Tag: 2010 books

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A lot of authors have tried to write near-future fiction that ends up falling into sci-fi too much (hint: we still don’t have flying cars and jet packs, get over it!). Gary Shteyngart writes near-future fiction that is downright scary, because it seems so close to coming true. He totally nails what could be the downfall of the US, and does it without delving too much into techno-babble. It’s entirely possible that this book will actually hold up over the coming years, and wind up being far too prescient as well.

The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means by Jeff Yeager
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Vaguely similar to the last financial book I read, but less ADD affected. There are money-saving "tips" sprinkled throughout, but far less frequently than the other one. I guess this one bugged me just as much though, because it was largely pasted together interviews with "cheapskates" around the country, and, while some of the interviews were interesting, I felt like as a whole, it was kind of repetitive and not all that interesting.

Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back by Kimberly Palmer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I didn’t really think too much of this book, honestly. There may be some stuff in there that people unlike myself would find useful, but I really felt like I had read most of it elsewhere. And all the "quick tips" scattered throughout every single page really got to me. So ADD! I guess I’m just barely too old to be in this book’s target demographic.

The Fall by Guillermo Del Toro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Can’t wait for the final book to come out. This one catches you up quickly on what you forgot, then builds up to the Master taking another hit, but still surviving. The resistance group loses one of its most important members, and things look especially bleak for poor Zack. Really good story, can’t wait to see how it ends.

The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays by Ron Jaworski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Are you a geek? Do you also love football? Then boy, oh boy, is this the book for you. If you’ve ever seen Ron Jaworski breaking down film on NFL Matchup or one of his other many ESPN shows, you know there’s no one better. In this book, he takes a look at seven games featuring seven groundbreaking approaches to coaching in the NFL. There’s no understating how much fun it is to read about how innovation rules in the NFL even though most of us can’t see it on a game-by-game basis. Jaws has a good one here. It’s accessible to the average fan, but gets deep into the game for the real football geek too.

The Thousand by Kevin Guilfoile
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very entertaining read. Kinda like a grown up Dan Brown novel. Fast paced, but not choppy like DaVinci Code. Interesting and intriguing, if not convoluted plot. About my only complaint is that it is a little bit clunky at times (a bit *too* reminiscent of Dan Brown). Still, a quick read that actually uses more than a fifth grade vocabulary, nice.

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’d really like to give this a higher rating. The action was fast and furious, and the culmination of the action was pretty awesome too. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that the two main teen characters falling in love bordered on "Twilight" territory. So lame, but unfortunately a bit necessary to driving the plot line. I did still enjoy it though.

Style and the Man: How and Where to Buy Fine Mens’ Clothes by Alan Flusser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m trying, slowly but surely, to incorporate some of the many, many tips I gleaned from reading this essential treatise on style into my wardrobe. But let’s just say that I have a long way to go. I may not be able to afford to shop at the places he recommends, but I can at least take into account some of the good advice he provides on making sure things fit properly. Starting with: you don’t wear a large, dummy!

The Elephant Vanishes: Stories by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This collection of Murakami short stories seemed somewhat more… out there than usual, I thought. Still, I love pretty much everything the guy writes, so I definitely recommend this compilation as well.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Future For You by Joss Whedon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Burning through the Buffy Season Eight graphic novels, now that I realized that my library carries them. Volumes 2-6 brought me right back into the world I’d forgotten when the show went off the air, and each one gets up closer to Twilight. Must reads for Buffy fans, of course.