Talent is Overrated -- Geoff Colvin ----------------------- 3.5 Stars

This book has a pretty cool premise.  As you can guess from the title, it's basically the idea that people that are great at things (music, athletics, business) are not really great because they have some natural, innate ability, rather, they are successful because of hard work and very specific types of hard work.

Talent is Overrated really is a great idea for an essay or article...which is where this started but it really struggled as a book.  It become a preachy, business focused book during the last half and lost some real steam in my opinion.  As I said, the premise is great, and the first half of the book really is interesting and his supporting views and data regarding his premise are well told and very interesting.  He makes a great point that people like Mozart and Tiger Woods really are no different than you or I.  They just happen to be individuals that were put in very unique environments, had very specific upbringings, and were consistently following 'deliberate practice'.

Oh, 'deliberate practice', the true nugget of this book.  This is really the best part of this book and why it's worth reading.  It's not so much that people get great and really amazing at something by working hard; kind of obvious.  Rather, they work really hard at doing something very specific, very well.  Remember, the old saying, "perfect practice makes perfect"?  Well, that's the idea.

You should really read the book to get the full description of it, but deliberate practice is what is separating you, yes you, from Tiger Woods.  Well, that and probably a few other things that it's way too late to fix.  Basically, when you go hit balls at the range or learn how to do some other activity, you are , probably having 'fun' when you try to get better.  You hit a few balls, think about your shot, hit differently, then do it all again.  That's nice, not even close to deliberate practice.  You nee to read the book to find out more about it, but be forewarned, there is the reason you are not a famous at ___________.  It's really, really hard and to be the best, it will probably take up pretty much all your time... sorry for the downer conclusion.

Overall, it's a pretty cool book with a great premise.  The first half is very interesting and will certainly carry you through less interesting second half.  If you are curious about ways to change people in business and work on organizational things like that, the second half is okay. It's got some cool ideas about how to have people focus on intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations and things like that.  I was a bit disappointed just because it was so obviously a 'business' book and it was not marketed that way. 

The Table Comes First -- Adam Gopnik ----------------- 1.5 Stars

It's incredibly rare that I read and review any book and it not receive a decent rating.  This is not to say that I would like any book I read and that there are simply so many good to great books out there.  No, that is far from the truth.  If I were to just pick up and review any random book, the very high majority of books would received very poor ratings (between 0 and 2 stars).  I actually do quite a bit of research prior to selecting the books I read to assure it is something that I will probably like.  I don't have time to read bad books or things that I am not interested in so assuring that I have a book I want to read before starting is critical. Thus, most of the books I read get fairly decent to high ratings based on the extensive due diligence I do prior to picking a book.

Like many things, however, it is not a perfect system.  Point in fact: Adam Gopnik's The Table Comes First.   A little background on the selection.  I like books that have to do with food.  I was excited to read Julia Child's autobiography called My Life in France and other books like that.  This one seemed interesting based on it's subtitle (see on the right) and referencing about the philosophical importance about food in our lives.  It also had decent ratings on Amazon, so I thought it might be okay... boy was I wrong.

This book is really not a fun read.  Please DO NOT check it out.  As you may recall, I base my ratings on how excited I am to read the book and how interesting it is.  This was lacking significantly on both of those criterion.  It actually got to the point that I dreaded having to read it and could not wait to finish it. 

Why did I not like?  First, it was foods, items, ideas, and people that were completely beyond me.  I mean, I feel fairly well educated, but I had no idea what he was writing about for pages at a time.  Some of the names and references of people were truly baffling.  Second, his writing style was tough for me to handle.  Long sentences with verbose (right word?) vocabulary and unorganized chapters and sections.  Third, the cool philosophical points I thought were going to be made about food were lost on me, and it instead just seem like the ramblings of a fairly crazed author. 

