What I Just Read: Neverwhere

The thing that I love, and at the same time the thing that irks me the most about Neil Gaiman is his ability to create this alternate reality that is incredibly detailed with characters and history. Then at the end of the story he dismisses the world he has created and moves on to another one. With both American Gods and the most recent book of Mr. Gaiman's I read, Neverwhere, he creates these intricate worlds with expansive histories and hundreds of characters that are only touched on for moments. Needless to say I found myself enveloped by these stories and characters and would like very much to hear more about the Marquis and Richard (though I did just receive Anansi Boys in the mail, a novel that is based in the same world as American Gods). But enough about my wants.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman did not disappoint in the artfully constructed fictional reality department. The characters were many and a couple of them I could not get enough of (Richard and Marquis especially). While the Marquis was a nice bit of snide and sarcastic ego worked into a heroes tale Richard himself was a perfect vehicle to reflect the thoughts the reader may have whilst engrossed in the story.

Richard does take a lead in scenes and is by know means a hollow character yet at the same time he is left out of the dialogue for pages at a time only to pop up with a sort of color commentary on the scene that is unfolding. It as if the rest of the scene is a play by play commentator and Richard is the second guy in the booth who chimes in with a "Woah!' and "Great shot by Neely on that play!". I do not know if he is meant to call attention to this or that but I can say that his mutterings in the middle of scenes are greatly appreciated.

Unlike American Gods, which may have been a bit longer than it was needed, Neverwhere is too short. The story flies by too quickly and could have used a slower pace in certain moments. Though I can not say that the book is any less enjoyable due to the lack of details.

The cover is average. Having seen what the new Fragile Things, Smoke and Mirrors and Anansi Boys looks like I think it is fair to say that this cover is lacking. It looks rushed and neglected. A photo with an easy Photoshop action to hide the blurriness below.

I read this book months ago, along with two others that I hope to post on soon (no promises). In the meantime you can blame The Economist. Katy does all ready.

Speaking of Katy and Neil Gaiman, Katy and I went to see Neil Gaiman's fiance Amanda Palmer play with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for New Years. After the show we bought their book and waited in line to have them both sign it. When it came to be our turn to get the book signed we both froze up (One could say we were starstruck) and kinda of mumble an inaudible greeting. We ended up leaving the whole ordeal with this dazed look in our eyes and feeling a bit silly.

What I Just Read: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

I did not read this book because it was highly recommended to me, not because of any good reviews, nor because it seemed like a book I would enjoy. I read this book simply because of the ad-campaign. I saw it on the T, on that backs of buses, all over the internet, in the newspaper and magazines. Not to mention it stared at me for some time when I worked at Borders. So I had to read it.

Now it may not come to many of you as a surprise that I enjoyed an International Best Selling Novel, but I did. Though not all that challenging in a literary sense and clearly losing a bit with the translation from Swedish, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson was still a thoroughly enjoyable and thrilling book. It reminded me a lot of The Da Vinci Code, which would make sense because it's a crime thriller that is fast paced. The book moves like a movie, and even has a montage part that spans a a couple months in a few pages. I would not be surprised if you end up seeing this as a movie in the next few years. Overall I liked it and can not wait (but yet I will wait) until The Girl Who Played With Fire comes out in paperback.

Which leads me to the over all look of the book. Limiting the color scheme to four (black font, orange + green design on a yellow background) really works for the book, and interlacing the title in with the dragon design was a neat way to make the dragon stand out. The book has a nice light feel to it and the pages turn fairly easily but at the same time do not have cheap bible paper feel to them. The one problem I have with the cover is the orange strip on the back for Mr. Larson's picture and a few blurbs. I wish it wasn't there. It brings about a rough and abrupt end to a rather intricate and beautiful cover.

Sorry if this post is lacking in substance, I finished this book a month ago and never got around to posting on it. I should also have a post on Neverwhere, which I finished today, in the next couple days.

What I Just Read: On The Grand Trunk Road

Steve Coll and Mr. Staggs (yes I just Googled a High School teachers name and I got his Twitter page in under a minute, the world we live in is bizarre. I also got his blog and Linked in page, as a result I now know pretty much everything about the guy since I last saw him 6 years ago) are the two main reasons why I chose Political Science as my major. Thomas Friedman is another reason but I like to forget about that time in my life.

Anyway, as a result of my love of all things written by Coll it was inevitable that I would stumble across On The Grand Trunk Road at the Derby Square bookstore and therefore force myself to buy a book that was published in 1994. So what if most of the info on India and Pakistan is out of date and the Tamil Rebels are no more, I still enjoyed learning more about India and Pakistan than just Nehru and Jinnah (not to mention learning anything at all about Sri Lanka, for one I had no idea India occupied Sri Lanka for a few years).

My favorite part of the book was Coll's work on the question's surrounding General Zia's death. Besides it being perfectly obvious that Zia was assassinated by his own men it shows exactly to what lengths Coll will go to in order to find the real story. My understanding for what drives Coll is much clearer as a result.

