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2013 Reading List

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Volume 2: The New Girl

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Volume 2: The New Girl

Sean McKeever

Published: 2007 | Pages:120

My Rating: 5/5

Description: Plus: Mary Jane Watson wasn’t always the girl she is today. How did she become the sort of person to push her problems away rather than face them? And how is it that Peter Parker, Spider-Man and Spidey’s origin itself all play pivotal roles? See the birth of the greatest modern super hero like you’ve never seen it before. Collecting: Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 6-10

In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives

In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives

Steven Levy

Published: 2011 | Pages:432

My Rating: 3/5
An ok read but nothing in this is overly surprising if you already follow Google. It also comes off as a bit repedetove in its layout of chapters, sometimes reiterating the same events from a slightly different point of view in different chapters. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the company.

Description: Few companies in history have ever been as successful and as admired as Google, the company that has transformed the Internet and become an indispensable part of our lives. How has Google done it? Veteran technology reporter Steven Levy was granted unprecedented access to the company, and in this revelatory book he takes readers inside Google headquarters—the Googleplex—to show how Google works.While they were still students at Stanford, Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin revolutionized Internet search. They followed this brilliant innovation with another, as two of Google’s earliest employees found a way to do what no one else had: make billions of dollars from Internet advertising. With this cash cow, Google was able to expand dramatically and take on other transformative projects: more efficient data centers, open-source cell phones, free Internet video (YouTube), cloud computing, digitizing books, and much more.The key to Google’s success in all these businesses, Levy reveals, is its engineering mind-set and adoption of such Internet values as speed, openness, experimentation, and risk taking. After its unapologetically elitist approach to hiring, Google pampers its engineers—free food and dry cleaning, on-site doctors and masseuses—and gives them all the resources they need to succeed. Even today, with a workforce of more than 23,000, Larry Page signs off on every hire.But has Google lost its innovative edge? With its newest initiative, social networking, Google is chasing a successful competitor for the first time. Some employees are leaving the company for smaller, nimbler start-ups. Can the company that famously decided not to be evil still compete?No other book has ever turned Google inside out as Levy does with In the Plex.

Lost Souls (Star Trek: Destiny, #3)

Lost Souls (Star Trek: Destiny, #3)

David Mack

Published: 2008 | Pages:444

Description: For Captain William Riker, that choice has already been made. Haunted by the memories of those he was forced to leave behind, he must jeopardize all that he has left in a desperate bid to save the Federation.For Captain Ezri Dax, whose impetuous youth is balance by the wisdom of many lifetimes, the choice is a simple one: there is no going back — only forward to whatever future awaits them.But for those who, millennia ago, had no choice…this is the hour of their final, inescapable destiny.

Mere Mortals (Star Trek: Destiny #2)

Mere Mortals (Star Trek: Destiny #2)

David Mack

Published: 2008 | Pages:433

My Rating: 4/5

Description: Half a galaxy away, Captain William Riker and the crew of the Starship Titan have made contact with the reclusive Caeliar — survivors of a stellar cataclysm that, two hundred years ago, drove fissures through the structure of space and time, creating a loop of inevitability and consigning another captain and crew to a purgatory from which they could never escape. Now the supremely advanced Caeliar will brook no further intrusion upon their isolation, or against the sanctity of their Great Work….For the small, finite lives of mere mortals carry little weight in the calculations of gods. But even gods may come to understand that they underestimate humans at their peril.

Gods of Night (Star Trek: Destiny #1)

Gods of Night (Star Trek: Destiny #1)

David Mack

Published: 2008 | Pages:429

My Rating: 3/5

Description: Elsewhere, deep in the Gamma Quadrant, an ancient mystery is solved. One of Earth’s first generation of starships, lost for centuries, has been found dead and empty on a desolate planet. But its discovery so far from home has raised disturbing questions, and the answers harken back to a struggle for survival that once tested a captain and her crew to the limits of their humanity. From that terrifying flashpoint begins an apocalyptic odyssey that will reach across time and space to reveal the past, define the future, and show three captains — Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise, TM William Riker of the U.S.S. Titan, and Ezri Dax of the U.S.S Aventine — that some destinies are inescapable.

The Mote in God's Eye (Moties, #1)

The Mote in God’s Eye (Moties, #1)

Larry Niven

Published: 1974 | Pages:596

My Rating: 4/5
Been wanting to get to this for a while. Its a bit long 20hrs for the audio) but still pretty good.

Description:

Arthas: Rise of the Lich King (World of Warcraft, #6)

Arthas: Rise of the Lich King (World of Warcraft, #6)

Christie Golden

Published: 2009 | Pages:320

My Rating: 3/5
Aside from the first 25% or so of this book, this is essentially Warcraft 3, the Book. the early section covers the early parts of Arthas’ life. As such, its an OK read adding a bit to the lore if you are mostly already familiar with it. If you are not familiar with it many of the later events may come off completely random and disjointed. For example, Illidan shows up and Art has sends him off on a mission, only to later reappear at the end of the book at the climax. None of Illidan’s story really is told though as to how he got to where he was.Probably the most interesting aspect is reading a story that follows the villain. Arthas is sort of the Darth Vader of Warcraft, except instead of saving Luke and redeeming himself he just is super evil. Its an interesting change from a story perspective as its not a common viewpoint.

Description: The uncanny elemental spirit drew its icy sword. “Turn away, before it is too late,” it intoned. * * *His evil is legend. Lord of the undead Scourge, wielder of the runeblade Frostmourne, and enemy of the free peoples of Azeroth. The Lich King is an entity of incalculable power and unparalleled malice — his icy soul utterly consumed by his plans to destroy all life on the World of Warcraft.But it was not always so. Long before his soul was fused with that of the orc shaman Ner’zhul, the Lich King was Arthas Menethil, crown prince of Lordaeron and faithful paladin of the Silver Hand.When a plague of undeath threatened all that he loved, Arthas was driven to pursue an ill-fated quest for a runeblade powerful enough to save his homeland. Yet the object of his search would exact a heavy price from its new master, beginning a horrifying descent into damnation. Arthas’s path would lead him through the arctic northern wastes toward the Frozen Throne, where he would face, at long last, the darkest of destinies.

