Book 11 - The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson does it again. I'm still not sure what it is about these books but there was pretty much no hope of me not reading the second installment in "The Girl" series - and now, no hope of me not finishing the trilogy when the third book (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest) comes out in May. A friend of mine described the experience as being both boring and enthralling and it's a pretty accurate description of these books.

The Girl Who Played with Fire took me a bit longer to get into than The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - nearly 200 pages this time before I got "sucked in" - but again, once I got there, I read the remaining 300 pages in a day or so.

I wouldn't say the books are predictable because that would be an oversimplification and honestly, wrong. I didn't know what was going to happen, which was most of the cause for the voracious devouring of the books. The style however and the overall plot was pretty predictable, especially after having read the first book. Larsson uses very standard techniques for the thriller genre and his characters are really only two dimensional. That's not to say that the books or their construction is necessarily bad, there's just something missing from these books for me. I am not an avid fan of the suspense or thriller genres but I'd imagine that if you are, this is pretty typical fare in terms of content and plot structure.

What do you guys think? Any thriller fans out there? How do these books rate?

Book 10 - Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

You all know Malcolm Gladwell - prominent author of relevant "business" books such as Blink and The Tipping Point. Gladwell is clearly a research expert who has a gift for applying psychological, economic, and sociological factors to a person's success. It is clear that Gladwell is an extremely intelligent man and an educated author. He knows his audience and he knows his boundaries - in that he seems to know how far he can take his analogies and hypotheses before annoying his audience.

Scratch that. He almost knows his boundaries - at least when it comes to me. I do sincerely believe that Malcolm Gladwell has relevant, pertinent, even revelatory, things to say; ideas that we should investigate and explore. I believe that and so does Malcolm.

I haven't read The Tipping Point or Blink, but they're on my list. These are the types of books that it seems "important" to read. Outliers is similar - I am, in the end, glad I read it - but from what I understand (through verbal and web-based reviews), Gladwell peaked early. Each of his books offers important points but there is the feeling that some of the points are being repeated.

Additionally, there might be some stretching at this point. Do I believe that our success is determined by factors outside our control (age, opportunity, focus)? Yes, of course I do. The chance of getting ahead based on sheer intelligence is minute. However, I don't believe that it's all out of our control either. Sure, the Beatles (Bill Gates, etc.) had the right opportunities and the right birthdays but they were also extremely talented, intelligent, dedicated people. I know that Malcolm Gladwell isn't trying to tell me that it's all about how old you are or your opportunities, but just the same - I could have used one less example (50 pages?) of how those things are important.

You can find out what Malcolm Gladwell thinks of his book over at Gladwell.com.

Blog Post #100

I realized the other day that I was getting close to 100 posts on Quitsville. 100!? Part of my mind is completely blown by this fact. 100 posts... And theoretically there are people out there who have read each and every one of those posts. All 100 of them.

Thanks, by the way.

The other part of my mind is blown by the fact that I've written 100 posts with almost nothing to say. Okay, that's pretty self deprecating but you get the idea. My posts have ranged from unemployment to books to video games to... well, all manner of things that have nothing to do with those topics. Don't get me wrong. I've come to adore my little blog. It's made it clear to me that I NEED to be writing... something that has been ignored/obscured/etc. for the last few years.

I do not have a book contract nor do I have that many followers. I've got a Twitter handle attached to the blog and I do some shameless promotion sometimes but, it is what it is. We live in an age where everyone seems to have a blog (if not more than one) and there just isn't time to give recognition to everyone we'd like to (btw, I'm including Quitsville in the list of blogs that should be recognized).

So, Happy Birthday (or whatever) Quitsville. Here's to 100 more posts (or 1,000!).

Book 9 - God's Harvard by Hanna Rosin

I finished God's Harvard last night (Feb 9th) and keep thinking about it. Hanna Rosin's book takes the reader inside Patrick Henry College, a Christian college "where ambitious young evangelicals are groomed into tomorrow's conservative elite." Without commenting on my personal opinion of Christianity, this book is fascinating. Rosin, born in Israel and Jewish, spends 2 years with the students and faculty of Patrick Henry, chronicling all aspects of their lives - academic, romantic, and otherwise. She chooses a handful of students and teachers to really focus on but it seems that the book gives you an accurate picture of the entire campus.

Patrick Henry is a very new college, constructed and created within the last 10 years. The school was built around the premise that evangelical Christians (home schooled kids, missionary kids, etc.) can have a future in traditional politics, that the best way to further the Christian agenda is to have members of their community on the ground, in the trenches as it were. Patrick Henry focuses on giving these Christian kids a strong fundamental education (with focus on government, legislature, etc.) that is in line with their Christian beliefs and doesn't compromise their moral strength. It's a fascinating goal.

Rosin does a beautiful job of portraying the people beneath the mission. She masters the balance between identification with her subjects and questioning of their words/actions.

