Stuff I've Read By an Amazon.com customer | |
![]() | The Toy Collector by James Gunn Buy used from: $3.91 I remember loving this book and wishing for years that there was more from this author that looked nearly as interesting ... very much like a Palahniuk book, I would have believed it was one. |
![]() | Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk Buy used from: $5.50 I think I liked this one more than most people - one of my favorites by Chuck |
![]() | Choke by Chuck Palahniuk Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $4.88 The first or second Palahniuk book I read - absolutely brilliant |
![]() | Invisible Monsters: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk Buy new: $10.04 / Used from: $2.88 I believe this was the 2nd Palahniuk book I read and I recall thinking it was as brilliant as Choke |
![]() | Survivor: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk Buy new: $11.16 / Used from: $0.40 Don't recall as much about this one, except for the gimmick that it ran backwards in time |
![]() | Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $2.00 Perfect. What I want all my pop culture books to read like |
![]() | Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas by Chuck Klosterman Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $4.21 Effectively a sequel to the perfect "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs", IV did not disappoint |
![]() | Can I Keep My Jersey?: 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond by Paul Shirley Buy used from: $0.01 We need more books like this one - why don't more fringe athletes write tell all books? Shirley can't possibly be the only intelligent one with good stories. Anyway, this book is like if Klosterman had been a profesional basketball player |
![]() | Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank and the 2004 by Bill Simmons Buy used from: $0.01 I was a little disappointed. All recycled material - the added footnotes not enough. Plus, I didn't realize it would be so Red Sox focused - I thought there's be more Simmons columns from the era that were not exclusively about the Sox |
![]() | The Best Game Ever: Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL by Mark Bowden Buy used from: $2.45 Just finished this one recently - a must read for serious football fans. Well told, and the parts about Raymond Berry are spectacular |
![]() | The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Playoff of '78 by Richard Bradley Buy used from: $0.01 Fun read, great insight into these interesting players weaved nicely through the narrative of the game. |
![]() | The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty New Edition: The Game, the Team, and the Cost of Greatness by Buster Olney Buy new: $10.19 / Used from: $4.65 Look, I love the 1996-2001 era Yankees and I've always thought the team died at the end of that World Series, so it's almost like this book was written for me. So maybe I'm not an unbiased judge. But I think this is the best Yankee book ever written. So much insight into that dynastic team |
![]() | Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Buy new: $11.67 / Used from: $9.23 Can't believe what an easy quick read this was - Gladwell is getting even better as a writer. Absolutely fascinating, though I don't know whether it has the practical impact for me that Blink does |
![]() | Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell Buy new: $8.49 / Used from: $3.48 Part of me thinks this is the best book I ever read. Not only a great read, it completely changed the way I think. Gladwell must be one of the most insightful people alive |
![]() | The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell Buy new: $8.49 / Used from: $3.95 Great first book from Gladwell - I read after Blink, was not quite as impressed but still a must-read |
![]() | Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt Buy new: $19.77 / Used from: $2.65 Tons of fun, I don't buy in 100% without question, but I found myself wishing there was more (and then gettnig hooked on the blog) |
![]() | The Havana Room: A Novel by Colin Harrison Buy used from: $0.01 Picked this one up at random, very compelling page-turner about a NY lawyer. I loved the NYC (and Brooklyn) imagery and the odd turns. Surprisingly enjoyable, though not sure I want to read another Harrison book, because may have been enjoyable for very book-specific reasons (NYC, corporate lawyer, etc.) |
![]() | The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam Buy used from: $1.77 Great book. Belicheck is clearly brilliant, and a little scary in his brilliance. The parts about his assistant (Adams?) are excellent too. |
![]() | Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis Buy new: $10.04 / Used from: $2.56 Enough has been said about this book. Bottom line is that when it came out it was revolutionary, completely made me change the way I (and millions of others) think about the sport I love. Th ekind of book I wanted to talk about and tell everyone I know to read |
![]() | The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis Buy new: $10.04 / Used from: $0.05 Much more interesting as a personal story than Moneyball. Didn't necessarily change the way I think about football the way Moneyball did, but I loved it just the same |
![]() | When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management by Roger Lowenstein Buy new: $10.88 / Used from: $4.39 Leverage is bad. Or maybe just too much leverage. That's what I took from this book. And that's all. Obviously that's a great lesson (see 2007-08) but I didn't think it made for the great story everyon else did. |
![]() | Black Planet: Facing Race during an NBA Season by David Shields Buy new: $11.86 / Used from: $2.23 Fascinating ... after reading this, I thought Shields would be one of my favorite writers. I was wrong |
![]() | The Gum Thief: A Novel by Douglas Coupland Buy new: $8.96 / Used from: $3.86 Weird but I liked it. Took a while to really get into it and not sure I'd love all of his books, but in the end I loved this one. Sort of a cross between typical office comedy (e.g. Office Space) and black comedy (Vonnegut or even Palahniuk style). |
![]() | Then We Came to the End: A Novel by Joshua Ferris Buy new: $10.07 / Used from: $1.37 started a little slow, but once I got into the flow I really enjoyed it. Another of the "office" humor genre |
![]() | Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk Buy new: $10.04 / Used from: $4.79 Not Palahniuk's best effort - good book, but not great |
![]() | God Save the Fan: How Preening Sportscasters, Athletes Who Speak in the Third Person, and the Occasional Convicted Quarterback Have Take by Will Leitch Buy used from: $17.90 Hilarious. Not at all just a rehash of Deadspin material, this is Will at his best. Makes me wistful for his days as Deadspin editor |
![]() | 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel by Peter Golenbock Buy new: $10.66 / Used from: $0.05 ugh. Very lewd book, I was literally occasionally embarrassed as I read it. I get it - Mickey and Billy drank and womanized. Some of the stories were amazing, but overall the book made me more sad (and a little queasy) than anything. |
![]() | The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness by Steven Levy Buy new: $5.06 / Used from: $2.54 Great insight into Apple, Jobs, and the evolution of a wonderful product and how it relates to - and actually shaped - pop culture. One of those books that as I was reading it, I completely agreed with everything (like minds) and wanted to share with everyone. |
![]() | Crimes Against Logic: Exposing the Bogus Arguments of Politicians, Priests, Journalists, and Other Serial Offenders by Jamie Whyte Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $4.00 Boring. Not worth the money or the time (though it was also a very short read). A few good arguments but mostly very obvious. I thought it would be more clever/insightful. |
![]() | Company by Max Barry Buy new: $11.21 / Used from: $0.01 Not sure why this book/author isn't as popular as Ferris (Then We Came to an End) - they're similar in message and tone and I liked this one as much, if not more. |
![]() | Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity by Lawrence Lessig Buy new: $10.88 / Used from: $4.00 If only things worked the way Lessig envisions here ... I liked this both as a discussion of how culture flourishes and also as a lawyer. Highly recommended |
![]() | Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker by James McManus Buy new: $10.88 / Used from: $0.01 I loved it when I read it several years ago, now it's probably dated in a way because all of these stories are exposed or played out. Still it was a fun read, probably the best poker book I ever read |
![]() | Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich Buy used from: $0.95 Wow. What a story. Can't believe it was true. When geniuses put together schemes like this ... lots of fun |
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