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More books
The list of books that I got rid of last weekend was just enough to eliminate the need to have books stacked horizontally above the books on my shelves, or squeezed in on the narrow front of the shelf. So I took another pass and came up with another twenty-five books or so.

Non-Fiction

Pet Aerobics, by Warren and Fay Eckstein

"When your pet has acquired the sense of self-esteem that comes with slimnastics..." --- this unintentionally funny book was the base of Juliet's "worst act" at Andrew Gelman's Gong Show in 1995 or so.

Shackleton's Forgotten Men, by Lennard Bickel

Probably most people know the story of Shackleton's half of the Endurance expedition; the other half was even more star-crossed in a way. It's a pity this heroic story hasn't gotten more attention.

Jackie Robinson, by Arnold Rampersand

Very good biography of a remarkable person. Doesn't dish dirt, but plenty interesting.

Only in California, by Janet Hearne

Reasonably good bathroom reading: entertaining trivia poking gentle fun at California.

If you can't say something nice, by Calvin Trillin

Typical Trillin: amusing, light-weight short esssays. Not bad.

Sex and Death to the Age 14, by Spalding Gray

Funny, somewhat thought provoking, probably exaggerated stories/monologues in which Gray stumbles through life.

The Muse in the Machine, by David Gelernter

Gelernter is supposedly a brilliant thinker with deep insights into computer intelligence, but you can't prove it by this book. Still, the speculations about thought and intelligence are interesting if not profound.

Fiction

The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson

Imaginative science fiction novel about a world in which nano-machines are everywhere, and we follow the entertwined lives of some interesting characters. The last quarter disappoints, but it's still a good book.

Zero db, by Madison Smartt Bell

Small collection of good short stories.

The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas

Eh, entertaining enough, but it's hard to see what all the fuss is about. Lightweight, fairly fun, but pretty stupid.

The Chosen, by Chaim Potok

Probably most people read this in high school, or maybe college. One-dimensional but still a very good book, about two Jewish boys growing up.

The Complete Poems of Robert Service

About 100 poems, of which 2 are good. Still, The Cremation of Sam McGee alone makes the book worthwhile.

Billy Bathgate, by E.L. Doctorow

An excellent read, this is the story of young Billy Bathgate, a boy who is taken under the wing of the gangster Dutch Schultz. By the author of "Ragtime."

Primary Colors, by Anonymous

Roman a clef about Clinton's first campaign, this is a fun look at a presidential campaign.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, by B. Traven

Unexpectedly reflective book about some rough men who fall in together to try to make their fortune in gold.

Flaubert's Parrot, by Julian Barnes

Very odd story about Flaubert, about the study of Flaubert, and about the search for a stuffed parrot that used to belong to Flaubert. Feels like an inside joke that I never caught onto, but I still liked it. I think.

The Moor's Last Sigh, by Salman Rushdie

Inventive, clever, surreal story of the last member of an old, once-important family. Odd but good.

Time's Arrow, by Martin Amis

A boy grows up, becomes a doctor, works in the medical section at Auschwitz killing Jews, flees to America after the war, and becomes a "normal" doctor. Fine. But we see his life through the eyes of a "passenger", who experiences his life backwards in time. (Reminds me of Kierkegaard: "Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.") Didn't quite work for me, but it deserves full marks for originality.

The Information, by Martin Amis

Mark Bertin described this as "just English people being horrible to each other," and it is that. I found myself pulling for the totally awful protagonist, but otherwise found this an unpleasant book that was still oddly compelling.

Brazil, by John Updike.

Poor black boy meets rich white girl; they fall in love, flee to the countryside, work their butts off...and suffer an odd fate. Not Updike's best.

The Cider House Rules, by John Irving

Now a major motion picture, so you probably already know the story. An orphan grows up dreaming of bigger and better things, but eventually is content to be "of use" on a smaller, human scale. Very good.

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

I doubt I need to describe this one. The Hobbit wasn't as good as I remembered, the trilogy was a bit better than I remembered.

Flashman and the Mountain of Light, by George MacDonald Fraser

Another story about the dastardly Flashman and his misadventures. Lightweight but funny, and even slightly informative of events from the British Empire in the mid 1800's.

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