Full disclosure - Hanna Rosin is one of my favorite Slate/DoubleX columnists. I think she's a beautiful writer and an incredibly smart woman. That said, I was blown away by this book. I found myself drawn into it with the same interest I would a plot thick novel. I did follow-up research, looking into many of her sources and visiting the Patrick Henry website.

Regardless of your political leanings or religious identification, this is a fascinating read that is relevant to the future of American politics and to the integration of fundamentalist views. The kids at Patrick Henry are the future of America - these are the brightest and most ambitious of the next generation, with perfect SAT scores, scads of extracurriculars (despite being home schooled), and the evangelical sense of purpose and fate.

In writing this review, I did a lot of digging around online for things that related to God's Harvard and to Patrick Henry. Jona Frank has put together an amazing collection of photos from his time on campus (with Hanna Rosin) - you can see a few of them over at Newsweek and the blog over at ChristianColleges.com gives an interesting breakdown of Patrick Henry. With such a tricky subject at the heart of God's Harvard, I'm sure you all can imagine the wide swath of possible opionions about the book and Hanna Rosin. Some, like myself, found the book interesting and captivating while others wonder 'Why is Hanna Rosin Mad at God?'

The book has also been widely reviewed by more news-type sources. The New York Times reviewed the work in 'Political Fundamentals'; NPR did the same in 'Hanna Rosin Goes Inside God's Harvard'. The Washington Post and the California Literary Review also ran interviews with Rosin.

Book 8 - Election by Tom Perrotta

I have a sort of weird relationship with Tom Perrotta's novels. I started out by reading Little Children, which I read in one sitting (to be fair, it was over 5 hours while delayed in the Houston airport) and was really drawn into. I've since read Joe College (big fat eh) and The Abstinence Teacher (which I had forgotten about until getting to this review). Take that for what you will. Election is a short book and was easily consumed in a day but I'm still not sure what I thought of it.

Election, the movie, came out in 1999and I saw it in theaters. Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick are pretty great in the movie and the story line is all over the place but generally pretty messed up. I liked it. I like weird things.

While reading Election, the book, I found myself picturing the movie, remembering the movie, generally wanting to watch the movie. There isn't much in the novel (novella?) that they don't adequately portray in the movie so I'm generally confused as to whether I liked the book for its own merits or because I kept remembering that weird little movie I liked so much. Perhaps I would be wondering differently had I read the book first. But, I didn't.

The book has multiple narrators, an effect I like when done well; it's a nice little snapshot of suburban ennui, ambition, and general self absorption. I don't know that I identified with any of the characters or liked any of them but I enjoyed reading about all of them.

If you like Tom Perrotta or liked the movie, it's worth the read. It's an entertaining book and a quick read, great for public transportation.

To get a slightly different perspective read Brian's Review from the RegularGuyColumn

Abe's Book Blog though, seems to agree with much of my review arguing that "the book has nothing to offer that is not in the movie". My Big Fat Book Blog expresses the same sort of viewpoint, wondering what they would think without having seen the movie.

Want to know more about Tom Perrotta? Check out his official author site.

Book 7 - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

For those of you who are familiar with David Sedaris (if you've read one of his books or heard him on This American Life), my review of his book Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim should come as no surprise. David Sedaris has a very unique voice that carries across the various mediums that he inhabits (radio, print, etc.) and that voice is as present as ever before in this book.

A collection of stories, mostly from childhood, Dress Your Family paints the picture of the Sedaris family - all the unusual aspects of the family as well as the more typical "everyone's family is nuts" characteristics. The book is pretty funny (but not my favorite), easy to digest, and at times a little over the top. These are all things I've come to expect from David Sedaris. Has this book burned itself into my memory? Nah. Has it changed the way I see the world? Not quite. But it was entertaining. I enjoyed reading it, imaging David Sedaris' voice the entire time.

If you're a Sedaris fan, give it a read. If not, there's nothing new here to woo you.

Want to hear it straight from the horse's mouth? Check out a few of these interviews of David Sedaris:

• 2004 Time Magazine Interview


• 2000 January Magazine Interview


• NPR's David Sedaris Page


• Check out David Sedaris during his 2010 Tour

Book 6 - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo is a thriller written by Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson. The book is pretty intense and captivating despite some of its literary hurdles - but more on that later. The backstory behind The Girl is pretty crazy too - Larsson wrote this book, and two others (The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest) in his spare time, after work, and only submitted them for publication shortly before he died early of a heart attack. His trilogy is now being published posthumously. Rumor has it there's been a familial dispute over his will and some speculation as to foul play over his death but would you expect anything less?


Buy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on Amazon

I'll admit it, when I started this book I was... unimpressed. Whether it's Larsson's writing or the translation, the style just didn't appeal to me. I'm not typically a reader of mysteries or thrillers and perhaps I am simply unfamiliar with the type of writing that accompanies that type of literature. Either way, I was nervous that I wouldn't get into this book - it's the February choice for my Book Club and it's no laughing matter at 608 pages.