So, I would not spend time on this book unless you really have a significant interest in food history and/or knowledge about food.  It's not well told, not entertaining, and hard to understand.  So, I am sorry dear readers about this terrible review but do appreciate that you only had to read this sole blog about it while I had to read the whole miserable book.  :( 

Out of Captivity: Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle -- Marc Gonsalves, Tom Howe, Keith Stansell, Gary Brozek -------------------- 3 Stars

So, I'm kind of really into borrowing books for my Kindle from the local library now.  Positive -- it's free and you can find many more books than you might think.  Negative -- the usually only have 1 or 2 copies and you have to wait until they are 'checked back in' before you can get them.  I usually have a list of about 15 books that I want to read and Out of Captivity had been on the list for a while now.  So, I was excited to see I could borrow it from the library with no wait*

I heard about this book a couple years ago as being an incredible true story.  Much in the same vein as books like Alive, it is a true story about some horrific conditions that some individuals found themselves and how they made it out alive.  In this case, it's about the three guys to your right: Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Tom Howes.  Quick premise: they are flying over the Colombian jungle, have engine problems, go down, get captured by the local terrorist organization (the FARC) and are held as hostages for about 5 1/2 years.  It's a crazy story.

So, why did this amazing tale only get 3 stars?  Well, just because it's an amazing story does not mean it's an amazing book.  The best part of the book is indeed the amazing story.  From the earliest explanation for how this could possibly take place, to the details of every place they lived in for 5 years, to the thrilling story of how they got out, it's an unbelievable tale.  There is no doubt that after you read this book you will have a far greater appreciation for the little conveniences of life and the luck we have of living in American (and more obviously not as a hostage). The book also does a great job to illuminate an issue that is rarely discussed or is paid attention to: the surprising number of Americans (and other groups) that are currently hostages in Columbia and around the world.

Even with this retelling of this amazing story, the book has a number of problems.  First, it's told completely from the point of view from one of the three hostages at every point in the book.  So while there has been some editing of the passages, they still often come across as choppy, unorganized, and poorly told.  Problem #2 is that this book really needed a better editor.  While in some cases it was interesting to find out pertinent details and facts about certain parts of their time in captivity, the book goes way overboard including nearly EVERYTHING.  There are moments were 4 or 5 pages take place with no dialogue, or real events occurring, just explanation about minutiae.  In addition, and this a purely preferential issue, the book is incredibly sad.  Not surprisingly, the stories about what it was like in captivity aren't exactly pleasent.

It really is unfortunate that the book was not edited better and only the most worthwhile information was included.  It is a tremendous story and all three men who got out have a different and interesting look at the world.  I would still recommend this book to most people because after you get past the fact that there are some large chunks that you just have to keep pushing to get through, you are left with a really wonderful and (eventual) uplifting story about the journey of these three Americans.  




























*Footnote -- You can only borrow the book for 3 weeks like the normal library and then your loan on the Kindle makes it disappear.  You then have to go back, hope no one has it and borrow it again...UNLESS, you are smart like me and if you turn off your wireless on your Kindle, the Kindle does not know (because it can't access the Internet) that the book is due and you can finish it then turn the wireless back on.  Your welcome.

The Given Day -- Dennis Lehane ------------------- 4 Stars

Well, it's sad to say that it's been almost 2 months since my last blog.  Between a 700 pager and the return to school, my reading time has been a bit limited.  But I am happy to say I finished the wonderful The Given Day based on a recommendation from the sis, and it did not disappoint. 

If you are like me, you probably have heard of Lehane's other books as they became massive movies.  Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island, and Mystic River all were major productions but they tended to be a bit 'darker' than The Given Day.  Quick synopsis: the novel is historical fiction and the stories are about two characters (1 black/1 white) with the backdrop of Boston in the mid 1910's and the impending and eventual police strike that occurred.  There's also some cool preludes and interludes about the life of Babe Ruth, and stories from his life that are occurring at the same time as the narrative.

In general, it's a very good book.  The writing is nice and crisp and a near perfect combination of details and 'picture painting' with interesting and worthwhile dialogue.  There is very little wasted information, scenes, or actions that occur in the book, and thus, the 700 pages are a pleasure to read.    The characters are nicely created and you can't help but begin to feel for them and root for the ones you like.

The biggest difficulty with the book is the arc of the story.  For certain periods in the book, you are not sure where it is going and there almost seemed to be no impending ending.  Indeed, there was a conclusion but I could not help feeling like many questions were still left unanswered and I was a bit perturbed.  That begin said, it's my understanding that there is a sequel to this that just came out in the last month that might answer some of those questions.  My only other real complaint is that this book, is in many ways, 'dark' and a bit sad.  There is racism, violence, terrorism, and an ending that does not exactly leave you jumping with joy.

