Category: Literacy 2008

Book More Information Than You Require by John Hodgman Synopsis John Hodgman got famous from “The Daily Show” and those Apple ads and also he’s friends with Jonathan Coulton. (Actually: a continuation of his almanac of made-up facts, begun in The Areas of My Expertise). Dismaying Fact Discovered Hodgman is only 24 days older than…

Book The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Synopsis The Jungle Book for goth kids. No, the Real Synopsis After his family is killed, a toddler wanders into the neighboring graveyard. He’s taken in by the residents, raised as one of their own, and taught the ways of the dead. Pros Genius concept, interesting and endearing…

Book Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky Synopsis The history of “the only rock we eat,” and how finding, producing, and transporting it has shaped economies and governments from pre-history to the modern day. Pros Extremely well-organized, with short chapters presented in chronological order describing how a particular region and a particular group of…

Book The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis Synopsis A collection of letters sent from the demon Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood, advising the younger demon on the best ways to tempt a human soul away from Christianity to become food for Hell. Pros Brilliant concept, with a ton of potential for satire. Has one moment…

Book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis Synopsis Originally presented as a series of lectures on BBC Radio during World War II, this book is Lewis’s attempt to describe and defend the fundamental beliefs of Christianity, regardless of any particular church or denomination. It’s presented from the perspective of a former atheist who converted to Christianity,…

Book Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden Synopsis On a battlefield late in World War I, allied soldier Lord Baltimore is attacked by a strange bat-like creature. Now, the war is over, but a mysterious plague has spread through all of Europe. Three of Baltimore’s friends…

Book Jingo by Terry Pratchett In a series 21st in the series of Discworld books. Synopsis The lost island of Leshp suddenly rises in the middle of the ocean, sparking a war between the nations of Ankh-Morpork and Klatch over ownership of the new land. Sam Vimes and the rest of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch…

Book Old Man’s War by John Scalzi Recommended by Wil Wheaton, plus dozens of commenters on half the blogs I read (including John Scalzi’s own blog). Disclaimer I have read very little science fiction (Douglas Adams and Star Wars novelizations don’t count). I’ve read none of Robert Heinlein, who is mentioned in almost every review…

Book The Road by Cormac McCarthy Selling Points Oprah liked it! (And it won a Pulitzer Prize, too.) But look! Oprah! Disclaimer I tried to be open-minded and objective while I was reading this book, but I was definitely prejudiced against it from the start, because of all the hype and because of how much…

I’m not including comic books in my meager 26-book challenge for the year — not because they’re not art or they’re not as worthy, but simply because I already read 26 comic books a year. But I still like spouting off my opinions about things, so they’ll go into the exhibition rounds. Book Fox Bunny…

(I read this book over the Christmas break, so it doesn’t count towards the 26 books I’ve resolved to read in 2008. But I have a corollary resolution to post something on this blog every day this year, no matter how short or irrelevant, so I’m cheating and rolling back the date.) (I’m also cheating…