10 posts tagged “b”
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Still haven't finished this one either.
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I don't like it when there are no images.
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Oh Gaiman.
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Someday these placeholders will end..
I am a nerd. I'll just get that out there now.
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Sometimes you need to read a computer book. I figured I would count it.
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Title: Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story
Author: Chuck Klosterman
Genre: Pop Music Reference
Format: Quality Paperback
Publishing Info: Scribner; Reprint edition (June 6, 2006)
List Price: $14.00
ISBN: 0743264460
BINC:
Page Count: 245
Summary: Klosterman follows up on 2003's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by expanding on an article he wrote for Spin about driving cross-country to visit several of America's most famous rock and roll death sites, from the Rhode Island club where more than 90 Great White fans died in a fire, to the Iowa field where Buddy Holly's plane crashed. Along the way, Klosterman opines on rock music, never afraid to offend—as when he interprets a Radiohead album as a 9/11 prophecy or reminds readers that before Kurt Cobain's suicide, many preferred Pearl Jam to Nirvana. The quest to uncover these deaths' social significance is quickly overwhelmed by Klosterman's personal obsessions, especially his agonizing over sexual relationships. He applies semifictional techniques to these concerns, inventing an imaginary conversation in the car with three girlfriends that becomes the book's centerpiece. (amazon.com)
Best Bit: Klosterman's tales about drug use always fascinate me and sort of horrify me at the same time. Also, his dedication to picking CDs for the massive amount of time he will spend in a car makes me feel better about myself.
Quick Review: Well, it's hard to live up to the genius of Fargo Rock City and Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. While the idea is a great one, the book fails to form a cohesive whole. That doesn't mean, however, that it stops being entertaining.
Final Grade: B
Author: Chuck Klosterman
Genre: Pop Music Reference
Format: Quality Paperback
Publishing Info: Scribner; Reprint edition (June 6, 2006)
List Price: $14.00
ISBN: 0743264460
BINC:
Page Count: 245
Summary: Klosterman follows up on 2003's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by expanding on an article he wrote for Spin about driving cross-country to visit several of America's most famous rock and roll death sites, from the Rhode Island club where more than 90 Great White fans died in a fire, to the Iowa field where Buddy Holly's plane crashed. Along the way, Klosterman opines on rock music, never afraid to offend—as when he interprets a Radiohead album as a 9/11 prophecy or reminds readers that before Kurt Cobain's suicide, many preferred Pearl Jam to Nirvana. The quest to uncover these deaths' social significance is quickly overwhelmed by Klosterman's personal obsessions, especially his agonizing over sexual relationships. He applies semifictional techniques to these concerns, inventing an imaginary conversation in the car with three girlfriends that becomes the book's centerpiece. (amazon.com)
Best Bit: Klosterman's tales about drug use always fascinate me and sort of horrify me at the same time. Also, his dedication to picking CDs for the massive amount of time he will spend in a car makes me feel better about myself.
Quick Review: Well, it's hard to live up to the genius of Fargo Rock City and Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. While the idea is a great one, the book fails to form a cohesive whole. That doesn't mean, however, that it stops being entertaining.
Final Grade: B
Title: Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
Author: Temple Grandin
Genre: General Animal Life/Zoology
Format: Quality Paperback
Publishing Info: Harvest Books; Reprint edition (January 2, 2006)
List Price: $15.00
ISBN: 0156031442
BINC: 7994679
Page Count: 372
Summary:
Temple Grandin has worked to institute humane conditions for farm animals across the nation. Her autism has helped her to understand the way animals see and understand things, as well as highlight why animals respond to certain stimuli the way they do.
Best Bit:
I read the book more for the autism bits than for the animal aspect, actually, and her brief story of building a "squeeze machine" after being inspired by animals was quite fascinating (and I verified with my aunt that my autistic cousin is very much the same in being calmed by pressure).
Quick Review:
It's an easy but informative read, and I have to admit that the way farms work has never really crossed my mind. In fact, I really had no clue how most farm animals (such as pigs and cattle) were "humanely" killed until it became a plot point on Bones earlier this season. I am pathetic, I know. Anyway, the strongest points of the book are where Grandin ties together how she interprets words, images, and other stimuli, then translates it into what animals see. These links between animal brains and human brains are explained simply but effectively. As some have noted on Amazon, the passages on cats and dogs are definitively weaker, because of her lack of experience.
