January 2008
        Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault On Paper ~ Nicholson Baker (2001) history, publishing (334 pgs)
Sad story of the officially sanctioned book and newspaper destruction in American libraries in the 20th century.
        The Artsy Smartsy Club ~ Daniel Pinkwater (2001) young adult novel (165 pgs)
Another fun Pinkwater tale, with kids acting like actual kids, giant chickens acting like actual giant chickens, and lots of talk about the enjoyment of creating art.
        The Thought Gang ~ Tibor Fischer (1994) novel (310 pgs)
Fun and funky tale of a philosopher-turned-bank-robber, wrapped up in a style of writing that you have to pay attention to. Different, and very very good.
        Nothing's Sacred ~ Lewis Black (2005) nonfiction, humor, autobiography (250 pgs)
Darkly funny combination of autobiographical notes and political/social rants. Pissed off comics can be so funny!
        Third Class Superhero ~ Charles Yu (2006) fiction, short stories (173 pgs)
Wonderfully different, odd little tales. Intensely stylistic experiments in writing, worth reading again!
        Et Tu, Babe ~ Mark Leyner (1992) novel (169 pgs)
Weirdness extreme-o. Not so much a story as a wild, almost stream-of-consciousness imaginary autobiography.
        Girls Lean Back Everywhere: The Law of Obscenity and the Assault on Genius ~ Edward de Grazia (1992) history, law (771 pgs)
Intensely detailed review of censorship battles in the 20th century. Info on both the courtroom and personal accounts of both sides. Sad and fascinating.
        Casual Rex ~ Eric Garcia (2001) novel, mystery, fantasy (335 pgs)
What if the dinosaurs, now human sized, lived among us in disguise, like a detective? Actually handled well, with some clever stuff.
        Hot & Sweaty Rex ~ Eric Garcia (2004) novel, mystery, fantasy (334 pgs)
Well written, but though the dino stuff is clever, this story would work as well told straight. Plus, I've never been a big fan of mafia-type-as-hero stories, and this book is built around that. sigh.

    February 2008
        The World Turned Upside Down ~ David Drake, Eric Flint, Jim Baen (eds) (2005) sf short stories (743 pgs)
Excellent mix of sf stories from the 30s through 50s, that influenced the editors when they were kids. Great stuff, and a nice variety. Though the cover design makes it seem more like an "alternate history" collection, which it is not.
        Ogre Castle: After the Spell Wars 1 ~ F.J. Hale (Robert Vardeman) (1985) novel, fantasy (209 pgs)
Basic fantasy tale of wizards and ghosts and such.
        Enchanted, Inc. ~ Shanna Swendson (2005) novel, fantasy (308 pgs)
A fun, light romantic read. Felt it could have done much more with the premise, but was fun enough.
        The Courage Consort ~ Michael Faber (2004) short stories (237 pgs)
Three great novellas, each very different, getting progressively odder, and completely engrossing to read.
        Candy Freak ~ Steve Almond (2004) nonfiction, history, food (261 pgs)
A look behind the scenes of small business candy making in America, told hilariously by the author. This is an author that I would read anything else from, based on his style here.
        Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon ~ Joe Queenan (1998) society, humor (194 pgs)
This is a record of Joe's voyage through the underbelly of American culture in food, books, movies, etc, or at least that part he sees as low culture. Bitterly funny, sometimes even unfairly so, and sometimes strangely kind to his victims.
        Widget ~ Lyn Rossiter McFarland (w) Jim McFarland (a) (2001) children's picture book (30 pgs)
Sweet little tale of a stray dog trying to fit in with a family of cats.
        The High House ~ James Stoddard (1998) novel, fantasy (321 pgs)
I was really absorbed into this book, set in an infinitely huge house that contains many lands within itself and it's rooms, large and small. Hidden passages that go for miles, ceilings hidden in clouds, adventure, mystery. I loved it!
        The Incredible Umbrella ~ Marvin Kaye (1979) novel, fantasy (301 pgs)
A cute fantasy as a guy travels in out of various fictional stories. Get the usual suspects like Sherlock Holmes and Dracula, but impressed he also tossed in things like Gilbert & Sullivan and, most amazingly, Flatland!
        The Devil in Amber ~ Mark Gatis (2006) novel, mystery (245 pgs)
An interesting enough read, with some nice plot twists, but ultimately a bit disappointed as I felt it was presented as having lots of humor. There were touches, but mostly a straight-ahead action tale.
        Off Ramp ~ Hank Stuever (2004) nonfiction, sociology, history (297 pgs)
Wonderfully written stories of both big and little events in life around America, told with style, intelligence and humor. Excellent writing, I hope there will be more collections of Stuever in the future.
        Room on the Broom ~ Julia Donaldson (w) Axel Scheffler (a) (2001) children's picture book (28 pgs)
Nice rhyming structure to tale of a witch with a cat, dog, bird and frog, and their meeting with a dragon.