I would still strongly recommend this book to all readers, especially those who like historical fiction.  I was excited to read that there is supposed to be a movie (at some point) coming out about this book and would love to see these characters that I pictured in my own mind on the big screen.   Do check this story out; you won't be disappointed!

The Long Goodbye -- Raymond Chandler -------------- 4 Stars

So, I am going to try to write this whole blog in the style of this book.  The key to that is short, choppy sentences.  It is not easy.  But it is a cool writing style. 

Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye was a very enjoyable book.  Looking through my blog you'll notice better reviews for newer books.  Like old movies, old books tend to be a bit slower and less exciting then newer books.  This book is from the 50's.  It's in the classic style of L.A. detective stories.  You know, the ones with 'private eyes' who drink a lot and fight a lot.  Chandler had a number of books that feature the main character of this book: Philip Marlowe.  He is cool and a bit of a bad ass.

I think what I truly liked about the book at the start was the shortness of the sentences.  It seems to make everything a bit more important.  It was like a watching a movie with every line being a quick back and forth between two characters.  Unfortunately, I found it got a bit annoying as the book went on (not sure if it's annoyed you yet in reading this blog... uh oh, sentence too long). 

There are still very redeeming elements of this book, which is why it got 4 stars.  First, it's just cool.  Like I said, cool prose, interesting main character, a total 'guys' book. Second, it's a pretty riveting story.  Although it does get slow form time to time, there is a lot of murder, violence, drinking, cops and 'bad guys'; overall good stuff.  Third, you knew that it was building up for some kind of surprise ending but I couldn't figure it out for sure until the end.  It was a good ending.

Overall, I had never heard of Chandler or this book but really enjoyed reading it.  I would suggest it for most readers.  Even if you don't like this type of subject (e.g. L.A. copy story like), it's a good story and a cool genre to at least read once.  Plus, you get to read, think, and maybe write in short sentences for a while.  Like this.  Or this.  

The Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dreams -- Darcy Frey ------------ 4 Stars

After a while, I totally forget how I found the books that I have on my list to read.  This is a perfect example.  I just realized I wanted to read it a couple of weeks ago, checked the reviews, realized it sounded cool but have never heard of it and it's 20 years old.  Read it, really enjoyed it.

The Last Shot is a pretty cool book.  It's basically a mix of great sociological discovery mixed with the dreams and descriptions of inner city and high school level basketball.  Put together, it's a pretty incredible piece of journalism.   Frey, the author, basically spent a year living around 3 or 4 up and coming high school basketball players in Coney Island and reporting on all aspects of their lives.  In the same vein as the great documentary Hoop Dreams, the author does a great job of really allowing you to see the challenges and difficulties of the lives of these athletes. 

While this book is probably a better piece of writing, has more redeeming values and is a far better commentary about our society than many other books that have received higher ratings, it only earns 4 stars because it's not as captivating when read as some of the other books that have received higher ratings.  Nonetheless, this is still a very fun book to read.  Being a basketball junkie, I found parts of this book fascinating, others exhilarating, while there is also parts that are heartbreaking.  As you read this book, you know that many of these players (who are superstars in high school and put most of their futures on the anticipation of their basketball successes), don't make it.  But the book is so much more than about just basketball and trying to make it to the NBA.  As I said earlier, it's really an insight into a different lifestyle than what many of are used to.  In fact, the beauty of this book is to really learn to see and feel what the lives are like of these very gifted but troubled athletes. 

One of the really illuminating parts of the book is the commentary Frey makes about the influence of colleges, money, and sponsorship on the whole universes of high school athletics.  Through a detailed and frank explanation of how colleges and the NCAA behave, it becomes very clear that the current system of athletics is based nearly solely around money and money alone.  The importance of education is secondary to the success of the athletic programs, and the lives of the students athletes are probably of least concern.

Overall, this is a stimulating book and is highly recommended.  Obviously you would enjoy it much more if you enjoy the sport of basketball and have an interest in college recruiting.  However, even if you are just interested in a slice of life to learn what it's like to live in the poorest areas of Coney Island, this is would be a good book for you.  