Though I ended up not reading the end of the book because it contained only a fraction of the insight Coll gave in his book Ghost Wars a decade later (10 years works wonders, especially with the help of a research assistant or two), I would say that the book was worth reading even if time has given it quite a beating. His first hand accounts and the present day feel of events that happened 20 years ago make reading the history easier than it would be if I were sitting in a history class.

Like the majority of non-fiction books this book did little for me when it came to the cover. And why should it have? It's is about actual events and not some parallel universe which allows the imagination to do whatever it wants with the cover as long it is remotely linked to the story in some way. He is a journalist not a creative thinker.

In summation: Do I like the cover? Not really. Do I think it could have been better? Certainly. Do I care to spend another line talking about how much better it could have been? No.

What I Just Read: Coming Up For Air

This was the book I was supposed to finish on our last trip to New York, that was about a month ago. I have no excuse except that that bed was so damn comfy looking.

One can never go home again, that's what I took away Coming Up For Air by George Orwell. The first half of the books is the recounting of the dull life that was and still is George Bowling, his parents, his first sexual experience, his love for fishing, serving and not serving in WW I, and about how fat he is. This mostly boring first half of the book is almost made up by the fact that the second half is devoted to him realizing that everything he remembered and held in such high regard has either vanished, changed into something he despises or may never have existed in the first place.

Yet underneath the mundane and nostalgic life of George Bowling is a classic Orwell undertone; the haves abuse the have nots and that is never going to change.

My favorite scene in the book is when George goes with his wife to listen to a famous Anti-Fascist give a lecture. George is not that interested in the lecture because he knows Hitler is a bad man and he does not need to be told so by a man spewing hatred. The thing is George does not care what type of system is in charge be it fascists, democracy, communism or whatever, he is still going to be making a few pounds a week and have to listen to his wife complain about the price of butter. He sees the arguments between the Communists and Trotsky supporter in front of him as nothing but rearranging chairs on the Titanic. Nothing matters.

Through George, Mr. Orwell is taking note of the pre WW II political landscape and saying he really does not care for it. There is going to be a war, people are going to die, England may end up under fascist rule but in the end will anything really change? Politically of course, because if Coming Up For Air tries to prove anything it's that though many things change, most things stay the same.

Though this book was fairly boring and at times difficult to get through there are very good parts to the book. In addition to the scene at the lecture, there is an almost prophetic sequence in which George describes the London Blitz with houses reduced to rubble and for the most part all out destruction. The thing is Coming Up For Air was written in June 1939 a full year before the Battle of Britain began, a truly amazing imagination.

I have always enjoyed Orwell, but then again who does not like Animal Farm and 1984. If it was not for the fact that I read Down and Out In Paris and London and loved it I do not think I would have bothered reading Coming Up for Air. I like Orwell's bleak outlook on mankind, his pessimistic view that power undoubtedly corrupts and the greedy always vanquish those who are not. It may be bleak and glass half empty , but I enjoy it.

The book design is fairly modest, a white background with gold trimming and a neat black and white picture of a man vaulting a large puddle which Katy says looks a lot like a photo that Henri Cartier-Bresson would have taken, neat none the less. I like it despite the misleading title and the hopeful picture.

I have one other Orwell book in my possession that I have yet to read, Homage to Catalonia, which is a work of non-fiction about the Spanish Civil War, I plan on giving it a try in the near future.

Freaks + Economics

Even though I worked at a Borders and therefore know that all those "sales" and "deals" are just scams it does not mean I'm smart enough to not fall for it. As a result I walked away with Freakanomics by Levitt and Dubner, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson as well as Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I went in there with a 40% coupon looking only to get Neverwhere, make you own judgments.

In my defense I have always wanted to read Freakonomics, but because they decided to reissue it 2340239 times in hardcover form I had decided to pass on it for the past 37 years.

Quick side note on why I prefer paperbacks to hardcover books.

1. Paperbacks are cheaper
2. Paperbacks have art work directly on the cover where as hardcovers tend to be bland and indistinguishable from one to the next.
3. Dust jackets, the bane of my existence.

I may have bent your ear about my hatred for dust jackets before, and if I have feel free to stop me. Dust covers suit one purpose, to look stupid. Why would one cover a perfectly good solid book cover of cardboard and cloth with a flimsy easily rippable piece of paper and think that its going to do anything but fall apart? Let me let you in on a little secret: Hardcovers are a scam and serve very little purpose besides being a collectors item.

And now back to our regularly schedule program

What appealed to me about this book, aside from the fact that I always liked the blog that was based on this book, was that it seemed to a easy way to explain economics to a kid who got a C- in Economics. That and it's full of random facts and as you all know I love random facts, much to the detriment of social situations.

Because this book is just a bunch of random facts and tidbits I am going to give you my observations and points in the same fashion.

- This book brought about an argument between my mother and myself that involved African American women from the South Side of Chicago, crack, and me calling my mother stupid (though I continue to believe the phrase "you do not know what you are talking about" is not an insult as much as a statement of fact).