    March 2008
        Owls Well That Ends Well ~ Donna Andrews (2005) novel, mystery (293 pgs)
A quick read, but not my favorite of Andrews work. Seemed to be working too hard this time to pile on the quirky and eccentric characters, and it felt kind of forced.
        The Line Between ~ Peter S. Beagle (2006) short stories, fantasy (231 pgs)
Wonderful, thoughtful, exciting, lovely, touching, inventive stories from an author who is among the best of the best.
        Crazy Salad ~ Nora Ephron (1975) essays, society (208 pgs)
Great essays from the middle of the social revolution, it's like Tom Wolfe and Fran Leibowitz: entertaining and thought provoking.
        Apocalypse Culture ~ Adam Parfrey (ed) (1990) essays, society, fringe culture (362 pgs)
Collection of tales of the twisted fringes of our society. Was a kick to read, as long as the folks within stay at arm's length from me! (Always fun to see how some people who rant they should not be "judged" are often the first to judge others.)
        Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories ~ Jean Shepherd (1971) short stories, humor (350 pgs)
Collection of great Shepherd tales, his recollections of a youth at the middle of the century. Funny, often hilarious, and sometimes quite touching.
        Room Temperature ~ Nicholson Baker (1990) novel (116 pgs)
Another short but intriguing exercise in infinite attention to details from Baker, this time with a sweeter edge to the focus. Good stuff from a great writer.
        Occult Holidays or God's Holy Days- Which? ~ Fred Coulter (2006) religion (272 pgs)
Wow, it's great fun when the "My imaginary friend in the sky is stronger than your imaginary friend in the sky" go after each other! Sad, of course, to see so much energy wasted, but entertaining to watch the crazies rant.
        Only Revolutions ~ Mark Z. Danielewski 2006) novel (360 pgs) -unfinished--
I tried. I really, really tried to get into this. His first novel "House of Leaves" was astonishing on so many levels, it's one of my all time favorite novels. This one does some interesting design stuff that just seems tacked on to an almost indecipherable prose poem. Possibly if he had done this as a shorter tale, a hundred pages or so, I might have at least pushed through to the end. But 60 pages into this I still had no idea what was going on, so no point to the design beyond being a design, and gave it up as a waste of my time. Holding out hope for his third book!
        A Fate Worse Than Dragons ~ John Moore (2007) novel, fantasy, humor (231 pgs)
Another well plotted and humorous fantasy tale from John. I love his stuff because the humor is clever, not simply jokey, and the plots do pull me along to find out what will happen.
        The Ghost Library ~ David Melling (w/a) (2004) children's picture book (32 pgs)
Great book of soft colors and imaginative design. Liked the combo of regular text-with-pictures pages and the long wordless passages where the silent art told the story, plus contains a rare fold-UP page!
        Alvie Eats Soup ~ Ross Collins (w/a) (2002) children's picture book (32 pgs)
One of those cool kid's books that just wants to be fun and a little wacky, without teaching any lesson. Cool art style, too!
        The Knife Thrower ~ Steven Millhauser (1999) fiction, short stories (200 pgs)
Millhauser creates the strangest, most interesting bits of fiction I've ver read, never disappointed by his imaginative work.
        Wigfield~ Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, Stephen Colbert (2003) novel, humor, satire (211 pgs)
Wickedly twisted satire of a small full of the most disturbing personalities you'll ever meet. Hilarious.
        Pattern Recognition ~ William Gibson (2003) novel, fiction (356 pgs)
Set in a present-day so cutting-edge that it feels like the future. Lots of details on modern marketing techniques, an interesting core "mystery", the whole thing was a fun read without being overly engaging.
        Thin Air ~ Rachel Caine (2007) novel, sf (307 pgs)
This reads more like a long recap of the series, as well as an involved setup for the next volume. I know the series was originally scheduled to end with the next volume, but now new books have been ordered, curious to see where it goes.