Redshirts

Redshirts

John Scalzi

Published: 2012 | Pages:320

My Rating: 3/5
_______ said…. _______ said…. _______ said…. _______ said…. _______ said….Cute story that has kind of a reduculous nonsensical resolution that doesn’t really make sense even with the self referencing plot elements. Essentially it works because the author says it works.

Description: Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory.Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that: (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expended on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 6

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 6

James Roberts

Published: 2012 | Pages:364

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

A Lonely Resurrection (John Rain, #2)

A Lonely Resurrection (John Rain, #2)

Barry Eisler

Published: 2003 | Pages:352

My Rating: 4/5

Description: Aided by an achingly desirable half Brazilian, half Japanese exotic dancer he knows he shouldn’t trust, Rain pursues his quarry through underground no-holds-barred fight clubs, mobbed-up hostess bars, and finally into the heart of a shadow war between the CIA and the yakuza. It’s a war Rain can’t win, but also one he can’t afford to lose–a war where the distinctions between friend and foe and truth and deceit are as murky as the rain-slicked streets of Tokyo.”… a superlative job… entertaining and suspenseful enough to keep you turning the pages as fast as your eyes can follow.” –Chicago Sun Times

A Clean Kill in Tokyo (John Rain, #1)

A Clean Kill in Tokyo (John Rain, #1)

Barry Eisler

Published: 2003 | Pages:363

My Rating: 4/5

Description: Name: John Rain.Vocation: Assassin.Specialty: Natural Causes.Base of operations: Tokyo.Availability: Worldwide.Half American, half Japanese, expert in both worlds but at home in neither, John Rain is the best killer money can buy. You tell him who. You tell him where. He doesn’t care about why…Until he gets involved with Midori Kawamura, a beautiful jazz pianist–and the daughter of his latest kill.

Gutenberg the Geek

Gutenberg the Geek

Jeff Jarvis

Published: 2012 | Pages:20

Description:

BioShock Infinite: Mind in Revolt

BioShock Infinite: Mind in Revolt

Joe Fielder

Published: 2013 | Pages:31

My Rating: 3/5

Description:

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 5

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 5

Shane McCarthy

Published: 2011 | Pages:352

My Rating: 4/5

Description: All Hail Megatron storyline, plus the four CODA issues that followed.

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury

Published: 1953 | Pages:158

My Rating: 3/5

Description:

The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler’s Wife

Audrey Niffenegger

Published: 2003 | Pages:537

My Rating: 5/5

Description:

xkcd: volume 0

xkcd: volume 0

Randall Munroe

Published: 2009 | Pages:120

My Rating: 5/5

Description: xkcd as a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. While it’s practically required reading in the geek community, xkcd fans are as varied as the comic’s subject matter. This book creates laughs from science jokes on one page to relationship humor on another.xkcd: volume 0 is the first book from the immensely popular webcomic with a passionate readership (just Google “xkcd meetup”).The artist selected personal and fan favorites from his first 600 comics. It was lovingly assembled from high-resolution original scans of the comics (the mouseover text is discreetly included), and features a lot of doodles, notes, and puzzles in the margins.The book is published by Breadpig, which donates all of the publisher profits from this book to Room to Read for promoting literacy in the developing world.

Legion (Legion, #1)

Legion (Legion, #1)

Brandon Sanderson

Published: 2012 | Pages:88

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, #1)

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, #1)

Seth Grahame-Smith

Published: 2010 | Pages:336

My Rating: 2/5
Admitedly, I.am not a huge fan of vampires and horror or history, but I do like gimmicks. the gimmick here is interesting but the execution leaves a little to be desired. Most Historical Fantasy works better if it works around history and not so blantantly in the middle of it.

Description: Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother’s bedside. She’s been stricken with something the old-timers call “Milk Sickness.””My baby boy…” she whispers before dying.Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother’s fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, “henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose…” Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Volume 4: Still Friends

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Volume 4: Still Friends

Sean McKeever

Published: 2007 | Pages:96

My Rating: 3/5

Description: Collecting: Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 16-20

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Volume 3: My Secret Life

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Volume 3: My Secret Life

Sean McKeever

Published: 2007 | Pages:120

My Rating: 5/5

Description: Plus: Gwen Stacy has a problem with Peter, and MJ has a secret. Collecting: Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 11-15

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Volume 1

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Volume 1

Sean McKeever

Published: 2006 | Pages:304

My Rating: 5/5

Description: Marvel’s most mischievous melodrama, as featured in Entertainment Weekly’s Must List!Whether she’s going to school or hanging out with her friends at the Coffee Bean, Mary Jane Watson is always the center of attention. But what no one knows is that this gorgeous redhead’s exuberant personality is a shell designed to make her forget about life’s harsh realities. From her social life to her undying interest in becoming an actress to her crush on that costumed crime-fighter who swings along the New York City rooftops, it’s clear Mary Jane just wants to escape. Join MJ, Harry Osborn, Liz Allen, Flash Thompson and Harry’s nerdy friend, Peter Parker, as they experience the thrilling highs and the crushing lows of high-school existence in this electric teen drama! Collecting: Mary Jane 1-4, Mary Jane: Homecoming 1-4, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 1-5

Penny Arcade Volume 2: Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings (Penny Arcade, #2)

Penny Arcade Volume 2: Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings (Penny Arcade, #2)

Jerry Holkins

Published: 2006 | Pages:168

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

Penny Arcade Volume 1: Attack of the Bacon Robots! (Penny Arcade, #1)

Penny Arcade Volume 1: Attack of the Bacon Robots! (Penny Arcade, #1)

Jerry Holkins

Published: 2006 | Pages:168

My Rating: 4/5

Description: Attack of the Bacon Robots, which includes strips, sketches, and creator commentary not available anywhere else!

