Book List revisited

• Spring Forward and Freedom Of Expression® : I have to admit, I didn't quite finish either of these. I did get about 7/8^th's the way through the former and about 3/4 through the latter. For both of them, I felt I got the point - sort of a one-trick pony who's trick gets tiring after awhile. They both had some fascinating moments (at one point you could drive for 45 minutes in the Atlantic states and cross 7 times zones!), and I'm glad I read them, but I had had enough and it was time to return them.
• Speaking of returning, I had to return both Curse of the Narrows and The Republican War On Science before reading much of either, due to their popularity at the library. Both looked excellent and I've printed out their library page in the hopes of returning to them some day (ha!)
• I also had to return In The Spirit Of Crazy Horse - I just couldn't get 'round to tackling its 600+ pages. But again, I hope to soon.
• I'm still listening to The Journey of Crazy Horse, despite the fact it is overdue. It's been a good listen, and I like the change of view from the normal Euro-centric history.
• I haven't had time for any of my non-library books (The Ancestor's Tale or Seabiscuit), but they remain nearby.

I have added five(!) more library books to my pile, though:

• Film writing and selected journalism [ISBN 1931082820] and Let us now praise famous men ; A death in the family, & shorter fiction both by James Agee [ISBN 1931082812] : after reading a fascinating review on BostonPhoenix.com, I went and ordered these books at the library. Part of the Library of America series (you know, the fancy books with the black covers), these are the collected works James Agee, a fascinating writer of American fiction, screenplays and film criticisms. I've flipped through them, and read his offhand review of Casablanca, and I hope to be able to read some more. It doesn't seem like he likes too many movies!
• Old man's war by John Scalzi [ISBN 9780765309402] : I've been reading Scalzi's blog Whatever since I came across his list of "50 most influential Sci-Fi movies of all time" in his book The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies (I posted about it here). Now, I'm not much of a sci-fi fan, but I like easy, space-opera-ish kinds, and his books sounded like they might fit the bill, so I ordered the first one, as the second one has just been published. It looks pretty easy going, and I'm looking forward to tackling it.
• Unfinished business : on and off the court with the 1990-91 Boston Celtics by Jack McCallum [ISBN 0671733745] - I'm even less of a basketball fan than I am a sci-fi fan, but Bill Simmons, the ESPN Page 2 Sports Guy, was talking about great sports books and this one topped his list, so I figured I'd give it a go. After all, this was about the only Celtic team I cared one whit about (you know, the LarryKevinRobert team), and their last gasp during the 90-91 season. And so far, it is worth all Simmons' accolades - what a brilliantly funny, in depth, perceptive and opinionated book it is! I'm nearly finished with it, and I've been having a blast! Highly recommended, even if you'll need to get it from the library.
• Now I can die in peace : how ESPN's Sports Guy found salvation, with a little help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank and the 2004 Red Sox by Bill Simmons [ISBN 1933060050] - speaking of Bill Simmons, his book finally made it to the top of my "request" queue, and I picked it up at the library the other day. I should probably get right to reading it, as it has 21 holds out on it, so I won't be able to renew it. This is a collection of vignettes on the 2004 Red Sox, that magical season none of us diehards will ever forget. I've only flipped through the first few pages, and so far so good!

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