Hellhound on His Trial: The Stalking of Marting Luther King Jr. -- Hampton Sides and A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown -- Julia Scheeres ----------------------------------- 4.5 Stars

For the first time ever, I thought it prudent to do a review of two books at once.  There a couple of reasons. 
1. Laziness. As it's summer, I'm reading books a bit more quickly than during the year and don't really have all that time to blog about them.  Doing two reviews at once is faster.  2.  They are very similar book (more about that later).  3.  I think it would be new and different to a double review... so here we go:

The first book I finished was an excellent true story by Hampton Sides titled Hellhound on His Trial, and it was basically the story of James Earl Ray's (nerdy looking dude to your right) stalking, assassination, and eventual escape of Martin Luther King, Jr.  The second book is called A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown by Julia Scheeres.  Before I go through a brief explanation of each book, I wanted to explain how they are similar.  First, both are true stories based exclusively on facts.  Second, both are based on a significant amount of research done in the past few years from thousands of pages that were released by the FBI that had to do with MLK being killed and the Jonestown massacre.  It was abundantly clear both authors spent significant time combing through huge amounts of information to put together very well written 300 page books that tell a fascinating story.  Third, both are tragic.  Although one book talks about the tragedy of one person dying, and the other nearly 1,000, they both show how bad people can alter the lives of others significantly.

Overall, I enjoyed Hellhound more as a read.  It was a bit more exciting and fun to read about.  Although it's still about a fairly crazy guy in James Earl Ray, whose racist stupidity killed one of the great men of the 20th century, the story about Ray, which includes his initial interest in getting to King, actual assassination, and escape, are all very fascinating episodes.  Although the book starts a little slow detailing his adventures in Mexico and California before going to Memphis for the assassination, the book was nearly impossible to put down once the story turned to the carefully detailed and drawn explanation of the assassination outside of a Memphis motel to his amazing escape and runaway period.  In fact, the most startling thing I learned from the book was that it took almost two months to capture Ray and it was the most costly manhunt in U.S. history (over $2 million spent).  His escape also took him north into Canada, across the Atlantic to Portugal with his final arrest occurring as he was trying to leave London, England.  He then went back to prison and escaped again for a few days before finally being caught and kept in prison until he died about 20 years ago.  What a great story!

The second book about Jonestown was just as good as a page turner but seemed to me much more melancholy.  The book basically explains how Jim Jones created a very 'cult' like organization, led many of his followers to Guyana with him, became pretty crazy and eventually helped most people there complete the worst mass suicide in the history of the modern world.  Besides being an incredibly sad ending, most of what led up to it was not very peachy either and you could not help but became so upset and sad for the so many innocent people who either could not or would not leave Jonestown prior to the end.  Like Hellhound, this book does an incredible job using superb research to tell the very detailed story of 5 or 6 specific individuals that lived at Jonestown along with the life of Jim Jones himself.  Overall, it's a pretty tough story to get through but is a very exciting book to read.

Both of these stories are great reads, and I would recommend them to all readers, especially any that are interested in these subjects.  In both books I learned many new things that I was unaware of earlier and both stories were told in a fashion that they are a very easy read and hard to put down.  Realize that although both are depressing, they tell great stories about important events in the lives of Americans in the past 50 years. Enjoy!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- Stieg Larsson --------------------- 4 Stars

It was with much anticipation and excitement that I was able to finally read (the classic?...too early?) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Like the recently reviewed Hunger Games, you would have to be living under a rock for the past few years to not hear about these two books.  Written by the late Swedish author Steig Larsson, this book became an absolute huge best seller and major motion picture, but was it any good?  Short answer, yeah, it's really good.

Going into reading this book I had some awfully high expectations and was expecting a page turner; I was not disappointed.  The book is really exciting from start to finish.  It's got a couple of great characters and the book is mostly a classic mystery novel that includes this one guy and the girl with the tattoo trying to solve a very old murder.  The highlights of the book are definitely the fast action scenes, easy to follow plot, and fun dialogue.  I was a bit surprised how small the role of the the girl with tattoo is, considering she is the name of the title of the book, she was certainly most important character #2. 

