A Modest Construct

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Publisher: Vintage

Year: 2007

Pages: 287

In Brief: “McCarthy won a Pulitzer for The Road; clearly, it’s not a book without philosophical or literary merit. There are things of beauty to be found within the ash and dust of his writing. In fact, it brings to mind Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz in some of its subtexts. Read it, but have something light and fluffy handy afterward, or you’ll end up feeling like crap.”

№21

The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot by Bart D. Ehrman

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Year: 2006

Pages: 208

In Brief: “I think the only way this new gospel contributes to our understanding is redirecting to our primary sources and making us reexamine how we think about Judas. Is he the misunderstood good guy? No, likely not. But as with many people and things that have gotten canonized into two-dimensionality, there’s more to the stories than we’ve historically ever tried to see, and that is interesting.”

№22

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk

Publisher: Doubleday

Year: 2007

Pages: 336

In Brief: “I feel as though if Palahniuk hadn’t strayed from the course so much at the end, Rant could have been one of his better books, foibles or no. As it stands, I can’t help but feel disappointed.”

№23

The Fugitive Game by Jonathan Littman

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Year: 1997

Pages: 416

In Brief: “The Fugitive Game likely isn’t as dramatic as Takedown; Littman doesn’t seem particularly concerned with hyping Mitnick’s case. He spends a lot more time trying to flesh out Mitnick qua human being, and exposing the gross exaggerations related to his story. I can’t say that the much-anticipated phone interviews with Mitnick were anything to write home about, but I at least credit Littman for writing about Mitnick in a way that fellow computer enthusiasts can appreciate.”

№24

God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens

Publisher: Twelve Books, Hachette Book Group

Year: 2007

Pages: 307

In Brief: “In something by way of conclusion, I feel compelled to say that God Is Not Great is not a likely tool of conversion, which Hitchens hints/hopes at some point in the book; at most, it will disgust the faithful, who will likely never read more than a summary of it, and convince only the disbelievers, for whom I am disinclined to use the worn metaphor of a choir. However, God Is Not Great manages, I feel, to walk the line between a screed and a genuine criticism, which should also be good reading for the faithful; it never hurts to get a good prod every now and then.”

№25

The Assault on Reason by Al Gore

Publisher: Penguin Press HC

Year: 2007

Pages: 320

In Brief: “Imagine an Al Franken book (Lies… or The Truth… With Jokes in particular). Now imagine it not at all humorous, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what The Assault on Reason is like. I can’t really fault it on technical merits, but it’s short on style and tends to lose steam quickly, and you’re left with a scathing criticism that approaches jingoism and repetition.”

№26

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Publisher: Laurel Leaf

Year: 2004

Pages: 768

In Brief: “I’ll tell you flat out that Eragon is every bit as derivative as its critics accuse; perhaps more so. Paolini attempts Tolkien’s flair for language without any of his methodical research or construction; he steals/borrows ideas and events from all across the canon [...] I will say that even though Paolini’s plot is a bit, well, flat, it did at least manage to keep enough of my interest to read through the end, and promised to follow Eragon with books of even more action, excitement, and a steamy love interest with a raven-haired Elf princess[.]“

№27

Saint Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton

Publisher: Image

Year: 1987

Pages: 160

In Brief: “I can appreciate Chesterton’s spirited praise of Francis, though I am amazed that so much rather circular verbiage can be heaped around a single subject. In short, the book is a curious one, neither a best or breed nor waste of paper. It’s appeal is likely limited: unless you’re a Francis fan, a Chesterton devotee, or a general devourer of Christian apologetics, it seems little more than a trifle.”

№28

Eldest by Christopher Paolini

Publisher: Knopf

Year: 2005

Pages: 704

In Brief: “There is a very definite divide between those who should and should not read the book. If you’re well-read enough to know how much Paolini borrows from other writers, then you shouldn’t read the book in the first place; or, at least, you shouldn’t expect to like it. However, I still maintain that these books are a good primer for younger readers.”

№29

A History of God by Karen Armstrong

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Year: 1994

Pages: 496

In Brief: “I admit that I was a little disappointed at how dry the reading got at times. In some parts, the book was joy to read; in others, it was little more than a laundry list of Semitic names and a sentence about how his or her (usually his) beliefs happened to be different than the norm [...] Regardless, I would recommend this book, or any book by Armstrong[.]“

№30

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