- My favorite part of the book was when they debunked the theory of broken windows used to fight crime in NYC during the 90's. If you are one of the hundreds of people who have had to listen to me talk about how great broken windows is, I'm sorry and no you can not have that 20 minutes of your life back. No you can not speak to a manager.

- Rudy Giuliani is a fraud.

- I need to start following Sumo, Japans national past-time. Apparently the game of fat men is so important to Japan players cheat, sort of like Baseball in America. For those of you keeping score at home I now need to get into Sumo and Soccer.

- Conventional wisdom is usually wrong.

Overall a very enjoyable read, I had a hard time putting it down. I would recommend it to anyone who like myself has a hard time visualizing economic theory and the day to day effects of social factors on the economy. And no I have no idea what I just said. It was a good book, read it if you get the chance.

The cover of this book has potential and I'm sure when they first made the cover, with just the Orange/Apple on the front it looked great. Then they added the title and the authors, normal enough. Then they added the subtitle, a quote, the lines "New York Times Bestseller" "Finally in Paperback" and "With New Material" and the cover starts to look like every other book in the business section. With all that said I like that they kept with the colors of the Orange/Apple in regards to everything on the cover.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note to any of you readers who actually borrow books from me. You can't anymore. I'm done sharing with you paper folding bastards. Of course I don't mean that, part of the reason I buy all my books, besides from my capitalistic obsession to own everything I touch, is so I can give the books to other people to enjoy. So to make that easier and to give me a reason to play "Librarian" every once in a while I have started cataloguing all my books.

What I Just Read: The Grapes of Wrath

My pledge to avoid all things trendy and hip has brought me to The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath is the foremost novel cataloging and illustrating the effects of The Depression of the early 20th century. Don't worry, I'm a step ahead of you, I realize what could be more trendy than a book about The Depression when the American economy is in the worst recession since the early 20th century. My answer is, probably nothing. If anyone were to see me reading this book they would probably think "he must be worried about the economy". Blast! Foiled again!

No I am not in fact reading this because I might be heading Californy way because my crops failed and my Political Science degree holds no value (though with recent headlines California may not be a viable option). In fact I read (or was supposed to read) The Grapes of Wrath in my AP English class. It being a large book as well as my mothers favorite book, and wtih me being a rebellious teenager and there being something called SparkNotes, I took a pass. Being a little older, and a little geekier (or maybe its embracing my geekyness) I have decided to revisit books that I passed on in High School, this being the first one.

I really enjoyed reading it this time, took me a bit to get into it, but once I got past the part where I stopped last time I started to get into it. I particularly enjoyed how with every other chapter Steinbeck takes a different approach to the story. By that I mean every odd chapter is a sort of short story, mirroring the way he writes in The Pearl, except when he does so it is setting up the scene for the next chapter where the story of the Joads continues. A story of poverty and what that poverty does to those in it and those outside of it.

It's actually a very pertinent book in respect to my situation right now, granted I have a roof over my head, food to eat and if it came to it I always have my parents. That being said, the past few months have been like the Joads heading to California, thinking about working, thinking about what I'm going to do when I graduate. Tom Joad's parole is like my Logic grade, I'm just waiting to get caught, and the Joads finally reaching California is like me taking my last final, now I really need a job.

It may have been that weak connection with the book I just mentioned or it might be that I realized Steinbeck isn't that wordy after all. Regardless I think I like the man.

******

This is the most common copy of the book in bookstores today. It is a paperback, not a hardcover, so therefore it does not have nor does it need a dust jacket (I hate dust jackets). For some odd reason Penguin Books got it into their heads that they should sully some of their books by making it appear as if it does in fact have a dust jacket on it. They do this by elongating the front and back covers of the book (so the covers are double the size of the book) and then folding the outer half of the cover in upon it self, making it resemble a dust jacket. The reason for this is twofold; one is to add more information about the book to the inside cover, and the second reason is to infuriate me.

I would remiss if I did not tell you that I have contemplated removing the inside portions of all these books with a razor blade. Not just my books (for which I have and never will have any such monstrosities) but all books such as this, a crusade of sorts, a crusade to purify the ranks of books.

And so this is why I purchased a Penguin Classic version of The Grapes of Wrath. Now Penguin Classics are not the most desirable versions of a book to buy, mostly because the format is the same for every book (black background, white trim complete with orange and white font, only the upper two thirds of the front cover differing from book to book) and the quality of paper is only a step above Bible paper (Bible paper is incredibly thin in order to make the thickness of the book as small as possible, the offset is easily tear-able and partially see through paper). I only buy them when every other copy of the book is undesirable to me.

That being said, I do like this cover (upper 2/3) for the artwork. Not being an art critic, I cannot tell you why I like it (if I was to tell you I would say it is for the burnt tones of the piece), I just do. Though I think it might have something to do with the simplicity.

What I Just Read: Guns, Germs and Steel

I started reading this about two years ago, I got to the part about domesticating plants and animals, after that it's all just a blur. Well actually it seemed quite boring to me, I think I was on my first Co-Op, maybe not. Regardless the point is I finished reading it, finally. I had not thought about finishing until I came to the realization that out of all the books I had read this is the book that I reference the most, so I should probably finish it before recommending it to others.

