My 2010 Book Reviews

Lately I've spent a ton of time in transit and, besides being super busy, have been super bored as well. I recently got a new high score on BrinkBreaker (12,370 - not very impressive I feel) and decided I was spending way too much time being unproductive. So I've decided to take it back to the old school and read some books. I know, crazy right? But it's consumed my year, and my life is better for it. Here's the books I've...

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The idea of the book is that Markley is trying to publish the book you are reading (spoiler alert: he does). But for anyone who has written a book or tried to get it published (like this guy) it's a great look into the world of publishing, as well as American life of the Obama generation. I've never met Markley before, but I've read his stuff for a long time. And as a fellow RedEye columnist, I couldn't help but feel sort of connected to him. But even more than that, he talks about Chicago, Obama, college, traveling, becoming heartbroken, and writing, all things I can relate to. I love Markley's writing style, in fact often I feel I'm just a sad imitation of him. The book is long, and perhaps didn't need so many digressions, but I found myself laughing and also very excited by the process of him achieving his dream. I even found myself sympathetic toward Markley. Highly recommended for people my age, books don't get written for us very often.
Craig Robinson is the brother of Michelle Obama, as well as a guy with a really crazy life taking him from the South Side of Chicago to coaching at Oregon State. I knew very little about Robinson or his family's life, so I found this interesting. He's a pretty remarkable guy. At times this felt like an extended sports metaphor, but it was an interesting look inside the life of the First Coach (a name which he said he didn't like in his interview with me). Read it here: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/straight_to_lapointe/2010/04/interview-with-oregon-states-basketball-coach-and-michelle-obamas-brother-craig-robinson.html
First off, my favorite book ever is, "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. This book is much in the same vein, except Grann puts himself in the story as well, which I enjoyed. It's a true story of Percy Harrison Fawcett, a British explorer in the early 20th century who ventures into the Amazon multiple times in search of what he calls Z, essentially El Dorado. He doesn't return on his last trip and Grann head back there to search for traces of him. The appeal of the book was in the adventure of Fawcett going into perhaps the last uncharted area of the Earth, basically just by himself. He's a fascinating person. The book comes to an interesting end, even though you know all along he was never heard from again. It made me both want to visit the Amazon and hope I never have to go near the Amazon. Which makes it a great read.
I'd never read this book before and felt like I was missing an important piece of pop culture. I love Klosterman's writing, and even found it influential. His takes on pop culture were also dead on. I loved his section on journalism, it described a lot of my mixed feelings for it perfectly. That said, something about the book just struck me as disappointing. The essay format wasn't my favorite, and I blew threw the book in a day. It is sort of a series of blog posts in book form. Very, very well written and entertaining blog posts, but it just wasn't quite satisfying as a book I think. I think it's still an important read and I'm glad I did, but I didn't LOVE this book like so many people seem to do.
Absolutely fascinating. The 2008 election was a huge part of my life (I was at a number of the events they talk about, which made it extra fascinating for me) but the behind the scenes look at what will go down as a cultural milestone is terrific. This book consumed me, but I'm a complete history nerd (except that I actually got to live through this). The first half about the three Democratic candidates was riveting, as well as the Palin decision and (as always) anything to do with Bill Clinton. It gave me a whole new perspective on the election. Definitely recommended. I found myself thinking about the book throughout the day and I was really sad when it ended. Great stuff.
This is about the assassination and escape of John Wilkes Booth. And it also happens to be one of the best history books I’ve ever read. Much is made about the actual conspiracy to kill Lincoln, but the fact that Booth, for nearly two weeks, was on the ultimate escape attempt, is usually lost. The most remarkable part is how often Booth could have made it to safety had he made a few minor changes. He could have got away. Perhaps the strangest part of the book is I found myself rooting for Booth’s escape (SPOILER ALERT: he doesn’t make it). The book sort of glamorizes Booth, but no more so than having the Ford Theater as a monument to his crime a popular tourist attraction. This is one of the better stories in American history, and yet one I hadn’t heard told very often.
I’m obsessed with Bob Dylan. I think he’s the most fascinating person alive, much of which is to his own doing and the shroud of mystery he keeps about himself. I loved in the recent Rolling Stone, Obama was talking about meeting him and he came, shook his hand, and left without saying anything. Obama said that’s exactly what you’d want Dylan to be like. So reading a book about him lets you know maybe more than you want. It’s not all glamorous, and I actually felt bad for the guy after the motorcycle accident. He was constantly struggling to find the magic of his early career. Yet I’m still fascinated by Dylan after reading it, maybe more now than before. I’ve seen Dylan 14 times I think, and this makes him seem more real, instead of “The Guy Who Used To Be Bob Dylan,” which I often feel like I’m watching when I see him. For better or worse.
I’m also obsessed with the Beatles (hence my hair). I knew a lot more about The Beatles than Dylan (for obvious reasons in that their story is basically modern Shakespeare and I’ve held my Beatles obsession about ten years longer than the Dylan one). The book didn’t focus so much on the songs, which was nice, but was more about the actual Beatles and what they came to be. And frankly it seems horrible to have been a Beatle. They never seemed to be enjoying themselves and other than Ringo, they all come off as jerks a little. But the book had everything I wanted in a Beatles biography, the familiar stories told in new ways with good sources, and the unfamiliar (particularly their early touring) told to me for the first
In general, I think the 1980s sucked. There’s nothing good to come from them (you know, other than me). Sports were particularly laughable I’ve always thought. It seems like the ‘50s and ‘60s were the golden ages of sport and then the ‘70s and ’80s were completely unromantic and ruined basically everything that came before it. But I surprisingly loved this book. It focused on the big personalities of the ‘80s, Bo Jackson, Jim McMahon, Len Bias, and others. It really connected the dots to see how the ‘90s and even modern sports could happen, right down to the drug use and the monetary aspect of it. I thoroughly enjoyed this, particular the McMahon and Jackson parts, two athletes who seemed to be capable of anything, yet were basically just flashes in the pan. It wouldn’t be until the ‘90s when Michael Jordan was able to maintain that elite level of play to create the new star athlete model.
One of the best books I’ve ever read. I love the way Eggers writes. I apparently subconsciously wanted to be Dave Eggers before I even read him. His book about losing his parents to cancer and raising his brother is full of the experiences of youth and the energy about it. I finished it in two days and wanted to read more of it. I can’t believe its ten years old. It has everything you could want in a book. Read it.

"Publish this Book" by Stephen Markley

The idea of the book is that Markley is trying to publish the book you are reading (spoiler alert: he does). But for anyone who has written a book or tried to get it published (like this guy) it's a great look into the world of publishing, as well as American life of the Obama generation. I've never met Markley before, but I've read his stuff for a long time. And as a fellow RedEye columnist, I couldn't help but feel sort of connected to him. But even more than that, he talks about Chicago, Obama, college, traveling, becoming heartbroken, and writing, all things I can relate to. I love Markley's writing style, in fact often I feel I'm just a sad imitation of him. The book is long, and perhaps didn't need so many digressions, but I found myself laughing and also very excited by the process of him achieving his dream. I even found myself sympathetic toward Markley. Highly recommended for people my age, books don't get written for us very often.

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My 2010 Book Reviews

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