Stiff
Lots of fun, lots of corpses but a bit a lark, a bit of a laugh.
21c
Our Man
This is a fascinating and insightful biography of both a guy I, an ignoramus, had not heard of, as well as of American foreign policy over the last half-century. Lots of good stuff here, sharply written, my biggest takeaway being...
The Emperor Of All Maladies
North Woods
The story of a cabin over the centuries and the story of America and the story of some ghosts, cute and sweet. A bit overwrought and maybe a bit fanciful at times, trying too hard to write with styles, but...
2666
For a long time, I have believed that a truly great novel is one which contains a sliver of divinity, something which makes me want to believe in the power and glory of God. As an atheist, that feels like...
The Lost City Of Z
An interesting, well-researched, well-put together history of travel in the Amazon that I think unfortunately I read too shortly after reading The River of Doubt which is just kind of ultimately a better story about historical travel in the Amazon....
Cloud Cuckoo Land
I think a book with these ambitions needs to be warm, organic, feel alive - but it is surprisingly cold and clinical. I’m not really sure what makes it so, maybe the storylines are too flat, maybe the characters lack...
Babel
There is a bit here of the young-adult, which of course is nothing to be ashamed of, but means that it is a bit simplistic, a bit stilted, and a bit preoccupied by its own project. Which like, it’s a...
Demon Copperhead
Good, sweet story, a bit trite and maybe a bit patronizing, but mostly empathetic, well put-together and a good modern Dickens.
American Prometheus