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond is an explanation for why the world is the way it is. Now I'm sure some historians and other people who are more intelligent than myself may not see it that way but Mr. Diamond explained why white people seemingly rule the modern world and why we ride horses instead of llamas. It was helpful, I learned quite a bit and would recommend it to anyone who wants to get an understanding of how the current world came to be.

As for the book itself, I have done no research but my guess is that the cover is a artistic depiction of the abduction of Montezuma by Cortes and his men. Which if it is true is an apt picture for the cover of a book that goes onto explain how a hundred or so Spaniards took down the strongest Empire in North America. By explain I mean go back to the days of Mesopotamia and give a step by step set of directions on how best to develop a dominant society. (Hint: It involves thousands of years, a few plagues, and a lot of wars). I like the cover, the book is a bit on the tall side, but if you made it smaller it would also be bigger, if that makes any sense.

I plan on reading Jared Diamond's other books (Collapse, The Third Chimpanzee and Why is Sex Fun?) some time in the future but not for some time. For now I'm still reading The Grapes of Wrath and then after that Katy requires that I read Crime and Punishment, or else.

And we end this rather short yet never ending post with a book I really want to read but can't bring myself to buy because of how many books I already own that I have not read yet; it's called Sum by David Eagleman and it's all theories about what happens to you when you die. I blame you Radio Lab.

What I Just Read: Political Waters

As the last book I will ever read for my Undergraduate career Political Waters by Eric Jay Dolin perfectly summarizes how I felt about most books I read and classes I took while at Northeastern; it was interesting but overall the information lends itself to specific arguments that do little to interest the audience (in this particular realm it was environmental law, something I care little for even though this is the third class that I have come in contact with it).

If you were ever confused as to what Dirty Water by The Standells was about then this is your book. Political Waters chronicles the development and consequent reseolution of the Boston Harbor pollution problem, which began when the Puritans settled the Shawmut Peninsula and then began making waste.

Political Waters explains why and how sewer systems were implemented in America and how the process went from a private affair to an incredibly public one. An affair that saw countless acts of legislation and private suits that brought us to our current situation.

A little side not: Boston Harbor is actually quite clean in comparrison to what it has been like in the past, noticibly cleaner than even 15 years ago. That being said I wouldn't swim in it. Oh and please head the signs.


The book itself has a textbook feel to it with the glossy cover all the way around and the rather long sub heading. The book is large (tall and wide, not thick) and upon inspection of the text inside you realize it does not need to be. Though those features are enough for me to say to hell with the book I am intrigued by the map/painting on the cover. The cover is a detailed illustration of what looks to me as mid to late 17th century Boston. Being a large fan of maps and illustrations of cities this cover of course would pique my interest, and I of course am known to have purchased books solely because they have neat covers.

As I said before this is my last book for class at Northeastern, this week marks my last week as an Undergrad. It's weird, and I really don't know what to say. Honestly I don't. Maybe just that from here on out I would like to think the books I read will always be of my choosing.

Consider Yourself Soiled Ol' Glory!

As I have noted before I am taking a "A History of Boston" as one of my final two classes (which I have to pass by the way). In this class there are a couple books I have to read, books I may or may not have read if it were not for this class. The first book I enjoyed very little and concluded that because of it's title, appearance and plot there is very little chance I would have ever read it.

The Soiling of Old Glory by Louis P. Masur catalogs the issues and the incident behind the famous photo by photographer Stanley Forman. It uses the infamous photo to deconstruct the outbreak of racial animosity in Boston during the 1970's so we can better understand why it happened. For me it read much like a 200 page Wikipedia article, informative but at the same time dry and boring.

Having read All Souls by Michael Patrick MacDonald when I was younger I already have a fair grasp on the riots and violence that surrounded the forced busing of the 1970's. What really interested me was the photo, which I have never come across although I have lived in Massachusetts my whole life.

Stanley Forman won a Pulitzer for "Old Glory" which pictures a black man being held while a young white male is poised to strike him with the tip of a pole holding an American flag. The scene takes place in front of Boston City Hall during an anti-busing demonstration which Ted Landmark (the pictured black man) was unfortunate to walk through.


Mr. Forman also won a Pulitzer for a picture he had shot a year prior to his picture of the flag. This picture (shown below) was taken at a fire in Boston, and while taking photos of the scene Mr. Forman took this photo moments after a fire escape gave way and sent the child and woman five floors to the pavement. The woman pictured died as a result of the fall while miraculously the child survived. As a result of this photo, which ran on the front page of the Herald American, Forman was characterized as an oppurtunist who chose to take pictures from safety instead of helping those in trouble. When in fact this very photo led to sweeping reform of Boston fire escape laws which have undoubtedly saved countless lives since.