So, with all this great stuff, why did this only garner 4 stars?  Well, it was going to be 4.5 stars until the last 50 pages.  Frankly, I wish the book would have ended earlier.  There was a very definite climax and exciting set of chapters about the finality to the mystery.  Had the book ended there, it was a for sure 4.5 stars; but it kept going.  While the last 50 pages were good and tied up some less than interesting loose ends, this extended denouement (take that English teachers) turned me off to the end of the novel and cost this book at least a .5 star.  In general, the book also is a bit choppy and you certainly should not be looking forward to reading this book because of Larsson's excellent writing style.  As I said earlier, you should be reading this book for great plot, great action, and cool creation of the girl with the tattoo character.  ((Note: there is a halfhearted attempt to make you think about whether criminals are born that way or society makes them that way.  I think the girl with the tattoo is the only one that is questioning the whole nature vs. nurture debate but it's in there and kind of a lame attempt of making 'more' of the themes of this book.) (Side note to note: there is a lot of violence and some pretty nasty stuff brought up in this book, beware)).

Overall, I would certainly recommend this book.  As I make my review mostly on entertainment value, this book is very exciting, a fun ready, and hard to put down.  I really found that I would keep reading even after I had planned to stop because it was so addicting.  Do be aware that it is a bit choppy, is placed exclusively in Sweden (and has a few cultural items that were lost on me), and sort of mulls on for a while at the end.  Nonetheless, it's a great read and completely worth the time.

Emipre Fallls -- Richard Russo ---------------- 2.5 Stars

Like many things in life, the more you take part in something or try something, the better you get at understanding your own likes and dislikes.  Whether it's t.v., music, art, food... the more you try something, the easier it is to decide what style of something you do and don't like.  This is also quite true with books (not sure why this took me so long to realize).  In the last few years as my numbers of books read has increased, I am beginning to get a much better feel for what I personally enjoy reading the most.  In general, any non-fiction on a topic I like will work.  Fiction is more difficult.  I have decided, however, I am a big fan of action/something happening.  This is, perhaps, the biggest reason I struggled with Richard Russo's Empire Falls.

Empire Falls has incredible reviews, has one the Pulitzer, and pretty much everyone I know loves it; so how is it possible I disliked it?  Well, like many things, it's just a mater of taste.  The book is well written, nicely told, has great characters, solid questions about how to live one's life...all the things I normally like in a book.  BUT, nothing really ever happens.  I mean, somethings do, and some exciting stuff happens in pages 450-480, but for the most part, there ain't much going on besides just telling about people's every day lives.  Which, is cool and all, but I don't really like reading books to read about every day life... I see that all around me. Something amazing, spectacular, different, needs to happen.  In this case the 'amazing', tended to be things like, someone gets a divorce or people are mad at one another.  Overall, I just couldn't get into the novel as nothing was ever happening.

While I bash it for the most part, I definitely can see why people like it and why it was made an HBO miniseries (which I'd like to see and perhaps, if seen being acted out, might improve it for me).  But again, it's taste.  It's not you, it's me.  If you are interested in reading it, quick synopsis: story of Miles, who owns a small restaurant in small town Maine.  The story is about his family, parents, daughter, and their relationship with others including rich patrician types in the small city.  I would say, that's all you need to know and a bunch of stuff happens but that's just not true.  Very little happens but it's told well and you get into the characters.

For the most part, I usually do not recommend any books with less than 3 stars but as I said earlier, this book is adored by many and people's tastes are all different.  If you do like it though, you are going to have to explain to me how a book where nothing happens is entertaining to read.  Thanks.

Underworld -- Don DeLillo ----------------------------- 4 Stars

If you are like me, you have probably not heard of Don DeLillo's Underworld. Nonetheless, it is regarded by many as one of the best novels in the past 25 years.  Thus, I put it on my list of books to read, and, for the most part, I was not disappointed.

It's been kind of hard for me to get into modern or, as many call it, 'postmodern' novels.  Normally, the fiction I read is based on older ideas, issues, or themes so getting into modern fiction is kind of hard.  You know, current, real world stuff.  I struggled through Philip's Roth American Pastoral and this book reminded me of that in many ways, but, this was much better.

A little background:  This book is absolutely SPRAWLING.  Coming in at over 800 pages, this book features many characters, many places, and more importantly, many time periods.    The time period thing is what is really fascinating about the book.  The book starts in the 50's, speeds up to the 90's that jumps back through the 70s and 80s and finishes again with the 50s.   It's pretty crazy.  What's even harder to keep up with about it is that there is random focuses on different characters, often in non-sequential order throughout the novel.