Final Grade: B
Author: Temple Grandin
Genre: General Animal Life/Zoology
Format: Quality Paperback
Publishing Info: Harvest Books; Reprint edition (January 2, 2006)
List Price: $15.00
ISBN: 0156031442
BINC: 7994679
Page Count: 372
Summary:
Temple Grandin has worked to institute humane conditions for farm animals across the nation. Her autism has helped her to understand the way animals see and understand things, as well as highlight why animals respond to certain stimuli the way they do.
Best Bit:
I read the book more for the autism bits than for the animal aspect, actually, and her brief story of building a "squeeze machine" after being inspired by animals was quite fascinating (and I verified with my aunt that my autistic cousin is very much the same in being calmed by pressure).
Quick Review:
It's an easy but informative read, and I have to admit that the way farms work has never really crossed my mind. In fact, I really had no clue how most farm animals (such as pigs and cattle) were "humanely" killed until it became a plot point on Bones earlier this season. I am pathetic, I know. Anyway, the strongest points of the book are where Grandin ties together how she interprets words, images, and other stimuli, then translates it into what animals see. These links between animal brains and human brains are explained simply but effectively. As some have noted on Amazon, the passages on cats and dogs are definitively weaker, because of her lack of experience.
Final Grade: B
Title: You Can Get Arrested For That: 2 Guys, 25 Dumb Laws, 1 Absurd American Crime Spree
Author: Rich Smith
Genre: Humor
Format: Quality Paperback
Publishing Info: Three Rivers Press (August 1, 2006)
List Price: $13.95
ISBN: 0307339424
BINC: 8295553
Page Count: 237
Summary:
Well, the subtitle is definitely the best: two blokes from across the pond tackle America and its best dumb laws, such as "Cards may not be played on the street with a Native American" (Globe, Arizona). The book is part documentation of their quest, part road trip journal, and includes some rather wonderful musings on small town America, the price of gas, and Bateman's fondness for Hooters.
Best bit:
Smith's intense obsession with roundabouts (or, as I call them, rotaries). Who knew traffic circles could inspire such adoration?
Quick review:
Apparently, it's rather difficult to break silly laws in this country. Who knew? I remember having a book that listed these kinds of laws when I was a kid, and being deeply amused. I had high hopes for this book when I picked it up, and unfortunately, it didn't quite meet them. The strengths of the book are definitely Smith's interactions with the people he meets along the way (his stop in Mineral Point, Wisconsin is a highlight). Ultimately unnecessary are the reports of Smith and his pal Bateman's nightly drinking habits, which tend to add little to the narrative. Somtimes the book is just as meandering as Smith's travels from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
Final grade:
B
Pages read: 237
Up next: Michel Foucault's The Archeology of Knowledge.
Author: Rich Smith
Genre: Humor
Format: Quality Paperback
Publishing Info: Three Rivers Press (August 1, 2006)
List Price: $13.95
ISBN: 0307339424
BINC: 8295553
Page Count: 237
Summary:
Well, the subtitle is definitely the best: two blokes from across the pond tackle America and its best dumb laws, such as "Cards may not be played on the street with a Native American" (Globe, Arizona). The book is part documentation of their quest, part road trip journal, and includes some rather wonderful musings on small town America, the price of gas, and Bateman's fondness for Hooters.
Best bit:
Smith's intense obsession with roundabouts (or, as I call them, rotaries). Who knew traffic circles could inspire such adoration?
Quick review:
Apparently, it's rather difficult to break silly laws in this country. Who knew? I remember having a book that listed these kinds of laws when I was a kid, and being deeply amused. I had high hopes for this book when I picked it up, and unfortunately, it didn't quite meet them. The strengths of the book are definitely Smith's interactions with the people he meets along the way (his stop in Mineral Point, Wisconsin is a highlight). Ultimately unnecessary are the reports of Smith and his pal Bateman's nightly drinking habits, which tend to add little to the narrative. Somtimes the book is just as meandering as Smith's travels from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
Final grade:
B
Pages read: 237
Up next: Michel Foucault's The Archeology of Knowledge.
