After my series of craptacular reads in 2008 (I'm looking at you, "Wuthering Heights"), I vowed to have a better year of reading in 2009, and so far, so good. Here's the July rundown:
"The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific" - J. Maarten Troost: Big shout-out to Higgy for this one. Hilarious non-fic account of a guy mooching off his girlfriend's NGO work in Tarawa. Apparently, island paradises aren't as paradaisical as they appear. His attempt to fight the omnipresent Macarena with Miles Davis is hilarious.
"American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House" - Jon Meachem: An engaging look at an amazingly influential president, for good and for ill. From the mudslinging campaigns to cabinet officials prowling the streets of Washington looking to kill each other, Jackson definitely did not have a quiet political career.
"Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith" - Jon Krakauer: As is Krakauer's habit, a fabulous non-fic story of the history of Mormonism and the variety of "fundamentalist" offshoots of it interwoven with the story of 2 grisly murders carried out at the claimed behest of God. While I didn't think it was anti-Mormon, it does lay out quite the spectacle of its history as a faith. Fascinating stuff.
August looks to be lighter and with some fiction, as I've been reading more non-fic the last 18 months or so than I'd planned on.
3 comments:
appreciate the shout-out for the book. "getting stoned with savages" is just as enjoyable. and i have "lost on planet china" in my waiting to be read stack.
notorious
Good to hear! I have several waiting for you -- "American Lion", "The Most Noble Adventure", and a few others. Next visitor will be saddled with the lot to bring back!
Way to make this months book club pick all the way from Germany. First one I've finished the past few months, so I feel like I should thank you for getting me back on track.
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