I consider the novel 'modern', as the book is really about just about people and their lives.  A lot if it is about how little things and decisions changes other big things (sort of butterfly effect).  It's also a lot about circumstance, environment, and location of upbringing and how that changes people.  It's also a little bit about baseball.

The book is great because it creates interesting, though not very deep, characters.  It's most great though because of the asynchronous order of the chapters.  It is written very well and DeLillo has a real talent for painting pictures of each scene.  While you don't really fall in love with any characters (I'd have to think more about it, but I think each is flawed), the story and the circumstances around their lives is fascinating.  It's also great because it is about current life.  Whether it be Cold War references, racism issues, adultery, or other items, the book is expressly set in the past half century.

The book's biggest drawback is it's length. Some, or alot, could have been cut, and some additions of chapters about less than important characters could have been skipped.   Had it been edited down to a crisper novel, it would have not taken away much from the story and made it a tighter and easier read.

Overall, it's a very good book.  The Prologue is a wonderfully crafted short story that relates Bobby Thompson's 'Shot heard round the world' that will pull you right into the middle of one of the critical pieces of the entire story.  If you don't mind reading through the superfluous narratives, you'll get a real treat by sticking it through to the end of the story.

The Hunger Games -- Suzanne Collins ------------------------------ 4.5 Stars

So, like pretty much everyone else, I decided to buy into The Hunger Games phenomenon and give it a shot. Although written at an adolescent level (and I believe for that age group), I had heard such strong support of the book from the adult crowd that I though I should at least give it a chance. I was not disappointed.

I wrote a blog along time ago (I was too lazy to find it and provide the link) about how when something becomes a cultural phenomenon (i.e. music, tv show, movies), it's worth buying in to...usually, that many people can't be wrong. Quick examples that prove the point for me: Kanye West, The Sopranos, and now The Hunger Games.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year, The Hunger Games (and it's additional two books in the trilogy) have been huge fan favorites and the recent release of the movie have made it even bigger. In case you know nothing about it, I will provide a one sentence synopsis of the book: In a future world, 24 kids have to fight to death and only one is left as a survivor. Doesn't that sound awesome? Now, throw in some evil people, some good people, imaginative futuristic stuff, and a awesome female, teenage protagonist and you got a hit.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Although it's a fairly long book, it is at such a low reading level and is so interesting, that I couldn't help but finish it in about a week (though it took me 3 weeks to blog about). After a fairly slow start that puts all the pieces in place, it's very fast paced and once you get to the actual competition, it is very difficult to put down at all.

I definitely want to see the movie though I am not sure about whether I'm up for two more books. First, I have not heard such raving reviews about those two. Second, I really feel like I don't want to know more about what happens to the characters and places after what I've already read. I liked how this book ended though I was a bit perturbed that there was sort of an expectation that you continue into the other books. That ending, along with the fact that it really is kind of a kid's book, are what prevented it from getting a full 5 stars. Nonetheless, it was a very entertaining book and received a fairly rare 4.5 star review.

All -- don't be fooled by this being a 'pre-teen' novel, this phenomenon is for real and I would bet that you would enjoy this read as much as I (and millions of others) did.

One on One: Behind the Scenes with the Greats of the Game - John Feinstein -------------------- 3 Stars

Not long ago I heard an awesome radio interview with John Feinstein telling some great stories while promoting his book One on One. They were real great stories that included tales about Mike Kryzerwefski (sp?) and John McEnroe. They were very entertaining and made me super interested in reading his book. Unfortunately, listening to those stories over the radio proved far more entertaining than reading the book itself.

Quick background: Feinstein has written a bunch of books about sports. I have never read any. Supposedly they are very good and his first, about Indiana and Bobby Knight, sort of put him on the map. I see him on TV sometimes in the D.C. area and find him interesting and super arrogant. Anyway, the book is basically an autobiography about his first book about Knight and his books afterwards. In it, it includes a lot of back stories about many different individuals in athletics.

The good parts of the book are also what makes it sort of annoying. I guess Feinstein's deal is that he is like super honest about people. So, the ones he thinks are good people, he shows why over and over and those he thinks are jerks, he explains that over and over. Unfortunately, this ends up just coming off as super petty and really vindictive. I mean, honestly, how many times can he go after Bobby Knight and Tiger Woods and say they are jerks. I get it already; move on.