2012 Reading List

Transformers: Armada Volume 1

Transformers: Armada Volume 1

Chris Sarracini

Published: 2003 | Pages:144

My Rating: 2/5
Ugn, really?The art is kind of mediocre, the story is fairly gibberish with the whole Minicons thing. the kids look like they are like 5 which is just rediculous.Basically, don’t bother and stick to the main line IDW Transformers comics.

Description: The Decepticons, feeding off the energy of captured Mini-Cons, are about to begin a hostile takeover of the Transformers home planet, Cybertron. Do Optimus Prime and the heroic Autobots stand a chance of defending the planet against these super-powered villains? And will the Mini-Cons ever get their freedom back? The action is so explosive that the shock waves will shake not only Cybertron but even planet Earth right down to the core!

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)

L. Frank Baum

Published: 1900 | Pages:154

My Rating: 3/5

Description: Come along, Toto, she said. We will go to the Emerald City and ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again. Swept away from her home in Kansas by a tornado, Dorothy and her dog Toto find themselves stranded in the fantastical Land of Oz. As instructed by the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins, Dorothy sets off on the yellow brick road to try and find her way to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz, who can help her get home. With her companions the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy experiences an adventure full of friendship, magic and danger. A much-loved children’s classic, The Wizard of Oz continues to delight readers young and old with its enchanting tale of witches, flying monkeys and silver shoes.

Shortpacked!, Vol. 1: Brings Back The Eighties

Shortpacked!, Vol. 1: Brings Back The Eighties

David Willis

Published: 2005 | Pages:135

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter

The Waiter

Published: 2008 | Pages:302

My Rating: 3/5

Description: Waiter Rant offers the server’s unique point of view, replete with tales of customer stupidity, arrogant misbehavior, and unseen bits of human grace transpiring in the most unlikely places. Through outrageous stories, The Waiter reveals the secrets to getting good service, proper tipping etiquette, and how to keep him from spitting in your food. The Waiter also shares his ongoing struggle, at age thirty-eight, to figure out if he can finally leave the first job at which he’s truly thrived.

AFK

AFK

Huckleberry Hax

Published: 2008 | Pages:206

Description: A Second Life® detective reflects on cases and confessions, on love, on anger, on understanding Second Life as perhaps the greatest liberator there has ever been, and on falling for the oldest trick in the book, just the same…

The Ralph S. Mouse Audio Collection (Ralph #1-3)

The Ralph S. Mouse Audio Collection (Ralph #1-3)

Beverly Cleary

Published: 1980 | Pages:7

My Rating: 5/5
These were my favorite books when I was a kid and I found them just as enjoyable today. My only real complaint was thatbthe collection from Audible puts them out of order with what should be the last book in the second position.

Description: Mouse and the MotorcycleRalph S. MouseRunaway Ralph

Kill Decision

Kill Decision

Daniel Suarez

Published: 2012 | Pages:400

My Rating: 3/5
I absolitely love Daemon and FreedomTM, probably my favorite books ever. Kill Decision is not part of that series but has some vaguely similar themes. It’s an interesting concept of Drones gone ary and is a decent read but not nearly as good as Daniel Suarez’s previous two novels. It starts off strong but seems to kind of wander off later in the story without a clear direction. We jump from single airplane like drones to insectile swarms with little real explanation.

Description: Unmanned weaponized drones already exist—they’re widely used by America in our war efforts in the Middle East. In Kill Decision, bestselling author Daniel Suarez takes that fact and the real science behind it one step further, with frightening results. Linda McKinney is a myrmecologist, a scientist who studies the social structure of ants. Her academic career has left her entirely unprepared for the day her sophisticated research is conscripted by unknown forces to help run an unmanned—and thanks to her research, automated—drone army. Odin is the secretive Special Ops soldier with a unique insight into the faceless enemy who has begun to attack the American homeland with drones programmed to seek, identify, and execute targets without human intervention. Together, McKinney and Odin must slow this advance long enough for the world to recognize its destructive power, because for thousands of years the “kill decision” during battle has remained in the hands of humans—and off-loading that responsibility to machines will bring unintended, possibly irreversible, consequences. But as forces even McKinney and Odin don’t understand begin to gather, and death rains down from above, it may already be too late to save humankind from destruction at the hands of our own technology.

Lucifer's Hammer

Lucifer’s Hammer

Larry Niven

Published: 1977 | Pages:629

My Rating: 3/5

Description: THE LUCKY ONES WENT FIRST…The gigantic comet has slammed into Earth, forging earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale, tidal waves thousands of feet high. Cities were turned into oceans; oceans turned into steam. It was the beginning of a new Ice Age and the end of civilizationBut for the terrified men and women chance had saved, it was also the dawn of a new struggle for survival—a struggle more dangerous and challenging than any they had ever known….

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 4

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 4

Simon Furman

Published: 2011 | Pages:352

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, #1)

One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, #1)

Janet Evanovich

Published: 1994 | Pages:320

My Rating: 4/5

Description: She’s a product of the “burg,” a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six.Out of work and out of money, Stephanie blackmails her bail-bondsman cousin Vinnie into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Stephanie knows zilch about the job requirements, but she figures her new pal, el-primo bounty hunter Ranger, can teach her what it takes to catch a crook. Her first nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. Morelli’s the inamorato who charmed Stephanie out of her virginity at age sixteen. There’s still powerful chemistry between them, so the chase should be interesting…and could also be extremely dangerous.

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)

Suzanne Collins

Published: 2010 | Pages:390

My Rating: 3/5

Description: My name is Katniss Everdeen.Why am I not dead?I should be dead.Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss’s family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans—except Katniss.The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay—no matter what the personal cost.

Lullaby

Lullaby

Chuck Palahniuk

Published: 2002 | Pages:260

My Rating: 3/5
An interesting idea with the whole killing poem. Unfortunately like a lot of Palahniuk’s books it kind of falls apart into meaningless randomness and repetition of the same concepts during the middle half of the book.I found it enjoyable though, better than Survivor.

