Reading List (under construction)

Date	Book Title	Thoughts
Summer 2003	Prentice Alvin: Book 3 - Card	I really enjoyed this series, though to date I haven't finished it. It really feels like I'm listening to a story intead of just reading a book.
	A Travellers History of Japan	I read this book while I was studying abroad in Japan. It gave me a lot of information, but the history was a little dense, and I didn't really feel it sank it. Now if that's my fault or the book's is another question.
	The Catcher in the Rye - Salinger	I read it, and I remember it being enjoyable, but I wasn't especially struck by it.
	A Personal Matter - Oe	Oe wrote this at the same time he was writing the non-fiction work, "Hiroshima Notes." They are both a record of his mental state at the time. Oe really did have a disabled son at this time, and his dealings with Hiroshima survivors changed his thinking on the matter. This is a fictionalized account of what really happened to him.
	America's Vietnam War	I'm not sure on the author, but this was a history of the period. It seems that we first supported, then betrayed leaders in the area. The "Right" side is not clear, but it was definitely a big mess.
	How to Learn a Foreign Language - Pimsleur	A short book by the professor whose ideas spawned the program you can find on the internet. Interesting perspective, but I don't know if the quality of his methods has been studied since this book came out.
	Learning to Bow - Feiler	This book was fun to read, but as I remember he was perhaps a little heavy handed about telling the reader how Japan IS, not just his experiences.
	A Wild Sheep Chase - Murakami	Murakami is my favorite author. This book is a good introduction if you have never read him before. I feel his world is like our world, just with something small, yet important, off. It really draws you in though.
	The Art of Deception - Mitnick	It doesn't take that much computer skill to be a hacker -- it's all about social engineering. Poor saps.
	Dance, Dance, Dance - Murakami	This is the sequal to "Wild Sheep Chase," and quite excellent.
	Pride and Prejudice - Austin	I am embarrassed to admit this was the third time I read this book. Honestly, it's pretty enjoyable.
	A Mathematician's Apology - Hardy	Why one excellent mathematican did what he did. This is not only an interesting argument for the value of pure mathematics, but a window into Hardy's personality.
	Jim Crow's Children - Irons	Before I read this, I was firmly against affirmative action. This book made me rethink the whole situation in the historical context. It also made me wonder how much progress we've really made at all.
	Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids - Oe	A well known book, but it didn't really do it for me. I wanted to like it more than I did.
	Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Dai SiJie	A enjoyable read. Translated from French!
March 2004	Memoirs of a Geisha - Golden	I enjoyed this book, but it was nothing that special. I thought the ending was a bit abrupt.
	Dances with Sheep - Strecher	An academic look at Murakami. It was very interesting, but some techniques of literary criticism seemed very sketchy. They take an idea and run too far with it, beyond the true scope of the idea.
	A Travellers History of China - Haw	Decent, but could have used a good map, and Hanzi for locations and names.
June 2004	The Roads to Sata - Booth	The account of an Englishman's walk along the length of Japan. I really wanted to like this book, but it was fragmented and not compelling.
July 2004	Galatea 2.2 - Powers	The book was ok, but a little confusing. Also, his grasp of AI concepts is very shaky and he build the novel on some false preconceptions.
	Blankets - Thompson	Yes, this is a graphic novel, but it's probably not what you think it is either. It is still very much a novel in it's topics, and realistic treatment of them.
	Who do You Love - Thompson	Not by the above Thompson. This is a collection of short stories on love, both the pain and joy of it. It is very well written.
	Writing to Sell - Meredith	A guide to do just that written by a well known agent. It is a little dated, but it sounded like good advice to me. Once I've sold something I'll let you know if it was actually good advice.
	Neuromancer - Gibson	I felt like I should have liked this book, but I didn't. I never got into it, and the whole book, plot and characters, felt flat.
	Idoru - Gibson	Ehh, decent. I wouldn't read it again.
	The Gardens of Kyoto - Walbert	I really enjoyed this book, but it's not about Kyoto at all. It had a plot that surprised me and characters that interested me.
	Tuesdays with Morrie - Albom	I didn't want to like this book, but I did. Even though it may be short, and it is not earth shattering in the literary sense, I believe it deserved the popularity it got.
September 2004	If You Want to Write - Ueland	A book on writing, and the value of it even if you don't publish a word.
October 2004	Underground - Murakami	A book about the gas attacks on the Tokyo Subways. It consists of a lot of interviews and is excellent.
	A Wizard of Earthsea - Le Guin	This book is aimed at a slightly younger audience, but I enjoyed it. I'm not sure if I could pick something that really makes it stand out though.
December 2004	The Tombs of Atuan - Le Guin	The second book in the series. I don't remember much more than that about it.
February 2005	Quicksilver - Stephenson	In all honestly, pretty boring. Of the 4 people I know who started it, I'm the only one who finished. And we're all Neal Stephenson fans.
March 2005	The Stranger - Camus	This is one of my favorite books of all time. I think he does find some meaning in the end, and in fact, his whole argument of meaninglessness is just a wall he erects to protect himself.
April 2005	The Confusion - Stephenson	Slightly better than "Quicksilver," but mostly boring. On the other hand, making Newton, Leibniz, pirates, international travel, high finance, and romance ALL boring at the same time is an achievement in it's own class.
	The Silk Road: Xi'an to Kashgar - Bonavia	The best guide book I found for this area. It is best used as a general history and introduction instead of actually 'guiding' you to places. The maps are poor, and the organization is worse, but it was enjoyable to read.