The book itself is a fairly average book with a glossy cover that borrows heavily from the picture it chronicles. The font used for the title is in all caps with a paint splattering effect which leaves dots of color on the white background. It's simple and lacks originality mostly because the picture was not hard to find when the book is based on said picture.

In the end the photo itself and it's photographer are very interesting and warrant more interest on my part, but the book itself delves heavily into why the photo is visually compelling instead of simply leaving it to the reader to comprehend and providing the setting it was in (which it does but I feel the setting is lost in the details). In all likelihood I would not read this book if it were not for my class, mostly because I know the setting in which this picture took place and all I would need to see is the photo and a brief history of the actual event itself.

I feel like this post can not end so abruptly, so I'm going to dally for a moment.......wait for it........OK, now we can say goodbye.

GOODBYE!

On Hispsters and Lullabies

A couple weekends ago Katy and I were going to see the tall ships and decided to bring our books, she Trainspotting (cult movie starring Ewen McGreggor) and me Lullaby (if you read but not much, you read Chuck Palahniuk). Katy joked that if anyone looked in her purse (which because of her refusal to be like every other girl and buy a duffel bag for a purse has our books sticking out of it) they would think we were trendy/hipsters.

Now if you know me you know I hate trendy people and I hate hipsters, mostly because they stole my witty t-shirts, my skinniness, made listening to certain music and books that I might like or read "hip" and decided to like shitty beer that I also like to drink form time to time. (Katy says their mantra is "i take photos, drink shit beer, and read cool books").

So I might be called a hipster, because they share traits with me. Just like I used to get "you take emo pictures" because I hate posing for pictures. I'm perilously close to being a victim of "hipster" profiling and I'm not even a fucking hipster! Though apparently I'm only a stupid hat and a pant size away from being a spitting image of one.

Now you did not come here for a rant about hipsters and my apparent likeness to them, though I'm sure you enjoyed it. You came here because you wanted to get the skinny (always wanted to use that word) on Lullaby. Besides not being able to get the voice and image of Edward Norton out of my head, Lullaby is solidly enjoyable novel of very easy language and fairly predictable plot.

Upon reading Lullaby I now understand why so many people consider Chuck Palahniuk their favorite author and why Fight Club translated so easily from a book to a hit movie. Mr. Palahiuk writes with a distinct style and flow to his book which makes the digestion easy and therefore keep the book going at a fast pace. It reads like a movie. With a hint of anti-society mixed in.

But more than anything I like it because it makes you think about situations that are in a way possible but at the same time not thought about as much as they should be. I would go into the specific thought process I came away with but I would ruin the book. If you read it and the part about possible genocide via irregular means catches your interest then feel free to send me an email and we can talk about it.

Lullaby is a beautiful book to behold. The cover is a solid white with black curvy font, with a dead bird placed in the middle. The texture of the cover is not rough or slippery, but instead, for lack of a better term "grippy". The pages on the inside are filled to the edges, not wasting excess space on borders. My one grippe is that chapter endings and chapter beginnings never share a page back to back, I feel not doing so is a waste of paper. But that is far from a deal breaker, just excessive.

More books by Mr Palahniuk will be read in the future I am sure but for now I think I will stick to the classics and critically acclaimed in lieu of the confusion surrounding the question of my "hipster" qualities.

What I Just Read: The Shoemaker and The Tea Party

As you may or may not know I have entered my final term at Northeastern University (Not Northwestern, unfortunately I am not that smart), and as one of my two final classes I am taking The History of Boston, which I am calling "Story Time take 2" (the first "Story Time" being America and the Sea). In this class like many classes out there we have to read books and the first book is The Shoemaker and the Tea Party by Alfred F. Young, and in the words of a Chicken Lou's cook "What could be more fun than Shoemakers and Tea Parties?"

As a matter of fact there probably far more things more interesting than Tea Parties and Shoemakers. George Robert Twelves Hewes, "The Shoemaker" mentioned in the title of this book, is the vehicle used by the author to show how the "Tea Party" changed to suit the political necessities of the day.

The analysis of the "Tea Party" is well done, even if it is slightly obvious. It is the biography of Mr. Hewes that irks me, it is mostly a regurgitation of two period biographies and a whole bunch of inference (second class this semester is logic btw). All in all I would call it weak, and Hewes a victim of circumstance and good genes and not all that deserving of a biography. The Tea Party thesis could easily be made without.

Fun Fact: Hewes named his 11th son, Eleven. Best "Boy Named Sue theory" name ever.

The cover looks and feels like a Borders Classics book, that is to say rushed and ugly. The inside of the book is average with period pictures through out.

Suffice to say I would never buy this book nor read it if I was not required to do so.

What I Just Read: The Painted Bird

Thanks to two 4+ hour bus rides and 2 hours to myself in Central Park I finished this book in one day, the actual finishing happened somewhere in Central Connecticut on a dimly lit bus.

The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski is a story of a young boy, who through his parent-less wanderings through Eastern Europe witnesses and befalls unspeakable (though not to him) attrocities at the hands of the local village populations. Reminded me a lot of Night by Elie Wiesel (in the fact that it was a story about the atrocities of WWII through the eyes of a child).