Description: Lullaby is a comedy/drama/tragedy. In that order. It may also be Chuck Palahniuk’s best book yet.

11/22/63

11/22/63

Stephen King

Published: 2011 | Pages:849

My Rating: 4/5

Description: In 2011, Jake Epping, an English teacher from Lisbon Falls, Maine, sets out on an insane — and insanely possible — mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination.Leaving behind a world of computers and mobile phones, he goes back to a time of big American cars and diners, of Lindy Hopping, the sound of Elvis, and the taste of root beer.In this haunting world, Jake falls in love with Sadie, a beautiful high school librarian. And, as the ominous date of 11/22/63 approaches, he encounters a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald…

Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)

Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)

Ernest Cline

Published: 2011 | Pages:374

My Rating: 3/5
This books kind of comes off to me as a Daemon Lite. Or maybe a better comparison is Snow Crash Lite. It has it’s moments at times but other parts are really sappy and kind of meh.Then there are the awkward segments, mostly in the first third of the book, where the author just starts rambling off bullet point lists of 80s pop culture. “Here are a list of John Hughes films”, “Here’s a list of Rush songs”, “Here’s a list of popular Atari titles.”All the pop culture references are neat but it makes things feel pandering and unoriginal.Not to mention the wholely annoying aspect of this book being set in 2045 yet somehow NOTHING of significance has happened since like 2010 and everyone is obsessed with the 80s. It’s like the friendly Steve Jobs Mary Sue who is running the contest was somehow managed to just roll back original thinking the day he Oasis world.It is an ok read with it’s moments but the obsession witg the 80s actually kibd of ruins it.

Description: Librarian’s note: An alternate cover edition can be found hereIN THE YEAR 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)

Suzanne Collins

Published: 2008 | Pages:374

My Rating: 2/5
The books starts off a little slow and repedetive with its “I am going to dump on myself but why does everyone think I am so great?” schtick. It picks up a bit when the game itself starts and oddly this plot point of Katniss not getting why people like her mysteriously just seems to vanish. There is a point where the characters are frustrated because they can’t really figure out what Katniss’ real personality is, unfortunately, this holds true in the story as well. She just is what she needs to be for the story. She can Hunt, and … well, hunt… otherwise she mostly just acts confused and lost.Things move along for a bit before the rather forced romance subplot tries to push it’s way to the front making things a little confused on what we are supposed to focus on and really care about. By the end, we don’t get the twist we hope for (though I suspect it may show up in the sequels) and what we are left with is a rather predictable torn romance story about a couple of kids trying to kill one another.Also, the level of class disparity between the Districts and the City seems a little too far fetched, not to mention that it is hard to tell just how many people are in this world. There is little real history on the world at large other than it exists in the remains of North America. Are there others still living in the world on other continents? If District 12 has somethibg 8000 people (the only population given by the book), how avout the other districts? even if they have twice as many people, that still is well under a million people not counting the Capital, which couldn’t be too large given it is supported by the backs of what are essentially slaves from the districts. Basically, the story is ok, but there are aome holes in the world which leave questions.

Description: Could you survive on your own in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don’t live to see the morning?In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weight survival against humanity and life against love.

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)

Suzanne Collins

Published: 2009 | Pages:391

My Rating: 4/5
I really liked this a lot more than The Hunger Games, which I pretty much hated. Basically, this book feels like the book that The Hunger Games wanted to be but failed miserably at pulling off. Kind of predictable though actually.

Description: Sparks are igniting.Flames are spreading.And the Capitol wants revenge. Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol—a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create. Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before . . . and surprising readers at every turn.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs

Walter Isaacson

Published: 2011 | Pages:630

My Rating: 3/5
Despite that I pretty much hate Apple, I already knew a surprisingly large portion of the history of Steve Jobs. That said, while the book was interesting, it didn’t really teach me anything new. If anything, it mostly just served to reaffirm the idea that Jobs’ is a pretty smart guy but he’s also pretty much a huge self entitled asshole.

Description:

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 3

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 3

Simon Furman

Published: 2011 | Pages:348

My Rating: 4/5

Description: Devastation, as well as Spotlights: Galvatron, Ramjet, Wheelie, Blaster, Arcee, Grimlock, and Mirage.

Survivor

Survivor

Chuck Palahniuk

Published: 1999 | Pages:289

My Rating: 3/5
I do enjoy a lot of aspects about this book, there are some interesting concepts and ideas, but there are also some kind of morbid points and a bit too much repetition on some other points that I dislike. It is a good read and has kind of a “What really happened?” sort of end, which I like.

Description: Fight Club comes this wickedly incisive second novel, a mesmerizing, unnerving, and hilarious vision of cult and post-cult life.Tender Branson—last surviving member of the so-called Creedish Death Cult—is dictating his life story into the flight recorder of Flight 2039, cruising on autopilot at 39,000 feet somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. He is all alone in the airplane, which will crash shortly into the vast Australian outback. Before it does, he will unfold the tale of his journey from an obedient Creedish child and humble domestic servant to an ultra-buffed, steroid- and collagen-packed media messiah, author of a best-selling autobiography, Saved from Salvation, and the even better selling Book of Very Common Prayer (The Prayer to Delay Orgasm, The Prayer to Prevent Hair Loss, The Prayer to Silence Car Alarms). He’ll reveal the truth of his tortured romance with the elusive and prescient Fertility Hollis, share his insight that “the only difference between suicide and martyrdom is press coverage,” and deny responsibility for the Tender Branson Sensitive Materials Sanitary Landfill, a 20,000-acre repository for the nation’s outdated pornography. Among other matters both bizarre and trenchant.Not since Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night and Jerzy Kosinski’s Being There has there been as dark and telling a satire on the wages of fame and the bedrock lunacy of the modern world. Unpredictable, compelling, and unforgettable, Survivor is Chuck Palahniuk at his deadpan peak; and it cements his place as one of the most original writers in fiction today.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 2

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 2

Naoko Takeuchi

Published: 2003 | Pages:235

My Rating: 5/5
Consideraly better from a plot and structure standpoint then volume 1 which suffers horribly from it’s introduction heavy plots.

