sadly it ends with Mubarak's arrest in 2011. Time for an update, or at least an addendum, as there is still a lot of uncertainty.

Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard on You?: A Memoir

by George Clinton, Ben Greenman

Memoir of the remarkable career of a true innovator. One wonders how different things might have been without the thirty years of crack addiction.

The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam

by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Not as moving as her story, but still powerful and thought provoking.

Essential Manners for Men: What to Do, When to Do It, and Why

by Peter Post

A gift from my wife (hmm?). After finishing it, I think I'm pretty good in the manners department. But I've read a lot about the influence of confirmation bias on decision making, so I'm not sure.

Short Cuts: Selected Stories

by Raymond Carver,

Really like his stories. These were true to form.