The Sot-Weed Factor by John Barth My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a virtuoso performance. John Barth is a born storyteller, and The Sot-Weed Factor makes full use of his talents. There are tales within tales, here, and they’re all told with a seductive sense of humor. The story follows a woefully innocent …
The Stand by Stephen King My review rating: 4 of 5 starsGreat book. King knows how to write a very good yarn: his characters are well-defined, sympathetic, and believable. He also knows how to draw you into the story, into the world. He provides enough detail, but not too much. And he’s never boring. At …
The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder My review rating: 4 of 5 starsThis book is a classic. If you’re interested in the history of the computer business, you’ll really enjoy it. Kidder follows a team of engineers at Data General as they design, build, and debug a new machine for the company. …
Rabbit Redux by John Updike My review rating: 5 of 5 starsUpdike can be hard to read. You have to commit. But if you commit, you won’t regret. The plot of this book, like Rabbit Run, simmers slowly and builds organically to a very satisfying conclusion, and along the way, you get to experience whatever …
I’ve had my Kindle 2 for a few weeks, so I thought it was time to do a preliminary review. I forced myself to wait for the Kindle 2 to come out because I knew there were a lot of complaints about the first version, mainly regarding it’s crappy design. And I’m really glad I …
My sister sent me the following e-mail review of Twilight, the phenomenally popular first novel in the series by Stephenie Meyer: Twilight is a book about what to say to your girlfriend when you want to feel powerful. Presuming she’s already weak, you’ll have the upper hand even more than you already did in just …
There are lots of books that will tell you how to feed your kid(s) healthy meals. The one we use most often, and most successfully, is Jessica Seinfeld’s (yes, that Jessica Seinfeld) Deceptively Delicious. Basically, the idea is to sneak veggies into tasty foods so the little ones don’t know what hit ‘em. There is …
We recently visited our local Barnes & Noble on a dreary day with every intention of stimulating the economy. Not long ago, we could spend $50-75 on a trip to the bookstore with barely an “aren’t-we-bad-yes-we-are” grin on our faces. But on that particular visit, we walked out empty handed. I couldn’t justify a single …
The New Yorker has a masterful piece on David Foster Wallace and his attempts to write the followup to Infinite Jest. He called the book The Pale King, and Little, Brown is going to publish it in 2010, even though it’s incomplete. D.T. Max’s piece—The Unfinished—answers a lot of questions about Wallace’s final year, covering …
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson My review rating: 5 of 5 starsI made sure to give myself some time between seeing the film version and reading the book (I always prefer to see the movie first; novels always add to the story and usually improve upon it). I’m glad I waited. The two versions …