Description:

Girl Parts

Girl Parts

John M. Cusick

Published: 2010 | Pages:218

My Rating: 2/5
This is essentially what Short Circuit would be like if, instead of a Nuclear Warmachine, Johnny Five was a 17 year old girl.It starts out kind of interesting but ends up a little odd and kind of lame.

Description: From a debut author! What happens when a robot designed to be a boy’s ideal “companion” develops a will of her own? A compulsively readable novel from a new talent. (Ages 14 and up)David and Charlie are opposites. David has a million friends, online and off. Charlie is a soulful outsider, off the grid completely. But neither feels close to anybody. When David’s parents present him with a hot Companion bot designed to encourage healthy bonds and treat his “dissociative disorder,” he can’t get enough of luscious redheaded Rose –and he can’t get it soon. Companions come with strict intimacy protocols, and whenever he tries anything, David gets an electric shock. Parted from the boy she was built to love, Rose turns to Charlie, who finds he can open up, knowing Rose isn’t real. With Charlie’s help, the ideal “companion” is about to become her own best friend. In a stunning and hilarious debut, John Cusick takes rollicking aim at internet culture and our craving for meaningful connection in an uberconnected world.

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 2

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 2

Simon Furman

Published: 2010 | Pages:392

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)

Stieg Larsson

Published: 2005 | Pages:480

My Rating: 4/5

Description: An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.

Neko Ramen: Curry Is Also Delicious!

Neko Ramen: Curry Is Also Delicious!

Kenji Sonishi

Published: 2010 | Pages:160

My Rating: 3/5
Picked this up for like 90% off at a closing Borders because it has a neat cat and is about Ramen. It’s ok. It seems to be more of a serialized strip of spme sort. Some of the jokes also seem to be lost in culture or translation.

Description:

101 Incredible Experiments for the Weekend Scientist

101 Incredible Experiments for the Weekend Scientist

Rob Beattie

Published: 2007 | Pages:128

My Rating: 4/5
This is a decent little selection of sciency experiments and weekend projects. many of the projects can be greatly improved if you know what you’re doing but it does a decent job of keeping things simple and layman.If you are like me and know a lot about Physics and Chemistry you may find it a little too simplistic.

Description:

Star Trek: Countdown

Star Trek: Countdown

Mike Johnson

Published: 2009 | Pages:102

Description: Star Trek, the upcoming blockbuster film from Paramount Pictures! JJ Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman present the origin of Nero, the mysterious Romulan who will ultimately threaten the survival of the entire universe. Don’t miss this story that brings STAR TREK back to the big screen!

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 1 (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Renewal Edition, #1)

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 1 (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Renewal Edition, #1)

Naoko Takeuchi

Published: 2003 | Pages:240

My Rating: 4/5
I have seen much of the show but read none of the manga. A decent though somewhat simplistic story design. it actually mostly just makes me want to watch the show again where a bit more happens.

Description: This new edition of Sailor Moon will feature:- An entirely new, incredibly accurate translation!- Japanese-style, right-to-left reading!- New cover art never before seen in the U.S.!- The original Japanese character names!- Detailed translation notes!This version of Sailor Moon will be completely true to original. Join us as Sailor Moon returns to the U.S. for the first time in years!

Bumblebee & Me: Life as a G1 Transformer

Bumblebee & Me: Life as a G1 Transformer

Dan Gilvezan

Published: 2011 | Pages:106

My Rating: 5/5
I really rather enjoyed this book. It is essentially a telling of Dan Gilvezan’s time working with the transformers cartoon series over the years. it is pretty much limited to The Transformers.Also of note, the audio version is available via Audible cheaper thant he paper or eBook edition. It is also read by Dan Gilvezan himself. Considering he does voice work for a living, I have to say it is excellent to hear him doing the read and even if you don’t really do Audiobooks, the Audio version of this book is probably a better experience than the print edition. Also of note, it’s pretty short. The audiobook was something like 90 minutes.

Description: Gilvezan,

2011 Reading List

Transformers Movie Prequel: Saga of the Allspark

Transformers Movie Prequel: Saga of the Allspark

Simon Furman

Published: 2009 | Pages:108

My Rating: 2/5

Description:

The Sacrifice and Other Steam-Powered Stories

The Sacrifice and Other Steam-Powered Stories

Various

Published: 2011 | Pages:208

My Rating: 5/5

Description: Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, and Portal. With over two hundred pages of story, Valve Presents: The sacrifice and other Steam-Powered Stories is a must-read for fans looking to further explore the games they love or comics readers interested in dipping their toes into new mythos!

The Quirky, Nerdy, and Entirely Original Elementary School Adventures of Derpy Dirk: Derpy Dirk and the Fight With the School Bully By the Flagpole At Lunch -- a Derp Sandwich chapter book

The Quirky, Nerdy, and Entirely Original Elementary School Adventures of Derpy Dirk: Derpy Dirk and the Fight With the School Bully By the Flagpole At Lunch — a Derp Sandwich chapter book

Jack Thomas

Published: 2011 | Pages:0

So this is basically a parody of middle school books like Diaries of a Wimpy Kid or Superfudge. it is actually fairly well written but it’s a little too blatant and over the top with it’s parody at times. It certainly hits on the way this type of book tends to feel somewhat disjointed in it’s chapters and tends to go into extraneoud pointless details concerning points relevant to neither plot or atmosphere.

Description:

Freedom™ (Daemon, #2)

Freedom™ (Daemon, #2)

Daniel Suarez

Published: 2010 | Pages:406

My Rating: 5/5
A fantastic look at a world not ao much unlike our own. The Darknet really could be a good solution to a lot of our problems.Also of note is how Daemon has us rooting for society against The Daemon while FreedomTM completely turns this arond.

