Twilight

Twilight Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Year: 2006
Pages: 544

Every year or so, I usually try to read a really awful book as part of my ongoing reading project. Back in 2006, I read James Frey’s excremental A Million Little Pieces; in 2008, I read Dan Brown’s unholy The Da Vinci Code. This year I read Twilight.

I do this for a number of reasons. First and probably foremost, I’m an asshole, and enjoy telling people that they have awful taste; in order to do that, however, I really do need to read that awful dreck first.

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§3985 · August 27, 2009 · 2 comments · Tags: , , , ,

Blink

Blink Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Year: 2005/2007
Pages: 320

I usually don’t cluster books by the same author together (unless they are a series), and under normal circumstances I would have read Blink so soon after reading Outliers, but I picked the book up for a song and needed a short read during this past week while I was preparing to move.

In short, Blink is a mixed bag.

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§3974 · August 25, 2009 · (No comments) · Tags: , , , , ,

Made In America

Made in America Made in America by Bill Bryson
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Year: 1991/1996
Pages: 432

There are few things I like better than a good book about linguistics or etymology. The only thing, I think, that could possibly make one any better is if it’s written by one of my favorite authors—namely Bill Bryson.

In fact, Made in America was my introduction to Bryson: I purchased the book (a mint-condition hardcover) for $0.25 at the library and absolutely devoured it. Not only did the book initiate a long and storied appreciation of Bryson’s writing, but I think I can honestly credit the book with inspiring my lifelong love of language.

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§3961 · August 20, 2009 · (No comments) · Tags: , , , , , , ,

Now Reading Reloaded changes

Starting August 15th, Amazon’s web service API started requiring all requests to be signed—that is, they must include a cryptographically generated key.

This is important, because while the service as always required an ID to run, it was never a secret. In fact, the former developer’s access ID has been embedded in the Now Reading Reloaded script since the very beginning.

The change, however, requires the addition of another key, this one like a password, and it’s not supposed to be given out. Since Now Reading Reloaded is open source, that means anyone who wanted to could use my key.

As a result, I’ve modified the plugin to use two more fields in the options screen, one for the Access ID and one for the Secret Key: both of these are required to add books from Amazon, and you will have to get both yourself.

Actually, it’s easy to do: go to the AWS site and register. Then plug the two keys they give you into the appropriate spaces in the Now Reading options screen. Resume reading.

§3966 · August 19, 2009 · 27 comments · Tags: , , ,

Idiot America

Idiot America Idiot America by Charles Pierce
Publisher: Doubleday
Year: 2009
Pages: 304

Charles Pierce is a frequent guest on NPR‘s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” though I didn’t know this until after I read this book (go figure).

Despite the inflammatory title, Idiot America isn’t a criticism of the country, but rather a condemnation of the way in which idiocy or nescience has become something to be proud of; it’s a sort of extension of Thomas Frank’s question of authenticity. And it troubles Charles Pierce to no end.

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§3954 · August 17, 2009 · (No comments) · Tags: , , , , , , ,