The Exposition
And so begins the fourth year of my 52 Books in 52 Weeks meme, where I challenge myself to read a minimum of 52 books in the coming calendar year, and then briefly review each book here on A Modest Construct. Keep a close watch as books are added to the list.
The Gang
Other bloggers doing participating in this meme for 2008:
The Books
The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman- Publisher: Knopf
- Year: 2006 (reprint)
- Pages: 432
- In Brief: “The Golden Compass was a pretty good fantasy novel. Most unique, I think, was his concept that in Lyra’s world, the soul is harbored outside of the body, in the shape of an animal (think like a Patronus from the Harry Potter series). This, like his other world-building, is excellent, if perhaps a bit far-reaching for a young adult audience.”
- №1
The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman- Publisher: Knopf
- Year: 2007 (reprint)
- Pages: 368
- In Brief: “I thought The Subtle Knife was a weaker novel than the first—richer in characterization, but much lighter on world-building [but] for all that, [it] is a good fantasy novel, dark with portent, more violent, more mysterious. “
- №2
The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman- Publisher: Knopf
- Year: 2007 (reprint)
- Pages: 560
- In Brief: “Honestly, it’s a bit refreshing to read a fantasy novel whose plot deals inherently with quantum physics. It’s really no secret to say that His Dark Materials is really a trilogy about quantum theory and particle physics that happens to include large battles between mythical beings. I thought this was a rather neat way of doing it, flirting with the genre of ’sci-fi’ even as one talked about battles of gods.”
- №3
The Daily Show and Philosophy ed. Jason Holt- Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
- Year: 2007
- Pages: 280
- In Brief: “I’m not sure this book ever had any business being written in the first place. Honestly, it’s a blog post. Or at least it should have been—or was. There’s probably no idea here that I haven’t read (or couldn’t find) on the internet in the last 5 or 6 years.”
- №4
The First Word by Christine Kenneally- Publisher: Viking Adult
- Year: 2007
- Pages: 368
- In Brief: “I feel as though The First Word is a good book that would have been a lot better with some more editing: its focus is a little blurry, its body a bit dry, and its ultimate conclusion a bit empty. Let me point out that this is not a book for etymologists; you’ll probably like it if you’re a Pinker fan, however.”
- №5
Dave Barry’s History of the Millenium (So Far) by Dave Barry- Publisher: Putnam Adult
- Year: 2007
- Pages: 224
- In Brief: “If you’ve read [Barry] for a while, you’ll recognize some old jokes that he’s recycled for the purpose (hey, he’s been putting out books for 25 years; I’ll cut him some slack), but this book genuinely did make me laugh out loud. It’s kind of sophomoric, but it’s got a gloss of respectable satire.”
- №6
The Big Con by Jonathan Chait- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
- Year: 2007
- Pages: 304
- In Brief: “If you’re a conservative of the ‘I like Bush’ stripe, then you’ll probably be offended by The Big Con, even though I think you’d have a hard time refuting much of what it says. If you’re a classic fiscal conservative (i.e. deficit hawk, &c.), or you’re a new or old-school liberal, you’ll probably agree with most of what’s here. Regardless, it’s a solid read”
- №7
Thomas Paine’s ‘The Rights of Man’ by Christopher Hitchens- Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
- Year: 2007
- Pages: 160
- In Brief: “If you’re interested in an in-depth history of Thomas Paine’s life, Hitchen’s brief treatment might not be for you. If you would merely like to know about Paine, and his influence, then you might appreciate what Hitchens has to say: it’s a good primer on Paine and his legacy.”
- №8
Bill of Wrongs by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose- Publisher: Random House
- Year: 2007
- Pages: 240
- In Brief: “Something about [the book] tended to leave me cold, as it felt less like Ivins was arguing something and more like she was merely describing. I get that the crassness of these cases is supposed to lead to a self-evident argument, but I couldn’t help but feel as though there was something seriously lacking in the book. As though it was compiled from notes, rather than written with intent.”
- №9
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs- Publisher: Simon & Schuster
- Year: 2007
- Pages: 400
- In Brief: “[Jacobs] has a good feel for narrative flow, he’s witty and funny and not infrequently poignant as well. I’m comparing him only to his (limited) canon, against which his latest book is only slightly less entertaining (or rather, perhaps, slightly more frustrating?) than its predecessor. I heartily recommend either book by Jacobs, because they are both amusing and informative, and you can’t really ask anything more of a book”
- №10
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