Description: The propulsive, shockingly plausible sequel to New York Times bestseller Daemon, the “Greatest. Techno-thriller. Period.”**William O’Brien, former director of cybersecurity and communications systems policy at the White House2009 saw one of the most inventive techno-thriller debuts in decades as Daniel Suarez introduced his terrifying and tantalizing vision of a new world order. Daemon captured the attention of the tech community, became a national bestseller, garnered attention from futurists, literary critics, and the halls of government-leaving readers clamoring for the conclusion to Suarez’s epic story.In the opening chapters of Freedom™, the Daemon is well on its way toward firm control of the modern world, using an expanded network of real-world, dispossessed darknet operatives to tear apart civilization and rebuild it anew. Civil war breaks out in the American Midwest, with the mainstream media stoking public fear in the face of this “Corn Rebellion.” Former detective Pete Sebeck, now the Daemon’s most famous and most reluctant operative, must lead a small band of enlightened humans in a populist movement designed to protect the new world order.But the private armies of global business are preparing to crush the Daemon once and for all. In a world of conflicted loyalties, rapidly diminishing government control, and a new choice between free will and the continuing comforts of ignorance, the stakes could not be higher: hanging in the balance is nothing less than democracy’s last hope to survive the technology revolution.

The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal

The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal

Ben Mezrich

Published: 2009 | Pages:255

My Rating: 2/5
An okish dramatization about the founding of Facebook. There is a LOT of obvious conjecture, assumption and exaggeration. If you want the real history read Wikipedia inatead. It also tends to spur off into random tangents at odd times making assumptions about the people involved or just flat out advertising Facebook and it’s many features and how it will “change the world!”

Description: Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg were Harvard undergraduates and best friends–outsiders at a school filled with polished prep-school grads and long-time legacies. They shared both academic brilliance in math and a geeky awkwardness with women.Eduardo figured their ticket to social acceptance–and sexual success–was getting invited to join one of the university’s Final Clubs, a constellation of elite societies that had groomed generations of the most powerful men in the world and ranked on top of the inflexible hierarchy at Harvard. Mark, with less of an interest in what the campus alpha males thought of him, happened to be a computer genius of the first order.Which he used to find a more direct route to social one lonely night, Mark hacked into the university’s computer system, creating a ratable database of all the female students on campus–and subsequently crashing the university’s servers and nearly getting himself kicked out of school. In that moment, in his Harvard dorm room, the framework for Facebook was born.What followed–a real-life adventure filled with slick venture capitalists, stunning women, and six-foot-five-inch identical-twin Olympic rowers–makes for one of the most entertaining and compelling books of the year. Before long, Eduardo’s and Mark’s different ideas about Facebook created in their relationship faint cracks, which soon spiraled into out-and-out warfare. The collegiate exuberance that marked their collaboration fell prey to the adult world of lawyers and money. The great irony is that while Facebook succeeded by bringing people together, its very success tore two best friends apart.The Accidental Billionaires is a compulsively readable story of innocence lost–and of the unusual creation of a company that has revolutionized the way hundreds of millions of people relate to one another.Ben Mezrich, a Harvard graduate, has published ten books, including the New York Times bestseller Bringing Down the House . He is a columnist for Boston Common and a contributor for Flush magazine. Ben lives in Boston with his wife, Tonya.

Roomies! or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Beer

Roomies! or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Beer

David Willis

Published: 2009 | Pages:135

My Rating: 3/5

Description:

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History (Maus, #1)

Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History (Maus, #1)

Art Spiegelman

Published: 1986 | Pages:159

My Rating: 2/5

Description: A brutally moving work of art—widely hailed as the greatest graphic novel ever written—Maus recounts the chilling experiences of the author’s father during the Holocaust, with Jews drawn as wide-eyed mice and Nazis as menacing cats.Maus is a haunting tale within a tale, weaving the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father into an astonishing retelling of one of history’s most unspeakable tragedies. It is an unforgettable story of survival and a disarming look at the legacy of trauma.

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)

Stephen King

Published: 1982 | Pages:231

My Rating: 2/5

Description: He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which frighteningly mirrors our own, Roland pursues The Man in Black, encounters an alluring woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the Kid from Earth called Jake. Both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike, The Gunslinger leaves readers eagerly awaiting the next chapter.

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 1

Transformers: The IDW Collection, Volume 1

Simon Furman

Published: 2010 | Pages:392

My Rating: 4/5

Description: Megatron Origin #1-4, Spotlight: Blurr, Spotlight: Cliffjumper, Spotlight: Shockwave, Spotlight: Nightbeat, Spotlight: Hotrod, and Infiltration #0-6.

Daemon (Daemon, #1)

Daemon (Daemon, #1)

Daniel Suarez

Published: 2006 | Pages:432

My Rating: 5/5
The world is brought to it’s knees by a complex series of if else-if statements. Decent enough though the Daemon’s adaptability almost makes the plot too unbelievable to swallow.

Description: Matthew Sobol was a legendary computer game designer—the architect behind half-a-dozen popular online games. His premature death depressed both gamers and his company’s stock price. But Sobol’s fans aren’t the only ones to note his passing. When his obituary is posted online, a previously dormant daemon activates, initiating a chain of events intended to unravel the fabric of our hyper-efficient, interconnected world. With Sobol’s secrets buried along with him, and as new layers of his daemon are unleashed at every turn, it’s up to an unlikely alliance to decipher his intricate plans and wrest the world from the grasp of a nameless, faceless enemy—or learn to live in a society in which we are no longer in control. . . . Computer technology expert Daniel Suarez blends haunting high-tech realism with gripping suspense in an authentic, complex thriller in the tradition of Michael Crichton, Neal Stephenson, and William Gibson.