The book is about 400 pages and gets 3 stars because, while I did enjoy reading it and it was entertaining, the stories got pretty boring by the end and I couldn't stand Feinstein's deal of having to show all the ways he was better or smarter than people along the way. He became incredibly annoying by the end but some of the inside sports stories about athletes was illuminating.

I suppose if you have liked Feinstein's book in the past, this would be a great book for you. If not, perhaps not so much. Like I said, the best part of the book was actually hearing Feinstein tell a couple of the stories over the radio.

Taft 2012 -- Jason Heller ---------------------- 2.5 Stars

Taft 2012 is a fun read. It's a relatively new book by a first time author, and it is the fictional tale about William Howard Taft coming back from the dead to modern times. It's a very fast read, was decently entertaining, but it didn't have a lot to it.

The book is basically a look at the current state of American politics and the author, through Taft, explains his point that our current system is very negative and the two parties lack of bipartisanship is significant. Taft, who you can't help but love as a character, is the center of the novel.

While I enjoyed the silliness of the book, it was a bit slow in portions and the ending, to me, was a bit lame. Though the author did a really good job of relating the modern media environment, by interspersing Twitter updates and talk show interviews between chapters, the book just wasn't a great story after you got past the coolness of Taft trying to figure out modern day life.

The book is certainly not a bad read, and as I said, is a very quick read; but, I would not recommend it one of the better novels. Though it's a fun story and good critique about modern politics, the story struggles to move along and end successfully.

11/22/63 -- Stephen King ------------------------ 4.5 Stars

As I was reading Stephen King's amazing new novel 11/22/63, I knew from about 50 pages in that this would be approaching a 5 star book. As I continued reading, I kept going back in my head about whether it was truly a 5 star novel. I really wanted it to be one (they are pretty rare on this blog), but in the end, I just couldn't do it.

There have only been three 5 star books I have blogged about. All are amazing and they include Steinbeck's East of Eden, Puzo's The Godfather, and Follett's Pillars of the Earth. This book was definitely in their league, and I would argue, was perhaps a more enjoyable and addicting read than those books but to get 5 stars it has to be epic. Alas, that is where this fell a little short.

Quick synopsis about the book that gives nothing a way: it's about this guy who finds a way to time travel, thinks best to help the country by going back to 1963 and stopping the Kennedy assassination. That's about all you need to know to get started. Perhaps what's most exciting about the book is how quickly it does begin. So many novels slowly set up the setting or describe characters but about 20 pages into this novel the time traveling already starts. I absolutely loved the start of this book.

That was one of the reasons I new quickly that I would be debating whether this was a 4.5 or 5 star novel... it was such a page turner. After a dynamite start, I had trouble putting it down for the three weeks it took for me to plow through the 850 pages. Like other Stephen King books, it could have used some trimming. The middle had some parts that got a bit long and did not contribute a great deal to the plot. The book also was a bit simplistic in writing style and at no point did I find myself impressed with any of King's language or intricate writing elements. One of the concerns that I had early was that the idea of time travel can be so 'cheesy' sometimes, but the way King presents is so matter of fact and with so little fluff, that you can't help but go with and say to yourself 'okay, I'll just suspend some disbelief for a while'.

What was impressive was just the unbelievable storytelling power King possesses. As I give ratings mostly on entertainment value, this book knocked it out. As I said earlier, you get hooked in the first few pages and are with the main character throughout. I also love dialogue when I read, and this was chock full of conversations and fun back and forth. It's also written so simply that it's an incredibly easy novel to get through and one that does not take a lot of work to read.

As I mentioned earlier, the only real weakness of the novel is a slow middle section but due to such a strong start you find yourself happily reading through some duller parts waiting for the action to start again...and there is plenty of action too. I would like to write more about the actual plot because I loved the actual elements of the story, the characters, the description and time spent in the 1950s and 1960s and the wonderful ending. However, I don't want to give anything away. I knew just what I gave as a synopsis earlier and that left plenty for my imagination to go wild as I went through the story. As it was, there were so many ways that it could have worked out and part of the fun was trying to guess what might happen.

I strongly recommend this book to all readers and would argue that it's as close as can be to getting a 5. I really would pick it up as soon as possible though I warn you it's going to be hard to do other things once you get started, you are not going to want to put it down.