Books of 2008

I'm always trying to think of reasons to post stuff here, because I'm just never very consistent about it, but I got a good idea the other day and I think I'm going to try it. I have decided to blog about all the books I read this year. At the end of 2008, perhaps I'll read back through the list and see if I got anything positive out of all of it.

For the inaugural post, I have to do a bit of catchup, as I've already finished four books this year. The first was Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, by Dava Sobel. This is the (true) story of English clockmaker John Harrison's attempt to solve the problem of how to calculate longitude whilst at sea. This problem, Sobel explains, was the preeminent scientific struggle of the day. It's a great story for anyone interested in science, engineering, or history. While it's a book on what, to some, may seem like an impenetrable subject, it's a quick read, and it's written in a very accessible style. Plus, it actually happened. I enjoyed it a lot.

Then I read I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert. I was a big fan of America (The Book), the fake civics text Jon Stewart wrote a few years ago, but this one wasn't as funny as that. It had its moments, but Colbert's jokey neocon character doesn't provide enough of a joke to sustain the entire book. The constant requests to buy more copies of the book get old quick, too. Maybe if I was more familiar with such bile-slingers as O'Reilly or Coulter I would have gotten more of a kick out of it. It's amusing, but it's thin and ultimately not entirely satisfying.

Next was Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Empire, the third novel I've read in the classic Foundation saga (although, chronologically, I believe it's the fourth). It's the one that takes place directly following the events of Foundation. I read that book and Prelude to Foundation last year, so I'm now getting used to the fact that you read Asimov for the ideas, not for the writing, which is awfully clumsy. But...well, the ideas are awesome. This chapter of the series is divided into two separate stories; first, the Foundation must fight off a takeover attempt by an up-and-coming general from the much-more-powerful Empire. The second story deals with the rise of The Mule, an empathic mutant who makes it his mission to conquer, well, everyone. I liked the "Seldon crisis" scene in which we learn that the future, as Seldon predicted it, was very different from what the people of the Foundation were actually up against--it shows that, from this point onward, they're on their own, and the future is no longer certain. I am excited to see where Asimov took this story in the four remaining books.

Oh, and I also read James Lileks's Gastronomalies, which is his spiritual successor to The Gallery of Regrettable Food. I don't know if this counts as "reading" a book, because it's mostly pictures with funny captions, but I DID read it. Lileks is the man and this book is hilarious and vile. If you liked Regrettable Food, you'll like this one. Great stuff.

Okay, that's what I've read so far this year. I've also beaten the very literary Bioshock, which would have made a great book. I'm nearly finished with another book, so hopefully I'll write about it soon.