January 2010
        Family of Spies ~ Pete Earley (1988) history (160 pgs)
Story of "spy" John Walker. Shows him to be mostly a shallow dickwad who just lucked into his position, but fooled himself into thinking he was some kind of superspy. A very, very sad tale of a small man and his family.
        The Hotel ~ Sonny Kleinfield (1989) history, society (125 pgs)
A week in the life of the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Interesting look behind the scenes at the running of a huge hotel.
        When You Are Engulfed In Flames ~ David Sedaris (2008) essays, humor (323 pgs)
What can I say, it's more from the always entertaining Sedaris. Dark, twisted, and so very, very funny.
        Chart Throb ~ Ben Elton (2006) novel (464 pgs)
Elton uses this hilarious story to riff on the evils of "reality" television and how it is anything but. Great stuff.
        Junky ~ William S. Burroughs (1953) novel (158 pgs)
One of the most narratively straight-forward Burroughs novels, it's a straight forward account of the life of a junkie. Interesting history of the difficulty of getting it published, seems like it a good idea to show how bad the life is!
        Top Dog ~ Jerry Jay Carroll (1996) novel, fantasy (330 pgs)
A different take on the fantasy-quest and good-v-evil novel, with an immoral (to put it nicely) "hero" who finds himself transformed into a dog, and thrust in the middle of a battle between good and icky evil. A surprisingly good read.
        Friendship: An Exposé ~ Joseph Epstein (2006) nonfiction, society, relations (251 pgs)
Interesting, half intellectual/half personal reminiscence, looking at the whole idea of what is friendship. Makes me wonder why anyone at all out there would want me to be their friend, but fortunately, most folks are much nicer than me!
        Groucho Marx, Private Eye ~ Ron Goulart (1999) novel, mystery (263 pgs)
Great dialogue for Groucho, but just shows my brain is not lined up for the basic mystery tale, as I really wasn't sure who was what through most of this, just reading the funny lines. I am such a simple soul.

    February 2010
        The Stupidest Angel : Version 2.0~ Christopher Moore (2005) novel, fantasy (306 pgs)
Another off-the-chart book of weirdness from Moore, he brings back characters from a number of previous novels and dumps them into a wild mix of angels, zombies, and talking bats. And this isn't even his weirdest book!
        Don't Step In the Leadership ~ Scott Adams (1999) comic strip collection (127 pgs)
More great Dilbert comic strips, slapping you with the cold reality of corporate life. but doing it with a smile.
        Horsemen of the Esophagus ~ Jason Fagone (2006) nonfiction, society (302 pgs)
Excellent, semi-gonzo style look at the world (well, American) of competitive eating. Digs deep into the subject, the history, the people, and just about everything else. A great look at another of the thousands of odd little corners of society.
        The Secret Feminist Cabal ~ Helen Merrick (2009) nonfiction, literature, sf, feminism (288 pgs)
Overview of feminist writings on science fiction. Can be a bit dry, as such studies will be, as it is more a look at who had opinions about what over time, and less about getting into the actual thoughts. Still, is a jumping off board for more.
        The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History ~ Katherine Ashenburg (2007) nonfiction, history, society (300 pgs)
One of those great tight-focus history books I love, this one a look at how the idea of what was and wasn't considered "clean" has changed and evolved over time in Western society.
        Chasing Cézanne ~ Peter Mayle (1997) novel (295 pgs)
Another old-fashioned feeling caper novel, with people bopping all over Europe, lots of descriptions of fine foods and clothing, art dealers, multi-billionaires, a little action, a little romance. Cries out to be a movie.
        More Forbidden Knowledge ~ Matt Forbeck (2008) "how to" (256 pgs)
Sub titled as "101 New Things Not Everyone Should Know How To Do", it gives some idea how some scams or schemes or run so can protect against them, as well as fun stuff like"Read the Necronomicon". Forewarned is forearmed
        Monster ~ A. Lee Martinez (2009) novel, fantasy (325 pgs)
I love how Martinez (or can I call him "A-Lee" now?) manages to keep trying different things with every new book. This one has a guy in the "Cryptobiological Containment and Rescue Services". Oh, and control of the entire universe. Good stuff.
        The Unlimited Dream Company ~ J.G. Ballard (1979) novel, fantasy (220 pgs)
I wanted to like this more, but seemed kind of a "forced" weirdness to the goings-ons. Maybe because I've read so much like this over the years. I'm sure in '79 the impact would have been much greater.

    March 2010
        100 Words to Make You Sound Smart ~ American Heritage Dictionaries Editors (2006) language (118 pgs)
I'm not sure if I should be worried or pleased that I knew all 100 words here, and probably have often used the vast majority of them without thinking they were really anything special.
        Geek Confidential ~ Rick Klaw (2003) essays, books, reading (255 pgs)
Rick gets into books: the reading of books, the writing and writers of books, the selling of books, the publishing of books... he's pretty much done just about everything you legally can when it comes to books, and has written entertainingly on it all, too.
        The Canon ~ Natalie Angier (2007) science, history (264 pgs)
An overview of the fundamentals of the basic sciences like biology, chemistry, physics, astrology and more, all told with wit and humor. A great read.