How did I choose to Read books 32-52??

A while back I started a post not just reviewing books (since anyone can review a book), but instead explaining how I came to read those specific books.  I will now finish that for the remaining books I read this year.  Starting at book #32:


32. A Game of Thrones- George RR Martin  809 Pages -- A
  I loved the HBO show.  On a whim I bought the books on Amazon when I saw a deal where they were selling the books for approximately $20 for the first four books.  I wasn't sure I'd like the books, but I figured why not.  I guess you can tell, I liked them.  If anyone's looking to read these themselves I recommend this cheap set: http://www.amazon.com/Books-Thrones-Clash-Kings-Swords/dp/B005CC0CMC/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1323232864&sr=8-22

33.  A Clash of Kings - George RR Martin 969 Pages - A
I didn't expect to jump right into this second book in the series.  I thought I would space them out and take my time, but that's not really my style I guess.  I couldn't help myself.  I had to know what was going to happen to the characters.  Especially since reading the first book was a lot like just watching the TV show again which I had just watched a few months prior.

34.  Shopgirl - Steve Martin   130 Pages -- B+
Earlier in the year, I read An Object of Beauty, Steve Martin's newest novel about a young woman.  I happened to be in my laundry room and saw his earlier novel from about 10 years ago covering a similar subject matter.  I had seen the movie, but didn't remember it.  The book was good and smart, but I'm happy he expanded the themes of his newest novel.

35.  A Storm of Swords -- George RR Martin   1,128 Pages -- A+
I read a short book, but couldn't stay away from the world George Martin has sucked me into.  I went back after a short hiatus and am happy I did so since this was the best book I read this year, and one of the best books I've ever read in my life.

36.  No Country For Old Men - Cormac McCarthy   309 Pages --C+
I found this in my laundry room when I found Shopgirl.  I don't get Cormac McCarthy. After reading this and The Road, I have officially decided he's not for me.

37.  The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler   230 Pages-- B-
This was my book club book, so I ordered it from the library and read it quickly so I could run back to my world of Dragons, Direwolves and Kingslaying.

38.  A Feast For Crows -- George RR Martin   976 Pages -- A
I could only stay away for one book before reading the final book in the set that I bought.  I thought I would save it, but I couldn't.

39.  A Dance With Dragons -- George RR Martin  959 Pages -- A
I went out with my friend Mike and he told me he had the book and said since he was a little behind me he wouldn't get to it for a few weeks.  If I could promise to read it, and give it back within 3 weeks I could have it.  So I jumped at the opportunity to catch up with all the other fans and then to dive into the websites for theorizing.

40.  The Postmortal -- Drew Magary  365 Pages   --  B+
The newest book club book had to be read.  While walking through the rough aisles of Comicon, I happened to see that the book that was assigned was being sold at the nerd-haven.  Without thinking, I bought the book just so I had it

41.  The Tao of Pooh -- Benjamin Hoff  158 Pages -- B-
One weekend I went over my friend Evan's house.  He is a fellow lover of books and had a sweeping bookshelf of books that I was interested in reading.  I told him about my challenge and he mentioned that he was sure he had a ton of short, good books.  The next few books on this list come from Evan's shelf.

42.  After The Quake -- Haruki Murakami   145 Pages -- A-
I got Evan into Murakami when I read The Wind-up Bird Chronicles.  Since then, we have both read a few of his books.  Evan had this one so I stole it before even he had read it.

43.  The House on Mango Street -- Sandra Cisneros  110 Pages -- C
While going through Evan's books, Aubrey asked if she could borrow this one.  He said OK.  I decided to read the book simply because it was in my apartment and it was short.  It bored me.

44.  Techno Pulp -  Arty Nelson  203 Pages -- C-
Evan recommended this book saying he enjoyed it while he was traveling through Europe when he was 20.  I can see why it may have appealed to him, but reading it as a 34 year old, I couldn't relate as well.  But it fit my length criteria.  And the only good thing is I read it on the day my nephew was born.

45.  Son of Neptune -- Rick Riordan  513 Pages  -- C+
I've read all of Rick Riordan's Demi-god series of books.  My brother works for Disney publishing and this is one of his biggest sellers.  My brother gave this book to me and since they are quick, fun page-turners I decided to read it.  And I was getting sick of reading short books.