The stories in the painted bird are meant to be shocking and gut wrenching but to me his words had very little effect on me. The scenes he depicts were just that to me, scenes. I do not disagree that rapings, beatings and torture are horrific and indefensible acts but having not felt any of the effects of such actions. I think that may have been why I was surprised, partially due to Katy's reaction to the book, at how it was not as graphic as I thought it would be.

On the whole I enjoyed the book, in large part to the changes in the main characters thought process through out the book. Much like A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah who reflects on the mental toll that war and soldiering during his childhood had on him the painted bird talks about how adult events such as war, sex and torture are damaging to children.

To put it bluntly the design of this book is terrible in almost every way possible. For starters orange, purple and gray are not colors that work well together, and when you lay them on top of one another they really hurt the eyes.

The bird on the cover looks like someone used MS Paint (ha Painted Bird get it?) to put it on there. As a matter of fact this whole cover looks like it was put together in MS Paint by an Elementary School kid. The fact that it was made some time in the 60's or 70's is no excuse they should have updated it by now.

On the inside the words are smooshed together while leaving an inch for the margins. My question is why not give more spacing for the words or make the book smaller as a whole?

Next up is Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk. Last time I came in contact with something associated with Mr. Palahniuk was Fight Club (the movie not the book), just as the title credits were beginning I was told the whole plot of the movie. Now as a warning, if you know what happens in this book and you somehow bring it to my attention before I finish, I will kill you.

What I Just Read: An Arsonist's Guide To Writers' Homes In New England

Winner of the longest title of the year award.

Seeing as how I no longer have to write silly English papers and I am no longer required to know Spanish I thought I might read a few things of my choosing. That is of course until I start school again on Monday which includes Logic and The History of Boston, which may prove to be some interesting reading in itself. To the book!

An Arsonist's Guide To Writers' Homes In New England is one of the books that you are on the fence about until you come to the climatic scene and then the book is abruptly over. For the majority of the book I found myself struggling to pay attention and wanting to jump over paragraphs the author dedicated to stories the main character thought were the life stories of total stranger. While some were incredibly entertaining others were woefully drawn out and were simply delaying the inevitable ending of the book.

The book reminded me of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close in the way that narrator is very simple minded and the reader tends to understand what is going on before the narrator does. The problem is in Loud & Close the narrator is a child and in Arsonist's he is a grown man, or as the narrator likes to say a grown ass man.

Good book, with a different take it could have been great. Not a must read but a good one no less.

I like the cover, for one it takes balls to go with an orange cover ( I would say as much balls as it took for me to wear a bright orange shirt to school once a week in 8th grade but I think that was more stupidity than anything else) and second the burning lady (not once, not twice but three times) was a nice touch. What I didn't like is the lighter orange around the title letters, too far man.

After much internal deliberation I have decided to forgo Daniel's favorite author Murakami and the beautiful looking Lullaby by Palahniuk for now in lieu of the more jarring book The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski. As I understand it is very doable and desirable to read in a day; and seeing as how I have about 6 hours of bus riding tomorrow (to and from NYC) I like those qualities.

What I Just Read: American Gods

Before we get into the book just an overall formatting change of how I am going to approach books from now on. Why I thought you needed two posts per book I have no idea, so I am no longer going to give you the book cover review and my thoughts going into the book. Instead I am going to lump them in with the review after the book, the result being one large post on; my thoughts going into the book, the cover, and my overall review.

I know what you are thinking "How will we know what you are reading?!?!?!" do not worry yourself about that, I will still continue to give John Lennon a frined in the What I Am Currently Reading list in the left hand column but instead of linking to a post it will link to the Wikipedia page of the book or the author. That being said there may be a spoiler in the at link, so consider this your spoiler alert.

Again for those of you who were not reading:

CONSIDER THIS YOUR SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL LINKS UNDER "WHAT I AM CURRENTLY READING"!!!!!

If you are like 99.9% of the people on the planet and have no desire to be updated about what books I am reading and what my opinions are then I apologize for the last couple paragraphs.

Anyway on with the show.

Katy loves Neil Gaiman, so much so that when she found through his Twitter (his tweets are the reason she is on Twitter in the first place) that he was just down the street enjoying some museum time with his girl friend Amanda Palmer (or as she calls herself Amanda Fucking Palmer) she almost ran out the door.

Speaking of Neil Gaiman's girlfriend Amanda Palmer (twitter handle: @amandapalmer) Katy and I each won tickets to her secret show in Cambridge via Twitter. The show was more than enjoyable, and even if you do not care for her music her personality more than makes up for it. This show, being no more than 200 people there, was all request with her staple "Ask Amanda" segment being mixed in. "Ask Amanda" involves the audience submitting a bunch of questions and Amanda picking a few to answer. Let's just say one question lead to us knowing which boob Neil Gaiman prefers (the left one) and the name of her boobs' musical act "Titter and the Plus One's".