    April 2008
        The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche ~ Peter S. Beagle (1997) short stories, fantasy (183 pgs)
More great stories from one of the finest fantasy authors writing today.
        Bobos in Paradise ~ David Brooks (2000) sociology, history (276 pgs)
Subtitled "The New Upper Class and How They Got There", a look at the merging of the bourgeois with the bohemian as the next cultural evolution in the U.S. after the yuppies. Hey, it could be worse!
        Lord Vishnu's Love Handles ~ Will Clarke (2005) novel (292 pgs)
A weird tale of, well, weirdness. Lots of good, goofy stuff, but ultimately I disliked about every character in here, so it never achieved the really super-great read I was hoping for.
        The Lynn Truss Treasury ~ Lynn Truss (2005) novels, essays, humor (629 pgs) collects:
With One Lousy Packet of Seed (1994);    Making the Cat Laugh (1995);
Tennyson's Gift (1996);    Going Loco (1999)
Funny and very densely plotted novels with enough characters and twists that, while entertaining, sometimes got a bit confusing to keep up with. (Wodehouse would have had to take notes to keep up!) Best are the short bits from her columns, often those are laugh out loud funny
        The Floater ~ Calvin Trillin (1980) novel, humor (204 pgs)
Lots of funny moments and individual lines, though i kept waiting for something bit to happen plot-wise. There is a core plot, but reads more as a series of interesting moments and characters.

    May 2008
        The Meanest Doll In the World ~Ann Martin, Laura Godwin (w), Brian Selznixk (a) (2003) illustrated young adult (196 pgs)
A cute children's story, with wonderful illos throughout fully incorporated into the text, even into fly leaf designs, and a different cover on the actual hardback than what is on the dust-jacket. Into title page, indicia, great full use of art.
        Storming the Magic Kingdom ~ John Taylor (1987) history, business (250 pgs)
Story of hostile takeover attempt of Disney company. Emphasizing the destructiveness, to me, of the buy-n-sell company men who create nothing, but cause such troubles for others by their attempts to simply make more money.
        The Toyminator ~ Robert Rankin (2006) novel, fantasy, humor (315 pgs)
Funny, clever, though sometimes he wastes time explaining the gag or parody, evidently in case we missed it.
        Are Men Necessary? ~ Maureen Dowd (2005) sociology, history, politics (338 pgs)
Thought provoking, often funny look at differences between men and women, concentrating on a historical and political perspective.
        The Unicorn Sonata ~ Peter S. Beagle (1996) novel, fantasy (154 pgs)
Another lovely tale by Beagle. Many good moments, though not as strong as other works. Lots of gorgeous full color art by Robert Rodriguez in this edition.
        Endymion Spring ~ Matthew Skelton (2006) young adult novel, fantasy (392 pgs)
Books, libraries, books, printing and books are at the core of this tale. A great read that is complete in itself, unlike so many YA fantasy these days that is a minimum of three volumes even to start. (Though it does leave things open for a sequel!)

    June 2008
        No Go the Bogeyman ~ Marina Warner (1998) history, sociology, literature, art (422 pgs)
Intensely comprehensive look at the "monster" in literature and art, and the deep sociological meanings. Woo!
        California Demon ~ Julie Kenner (2006) novel, fantasy (342 pgs)
Quick read, and nice enough, but maybe I've read too many of these "lite" monster novels in recent years, nothing in it stands out for me like her first one did.
        All-American Alien Boy ~ Allen Steele (1996) short stories, sf (267 pgs)
Impressive collection of short stories, some funny, some disturbing. Particularly liked the personal intro notes to each story, with background on the how's and why's of the creation of each story.
        The Tranquillity Alternative ~ Allen Steele (1996) novel, sf (309 pgs)
Old-school tech-centered sf, plus some fun alternate-history asides throughout.
        Spindle's End ~ Robin McKinley (2000) novel, fantasy (422 pgs)
Wonderful fantasy novel, with lots of new ideas on the old classics here, and became more and more of a page turner as I got deeper into it.
        Academy Zappa ~ Ben Watson, Esther Leslie (eds) (2005) music, society, art (249 pgs)
Subtitled: "Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology". When started, though it was a parody of over-written academic studies of small areas of society, but then realized they were serious. Zap is spinning in his grave.
        The Comic Vision ~ Peter J. Mohahan (ed) (1971) history, humor (316 pgs)
Collection of humorous writing through the centuries, plus commentary. Shows to me that much humor has a short shelf life. Interesting idea and a way to look at what was considered funny through the ages.
        Bald ~ Kevin Baldwin (2005) humor, history, sociology, science ( 212 pgs)
History and science of balding, both informative and funny. Oh, and everyone with hair is just jealous of us bald guys!