46.  Black Swan Green -- David Mitchell  294 Pages -- B-
Evan gave me this book.  David Mitchell is an author that he is in love with and I find to be very smart and very good.  This was not his crowning achievement (for that read Cloud Atlas).

47.  Bodega Dreams -- Ernesto Quionez  213 Pages -- B+
Another book that Evan recommended to me.  I had no expectations of this book which is a retelling of The Great Gatsby but in present-day Spanish Harlem.  I was pleasantly surprised by this story and how well the story was told in today's day.

48.  Miracle on the 17th Green -- James Patterson  195 Pages -- B
This summer I really got into golf.  This book was a book about golf by an Author who I have read at least 10 novels by.  I know he's a short read, and this was about golf.  I saw it on the library shelf and figured I would knock it out in a day.  I was right (I read it on the Friday after Thanksgiving), I just wasn't expecting to enjoy this sappy, predictable melodrama as much as I did.

49.  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button --  F. Scott Fitzgerald   63 pages-- C-
I had seen the movie, but I had just read Bodega Dreams and didn't want to re-read Gatsby.  But I figured Fitzgerald deserved some respect.   I saw it in the library and it was only 3pages long with pictures.  It took 45 minutes to read.   Oh yeah--- It's also one of the rare instances where the book is better and longer than the movie.  And I didn't really like the movie.

50. Piercing  - Ryu Murakami  185 Pages -- B+
Ryu Mrakami's books are always next to Hiraku Murakami in the library.  I've always been interested  in what I see and heart his books were good, but disturbing.  After reading this one, I agree.  He's like the Japanese Chuck Palahniuk and that's a good thing.

51.  While Mortals Sleep -- Kurt Vonnegut  255 Pages -- C+
Saw this in the libraray and being someone that needs to read everything by an author, this series of unpublished short stories by the man needed to be read.  So I grabbed it off the shelf.

52.  The Visible Man -- Chuck Kloserman   225 Pages -
The first book I read this year was Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman.  I have never read his fiction before, but saw it in the library and thought there was something fitting about reading my 52nd book of the year by the same author that I read the first by.  I'm glad I read this book.  Although I'm getting sick of Klosterman's style and his obsession with what "matters and means" and if something is "important" (Seriously!!! Read anything he writes and check out how many times he uses those words Like This Article)

52 Books in 52 Weeks

I'm sorry to my loyal reader.  But I've been busy.  It has been over 2 months since my last post, but I was a man on a mission.  In the beginning of the year I attempted to read 52 books in 52 weeks.  I was on a great pace and then I decided to read the Game of Thrones novels which are approximately 1000 pages each and there were five of them.
Well, I finished that, but when I did I realized I had only read 39 books and there were about 12 weeks left.  That meant I had to read 14 books in that time period.  So I decided to "cheat".  Of course, I made up the rules, but I decided to try and only read "short" books.  Now this doesn't mean there is anything wrong with a short book vs. a long book, but I normally don't plan my reading this way.  But even though I wanted to read shorter books, this does not mean there was not a ton of quality in these books, nor does it mean these were not books I didn't want to read.  I just chose not to read some books that are longer than some that are shorter.  For example: I'm sure if I wasn't trying to complete this challenge, I would have read the newest Stephen King book by now, but since it is about 1100 pages long, I felt it could wait.  The best part is that I finished a little early.  I will most likely read about 55 books this year instead of the 52 I expected to read.
So now: 18,032 pages later, an average page count of 346.77 pages later, please humor me and take a look at all the books I read this year.  The books breakdown as 41 Fiction Novels,  8 Non-Fiction and 3 collections of short stoies:  Included is the approximate date it was read (the month), the page count and the letter grade I would give as a rating from A-F.

