A Modest Construct

Bonk by Mary Roach

Publisher: W. W. Norton

Year: 2008

Pages: 288

In Brief: “So is it worth it? Having not read any of Roach’s other (recommended) books, I can’t compare Bonk to any of them. The latter didn’t blow me away, but it was a solid read nonetheless, and remained interesting more or less throughout. If you’re looking to laugh uproariously, this isn’t for you. If you simply want a quirky look at the scientific history of sex, this is your book.”

№51

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Year: 2008

Pages: 336

In Brief: “Whatever it is, When You Are Engulfed in Flames strikes me as a bit left or right of center, but still easily within Sedaris’ sweet spot. It’s a solid collection of essays, as always: it will make you laugh, it will make you think (or perhaps cry, if that’s your predisposition). If you’re a fan, read it; if you’re new to Sedaris, this book is as good a place as any other to get started.”

№52

All the Sad Young Literary Men by Keith Gessen

Publisher: Viking Adult

Year: 2008

Pages: 256

In Brief: “I feel like Gessen’s tried to write a Great Gatsby for this new century, but it becomes more cynical, more self-aggrandizing, and ultimately more depressing: the act of being smart or knowing things has no correlation to happiness at all for Gessen’s sad literary men. It’s not a point that I support, as it seems simplistic to me. I realize I may be trying to ascribe a point to Gessen that he may not be making; it’s possible I’m wrong and this book is satire poking fun at what is inarguable Gessen and his own crowd. Whatever the book’s context may be, I just wasn’t all that impressed with it as a work. It tried being very modern, and was excruciatingly self-conscious about it. You can read it in order to sound cool at parties, or you could read something better.”

№53

I Want to Buy a Vowel by John Welter

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Year: 1996

Pages: 322

In Brief: “Is it a good book? It’s entertaining, if you need a quick read like a Looney Tune. Welter didn’t exactly churn out the best or funniest books of the 1990s, and this falls below the standard he set with Night of the Avenging Blowfish, which was ultimately engaging if a little too maudlin for my tastes. I Want to Buy a Vowel is ok, but not very satisfying when you get down to it. Perhaps you should avoid this one.”

№54

The Bellmaker by Brian Jacques

Publisher: Philomel

Year: 1995

Pages: 352

In Brief: “I realize that the Redwall novels are somewhat die-cast, but The Bellmaker reads as though written from rote. There’s so little sense of rising action or engaging plot or character development that it fails to elicit any interesting in me at all. It’s as boring now as it was last time I read it ten years ago.”

№55

Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Year: 1993

Pages: 256

In Brief: “As I will invariably say with anything by Bryson, you’ll do yourself a favor by reading this. Neither Here Not There is funny, informative, occasionally touching, and utterly difficult to put down.”

№56

The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Year: 1991

Pages: 272

In Brief: “I think that Bryson may get even more excited about linguistics than he does about travel, which is saying something. The Mother Tongue is a marvelous book, following up magnificently with his rather more continental Made in America. If you like Bryson, like linguistics, or you’re just curious about English, pick this up.”

№57

Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonnegut

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Year: 1997

Pages: 336

In Brief: “While I don’t like Hocus Pocus as much as some of Vonnegut’s other works—Cat’s Cradle or Slaughterhouse-Five, for instance—it’s still trademark Vonnegut, both wacky and introspective. He was a storyteller par excellence, and this book is no exception to his fabulous canon.”

№58

I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter

Publisher: Basic Books

Year: 2008

Pages: 436

In Brief: “Continuity of consciousness? Identity of Self? All very interesting, and none of which are covered to my satisfaction in I Am a Strange Loop. With the caveat that there is a distinct possibility that I am a mouth-breathing and just don’t “get it” when it comes a mind like Douglas Hofstadter’s, I have to say that I fail to be impressed. Everything that Hofstadter says seems like old news to me; the difference is that he takes forever (and a lot of mediocre writing and bad analogies) to get there, rendering any such epiphanies tempered by frustration and incredulity.”

№59

Watchmen by Alan Moore

Publisher: DC Comics

Year: 1995

Pages: 416

In Brief: “Watchmen is a bit like a Thomas Pynchon novel; it doesn’t come close in wordcount, but in many respects it’s a running tally of contemporary references, in-jokes, and subtle hints. Moore’s attention to detail is masterful, and though I was ultimately a bit disappointed by the main story arc, which I found much thinner than the exposition and tangents, I’m happy I read it. I suppose it constitutes an important piece of Literature-with-a-capital-L; perhaps not exactly college lit, but award-winning in its own right, and a particular new visceral/visual way of detailing the sort of thoughts forward-looking thinkers had in the 1980s about the economy and politics and the imminent threat of nuclear annihilation. It’s an impressive feat, and worth time it’ll take you to get through it. “

№60

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