ACTUAL BOOK

Barring an unlikely reading binge before Sunday, it looks like 2011 will end with 43 books read.  And Full Dark, No Stars is a perfect ending book as I received it as a gift for Christmas in 2010 and it took me most of 2011 to finally read the thing.  Not that the book was bad, I just had a hard time engaging with it and found myself frequently picking up other books in its place.  A collection of four stories, this book goes to some dark areas, even for the likes of Stephen King.  There are so many fantastic King books, this just isn’t one of them.  I’d recommend picking up one of his other collections of stories (Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, etc).   

AUDIOBOOK read by Michael York

I enjoyed Chabon’s The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, so I picked this book up to see if that was an anomaly, or if I enjoy his writing in general.  I’m not sure that I’ve decided that definitively, but I did generally enjoy this book.  I think The Final Solution is targeted to young adults as the mystery is not real complex, but it was a quick read the was entertaining.  The main character in the book is an old retired English detective that helps a refugee boy who has had his parrot stolen.  The detective’s name is never given, but it can be read that he is Sherlock Holmes and I think that Chabon intended this story as a homage to Arthur Conan Doyle’s series.  The audiobook was read and produced well and is only about 3 hours, so a good one to pick up for a short trip.

AUDIOBOOK read by Sean Runnette

This book is perfect if you’re a science geek like me.  A look at the periodic table and the fascinating stories around the elements, the book flows nicely and held my attention throughout.  Some of the stories are about how some of the elements were discovered, some about the properties of elements, and some just about the odd assortment of people that have made an impact in Chemistry and Physics.  The audiobook was well read by Sean Runnette and I didn’t find myself losing focus as I often do with non-fiction books.  I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys non-fiction and has a love of Chemistry and/or Physics. 

AUDIOBOOK read by Tony Hsieh

I love Zappos.  If you’ve never bought anything from them, you really should give it a shot.  They offer free shipping both ways, typically upgrade your shipping to 2-day, and go above and beyond to make sure you are satisfied.  A couple of weeks ago, I order two different pairs of hiking boots, was upgraded to 2-day shipping, tried both on, selected the pair I really wanted, and returned the second pair with a prepaid label from Zappos.  Super easy and I didn’t have to slog through the mall or a shoe store.  I’m hooked.  All of that is to say that if you have interest in business culture or how a company can best focus on customer service, you should read this book.  Part autobiography and part discussion of the Zappos culture, Hseih (the CEO of Zappos) crafts an easy to read and enjoyable book.  I highly recommend it.

AUDIOBOOK read by Simon Prebble

This was a pleasant surprise.  I can’t remember how I stumbled across this book, but I’m glad I picked it up as I very much enjoyed it.  The story takes place in Paris right after the final capture and exile of Napoleon.  There is an interesting historical feel to the book as it follows a young medical student who gets caught up with a gang of thieves.  The story moves well as he balances who he is supposed to be with who he is becoming.  For the audiobook, Simon Prebble does a great job with the narration.  A fairly quick read and worth the time. 

AUDIOBOOK read by multiple readers

I love David Sedaris.  I, however, do not much care for his short story choices, apparently.  I found this collection to be pretty dull.  I listened to this audiobook a month or two ago and can’t remember a single story from it.  Avoid this one and grab yourself an actual David Sedaris book.  Your life will be better for it.

AUDIOBOOK read by Tina Fey

I’m falling behind on my updates and need to get the remaining ones crammed in before the end of the year, so the rest will be short and sweet.  30 Rock is one of my favorite shows and I picked up Tina Fey’s book because of that fact.  I wasn’t disappointed as her book was hilarious as well.  Somewhat of an autobiography, Fey recounts stories from her past and displays much of the same humor that she does on 30 Rock.  Highly recommended.

ACTUAL BOOK

I’m a fan of the new trend of graphic novels, especially when more complex information like logic, mathematics, or quantum physics is concerned.  I fell in love with the life and stories of Richard Feynman ten years ago when his book Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman was recommended to me by a coworker.  It is one of my favorite books of all time and if you haven’t read it, please do so immediately.  Feynman is one of the most intelligent people to walk this earth, but he also had an uncanny ability to make the complex ideas and thoughts in this brain accessible to those of us who didn’t do so well in physics class.  This graphic novel is a quick look at parts of Feynman’s life from childhood through helping to develop the atomic bomb, to winning the Nobel prize, to his dealing with the cancer that ultimately killed him.  I enjoyed this take on his life, but I once again encourage you to pick up one of his self-written works (the before mentioned one or the follow-up).

AUDIOBOOK read by Mark Bramhall

Ugh.  I grabbed this book because I very much enjoyed Martel’s Life of Pi, but that wound up being a mistake.  I could give you a synopsis of this book, but you can find that elsewhere.  Just know that I found the book to be tedious and really didn’t enjoy any part of it.  The audiobook was well read by Bramhall, but the content left much to be desired.  There are a lot of good books out there, skip this one.

AUDIOBOOK read by George Guidall

There’s a lot going on in this book.  At it’s core, American Gods is a road-trip story that follows Shadow, a man recently released from prison whose wife died the day before he got out.  Shadow meets Mr. Wednesday on his way home and accepts a job as Mr. Wednesday’s driver and bodyguard.  In the adventures that follow, Shadow learns that Mr. Wednesday and a cast of others that they meet are all gods who came to America in the minds of immigrants and are now eking out an existence without the worship and sacrifices that they used to receive.  The story itself is quite good, but combined with the themes of religion, culture change, and sacrifice, it winds up being a great novel.  I enjoyed this book and the audiobook is expertly read by Guidall.