Enjoy:

Number	Book	Author	Pages	Rating	Date
1	Eating The Dinosaur -	Chuck Klosterman	270	B	Jan-11
2	Catching Fire  -	Suzanne Collins	391	B+	Jan-11
3	Full Dark, No Stars -	Stephen King	368	B	Jan-11
4	Endurance: Shakleton's Incredible Voyage -	Alfred Lansing	280	A-	Jan-11
5	Mockingjay  -	Suzanne Collins	290	B-	Feb-11
6	The Vintage Caper  -	Peter Mayle	225	C-	Feb-11
7	Brains: A Zombie Memoir  -	Robin Becker	182	C	Feb-11
8	As God Commands  -	Niccolo Ammaniti	405	A	Feb-11
9	Never Let Me Go  -	Kazou Ishiguro	288	B	Mar-11
10	Mr. Funny Pants  -	Michael Showalter	250	B+	Mar-11
11	The Book Thief  -	Markus Zusak	550	B	Mar-11
12	Cross Fire  -	James Patterson	350	C	Mar-11
13	The Big Short  -	Michael Lewis	266	B+	Mar-11
14	South of the Border, West of the Sun  -	Haruki Murakami	213	A	Mar-11
15	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time  -	Mark Haddon	225	B+	Mar-11
16	On Writing  -	Stephen King	300	B+	Mar-11
17	Zombie Spaceship Wasteland  -	Patton Oswalt	191	D+	Apr-11
18	Everything Is Going To Kill Everybody  -	Robert Brockway	260	C-	Apr-11
19	House of Leaves  -	Mark Z. Danielewski	710	B	Apr-11
20	20th Century Ghosts  -	Joe Hill	310	B+	May-11
21	Jar City  -	Arnaldur Indridason	285	D	May-11
22	The Day I Turned Uncool  -	Dan Zevin	172	C+	May-11
23	Flatland  -	Edwin A. Abbott	118	B+	May-11
24	Room  -	Emma Donoghue	322	A-	May-11
25	A Visit From The Goon Squad  -	Jennifer Egan	342	A	Jun-11
26	Super Sad True Love Story  -	Gary Shteyngart	332	A-	Jun-11
27	The Red Pyramid  -	Rick Riordan	516	C+	Jun-11
28	The Throne of Fire  -	Rick Riordan	450	C	Jun-11
29	An Object Of Beauty  -	Stever Martin	293	A-	Jul-11
30	Tell-All -	Chuck Palahniuk	179	D+	Jul-11
31	The Imperfectionists -	Tom Rachman	265	B+	Jul-11
32	A Game of Thrones -	George R.R. Martin	809	A	Jul-11
33	A Clash of Kings -	George R.R. Martin	969	A	Aug-11
34	Shopgirl -	Steve Martin	130	B+	Aug-11
35	A Storm of Swords -	George R.R. Martin	1128	A+	Sep-11
36	No Country For Old Men -	Cormac McCarthy	309	C+	Sep-11
37	The Big Sleep -	Raymond Chandler	230	B-	Sep-11
38	A Feast For Crows -	George R.R. Martin	976	A	Sep-11
39	A Dance With Dragons -	George R.R. Martin	959	B+	Oct-11
40	The Postmortal -	Drew Magary	365	B+	Oct-11
41	Tao of Pooh -	Benjamin Hoff	158	B-	Oct-11
42	After The Quake -	Haruki Murakami	145	B	Oct-11
43	The House on Mango Street -	Sandra Cisneros	110	C	Nov-11
44	Techno Pulp -	Arty Nelson	203	C-	Nov-11
45	Son of Neptune -	Rick Riordan	513	C	Nov-11
46	Black Swan Green -	David Mitchell	294	B-	Nov-11
47	Bodega Dreams -	Enersto Quinonez	213	B+	Nov-11
48	Miracle on the 17th Green -	James Patterson	195	B	Nov-11
49	The Curious Case of Benjamin Button -	F. Scott Fitzgerald	63	C-	Nov-11
50	Piercing -	Ryu Murakami	185	B+	Nov-11
51	While Mortals Sleep -	Kurt Vonnegut	255	C+	Dec-11
52	The Visible Man	Chuck Klosterman	225	B+	Dec-11

Charlie Kaufman tells a story

Roger Ebert tweeted this story little story that Charlie Kaufman wrote: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/oct/03/charlie-kaufman-how-to-write

It made me think about him.  Like most people, I first was exposed to Charlie Kaufman when Being John Malkovich came out in 1999.  Retroactively, it seems that I've been a fan since Get A Life.  But I really liked this little story he wrote about himself.   Two things I liked about it:
a) I really like the exercise.  Much like in his movies, he was able to break down a simple concept that I never even thought of and make it thought provoking.   He seems to be the king of deconstruction a story which is what he did when thinking about the difference in how you tell a story the first time vs. the hundredth.

b) I was really surprised by how simply his story was told.  What I mean is, I really liked how the words he used were simple, direct and to the point.

