Listmania!
Books I read in 2006 - Part 2 of 2
By an Amazon.com customer
Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the DoorTalk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door by Lynne Truss
Buy new: $16.00 / Used from: $0.01
Not quite as entertaining as Eats, Shoots & Leaves, but it still has its snicker-worthy moments. And she's got a great point: basic manners have really fallen by the wayside in modern society!
The Sociopath Next DoorThe Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout
Buy new: $17.16 / Used from: $8.73
Because I know a one person who is definitely a sociopath, and a second person who might be.
Inside Anne Frank's House: An Illustrated Journey Through Anne's WorldInside Anne Frank's House: An Illustrated Journey Through Anne's World by Hans Westra
Buy new: $38.20 / Used from: $18.89
Utterly engrossing, with beautiful photographs, pertinent diary excerpts, and a satisfying amount of historical context.
Every Woman's Nightmare: The True Story Of The Fairy-Tale Marriage And Brutal Murder Of Lori HackingEvery Woman's Nightmare: The True Story Of The Fairy-Tale Marriage And Brutal Murder Of Lori Hacking by Steven Long
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $1.98
Standard true crime fare; nothing overly revealing (except for the fact that Mark Hacking supported gay marriage), but still interesting.
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture ManifestoSex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman
Buy new: $11.20 / Used from: $5.00
It has its funny and charming monents, although not as many as I'd hoped. Still, I loved reading a book that covers Saved By the Bell and breakfast cereal with the same studiousness.
Haunted: A NovelHaunted: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk
Buy new: $11.16 / Used from: $5.85
The book went a bit overboard with the shock factor, and a few moments were "ew"-inducing, but at its heart is a very dry, sardonic look at how far some people will go for 15 minutes of fame.
A Rip in Heaven: A Memoir of Murder And Its AftermathA Rip in Heaven: A Memoir of Murder And Its Aftermath by Jeanine Cummins
Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $0.01
A very solid, thoughtful memoir examining a family tragedy that caught national attention.
The Beast: A Reckoning With DepressionThe Beast: A Reckoning With Depression by Tracy Thompson
Buy used from: $6.98
I've owned this book for 11 years, but for some reason I never read it until now. I have no idea why, because it's a well-written, interesting memoir about depression!
Breathing on Your OwnBreathing on Your Own by Richard Kehl
Buy new: $14.04 / Used from: $0.47
I appreciate that this is his personal collection, instead of a trite regurgitation of the same old stuff. But I hate that he cited only names, giving no extra info about where the quotes came from!
A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A DiaryA Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary by Anonymous
Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $7.53
An extremely provocative look at WWII through new eyes.
Into the ForestInto the Forest by Jean Hegland
Buy new: $10.88 / Used from: $3.32
Beautiful, frightening, intriguing. It made me think intensely about how ill-equipped I am to survive the paralysis and/or ending of society.
A Gift upon the ShoreA Gift upon the Shore by M. K. Wren
Buy new: $17.95 / Used from: $11.98
A moving look at life beyond a nuclear war. The struggles seemed like they'd be fairly accurate. And it would be just my luck to end up with only religious fanatics as my fellow survivors!
The RoadThe Road by Cormac McCarthy
Buy new: $16.47 / Used from: $9.82
Quite possibly the bleakest book I've ever read in my my life. And I loved it! However, I hated the erratic apostrophes and smattering of ultra-choppy sentences.
The Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky: A True StoryThe Boy Who Fell Out of the Sky: A True Story by Ken Dornstein
Buy new: $19.16 / Used from: $0.45
I really admire Dornstein's goal, and I think he does a solid job of achieving it. Sometimes his language bordered on dull, but overall, he achieves what he sets out to do: he honors his lost brother.
Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of HalloweenDeath Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween by David J. Skal
Buy used from: $4.96
It taught me a few things I never knew!
Half of a Yellow SunHalf of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Buy new: $16.47 / Used from: $6.69
Excellent! I knew nothing about the Nigeria-Biafra War, and this told me so much about the conflict and its impact on the innocent residents of Biafra. It's a beautifully told story.
Z for ZachariahZ for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien
Buy used from: $0.01
This is a post-nuke book for young adults, but it was DARK. I mean, it had darkness going above and beyond the typical darkness you find in a post-nuke book. I think it's a bit TOO dark for young adults, truthfully.
Trolls' CathedralTrolls' Cathedral by Olafur Gunnarsson
Buy used from: $58.51
It's interesting how the pivotal climax of this book--Thorarinn's assault--is actually NOT the point of the book. It's really just treated as a fleck on the tumultuous sea of his father's mental collapse. I really enjoyed this book, but I did think the language was a bit...distant. Maybe that was deliberate?
EmergenceEmergence by David R. Palmer
Buy used from: $48.65
The choppy sentences bugged, and honestly, I thought some parts of the book dragged on a bit too needlessly, but the overall concept is intriguing and things really get juicy toward the end!
This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human ObsessionThis Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin
Buy new: $16.47 / Used from: $7.95
Music theory and neuroscience for the lay person. A cool depiction of how art and science gel together beautifully!
Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom, and Other WritingsJustine, Philosophy in the Bedroom, and Other Writings by Marquis De Sade
Buy new: $12.89 / Used from: $8.00
I read pages 1 - 367 and will complete the rest of the book in the future. I'm taking a temporary break from it so I can plow through the books I received for Christmas.