The Pptarmigan

Book 11 (54): Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me - Ben Karlin

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:17:24 -0600

AUDIOBOOK read by the authors

Should I read it? Maybe. A collection of short stories, some do better than others. I enjoyed the audiobook for the most part as the authors read their own stories, but the common theme actually wound up making the collection a little tedious. Often funny, it may be best to pick it up and read the stories over a longer period of time to avoid some monotony.

Book 10 (53): Plan B - Jonathan Tropper

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:13:24 -0600

Actual Book

Should I read it? Yes, if you’re in you’re between the ages of 28 and 42. In fact, you should read all of Jonathan Tropper’s novels if you’re in that age range. Plan B is a quick read with engaging characters and my only disappointment is that I’ve now read all of Tropper’s books and have to wait until he releases a new one.

Book 9 (52): Super Sad True Love Story - Gary Shteyngart

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:54:40 -0600

AUDIOBOOK read by Adam Grupper and Ali Ahn

Should I read it? Probably. It’s fairly sad, the characters are generally unlikable, and the dialog is at times annoying. But despite those things and my attempts to dislike it, I found myself ultimately enjoying this book. Told through a series of diary entries, emails, and text messages by the two main characters, the structure was fresh and engaging. Avoid if you dislike stories set in a dystopian future or ones that don’t have a clean happy ending.

Book 8 (51): The Steel Wave - Jeff Shaara

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:37:49 -0600

ACTUAL BOOK

Should I read it? If you have any love of history, and specifically WWII, then yes. Actually, you should read The Rising Tide first since it’s the first in this trilogy and then you should read this one. I’m a huge fan of Shaara’s historical fiction and highly recommend all of them.

Book 7 (50): Scorecasting - Tobias J. Moskowitz & L. Jon Wertheim

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 07:47:33 -0600

AUDIOBOOK read by Zach McLarty

Should I read it? Only if you really dig statistics and sports. This book is Freakanomics for sports, but unlike unlike its inspiration, I found Scorecasting somewhat tedious and too focused on the numbers. This is more of a problem with the audiobook since you don’t have the ability to skim ahead. In general, the concepts are interesting, but the writing could be improved.

Book 6 (49): A Red Herring Without Mustard - Alan Bradley

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:53:16 -0700

AUDIOBOOK read by Jayne Entwistle

Should I read it? Yes, if you’ve read the first two Flavia de Luce mysteries. Bradley continues his series with the 11-year old protagonist and it is as enjoyable as the first two in the series. The chemistry angle gets a little old, but that is easily overlooked in this quick read. Entwistle does another fantastic job in narrating the audiobook.

Book 5 (48): Radical - David Platt

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:47:08 -0700

ACTUAL BOOK

Should I read it? Yes. A look at how American Christians have tailored their faith to make it ok to also push for the American Dream, Platt proposes a “radical” faith that pushes taking Jesus’ message into the world. While not everything resonated with me, enough did to make this a worthwhile read.

Book 4 (47): Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:43:15 -0700

AUDIOBOOK read by Rosalyn Landor

Should I read it? Maybe. A difficult story about clones raised for organ donations, the narrative is engaging at times, but drags at others. I also thought that Ishiguro overused the storyteller jumping between the recent past and the distant past. If you like dystopian future stories, this one may be worth picking up. The audiobook was serviceable, but not fantastic.

Book 3 (46): Life - Keith Richards

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:36:11 -0700

AUDIOBOOK read by Keith Richards, Johnny Depp, and Joe Hurley

Should I read it? Only if you’re a big Rolling Stones or Keith Richards fan. There are a lot of great stories and history in this account, and Richards comes off as likable, but the book is too long for anyone other than the biggest fan. The audiobook is a little disjointed as the three narrators seem to switch randomly. If you are intent on reading this, grab the print edition so that you can skip ahead as needed.

Book 2 (45): Gentlemen of the Road - Michael Chabon

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:16:28 -0700

AUDIOBOOK read by Andre Braugher

Should you read it? No. The story is forgettable and didn’t keep my interest. The audiobook was well read by Braugher, but I’d recommend Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union over this effort.

Book 1 (44): A Fraction of the Whole - Steve Toltz

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:37:32 -0700

AUDIOBOOK read by Colin McPhillamy & Craig Baldwin

Ok, I’m behind on posting some of my latest books as I’ve been travelling. I thoroughly enjoyed A Fraction of the Whole. Toltz’s book follows an Australian father and son pair as the son recounts their adventures through life. It’s a long read, but it’s very well written and quite funny at times. The book is “written” by Jasper Dean whose father Martin is referred to as “the most hated man in Australia” and whose uncle Terry is referred to as “the most loved man in Australia”. Martin is a remarkable character who is always trying to do things to make life better for everyone, but fails spectacularly in most efforts. Terry is a murderer and criminal who captures the heart of the people by targeting athletes who cheat. They are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to crazy and interesting characters in Toltz’s first novel and I look forward to additional works from him. I also recommend the audiobook if you like Australian accents as both McPhillamy and Baldwin do a great job in reading the characters.

Book 43: Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:16:59 -0700

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).

Book 42: The Final Solution - Michael Chabon

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:54:30 -0700

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.

Book 41: The Disappearing Spoon - Sam Kean

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:17:30 -0700

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.

Book 40: Delivering Happiness - Tony Hsieh

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:44:35 -0700

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.

Book 39: The Coral Thief - Rebecca Stott

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:20:47 -0700

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.

Book 38: Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules - Compiled by David Sedaris -

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:16:36 -0700

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.

Book 37: Bossypants - Tina Fey

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:19:44 -0700

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.

Book 36: Feynman - Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:17:39 -0700

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).

Book 35: Beatrice and Virgil - Yann Martel

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:16:42 -0600

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.