Anyway the point is Katy loves Neil Gaiman and because of that she made me read his book American Gods. Now yes Katy is slightly crazy and her recent choices of audio books have been a little suspect (the ones that involve vampires) but her past recommendations have been spot on (Lolita, Everything Is Illuminated, The Corrections ) so I was not all that worried.

I would like to say that I very rarely shut out the rest of the world in order to read a book. I believe all of the Harry Potter series and Dune were the only books to invoke that trait of mine. American Gods showed shades of that which involved me angering Katy by reading at the dinner table (though I must say she had been on my case to read it for months and then she gets mad when I put it down?). What I am trying to say is, I enjoyed it. Thoroughly.

Then again it is hard to imagine not enjoying a book that takes Gods from all over the world and gives them human traits such as greed, alcoholism, lust and anger, among others. Besides that there is not much I can say that will not spoil the story, other than that Mr. Gaiman writes with the ability of a classic Sci-Fi/Fantasy writer but in a modern day and adult fashion, if that makes sense. Just read the book, you will enjoy it, and if you don't enjoy it then you have no soul.

As for the cover, it is a decent cover, nothing jaw dropping about it but it suits it's purpose. At first you pass you wonder what it has to do with Gods. After reading it you wonder why that house? To which I tell you it's a stock photo from Getty Images.

Next book up is An Arsonist's Guide To Writers' Homes In New England by Brock Clarke, yes it's a novel and not an actual guide to burn by. Came highly recommended by a few people, I will report back when I inevetably finish it, that is of course unless you are a book about John Lennon.

What I Just Read: The Discomfort Zone

Sorry, I've been busy. And when I am busy you the reader suffer. For that I apologize. That being said the situation will not be getting better anytime soon. That being said it will get better one random day when I decide I need to post 3 things I want you to know about it. That being said here is the review of The Discomfort Zone by Jonathan Franzen. That being said, enjoy.

Long, long ago, in a blog post slightly below this one there is a book cover review.

The Corrections were great because the story was ridiculous. The story opens up with pages dedicated to comparing Enid's need to hide mail from Alfred with guerrilla warfare. The later part of the book takes places in Lithuania and a military coup. It was hilarious because it was ridiculous.

Jonathan Franzen's real life, though funny at points is unfortunately not as ridiculous as his fictitious family life is in The Corrections. The book is broken down into anecdotal stories from his early years and one around his present self. They are funny and sad but more than anything the book opens a window into how he got ideas for his characters in The Corrections. His parents are milder, more humanizing versions of their fictional selves. The siblings are, as far as I can tell, varying versions of Mr. Franzen himself.

All in all it was a decent book with an amazing cover. Would I recommend you read it? No, only if you want to understand the thought process behind his writing The Corrections, and even then it isn't worth it that much.

As for news on the cover, I went looking for it. Northeastern did not have a copy of the magazine, so I submitted an order for a copy from any library that had it. On that order I said that a copy would only be of use to me if it was in color. I got this:

(Click on them and they give you a bigger more legible file)

When it comes to the Woman's heart that was much better than nothing at all considering I could not find a legible copy to begin with. Yet I wanted it in color to see the detail. Regardless my hunt is far from over. You will see a color copy with detail in the future. Mark my words.

What I Just Read: Factotum

They say never judge a book by it's cover, well then maybe don't read this.

There are two constants in the life of Henry Chinaski; every woman he beds was "good" and every job he has ever had and will have asks far to much of him for far to little pay. Factotum is not different, Chinaski like most books gets himself hooked to a crazed woman who likes to show him some leg while at the same time moving from job to job (mores so in this book than any other) where his bosses don't understand him and ask far too much of him.

I get the job thing, he is lazy by nature, hates being told what to do and above all would rather be sitting in his bed with his back to the wall drinking a beer. I get that.

What I don't get is how a man that looks like this, who considers himself not to be a ladies man can be found giving it to a new woman every other chapter (What is equally as confusing is the year long dry spells he speaks of). Now of course this is fictional and not autobiographical (though Henry Chinaski sounds awfully close to Charles Bukowski) and he probably embellishes most of what he writes but there must be some form of truth to it.

Regardless of an overall meaning I enjoy reading Bukowski if not for the sex crazed boozed up smart ass Chinaski but for the quick to the point writing and the finality of each book. The use of his novels to portray periods of living be it his life from birth to leaving his family, or his work at the post office, or even his preoccupation with only women, each book he writes is about one period in his life and the main issue that his life revolves around at that time (what an English teacher would call a theme).

That being said I am going to leave Hollywood and South of No North for later. I find it hard to believe that anything is going to top Ham on Rye, Post Office or the other two I read, so I plan on reading Bukowski when I'm not likely to feel let down and in reality all I want is my sex crazed boozed up smart ass fix.

What I Just Read: A Farewell to Arms

It's a terrible cover, but if you must.

I think the moral here is, you can not judge a man by his novella. Or maybe you can. I believe I enjoyed this book just as much as I enjoyed "The Old Man and the Sea". I left somewhat satisfied but at the same time confused as to what all the hype about Hemingway was about. Maybe I just didn't get it but nothing about A Farewell to Arms was that impressive. I mean I enjoyed it just fine, yes it has flashes of brilliance at points but only just that, flashes.