Luckily, it turned out to be no issue whatsoever. The story quickly overcame all concerns I had and I was sucked in. Sure, the writing is a bit of a hurdle, and the characters can be fairly predictable - but it doesn't matter. After you've delved in for 50 pages or so, you can't stop reading. What really keeps the book going is that Larsson never focuses on just one aspect of the mystery. He weaves in multiple angles and story lines and keeps adding complications until you're spinning in circles and have become obsessed! Or maybe that's just me.

Either way, I'm eager to start the next installment.

Visit the Official Random House Website for Larsson and the Trilogy

Read a review by beucherwald (suspiciously similar to mine!) on LiveJournal

A site dedicated to Stieg Larsson - background, story, books and a BBC story on Larsson, his books, and some interesting stories around both

P.S. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo doesn't stop on the page. It has since been made into a movie (in Sweden) and will be coming stateside soon as it's been optioned by Hollywood.

52 Book Challenge - One Month In

If you're a regular reader of my blog (I know there are at least a few of you!), you've probably noticed that my book reviews have been coming out on Mondays. This serves a couple of purposes for me - it gives me a minimum of one blog post a week (which can be useful some weeks), it gives some regularity, and it's easy to keep track of where I am in the quest (i.e. I'm at week 5 and I've read 5 books = on track).

That said, I'm actually farther along than you all think. I have the next 3 books (and blog posts) already finished (and scheduled) so I can look ahead and see that I am 3 weeks ahead. The great part of this is the obvious progress chart that comes from it. I'm not in danger! I'm 3 weeks ahead - maybe I'll take advantage of that and read a longer book this week.

It occurred to me last night though, that this also presents a problem. Sure, I'm 3 weeks ahead but what happens if (when?) I finish book 52 during the 41st week? I'll have the rest of the year's blog posts planned out already - where will new books fit! I'd either have to shuffle them all in at the end and, unintentionnaly, give them short shrift, or I'd have to push them into 2011. And we don't want that either.

This is all a very long and complicated way of saying... I'm changing the structure! Don't worry dear readers - change is good. Moving forward, I'll be posting about each book as I finish it. Sometimes (like this week) that will mean 3 book posts in a week. Sometimes it will mean none. You'll have to simply take them as they come.

It's a bold new world we're embarking upon. Okay, it's not, but still. It's something anyhow.

2009 Job Trends Report

I know what you're thinking - we all know where the jobs ended up last year. Down. Right, I hear ya. However, that didn't stop SimplyHired from putting together a report on the 2009 Job Trends and where we've ended up at the end of 2009.



I was first alerted to the report by Applicant (not SimplyHired themselves) but Applicant didn't seem to have all of the data so I clicked to get the full press release and then I clicked again and then, no joke, I had to click
again to finally end up with what seems to be the complete report. Granted, it's tiny and useless so you have to zoom in a few thousand times but that said, in the end, it's sort of interesting.

Some of the things I found most interesting?

• St. Louis is the only metropolitan area that saw growth over Q4 2008 (one wonders what constitutes a metropolitan area but still, pretty impressive)
  
• Charlotte is closely behind though, with no change - low bar, eh?
  
• Virginia lost the least amount of jobs by state
  
• North Dakota, on the other end, is the least improved of all states
  
• Jackson, MS holds the title for least improved metropolitan area
  

Where does your state or metropolitan area rate? Check out the report.

Book 5 - Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles

Let's be honest. We've all been there - uncomfortable chairs, delayed flights, horrible food (or closed horrible food stands), no information. Waiting, waiting, waiting...

This uniting feeling of annoyance, boredom, and malaise is what originally perked my interest in Dear American Airlines. I also happened to catch Jonathan Miles in an interview on NPR sometime in the past year or so and the premise of the book was intriguing.


Click here to buy Dear American Airlines on Amazon

What I knew: A man is stuck in an airport, presumably trying to get somewhere on American Airlines. He begins writing a letter to said airline, outlining his predicament and generally lamenting the situation.

What I actually found: Dear American Airlines is little gem of a book. In 180 pages, Miles manages to give the reader a window into the life of Benny, the letter writer. It's not a pretty life and Benny isn't the best man you've ever met but the book feels honest and forthright. It feels true in an entirely unexpected way and I found myself really routing for Benny, really wanting everything to work out, really hoping that he'd find a way to redeem himself in his own eyes. It's really quite lovely.

A short review but I really do recommend that you check this out. I'm not even a fan of shorter stories or of novellas typically. But this book... just trust me on this one.

Read another review of Dear American Airlines over at Pie Not Included (BTW, she's also written a review of Julie and Julia - you remember, I read that too)

Some more thoughts about Dear American Airlines over on My Big Fat Book Blog

Interested in what Jonathan has to say for the book? Check out a WETA Interview from 2008.

As a side note, you can follow the path of Jonathan Miles over at www.dearamericanairlines.com - and hear a blip from John Hodgeman (who also seems to have thought the book was beautiful).