I looked him up on IMDB after reading this article and realized he hasn't done anything in three years and has nothing in the works.  Hopefully Charlie Kaufman will work on something soon, because so fare all of his movies have been different, smart and fun.  Those are three things that are very tough to merge, but he seems to find a way to make it happen whenever he writes something new. 

Song of Ice and Fire

I began my journey into Westeros on July 19th and now 73 days and 3,882 pages later I have caught up on the first 4 books of the series by George RR Martin.  I have not been this caught up and addicted to a series of books since the first time I read through the Stephen King's Dark Tower series or watching the first few seasons of LOST.   There is really nothing I can say about the plot and story because telling anything will give away too much. 
The only thing I will write here is for people like me that enjoyed the HBO TV show and are worried that the remaining books/seasons of the show can't be as good as that first one I will say that after reading the rest book 1 really was just set-up and the tip of the iceberg for what comes next.

I'm impressed by how the books are written because Martin has a way of writing that almost makes every chapter a cliff-hanger with enormous cliff-hangers at the end of each novel.  I know I've also mentioned this before on this blog, but I love how I cannot predict anything.  Everytime I think I have an idea of the direction the story is headed something happens that makes the story go in the complete other way.

These are some of the most fleshed-out characters of anything I've ever read (I know they better be after almost 4,000 pages), but no one is really a villain or a hero.  In fact, after four books, I still am not sure who the overall VILLAIN of the series is going to be (like Sauron is in LOTR or the Crimson King is in Dark Tower), or how the story can ever end. Some of my favorite characters were introduced midway through book 2 and didn't even last until the end because of one of the other reasons I love this series: No one seems to be safe.  The main characters change from chapter to chapter and they are not lacking interesting people.

I am ecstatic that there is a fifth book already available, while at the same time I am already dreading the waiting that will come between book 5 and book 6, especially since there was a 6 year hiatus between book 4 and book 5.  What will this mean for me over the next few years?   Besides disappointment, I think there may be a chance I will have to read other fantasy series that I've stayed away from in the past due a) being overwhelmed and b) thinking I wouldn't enjoy it.   If anyone has any recommendations of things I should be reading, please pass it on.

Next up, getting back to my goal of finishing 52 books this year.  I am now up to 28 books.  So that means I have 12 weeks to read 14 books.  I know I can do it if I cheat and read some short books (and I probably will), but I really like my way of picking up books as they come to me and there are some great, long books coming out soon including Stephen King's new 1000 page tome.  That along with Book 5 of this series, it's going to be tight.  Wish me luck, but in the meantime please read these books.  I need more people to discuss this with.

Best of the Week Mid-September

Best Movie I Saw: Now that summer is ending and Netflix is super-expensive and quickly shrinking my portfolio, I have decided to get back to using it again.  Over the last few weeks I've been watching a movie a week on Neflix and most have been pretty good.  My two newest additions to my personal library has been Paul  and Super.
Much like how Shaun of the Dead was a love-letter to Zombie films, and Hot Fuzz was dedicated to the buddy-cop flicks of the 1980s, this one was an homage to the two types of films: The early films of Steven Spielberg and the alien movies of the 1980s.  This had many shout-outs to some classic movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Aliens and (of course) E.T.  Paul is a silly alien movie, but if you're looking for something funny you could do much worse.

