Monday, January 28, 2013

2012 Wrap-Up: The Good Books

So, not all the books I read were awesome. But there were other goods ones. Here are some more notables:
I'm late to the party on this one, but it was surprisingly good. I also think the criticisms of it being a stereotypical "white liberal saves the blacks" is misplaced. The protagonist is less-than-pristine
Those Guys Have All The Fun -- The juicy bits of the ESPN oral history weren't nearly as interesting as how it has become the business juggernaut that it has. Still, a fun read
Sure, it's Oscar-bait now, but the book outshines the movie. I still hate Salmon Chase and McClellan, though. Jerks.
A great bit of fast-paced "hard" sci-fi. And INCREDIBLY realistic -- IT does everything it can to prevent progress
I'm a Kingsolver fan, sue me. Like "Prodigal Summer", it took me a bit to get into, but I really enjoyed it. It's got Trotsky and Frida Kahlo, what's not to like?
A novelized history of the last 40 years or so of the Mexican drug trade. All the ludicrously unbelievable parts are pretty accurate.
NPR's 40 year old sports reporter tries to become a kicker for the Shanahan Broncos.  Good look at rookie life in the NFL
What if Van Helsing didn't manage to kill Dracula? How about the undead take over Victorian London?
I actually liked her first book, "Gregor and the Underworld", too,  but this was surprisingly good.
The last 30 years or so of Saudi history are fascinating, and will be relevant for a while.
A modern take on "Rendezvous with Rama", but with some changes.  A good novel of first contact, though it abruptly ends in anticipation of a sequel
         Next: The Meh... and Worse

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