A Modest Construct

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

Publisher: Vintage

Year: 2007

Pages: 368

In Brief: “So, what to say about A Spot of Bother. I’m not sure Haddon lived up to the ingenuity of the his debut novel. There were a lot of familiar tropes in this one, rather shamelessly borrowed from our collective consciousness of soaps, serials, and sitcoms. None of this is to say that it wasn’t a raucous, incredibly entertaining read.”

№41

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Publisher: Anchor

Year: 1998

Pages: 416

In Brief: “I am not sure whether to recommend this book to a general audience; my impetus to read it was personal rather than literary, though I suppose Krakauer’s bona fides as a decent writer and journalist take care of the latter context. If you think you’d be the slightest bit interested in a book about Everest, give it a shot, since it’s probably a good deal more interesting and well-narrated than other accounts. Otherwise, might I suggest a different book by Krakauer?”

№42

Martin the Warrior by Brian Jacques

Publisher: Philomel

Year: 1994

Pages: 384

In Brief: “Needless to say, there are number of small skirmishes, capped in the end by a feverish pitched battle for the lives of all involved; the Good Guys™ win, ultimately, but that’s no secret; neither is the fact that Martin lives to play his vital role in Mossflower; more important here, really, are the rest of the characters, who are as lively and interesting as any Jacques has so far written. Time will tell how Martin the Warrior stacks upon, novel-to-novel, against its successors, but I think it remains important in its own right, as well as a bloody good story, regardless.”

№43

His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis

Publisher: Vintage

Year: 2005

Pages: 352

In Brief: “Far from being a complete record of Washington’s every action, speech, and honor, His Excellency merely tries to illuminate some of the craggier faces to the Washington legacy, trying to intuit why he sometimes acted how he did, and why the man grew to be the first American hero, and damn near its emperor, as well.”

№44

Night of the Avenging Blowfish by John Welter

Publisher: Algonquin

Year: 1994

Pages: 304

In Brief: “Long story short: if you’ve got a taste for an easy book with rapidfire humor, heavy on puns and verbal jokes, you might just enjoy Night of the Avenging Blowfish; otherwise, you’re not really missing all that much.”

№45

Napoleon’s Buttons by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson

Publisher: Jeremy P Tarcher

Year: 2004

Pages: 384

In Brief: “I can’t help but feel a little disappointed by Napoleon’s Buttons, which has good science but fell short of the expository standard to which I tend to hold books like this (set, again, by the fabulous Bill Bryson). This is a very high bar, so my criticism shouldn’t be taken as a negative review: this book is still both highly interesting and well-written by most standards, and I recommend it as an engaging reading and a good chemistry primer that isn’t dry and boring.”

№46

Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks

Publisher: Knopf

Year: 2007

Pages: 400

In Brief: “Every time Sacks puts pen to paper (or finger to keyboard, now), he manages to be insightful and informative. That he doesn’t have the narrative genius of a Steven Jay Gould or a Bill Bryson is easily forgiven in the face of how damned interesting his books are anyway. Musicophilia may just be his best yet.”

№47

The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hadju

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Year: 2008

Pages: 448

In Brief: “The Ten-Cent Plague was a good and informative book, but suffered at times from a dryness (that may only speak to my relative inexperience with comics) and a tendency toward unhelpful tangents. I still recommend it, but I warn readers that there’s a fair amount of text to wade through the doesn’t add to the book.”

№48

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Year: 1998

Pages: 368

In Brief: “All things being equal, I really enjoyed The Gun Seller; it was witty, fun to read, and had a lot more to it than I would have expected from a crime spoof. I think Laurie has a real talent at writing, if for no other reason than his dialogue is so fun and refreshing and his characters are enjoyable. This won’t be the best book you read this year, but I heartily recommend it, regardless.”

№49

Me of Little Faith by Lewis Black

Publisher: Riverhead

Year: 2008

Pages: 256

In Brief: “Take these irritating vacillations on matters religious and spiritual, and add to it that Black is not really a compelling storyteller, and finish by devoting a large portion of space to a short comedy (unfunny) comedy act that Black did many years ago, and you’re left with a book that is not only not entertaining, but aggravating to boot. I felt cheated; though I knew Black’s last book was an entirely different creature than his standup, I wasn’t expecting a book as flat and stupefying as Me of Little Faith.”

№50

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