Reading List update

So, how I am doing on my reading list, you might ask. To be honest, not very well. I've read some, but I add them much faster than I read them, so it is much like other parts of my life, where I can't seem to catch up. But at least with books, it is a fun race!

• I haven't had a chance to do any more reading of the James Agee books, although I was able to renew them for one more go 'round.
• I finished Old Man's War. It was an okay sci-fi combat novel. Nothing too deep or very meaty, but the characters were engaging enough. I kept hoping for more though. I won't be rushing out to buy the second novel in the series, which is due Real Soon Now, The Ghost Brigades. Probably won't even remember to read it when it makes it to the library.
• I truly loved Unfinished Business, right to the last word. Bill Simmons was right - this is a great sports book!
• Speaking of Simmons, I'm currently reading Now I Can Die In Piece and am finding it pretty good. It is a collection of his old blog and ESPN columns, with side notes talking about how he currently feels, what happened in the end, etc. Once again, I can't renew it due to its popularity, so I'll probably give it up soon and wait for the paperback.
• I did finished The Journey Of Crazy Horse on tape and found it to be an excellent listen. Highly recommended. I would even recommend the tape over the book, so you get the Indian pronunciations correct.

I have added, of course, many more books to my pile. I received a few for Christmas, and requested a few more from the library:

• Hammered by Elizabeth Bear [ISBN 0553587501] : Scalzi posted a question in his Whatever blog, about Gateway Science Fiction, where he asked for sci-fi intro novels, and this one came up a few times. He's also mentioned it a few times himself, so I thought I'd order up a copy from the library. Looks like it could be a cool noir sci-fi novel.
• The PayPal Wars : battles with eBay, the media, the mafia, and the rest of planet Earth by Eric M. Jackson [ISBN 0974670103] : A description of the founding and growth of PayPal, the online payment center, by one of its insiders.
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley [ISBN 0760732663] : A book on tape. I like the classic horror books (Dracula is one of my favorite books of all time), but this one has been slow going. A little wordy, with emotions over the top. Might be better as a real book, where I can skim some of the excessive language. But we'll see.
• Drive by James Sallis [ISBN 1590581814] : The cover blurb calls Sallis "one of the nation's most respected and honored writers", but to be honest I've never heard of him! I forget where I came across the recommendation for this book, a short noir about a guy ("Driver") who is a stunt driver by day and an armed robber by night. Looks pretty good, and I might have to try a few others by this author.
• Gardens of the moon by Steven Erikson [ISBN 0765310015] : I came across author and game designer Mike Stackpool's home page, and checked out his reading list (he's find it as hard as I am keeping his pages up to date:-). It's always fun to see what others are reading. It's a very long and comprehensive list, and includes one by the aforementioned Sallis, but the one that caught my eye was this one. We seem to have similar taste in books, at least where my previous reading had intersected his (his has more sci-fi than mine), and he couldn't say enough great things about this series. And it sounded enough like A Story of Fire and Ice by Martin that I thought I'd give it a whirl. Looks to have great promise, and I may have to get it in paperback. Actually, I just noticed that BookCloseouts.com has the hard cover for only US$5.99!
• Blink : the power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell [ISBN 0316172324] : A book about intuitive thinking, by the author of The Tipping Point, which also sounds interesting.

As for Christmas gifts, I got a few books. I received several very interesting cocktail books, which I will write about as I use the recipes. Otherwise, it was the usual assortment of sports, parenting and movie books:

• Watching Baseball : Red Sox World Series Edition by Jerry Remy [ISBN 0762737492] - I had taken this book out from the library a few months ago, and decided it would be a good one to own, so I returned it. And voila, it showed up under the Christmas tree - and the "World Series Edition" to boot! Local icon Jerry Remy talks about the game behind the game and things to look for while watching a game. Lots of interesting vignettes.
• Leonard Maltin's 2006 Movie Guide : an annual gift that keeps on giving. While I disagree with some reviews (both Memento and Run Lola Run get the shaft), it is a very handy guide to have around. Now I just have to add his Classic Movie Guide, as he moved some of the older listings over to this book, which is updated less frequently.
• The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn [ISBN 1585422657] : Looks kind of interesting, as he weaves fact and fiction in the story of Santa Claus.
• Fun With The Family : Massachusetts by Marcia Glassman-Jaffe [ISBN 0762734922] : This is the 5th edition of a travel guide to Massachusetts, with a special emphasis on "hundreds of ideas for day trips with the kids". Oddly enough, I gave my wife a very similar book. We love to do stuff with the kids, and I hope to get out and see some things we haven't seen yet.
• The Little Red (Sox) Book - "Curse Reversed" Edition by Bill "Spaceman" Lee [ISBN 1572435275] : Very funny revisionist history, written as if the Red Sox were the continual champions instead of the Yankees.

Phew! Plenty to keep me busy over the next few lifetimes, wouldn't you say?

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