Shortpacked!, Vol.3: Is Totally Gay

Shortpacked!, Vol.3: Is Totally Gay

David Willis

Published: 2010 | Pages:136

My Rating: 3/5

Description:

Heroes: Volume One

Heroes: Volume One

Tim Sale

Published: 2007 | Pages:240

My Rating: 4/5
An interesting bit of exttas in the Heroes universe. Probably completely confusing if you’ve not seen the show.

Description: This volume — featuring a cover by comics legend Alex Ross — also includes an introduction by Masi Oka (Hiro), all 34 chapters of Season One, and Tim Sale’s artwork as seen on the show. The comics included have been written and illustrated by some of comics’ and television’s top writers and artists, including Michael Turner, Phil Jimenez, Marcus To, and more!

The Transformers: Alliance - The Revenge of the Fallen Movie Prequel #1

The Transformers: Alliance – The Revenge of the Fallen Movie Prequel #1

Chris Mowry

Published: 2009 | Pages:104

My Rating: 2/5

Description: In this second chapter of the Destiny story arc, “Defiance,” delves into the very origins of Cybertron and the beginnings of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. Discover the events that sets up the reasons for the conflict that leads directly into this summer’s sequel to the smash-hit film, courtesy of writer Chris Mowry (The Transformers Movie Sequel: Reign of Starscream) and artist Dan Khanna (Transformers Spotlight: Doubledealer).

Shortpacked!, Vol. 2: Pulls the Drama Tag

Shortpacked!, Vol. 2: Pulls the Drama Tag

David Willis

Published: 2008 | Pages:135

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes And Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes And Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance

Steven D. Levitt

Published: 2009 | Pages:270

Description: Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What’s more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunk? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it’s so ineffective? Can a sex change boost your salary?SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as:How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?How much good do car seats do?What’s the best way to catch a terrorist?Did TV cause a rise in crime?What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?Are people hard-wired for altruism or selfishness?Can eating kangaroo save the planet?Which adds more value: a pimp or a Realtor?Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling like no one else, whether investigating a solution to global warming or explaining why the price of oral sex has fallen so drastically. By examining how people respond to incentives, they show the world for what it really is – good, bad, ugly, and, in the final analysis, super freaky.Freakonomics has been imitated many times over – but only now, with SuperFreakonomics, has it met its match.

2010 Reading List

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 3: Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 3: Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness

Bryan Lee O’Malley

Published: 2006 | Pages:192

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together

Bryan Lee O’Malley

Published: 2007 | Pages:216

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe

Bryan Lee O’Malley

Published: 2009 | Pages:184

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour

Bryan Lee O’Malley

Published: 2010 | Pages:245

My Rating: 5/5

Description:

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (Scott Pilgrim, #1)

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life (Scott Pilgrim, #1)

Bryan Lee O’Malley

Published: 2004 | Pages:168

My Rating: 5/5

Description:

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Scott Pilgrim, #2)

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Scott Pilgrim, #2)

Bryan Lee O’Malley

Published: 2005 | Pages:200

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

Dvorak's Guide to PC Telecommunications

Dvorak’s Guide to PC Telecommunications

John C. Dvorak

Published: 1990 | Pages:1053

Description:

Byte Me!

Byte Me!

Robert P. Libbon

Published: 1996 | Pages:208

Description: In this book you’ll learn how to crash your computer almost as well as Windows does, remove computer screws embedded in your forehead from pounding your head in frustration, avoid vendors who advertise “Incredible Bait and Switch Deals!”, and learn if your Software Licensing Agreement carries more obligations than a favor from Don Corleone.

Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho

Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho

Jon Katz

Published: 2000 | Pages:256

My Rating: 3/5

Description:  “Too often, writing about the online world lacks emotional punch, but Katz’s obvious love for his ‘lost boys’ gives his narrative a rich taste.”— The New York Times Book ReviewJesse and Eric were geeks: suspicious of authority figures, proud of their status as outsiders, fervent in their belief in the positive power of technology. High school had been an unbearable experience and their small-town Idaho families had been torn apart by hard times. On the fringe of society, they had almost no social lives and little to look forward to. They spent every spare cent on their computers and every spare moment online. Nobody ever spoke of them, much less for them.But then they met Jon Katz, a roving journalist who suggested that, in the age of geek impresario Bill Gates, Jesse and Eric had marketable skills that could get them out of Idaho and pave the way to a better life. So they bravely set out to conquer Chicago—geek style. Told with Katz’s trademark charm and sparkle,  Geeks  is a humorous, moving tale of triumph over adversity and self-acceptance that delivers two irresistible heroes for the digital age and reveals the very human face of technology. Praise for  Geeks“Ultimately,  Geeks  is not a story about the Internet or computers or techies. It is a story about personal bonds, optimism, access to opportunity, and the courage to dream.” — Salon“An uplifting and hugely compassionate book.” — Philadelphia Inquirer “A story of friendship, optimism, social despair, and an updated version of that American icon, the tinkerer.” — USA Today

Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged

Ayn Rand

Published: 1957 | Pages:1168

My Rating: 1/5

Description: This is the story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world and did. Was he a destroyer or the greatest of liberators?Why did he have to fight his battle, not against his enemies, but against those who needed him most, and his hardest battle against the woman he loved? What is the world’s motor — and the motive power of every man? You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the characters in this story. Tremendous in its scope, this novel presents an astounding panorama of human life — from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy — to the great steel industrialist who does not know that he is working for his own destruction — to the philosopher who becomes a pirate — to the composer who gives up his career on the night of his triumph — to the woman who runs a transcontinental railroad — to the lowest track worker in her Terminal tunnels. You must be prepared, when you read this novel, to check every premise at the root of your convictions.This is a mystery story, not about the murder — and rebirth — of man’s spirit. It is a philosophical revolution, told in the form of an action thriller of violent events, a ruthlessly brilliant plot structure and an irresistible suspense. Do you say this is impossible? Well, that is the first of your premises to check.

