Another Year in Books

So unlike my esteemed colleague and sibling Athena I decided to actually wait until the end of the year to post my reading list. Mainly because there were one or two I was still trying to finish. That said, here we go.

A More Perfect Constitution by Larry Sabato. Well worth it, should be required reading for registered voters.

What Are You Optimistic About? by John Brockman. Sucked. I'm optimistic that the book was lousy.

Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. Excellent in an acquired taste sort of way. Watch the movie instead.

House to House by David Bellavia. Excellent, but not recommended for those that can't suspend their politics about the war.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Excellent

Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson. Excellent and flawless. Made me want to move to the Northwest......oh wait.

Delta Force by Charlie Beckwith.

How To Work For An Idiot by John Hoover. More about overcoming your inner idiot. Funny and practical.

Cop In The Hood by Peter Moskos

Chechen Jihad by Yossef Bodansky. Screaming flapping piece of shit. Wanted my time back.

Lasso The Wind by Tim Egan. Excellent! Egan has skills.

Robert's Ridge by Malcom McPherson. Good but a tough read along the lines of Lone Survivor.

Retribution by Max Hastings. Exhaustive and exhausting but good. We're finally getting enough distance from WWII that some objective stuff is being written.

The Fourth Turning by Strauss and Howe. Great and a bit scary. Again, should be required reading.

The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac. Good but an acquired taste.

Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile. Amazing guy that Wilson. Worth the time.

Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes. Psycho.

The Life & Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. Fun read, Bryson never disappoints.

Beyond Band of Brothers by Dick Winters. Should be required reading for leadership courses.

Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk. Very acquired taste by an author people either love or hate. I think the readers know where I stand.

The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes. Kinda sucked. Amity needed an editor and a mission statement.

Communication Excellence by Brian Polansky.

Flushed by Hodding Carter. Fun look at the potty.

The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! Of Homer by Various. Right up my alley and well worth the time. Favorite chapter: Thus Spake Bart: On Nietzsche and the Virtues of Being Bad.

Overall a bit less than the previous year and a bit less diverse. This is something I intend to remedy this year, having access to an excellent library system and a lot of spare time.

ps. Happy New Year to all 3 of our readers.

Ares