	Karate-do: My Way of Life - Funakoshi	The autobiography of the founder of Shotokan Karate, the style I practice. I admire the way he lived his life with discipline.
	A Canticle for Leibowitz	This is a rather old SF book, but it's well written with ideas that still apply to our situation now. It follows the rebuilding of society after a nuclear war wipes almost everything out, and is really facinating.
July 2005	Murder on the Orient Express - Cristie	I don't usually read mystery books, but this one was good.
	Good Omens - Gaiman, Pratchett	This book is about the end of the world when the anti-christ was accidentally given to the wrong family at birth. It's a quick read any funny, but somehow the writing felt a little rushed and superfical to me.
September 2005	The Wisdom of Crowds - Surowiecki	This book talks about how group decisions can be better than the best single expert. It's an interesting concept, but presented in a little bit of a disorganized format. There are also more specific examples than real general concepts.
	In Praise of Slowness - Honore	The concept is simple. We're living life too quickly and need to slow down and enjoy things. This book takes this idea I fully support and backs it up with large amount of fluff and poor writing. I'd say skip it.
October 2005	Freakonomics - Levitt, Dubner	An interesting look at some far-flung economics research, like on the connection of abortion and the recent drop in crime. It was a very interesting read, but arguments like this need to be backed up with all the statistical details, which this book lacks. It's probably just me though -- most people will enjoy it.
November 2005	The War of Art - Pressfield	Thesis: Art is an uphill battle, but worth it. You have to discipline your mind.
December 2005	Getting What You Came For - R.L. Peters	Talking about graduate school, and getting your PhD. I wish I read this before I appplied to grad schools.
	The Magic Mountain - Mann	This book is more like a time period of my life than a novel. I carried it to Japan on my second trip there, but didn't really start reading it in ernest until the summer of 2005. I can't say it is an exciting book nor is it easy to read, but there is something about it that felt very dreamy. And for reasons I can not explain, I think I want to read it again. (p.s. the Amazon reviews are really funny. It sounds like no one understood it, but they're not willing to admit that, so they just parrot the blub from the back cover of the book. I admit it though, I didn't understand this book.)
	Meditations - Aurelius, trans. Hays	Stoic philosophy in the form of Marcus Aurelius' notes/exercises for his own spiritual development. I liked it.
January 2006	Ultimate Fitness - Kolata	Half a personal story of the author's exercise experiences, and half a debunking of excercise myths. It was decent, but not too much stuck with me after I was done with it.
	The System of the World - Stephenson	I feel proud that I finished this trilogy, but this feeling is not enough to recommend these books to anyone. Ever.
	Sun Tsu was a Sissy - Bing	I think this book was supposed to be funny, but it's take on the business world just depressed me instead. Also, it wasn't funny.
	Civil Disobedience and Other Essays - Thoreau	This was very good. I plan on reading it again. The essay on John Brown really resonated with me.
February 2006	The Miracle of Mindfulness - Thich Nhat Hanh	A guide to meditation, and living your life fully alert, experiencing everything.
	Bird by Bird - Lamott	A guide to writing, and life. It was good, but her humor wore on me after a while. It felt like everytime I read on of her jokes there was an implicit cymbal crash right after it. A little heavy handed I though. (Still a good book though)
March 2006	A Random Walk Down Wall Street - Malkiel	Basically don't even think about trying to beat the market. People with more money, time, and intelligence have beaten you to the punch, and the price you can buy it for reflects that. However, you can keep up with the market with a diversified portfolio or an index fund. This is a very academic view, but it also sound very reasonable to me.
April 2006	New Rules of Lifting - Schuler, Cosgrove	I enjoyed reading it, but I'll have to let you know if it works or not. In a year or so.
	Shadowmarch - Williams	Since this is only the first book in a series, I have to reserve most of my judgment. It was an enjoyable read with characters I found interesting, even if occasionally they acted in ways that I don't think matched their personalities. The plot is fairly expansive, and even in this first volume I can guess at many connections but there is still a lot that is left to be explained. On the downside, I don't feel the world is too original and, surprisingly, there were a number of typos. Hopefully they corrected this in the paperback edition, but since I only have the hardcover one, I don't know. Overall, pretty good though.
	Days of Obligation - Rodriguez	Very dense, but interesting. His writing style is a little too fragmented and informal for me. I was interested, but it was also difficult to discern what he was actually saying. The jury is still out on this one.
May 2006	Walden; Or, Life in the Woods - Thoreau	It took me a while to finish this book, but it was worth it. While a large portion of this book is about nature, an equally large portion is about Thoreau's philosophy. Most importantly, I think, are his views on following yourself, and not the dictates of society. I would recommend this book to anyone.
	I am Charlotte Simmons - Wolfe	Some reviews have said that this doesn't accurately portray college life, but I think it does a pretty good job. It was an enjoyable read, but in some parts it felt a little weak but maybe that was just because for most of the book I wanted to shake some sense into Charlotte Simmons.
June 2006	The Story of Philosophy	I've never taken a philosophy class, but this book was excellent. It covers both the lives and the philosophy of many major philosophers. A good introduction. However, it does not cover Christian philosophy (i.e. it jumps from Aristotle directly to Spinoza, as if nothing was done in between) and it also covers only Western philosophy.
	Psychology of Intelligence Analysis - Heuer	I read this one for work. An excellent discussion of the work of intelligence analysis and cognitive limitations that prevent people from doing a better job drawing conclusions from data.
	The DaVinci Code - Brown	Ok, once 40 million people have bought a book, I feel I should probably read it just to see what the fuss is about. My conclusion: decent book, but why is it this popular?