This is a tribute to boxing that is as ardent as a love letter. The thoughtful pieces will leave you feeling differently about "the sweet science". Fantastic reading.
This is a funny book about a company that was founded during the dot.com era. dot.bomb is an appropriate title for the subject matter. The company floundered then imploded in the wake of some wide-eyed mismanagement. Mr. Kou captures the fever pitch of this era perfectly.
My youngest brother gave me this book and it is wonderful. This book reveals that extraordinary detail behind our ordinary choices. The book spans the lunch hour of an ordinary office worker, and you will be amazed at the things one can ponder in a lunch hour.
A look at old school Sports Center from two of its finest sportscasters. Keith and Dan have straight advice for how to become a television talent: don't be lured by money; stay in front of the camera.
This book has a "film noir" feel throughout. A novel about race, corrupt cops, and deception through omission. A fantastic golf scene was originally excerpted in Sports Illustrated, and that compelled me to pick this up.
Anonymous Rex is a modern murder mystery, except all the main characters are dinosaurs who are disguised as humans. Dinosaurs aren't extinct after all! It's a premise that Mr. Garcia works to perfection.
An evenly paced first-person novel about an elderly Asian trying to come to grips with his past and his present. The timidness and hesitations of this man's life is revealed in great prose.
Read a column that Mr. Portis is one of the great unheralded writers out there. This novel paints a wide landscape (Mexico), but the story and the characters felt too disjointed for me. Very spare prose. Hemingway-esque.
Like Cut Time, this book will change your thinking about another fringe sport: horse racing. Ms. Hillenbrand's writing is superb. She alerts the readers to the hard life of the jockey, and the magnificence of these powerful animals.
This book is now an acknowledged modern baseball classic. Mr. Lewis' applies his enthusiast's eye to Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, and Mr. Beane's application of baseball statistics (sabermetrics) to collect high-valued baseball talent at low-cost. Bill James fans will rejoice. Red Sox fans will cheer at the mention of Youkilis.
Everyone has heard the opening sentence of this classic ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."). This was my first time reading this, and it was a revelation: there are very funny moments, very tragic moments, and very heart-rending moments. After a few days, his writing style became familiar. The plot twist in the end hit me with its full power, and I was amazed. Sheer genius.
A man is laid off from his job. As he hones in on an ideal job posting, he decides that he can improve the odds of his getting hired by killing the other candidates for this job. This simple premise is carried out well by Mr. Westlake.
This is one of the early Tom Clancy books, and it's "short" compared to his later works. The story casts the mold of Clancy's methodical plots, but you're in good hands with this master spy thriller writer. This book features Jack Ryan as a young analyst.
My favorite of the year, and my first DeMille book. There is a very strong character in Ben Tyson, the Vietnam veteran whose present is brought to a standstill after a war crime that he committed was revealed in a tell-all book. The real story of his crime comes out in a very dramatic military courtroom scene. Lots of great characters and lots of great scenes. A super super reading experience.
This is the story of Esteban Toledo, a mid-level professional golfer on the PGA Tour, and how he got there. The difficulty of playing and staying in this elite tour are highlighted. Toledo's story is told very well by the author, who sometimes inserts himself into the story.
This was my morning "bathroom" book (a book that I read for two or three minutes in the morning). It took me almost five months to finish, but this felt appropriate. This book is a history of the first transatlantic phone line, which was laid down by boat across the Atlantic. It is a very fascinating look not only at early technology, but also early business practices.
A tale reminiscent of Dickens, it involves a girl who is a pick pocket (a fingersmith) trying to scam money out of an innocent girl who lives with her uncle in a mansion. There is double-cross upon double-cross, and the intricate switchbacks are deftly narrated. Bravo!
This book is a romance involving a man who has chrono-displacement disorder (i.e. he spontaneously time travels, forwards and backwards). Some great time travel premises in here, but the book felt tedious at times. It's not purely science fiction.
This is a business book that asks "why are you starting your own business?" Mr. Komisar gives budding entrepreneurs a few of the correct answers, and a few of the incorrect answers.
Earlier in the month, I saw a movie based on this non-fiction work ("Owning Mawhony" starring Philip Seymour Hoffman). It compelled me to learn more, so I got the book. Mr. Ross provides far more detail than the movie into the extraordinary gambling addiction of the Canadian banker Brian Molony. It's breathtaking the lengths of his deceptions. Gambling addition and recovery from addiction are discussed as well.
This is the war book that became the Ridely Scott movie by the same name. Mark Bowen's account of this formerly obscure skirmish in Mogadishu started as a multi-part series in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The book is a "down on the ground" exploration of modern combat. The author lets the men and the action drive the story of the worst fire fight our American troops have been in since Vietnam.
A literary exploration of New York City. This is prose written like poetry. Full of brief sentences and words that convey feelings and images of this great city. Nicely done.
Picked this up in a library book sale and I don't regret it. Fantastic law drama/whodunit. Grisham may be the king, but Mr. Lescroart is surely a prince in the realm of law novels.
Mr. Benedict's thesis is that NBA players are more prone to commit rape and other violent crimes. While the research was done very quickly (to capitalize on the Kobe Bryant trial), I fear that much of what he speculates is true. The book gives an insight into the NBA baller's life, and it's not all nice.
Grisham at his weakest. Yes, it's a good premise (four judges in a federal prison attempt to blackmail a presidential candidate), but the characters seemed too cardboard/cookie cutter. Somewhat disappointing.
This is a fantastic book. A tie for my second favorite of the year. It's a mix of Blade Runner, a Spillane novel, and the Matrix. It's an exploration of the subconscious, and modern culture. I loved every page of this dreamy book. This was recommended by my manager. Thanks!
Another book given to me by my youngest brother. And another book that hits a home run. I was so moved by this book that I wrote an Amazon book review. It's a marvelous non-fiction about the early NBA, and one of the key players who never got a chance, Connie Hawkins.
I loved Ms. Greenlaw's account about modern fishing. I'm drawn to stories about the ocean. Ms. Greenlaw has the distinction of being one of only a handful of female swordsfishermen. She writes of her profession with detail and with detachment, reflecting on her role in the world of fishing, and beyond. Fantastic.
Maybe my second favorite book of the year. This is a masterpiece, a rock 'em, sock 'em novel that reminded me of Russo's Empire Falls or Smiley's Good Faith. When I think of great contemporary literary fiction, The Corrections will come to my mind. Mr. Franzen spares no sentences to fully render this dysfunctional midwestern family, and you're left wincing at the details that strike close to home. This is marvelous. I was dazzled.
This book describes not only the modern competitive Scrabble scene, but also the history of the game itself, the early competitors, and what it takes to compete. The author himself tries to achieve a high scrabble rating, and nearly despairs trying. I blame my current fascination with cross words on this book.
What else can be said about this very popular book? I'm glad to have read it, because it is a well-constructed story. It moves at breakneck speed, and while Catholics (myself included) will turn fearful at the heresy, like everyone else they won't be able to turn away so they can find out where the Holy Grail lies.
On a lark, I picked this book up off my book shelf, and I got drawn into the slow drawl that is Nick Carraway's first person account of Jay Gatsby. I had forgotten about the accident, the eyes on the billboard, the murder, the lavish parties, and the sultry Jazz Age New York City. It's good to reminded again.