Both Paul and Super are "comic book movies", but neither have ever been comic books, but they will both be loved by people that enjoy that genre.  Paul even had the beginning and ending of the movie take place at the comic book Mecca that is San Diego's Comicon.  While Super takes a concept that is becoming popular of someone with no training, or powers deciding to become a superhero for all the wrong reasons.  The thing that makes Super different is its realistic violence.  Rainn Wilson stars as a guy that has some serious problems, and after a traumatic event decides to become a Batman type of superhero but with literally no means or skill.  It leads to some pretty sick outcomes, but you should not expect anything else from a writer-director that got started with the Troma studio. 
Best TV Show I Saw: Since I cannot think of anything off the top of my head that I've seen lately, I can only assume the best thing I saw on TV was the return of the NFL.  I'm so happy you're back football.  I missed you.
Best Thing I Read:  Once again I'm on a reading kick.  This week the best thing I read though was easily the newest collection of Locke & Key entitled Keys to the Kingdom.   Joe Hill continues the story of the Locke kids and their struggle against the Dark Lady.  This issue really was probably the best one yet since the stakes get even higher especially with the latest cliff-hanger where this story ends.  The highlight though (besides the amazing conclusion) was the one chapter showing the month of February where each page correlated to one day of the 28 days that hath February.  I'm surprised no one has ever done this in a comic book before since comic books have 30 pages normally.  In the thousands of comics I've read in my life I can't believe I never thought of that and no one else had done it either.

I also read: No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy.  I guess he's not a writer for me.  I read The Road a few years ago and I know that people love it, but I didn't get it.  I thought it was a badly written post-apocalyptic story that I've read hundreds of times before.  No Country was a little better, but I really do not like his writing style.  McCarthy writes in a very simplistic was that must be nice for people that don't read much, but there is no description.  McCarthy just writes "He did this and He did that...."  it gets very repetitious and I found it boring.  Then he also chooses to not write with any quotation marks when his characters are talking.  It makes for a confusing read at times when you're not sure who is speaking or if it is dialogue or just narration.
The story itself is fine and I really liked the ending of the book which was different than the movie.  But the writing style was such a turn off that I've basically decided no matter how good people say any of this other books may be, I will just figure like his other books, it's just not for me.

Best Thing I Heard:  Aubrey did a great thing the other day.  She bought tickets to the band The National.  We both were pretty huge fans of their previous CD and especially the song Fake Empire.   We saw that the band was going to be playing The Beacon Theater in December and before going to that show we figured we should have their most recent CD, High Violet, which was released last year.  We listened to the CD on a road-trip this weekend about 3 times.  It is surprisingly great.  I am not good about explaining style of music, but lately I'm most interested in music that has songs that build.  Songs that start slow or deconstructed that build up until they reach an apex of sound.  Other bands that I love that seem to have this style are Muse, Radiohead, Airborne Toxic Event and Secret Machines Songs like this one really make me happy and now I'm even more excited for this show in December.  As always:  My recommendation is to play this VERY LOUD:

Best of the Week - First Week of September

Constant Reader.
It has been  a few weeks since my last update, but so I will catch you up on what I've been enjoying these past few weeks.
I survived the Hurricane and loved every second of it, and with summer winding down, I'm looking forward to football and hopefully some better TV.  Although, for more of an update into what has been taking up most of my time, be sure to check out my other blog chronicling the adventures of the house Aubrey and I are still renovating here

Best TV show I saw:
This season of Louie has been absolutely extraordinary.  The episode where he went to Afghanistan was a great tribute to our soldiers as well as a fun little reminder of how animals can bring people together.  If you're not watching this show, you made an error.
Also, while I was waiting out the storm of Hurricane Irene at my friends Bridget and Chris's apartment I got to talking about Game of Thrones.  Since they had never seen it and we really had no where to go and nothing else to do, we turned on the first episode which was available on HBO On Demand.  Long story short - we watched all ten episodes together back to back.  What a great series this was and as you all know I've been reading the books and was able to understand everything much better this time around as well as see some seeds planted in the show that I did not catch the first time through.
Other shows I've been enjoying:  True Blood, and Weeds  are still not great, but have been better this season.  Curb Your Enthusiasm has also been particularly solid this year as well with yesterday's Bill Buckner episode being my favorite over the past few weeks.


