It feels like my book-reading took a hit this year and I'm not really sure why. Maybe I'm busier at work. Maybe the sandman is dumping more sleepy sand at night. Maybe I'm watching more movies. Maybe I read a bunch of crappy books last year.
Yeah, it was the last one.
Well, at least I managed to scrape together a top-ten list of some pretty good books spanning a wide array of genres. Enjoy! Links will direct you to Goodreads.com for you to conveniently bookmark onto your 'To Read' list.
I read this book back in 1995 in a drunken stupor. I thought it all soaked into my lead noggin, but it didn't. And I was happy that I decided revisited this little gem. It's a mix of Vonnegut's first-hand experience on the Bombing of Dresden, which pretty much leveled the city - as well as a little bit of science fiction thrown in for good measure. To me, the thing that stands out about this novel is the writing. The loose, almost effortless writing that comes from Vonnegut's brain. It makes me want to strangle him he's so good (sadly, he's already passed so I don't have to). This rejuvenated my interest in this writer, and writing art form as a whole, as I'll be checking out more of his work in the near future.
This comic book series (comprised of 6 volumes) is just a
cool horror story that kept me guessing, kept me enthralled and kept me immersed
in this pretty interesting idea. Hats off to Joe Hill, who can now remove the
cloak of Stephen King's son, which I'm assuming why he chose a pseudonym. He’s
in a league of his own. This graphic novel is filled with fantastic art by Rogriguez and dialogue by Hill. If you're a
comic book enthusiast looking for something to do this winter, check this out. Highly recommended.
I picked up this book after I found out David Fincher was directing a
feature film based on this book - with help from the author Flynn (which is
always nice). That said, enjoyable read with a nice twist on the missing wife
thriller. In film terms, the book reminded me a bit of War of the Roses mixed
with Body Heat mixed with The Fugitive. You never know what's going to happen,
but when you think you have it all figured out, Flynn takes you onto a
different highway (so to speak). In any event, very entertaining read. Some
people were thrown off by the tone of voice and the switch of narrative tones.
But it didn't bother me too much. Flynn has a knack of ratcheting up the
suspense by condensing the chapters and ending them with just enough of a hint
to make you want to read more. In any event, check it out before it hits
theaters. Because, after you see the movie ... you'll never want to read the
book. Am I right?
After reading this book about one of my ten favorite movies of all time,
it boggles the mind that this movie was even half as good as Star Wars - let
alone better than the original. This book gives an insider's perspective on the
entire motion picture from brainstorm, script, production all the way through
to final cut and release - with everything thrown in from location shoots in
arctic temperatures, to set design, special effects, make-up, costumes and art
direction. And the problems. To speak as Yoda, Many problems this movie had.
From script problems, special effects snafus, location shots gone awry,
internal strife, bloating egos, bloated budgets and months over deadline, the
crew suffered a wide array of snafus. But, the creativity and ingenuity they
used to work their way out of all of the problems is just mind boggling. Just a
fantastic book from start to finish. Highly recommended if you’re a fan of the
film or just a film fan.
Very entertaining 'western'. Almost a smart western, if there is such a
thing. Reminded me of a collaboration between Cormac McCarthy and the Coen
Brothers. Moments of deep thought, casual conversation and minimal action (i.e.
living life) with dabs of violence, gore, death and drips of blood mixed in.
deWitt's great dialogue (i.e. using them 'big' words) in a Western novel pulls this out of
the three-star cellar. Sadly, I think we're going through a dumbing down phase
in our culture. Who's to say that well-read, educated people of the past spoke
better grammar and used bigger words than we do nowadays? It could very well be
a possibility, which made this book even more of a joy to read. Quick read. Fun
read. Bloody read. Check 'er out.
I grew up somewhat religious. Then, I was a rebellious anti-religious
teenager which stretched through college and into my 30's. Now, as I've had
time to think, reflect, and learn more about life, I've come back to appreciate
religion as a whole - sort of like Pi Patel in Life of Pi. But not really. I
think as long as you're not some sort of crazy fanatic, religion is actually a
pretty positive thing. But, look around this world, there are a ton of
different religions. Judaism. Islam. Buddhism. Taoism. Christianity. Someone
has to be wrong, right? Right? Maybe not. Many people may hate Aslan's book,
but I found this an interesting read. Someone that has taken the bible, taken
Jesus's story and has tried to figure out what it all means. There are a lot of
questions that he brings up that makes you think, complete with Bible
references to back up his theories. Was John the Baptist the true visionary for
Christianity as it is today? Is the Anti-Semitism through the ages warranted
based on the writings in the bible? Was Jesus born in Bethlehem? What of
Jesus's life prior to his Baptism on the banks of the River Jordan? Where some
of Pontius Pilate’s actions and decisions stated in the bible a bit out of
character for a prefect? And why was Jesus the chosen one when there were
plenty of other self-proclaimed Messiahs who were executed prior to his
crucifixion? In this book, Islam - who was raised as a Muslim - tries to make
sense of it all. Look, I'm not trying to stir up an angry hornet's nest, but -
to me - a person who doesn't have it all figured out - this was a very
enlightening read. Pick it up, read it for yourself and make up your own mind.
Wow. Can't say enough positive things about this book. If you're a fan of
Pixar or animation, someone who works in the creative realm, or even a manager
in some sort of other field, this is a great book for you. You know what I
hate? Books written by successful businessmen that don't talk about their
failures and only discuss everything they've achieved in their career - like
they've never made a mistake in their life. Ed Catmull, one of the founders of
Pixar and the current President of Pixar animation and Walt Disney Animation
Studios, does the exact opposite. This book is filled with failures, mistakes,
blunders and the like that happened to Pixar. Sure, it talks about the
successes, but - in my opinion - you learn more from people's mistakes. It's
amazing how much Catmull shares, but I applaud him for his honesty as it
relates to managing a creative team, the creative process, good ideas coming
from anyone, pushing a story to it's fullest capabilities, running a company,
and motivating team members. Just a fantastic book with a lot of inside stories
- warts and all. Highly recommended.
I read that Matt Damon and Director Ridley Scott were circling this project for a possible film,
which intrigued me enough to check it out. Not reading the book cover or the
synopsis, I was expecting a crazy Mars Attacks, War of the Worlds-type of alien
book, but it's entirely something, refreshingly different. Something like Nolan's Interstellar, but I think a bit ... better. An astronaut is trapped on Mars
and is trying to survive. Almost like Apollo 13 on Mars, but with just one
astronaut. Very imagined, creative world by Andy Weir. It would take a
lot of insight, engineering and scientific chops to pull off a fictional book
this ambitious - and make it seem almost plausible. Curious if he just did a lot of
studying on the subject and/or interviewed a number of high-level NASA
administrators to pull off this intriguing book? (Probably both). In any event,
if you're a fan of hard-core science fiction (not sci-fi), check this book out. It's not
John Carter fantasy fiction. It almost feels like the real thing.
I thought it was going to be an expose on why
schools outside of the United States are much better at studying, test-taking
and overall success than our own. But Ripley, a seasoned journalist, takes an
unbiased approach in examining studying 'successful' teaching methods by following
three American exchange students who traveled to three of the 'brightest'
schools in the world: Finland, Korea and Poland. In a nutshell, her findings
come back to (among other findings) all-around rigor (i.e pushing the student
mixed with a well-balanced educational growth through the years), the teacher's
who are in the classroom, the parents contribution not in the schools but with
their studies and a focus on studies rather than athletics. SHOCK! Makes sense,
right? Is it going to change anything in this country? Probably not. That said,
my wife and I are taking it upon ourselves to help further my children's
excitement (i.e. their well-roundedness) about learning, curiosity and playing
-- outside of the classroom. Teach them to be responsible. Don't hold their
hand so much. Let them make mistakes. Let them learn from their mistakes. Talk
to them. Ask them about their school, about their teachers, and what exactly
they're doing at school for 8 hours every day. And serve as a support system to
foster their learning outside of the classroom - almost as a supplement or
extra class as to what they're learning in school. This is all stuff Ripley
talks about in her appendix, which makes total sense to me. I'm sure people
will pull different things from this book, there's a lot of facts to glean, but
that's what I grabbed. Check it out for yourself and see what you come up with.
It's the perfect summer read for film and gamer geeks. If you liked the
1979 movie Scavenger Hunt (which is available to view for free on YouTube), you have a thing for 80's nostalgia and Legend of Zelda-esque video games
then you'll love this story revolving around an online search for a billion
dollar prize. It's a fun, entertaining popcorn novel that's dipped in pop
culture and reads like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. Truth be told, it was
very hard to put down. Sure, it can be a bit corny at times, but it was a fun
read. Like I said, the perfect summer read for all ages of nerds and geeks.
Check 'er out.