Hemingway writes well when there is something to write about, in this books it was the war. But he fails to link each well written section with another equally well written section, instead he falls into dialogue that is far from stimulating.

This mostly revolved around the dialogue between the main character and the lead female character; there is just no substance. They talk endlessly for pages upon pages and nothing comes of it, not even any character development. It got to the point where I would see a large block of dialogue between the two of them and I would simply skip over it. The worst part? Katy says all Hemingway women are the same, joy.

Oh and I hated the ending.

What I Just Read: The Good Citizen

The Underling doesn't like the cover but why take our word for it read him say it !

Well I sort of read this book, I skimmed it over, read the bolded headings and words that made me feel like I was reading a text book and then came to this conclusion the same conclusion I came to before: Where does an old guy get off telling me what my generation is like? All he has is numbers taken from a survey that only has relevance if his respondents are telling the truth, and who wouldn't say they like to do good?

I do see his point that less people vote today, but more people do volunteer. Why is that possible? Because America went through a very good economic time period in the in 90's which left many Americans with money to spend on their childrens education and to give them as spending money (also we developed a credit card culture which allows people to go in to debt with out having to work). Result: Children who go to college on their parents dime and don't have to work while in school. What do they do with their free time? Well the noble ones volunteer but not as many as Mr. Dalton would want us to think.

Only a fraction of students volunteer and they all tend to be the same people, I know plenty of college students who only volunteered in high school because it was a requirement to graduate. But that's neither here nor there. Just as what will happen to all those volunteers when they have to start making money to pay for their schooling because the credit market fell apart.

My real gripe with Dalton is him saying voting is not that big of a deal anymore because we all volunteer and are a bunch of do-gooders. I have a fundamental problem with people who complain about leadership and then tacitly support it by not voting. Yes I understand volunteering is like protest and I am all for protest but don't complain about the system and do nothing to change it. The US government is too large and too powerful to work outside of and eventually you are going to but heads with it if you try, so atleast go in and vote for yourself or maybe a third part candidate.

Ok I'm done complaining. For the indefinite future I will only be reading books I choose to read because unfortunatly Capstone is coming to a close.

Maybe I will go read Lennon........

What I Just Read: rabbit, run

For the brief but wondrous thoughts on the cover go here.

Let's get one thing straight I hate Rabbit; no not the cute furry animal, I am talking about the non-committal, selfish and just all around simple minded character in John Updike's well written book rabbit, run.

To be honest I thought it was a well written book, John Updike is very talented when it comes to character development and switching point of view mid scene, and hell everyone loves some good stream of consciousness. But I don't think by the end of this book I have hated any character as much as I hate Rabbit. Except, of course, Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye, and don't act like you don't know who or what I'm talking about because there is no way you haven't read Catcher in the Rye because everyone who likes to read has read Catcher in the Rye because Catcher in the Rye is everyone's favorite book and is definitely worth recommending every time someone tells you they like to read.

Did I mention I hate that book? All I wanted to do the whole time was climb through the book, slap Holden across the face, watch him cry and then drag him back to his parents and give him a time out. I get it, you don't become an adult because you want to be an adult you become an adult because it is time to be an adult, you rise to the occasion, and you don't get to pick when that occasion happens. So yeah, you probably really like that book because in some way you can relate, but just because everyone can relate to something doesn't make it a good book. Sort of like when your favorite movie is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. On second thought I don't need to give you two reasons to stop reading my blog.

Moving on!

Updike has three more books in his series on Rabbit and I don't know if I want to conitue reading them or not. On one hand Rabbit infuriates me so much that I want to throw things but on the other Updike writes well and I do enjoy the book for the most part. Regardless I can't find a copy as of right now so it may be a while until I have to come to a real decision.

Oh and for the record I did get looks for reading this book, or at least I think I did, I'm not sure. On second thought I may have been inventing those looks that the homeless guy was giving me that I took as anti-snobbery looks, but that might be for other reasons, I mean he is homeless.

What I Just Read: Ham On Rye

Seeing as how I started this book on a plane and finished it before gaining internet access you the readers shall receive one post and one post only pertaining this book and you will not complain about it!

Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski is like all other Bukowski novels, an in depth narration of a specific period of life of Henry Chinaski. If Post Office was about his days working for the US Postal Service, and Women about his drunken late in life sexcapades then Ham on Rye is about Chinaski's less than desireable adolescance.

Though an enjoyable novel on it's on Ham on Rye is best for it's insight into why Chinaski becomes the sex-crazed, poem writing, society hating, lazy, horse betting drunkard that he is in other books. I'd rank it 2nd to Post Office out of the three Bukowski books I have read.

As for the cover, like all Bukowski books, I enjoy it imensly (an opinion Katy and I do not share). Being one of the three republished works, Ham on Rye has a vibratnly colored drawing of what the book is about: a young kid fighting his way to adulthood.