The 25-Book Challenge
It's been a long time since I've updated this...or anything else on my LJ, for that matter ...
1. Ghost Wars, by Steve Coll. For anyone who wants to see how depressingly and maddeningly wrong we got Afghanistan before 9/11 -- and I mean waaaaay before 9/11 -- this is the right book for you. It's a cautionary tale not so much against American intervention as against poorly executed American intervention -- and an example of what happens when we intervene, serve our own purposes, and then get out because we no longer have any "interests" in a nation. Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
2. Getting Things DONE, by David Allen. I want to make very clear off the bat that, no, this was not my idea. I had to read some sort of self-improvement book as part of my boss' vision that every employee should have a self-improvement goal on his/her evaluation. No, I'm not making this up. But there were some good organizational tips that I'm trying to put into practice. Rating: 3 stars out of 5
3. Game of Shadows, by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. A damning portrait of perfomance-enhancing drugs in all sports, though most of the attention has gone (and rightfully so) to the steroid-inflated numbers of Barry Bonds. So meticulous is the portrait, it's almost inconceivable that the allegations are concocted or even embellished. I cringe to think of Bonds breaking Aaron's record after reading this book. Rating: 5 stars out of 5
4. Op-Center: Line of Control, by Jeff Rovin. Even though the book jacket is only vaguely in the same neighborhood as the actual plot, this is another rousing Op-Center read. Of course, it's breezy suspense, which all that Op-Center ever aspires to be. Not as good as State of Siege, which I think is probably the best Op-Center so far, but still a good read. Rating: 4 stars out of 5
5. 1912, by James Chace. Compelling story. Solid, though not stellar, storytelling. One of the most bizarre president elections in American history featured a sitting president, a former president running as an independent (Theodore Roosevelt, though few people know that), a socialist and the eventual winner: Woodrow Wilson. It also had an assassination attempt and all other manner of interesting twists and turns. Chace tells a good story, but sometimes the book becomes less compelling than its subject. Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
6. When Chicago Ruled Baseball, by Bernard Weisberger. Again, a good story. Too bad Weisberger's storytelling is almost plodding at times. I guess it's what you should expect of a baseball book written by a historian. He uses stilted cliches like "opposite number," his play-by-plays become almost tedious, and he decides that if he mentioned someone's position on a team three or four chapers ago, there's really no need to repeat it. Fortunately for Weisberger, the story often saves itself from his hands. Rating: 3 stars out of 5
7. On Writing Well, by William Zinsser. The other half of my evaluation goal. The book is much better suited for someone just trying to get into writing, and it dwells way too much on memoir and family history, in which my interest approaches zero. But it's a good refresher for someone who's been writing for a while but had gotten a bit long winded ... er, who could that be ... and it has some good pointers. Rating: 4 stars out of 5
8. The Fourth War, by Chris Stewart. That Stewart has the ability to craft a twisting, turning, barn-burning plot is unquestionable. His style needs a little work. Sometimes, his vivid descriptions are beautiful and poetic. Other times, they're far too detailed and involved for what is supposed to be, in the end, an action/suspense book. And Stewart has an impulse to get into sappy sentimentality that has not a thing to do with the story he's trying to tell. But the premise -- terrorists get their hands on 24 nuclear warheads in the aftermath of a coup in Pakistan -- is frighteningly plausible, and Stewart carries it out well. Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
I think now would be a good time to point out that, yes, I'm not on a good pace to match my goal. But I have already read more books than I did last year. So I'm making progress.
1. Ghost Wars, by Steve Coll. For anyone who wants to see how depressingly and maddeningly wrong we got Afghanistan before 9/11 -- and I mean waaaaay before 9/11 -- this is the right book for you. It's a cautionary tale not so much against American intervention as against poorly executed American intervention -- and an example of what happens when we intervene, serve our own purposes, and then get out because we no longer have any "interests" in a nation. Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
2. Getting Things DONE, by David Allen. I want to make very clear off the bat that, no, this was not my idea. I had to read some sort of self-improvement book as part of my boss' vision that every employee should have a self-improvement goal on his/her evaluation. No, I'm not making this up. But there were some good organizational tips that I'm trying to put into practice. Rating: 3 stars out of 5
3. Game of Shadows, by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. A damning portrait of perfomance-enhancing drugs in all sports, though most of the attention has gone (and rightfully so) to the steroid-inflated numbers of Barry Bonds. So meticulous is the portrait, it's almost inconceivable that the allegations are concocted or even embellished. I cringe to think of Bonds breaking Aaron's record after reading this book. Rating: 5 stars out of 5
4. Op-Center: Line of Control, by Jeff Rovin. Even though the book jacket is only vaguely in the same neighborhood as the actual plot, this is another rousing Op-Center read. Of course, it's breezy suspense, which all that Op-Center ever aspires to be. Not as good as State of Siege, which I think is probably the best Op-Center so far, but still a good read. Rating: 4 stars out of 5
5. 1912, by James Chace. Compelling story. Solid, though not stellar, storytelling. One of the most bizarre president elections in American history featured a sitting president, a former president running as an independent (Theodore Roosevelt, though few people know that), a socialist and the eventual winner: Woodrow Wilson. It also had an assassination attempt and all other manner of interesting twists and turns. Chace tells a good story, but sometimes the book becomes less compelling than its subject. Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
6. When Chicago Ruled Baseball, by Bernard Weisberger. Again, a good story. Too bad Weisberger's storytelling is almost plodding at times. I guess it's what you should expect of a baseball book written by a historian. He uses stilted cliches like "opposite number," his play-by-plays become almost tedious, and he decides that if he mentioned someone's position on a team three or four chapers ago, there's really no need to repeat it. Fortunately for Weisberger, the story often saves itself from his hands. Rating: 3 stars out of 5
7. On Writing Well, by William Zinsser. The other half of my evaluation goal. The book is much better suited for someone just trying to get into writing, and it dwells way too much on memoir and family history, in which my interest approaches zero. But it's a good refresher for someone who's been writing for a while but had gotten a bit long winded ... er, who could that be ... and it has some good pointers. Rating: 4 stars out of 5
8. The Fourth War, by Chris Stewart. That Stewart has the ability to craft a twisting, turning, barn-burning plot is unquestionable. His style needs a little work. Sometimes, his vivid descriptions are beautiful and poetic. Other times, they're far too detailed and involved for what is supposed to be, in the end, an action/suspense book. And Stewart has an impulse to get into sappy sentimentality that has not a thing to do with the story he's trying to tell. But the premise -- terrorists get their hands on 24 nuclear warheads in the aftermath of a coup in Pakistan -- is frighteningly plausible, and Stewart carries it out well. Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
I think now would be a good time to point out that, yes, I'm not on a good pace to match my goal. But I have already read more books than I did last year. So I'm making progress.