Look at the Birdie

Look at the Birdie: Unpublished Short Fiction by Kurt Vonnegut


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A mixed bag of short stories by the lat Kurt Vonnegut. As put in the introduction, maybe there was a reason these were unpublished. Some were good, others didn't hit me right, but they were a breath of Vonnegut's voice and spirit, if just for a moment.

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Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through the Pearly Gates

Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through the Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explain Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between by Thomas Cathcart


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I had read these guys' earlier book, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, and just had to pick this one up when I saw it. Here, they use their brand of humor (well-crafted chestnuts, best read in a Jewish grandfather voice) to explore the concept of death. Shopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Heidegger and many others, all explained through the magic of humor. Fun and thought-provoking.

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Colors

Beautiful morning in Reno yesterday. A couple of views of the colors from our driveway:





So I've been noticing that my wallet (duct tape, of course) has been looking a bit sorry lately. Needed to make a new one. I was understandably inspired by the fall colors, and come up with this:

Manhood for Amateurs

Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son by Michael Chabon


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I think Michael Chabon would laugh at this book being called "deep." But as far as I'm concerned, this could be the beta male bible. A series of essays, revolving around the uncertain male experience. Poignant, unflinchingly honest, and compelling.

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Cranioklepty

Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius by Colin Dickey


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
An interesting look at the history of grave robbing - specifically, the looting of famous people's skulls. Covers phrenology, hero worship, forensic method - and the skulls of Mozart, Haydn, Swedenborg and many others.

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Unseen Academicals

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I always look forward to a new Discworld book from Terry Pratchett. The last few, however, haven't really grabbed me - a little too rooted in the real world, too much politics, not enough whimsical fantasy. This one got me, though. Despite flirting with some heavy issues, the story of the wizards of Unseen University trying to field a soccer team was light and fun. Some new insights into a few beloved characters were welcome, and the new characters were fun to read.

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Born Round

Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater by Frank Bruni


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Frank Bruni's autobiography covers a lot of ground - his childhood and Italian-American family in New York, college years, burgeoning career as a journalist, becoming a fairly high-powered political reporter, and finally making a jump to restaurant critic. Through it all, though, he focuses of food - his relationship with it, attitude toward it, reliance on it, and finally his success in overcoming its hold on him.

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Thumbnails

Like many good Google geeks, I've recently downloaded Picasa's new release. For those who don't know, Picasa is Google's image organization (and light editing) software. The major feature in version 3.5 is facial recognition. Basically - it recognizes faces, you tell it who they are, and it matches facial features of as many as it can. The more you tag, the better it can match. It shows you a zoomed in thumbnail shot of whoever it wants you to tag.

Aaaand it's kind of addictive. Tagging new people, waiting to see which pictures it'll identify, correcting the ones it gets wrong - it's just the kind of thing that I get a little obsessive about. I'm about halfway through the "Unnamed people" file now - it started at over 3,000 and I'm below 1,500 now. Probably this weekend...

Here's the thing: After staring at and identifying so many pictures of my friends, family and acquaintances, I'm struck with what a beautiful bunch of people you all are. Maybe it's just seeing the variety of human expression, through holidays, births, parties, or simple pleasures, but I want you all to know: I'm glad you're part of my experience.

And, um, I recommend this software...

Juliet, Naked

Juliet, Naked: A Novel by Nick Hornby


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don't remember which was the last Nick Hornby book I read was - must've been A Long Way Down, which seems like a long time ago. Didn't realize how much I'd missed his writing. His sense of people's insecurities and the way they act on them seems incredibly real to me.

Juliet, Naked is a story of fandom, an aging rock star struggling with his past, and a woman dealing with the direction her life has taken. It has a feel much like How to Be Good, and I can only hope that we see more like this from him soon.

Also: LOVE the cover design for the hardcover.

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The Year Of The Flood

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It took me almost 3/4 of the way through this book to realize that it was a sort of prequel to Atwood's previous book, Oryx and Crake. Works pretty well on it's own, too, though - Atwood's melancholy hopefulness and sneaky wry humor infect the story. A dystopian fable with some great characters.

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North! Or Be Eaten

North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It seemed like such a long wait since the first book in Andrew Peterson's Wingfeather Saga, I was getting a little worried that this book wasn't going to ever come out. But here it is, and it's a perfect continuation of the family's wild adventures. I'm not going to give ANY plot details away, but let me say that this is one of the most fun, yet gripping children's series I've ever read. Peterson is an amazing storyteller, and while I was worried that his reputation as a Christian author and singer might creep into these books, they seem completely secular. Absolutely solid - Peterson's name deserves to be mentioned alongside Colfer, Pullman and Stroud.

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