Falling Up

Falling Up

Shel Silverstein

Published: 1996 | Pages:178

My Rating: 4/5

Description: Millie McDeevit screamed a scream, so loud it made her eyebrows steam.She screamed so loud, her jawbone broke,Her tongue caught fire, her nostrils smoked…Poor Screamin’ Millie is just one of the unforgettable characters in this wondrous new book of poems and drawings. Here you will also meet Allison Beals and her twenty-five eels; Danny O’Dare, the dancin’ bear; the Human Balloon; and Headphone Harold.Shel Silverstein, the New York Times bestselling author of The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, and Every Thing On It, has created a poetry collection that is outrageously funny and deeply profound. So come, wander through the Nose Garden, ride the Little Hoarse, eat in the Strange Restaurant, and let the magic of Shel Silverstein open your eyes and tickle your mind.
Story List
– Advice- Allison Beals and Her 25 Eels- Alphabalance- Bad Cold- A Battle in the Sky- The Bear, the Fire, and the Snow- Best Mask?- Big Eating Contest- Bituminous?- Blood-Curdling Story- Body Language- Camp Wonderful- Carrots- Castle- Cat, a Kid, and a Mom- Cat Jacks- Cereal- Christmas Dog- Clean Gene- Complainin’ Jack- Cookwitch Sandwich- Crazy Dream- Crystal Ball- Danny O’Dare- The Deadly Eye- Dentist Dan- Description- Diving Board- Don the Dragon’s Birthday- Eggs Rated- Falling Up- Feeding Time- The Folks Inside- Foot Repair- Forgetful Paul Revere- The Former Foreman’s Story- Furniture Bash- Gardener- Glub-Glub- The Gnome, the Gnat, and the Gnu- Golden Goose- Hand Holding- Hard to Please- Haunted- Headless Town- Headphone Harold- Help!- Hi-Monster- Human Balloon- Hungry Kid Island- Hypnotized- Ice Cream Stop- Imagining- In the Land of…- James- Kanga Ruby- Keepin’ Count- Keep-Out House- Little Hoarse- Little Pig’s Treat- Long-Leg Lou and Short-Leg Sue- Long Scarf- Lyin’ Larry- Mari-Lou’s Ride- Medusa- Mirror, Mirror- Mister Moody- Molly’s Folly- Monkey- Morgan’s Curse- Mummy- Music Lesson- My Nose Garden- My Robot- My Sneaky Cousin- The Nap Taker- Needles and Pins- New World- No- No Grown-Ups- No Thank You- Noise Day- Nope- Obedient- Ooh!- One Out of Sixteen- People Zoo- Pinocchio- Plugging In- Poison-Tester- Porky- Quality Time- Reachin’ Richard- Red Flowers for You- Remote-a-Dad- Rotten Convention- Runners- Sack Race- Safe?- Scale- Screamin’ Millie- Settin’ Around- Shanna in the Sauna- Sharing- Shoe Talk- Short Kid- Show Fish- Sidewalking- Smile Makers- Snowball- Somethin’ New- Sorry I Spilled It- Spoiled Brat- Stone Airplane- Stork Story- Strange Restaurant- Stupid Pencil Maker- Sun Hat- Sybil the Magician’s Last Show- Tattooin’ Ruth- Tell Me- They Say I Have…- Tongue Sticker-Outer- The Toy Eater- Three O’clock- Three Stings- Turkey?- Unfair- Use for a Moose- The Voice- Warmhearted- Wastebasket Brother- Weavers- Web-Foot Woe- Weird-Bird- We’re Out of Paint, So…- When I Was Your Age- Why Is It?- Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda- Writer Waiting- Yuck

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA

Tim Weiner

Published: 2007 | Pages:702

My Rating: 4/5

Description: Now Pulitzer Prize–winning author Tim Weiner offers the first definitive history of the CIA—and everything is on the record. LEGACY OF ASHES is based on more than 50,000 documents, primarily from the archives of the CIA itself, and hundreds of interviews with CIA veterans, including ten Directors of Central Intelligence. It takes the CIA from its creation after World War II, through its battles in the cold war and the war on terror, to its near-collapse after September 11th, 2001.Tim Weiner’s past work on the CIA and American intelligence was hailed as “impressively reported” and “immensely entertaining” in The New York Times.The Wall Street Journal called it “truly extraordinary . . . the best book ever written on a case of espionage.” Here is the hidden history of the CIA: why eleven presidents and three generations of CIA officers have been unable to understand the world; why nearly every CIA director has left the agency in worse shape than he found it; and how these failures have profoundly jeopardized our national security.

The Bourne Identity (Jason Bourne, #1)

The Bourne Identity (Jason Bourne, #1)

Robert Ludlum

Published: 1980 | Pages:566

My Rating: 2/5

Description: Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found hereWho is Jason Bourne? Is he an assassin, a terrorist, a thief? Why has he got four million dollars in a Swiss bank account? Why has someone tried to murder him?…Jason Bourne does not know the answer to any of these questions. Suffering from amnesia, he does not even know that he is Jason Bourne. What manner of man is he? What are his secrets? Who has he killed?

2009 Reading List

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Philip K. Dick

Published: 1968 | Pages:244

My Rating: 4/5

Description:

Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)

Ender’s Game (Ender’s Saga, #1)

Orson Scott Card

Published: 1985 | Pages:324

My Rating: 5/5

Description: But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Ender’s two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military’s purpose. But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler. Valentine’s abilities turn more toward the subtle control of the beliefs of commoner and elite alike, through powerfully convincing essays. Hiding their youth and identities behind the anonymity of the computer networks, these two begin working together to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no future at all if their brother Ender fails.

1984

1984

George Orwell

Published: 1949 | Pages:328

My Rating: 4/5

Description: 1984 is still the great modern classic of “negative utopia”—a startlingly original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing, from the first sentence to the last four words. No one can deny the novel’s hold on the imaginations of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions—a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Steven D. Levitt

Published: 2005 | Pages:268

My Rating: 5/5

Description: These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life — from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing — and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives — how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of … well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and — if the right questions are asked — is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter.Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.(front flap)