Best Movie I saw:  No contest here.   I watched a movie that I knew nothing about and was absolutely overjoyed with.  The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon was a fun Science Fiction story that was really well acted and crafted.  Some additional reasons I loved this movie:  It takes place in New York City and really uses the city better than most movies.  Additionally, I loved that they were accurate as to where the people were.  For example, if someone is walking up 24th street, the come to Madison Square Park right after that.  Then if they turn downtown, the next street is 23rd and then 22nd.  I can't tell you how many times I watch a movie and places don't line up and I hate it.  The only negative was knowing that the building Matt Damon lives in is the office building I actually work in on 24th and Madison, so I know for sure that there are no apartments in there.  But because it made sense for the story, I allowed that minor "adjustment" to the story.    

I also watched:  Cedar Rapids which had some funny parts.

Also, and as I type this I am finishing up the Star Trek movie marathon that Cinemax played today during labor day.  I watched almost all of the following movies today (with some omissions for running and eating): Star Trek II, III, IV, V, VI and VIII (First Contact) - which is just ending now.

Best Book I read:  I knew my herculean task of reading The Song of Ice and Fire would slow me up and consume my life, and I was right.  I am currently on page 800/1150 of book three of that series entitled A Storm of Swords.  This is so far the best of the books with so much happening that I could never have predicted.  I have heard that the series loses a bit of its luster after this book, but I am so enraptured by these characters that I don't care.  Just keep telling me their story and I will keep reading.  Again, I will not give anything away about these books, but if anyone is planning on being stranded on a deserted island for a while, it would be a smart idea to bring these books along.  They will keep you entertained for a long time.

Best thing I heard: I'm going to cheat here, but I went to a friend's house and watched the documentary Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story.   For those that don't know, Andrew Wood was a major player in the Seattle music scene (that I am a huge fan of) in the 80s into the 90s.  He was the lead singer of the band Malfunkshun as well as Mother Love Bone.  He tragically died in 1990 and the key song-writers in his band went on to form Pearl Jam.   This documentary compiles old footage as well as recent interviews with such people as Chris Cornell from Soundgarden (who was Wood's roommate), his brothers, mother and friends.  The documentary was put together with love and honors his memory while telling his fans about Wood's battles with addiction.  The movie was great and it really almost made me fall in love with his voice all over again.  A tragic tale about a tragic soul and if you were a fan of Mother Love Bone, a necessary addition to your DVD collection.  The Disc also comes with two CDs of B-Sides and older demos by Andrew Wood and his various bands throughout the years. 

What's wrong with you TV????

I was looking over this year's television schedule and I realized, I don't think I'm going to be adding any more new shows to my DVR. This has everything to do with two factors: 1) I find that if I don't get "into" a show, I never really care and therefore never miss it once it goes away. 2) I love to be entertained, and everything I'm seeing looks cookie cutter and not that great.

Then I find out that a comic book that I absolutely LOVE had a pilot made based on it. You can watch that pilot here:
http://io9.com/5834214/watch-the-trailer-for-locke--key-the-beautiful-horror-series-that-never-was

This book is written by the fantastic, up and coming writer Joe Hill (aka Stephen King's son, but we don't even NEED to mention that -- but it helps). There are currently approximately 30 issues of this comic book, but each issue I have read has multiple layers and needs more than one read through to fully understand and grasp everything. He is building a mythology where a small book in the back of a panel comes back 20 issues later to play a very important piece in the lives of the Locke family.

The story is simple: A teacher is attacked and murdered by a crazy student and the rest of the family but the patriarch moves back to their father's old house in a small town in Maine. While there, the kids discover that the house has numerous keys that allow the user of the keys to open doors into other worlds, and other fantastic possibilities. Each book seems to introduce us to a new key and a new piece into the mystery as to why their father was murdered. Could it be because of the strange woman that lives at the bottom of the well?

Needless to say, I love this series and this TV show looked very similar to the movie and definitely seemed to capture its heart. But Fox passed on it. I'm not sure why, but it seems that I will never see Locke and Key on the small screen or large. But since Hill and his artist Gabriel Rodriguez have promised a concluding end to this series, I will at least always have the show in my head. But the attached trailer really makes me upset about the possibilities.

Below are some examples of the great art of the series too: