God Behaving Badly
God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist? by David T. Lamb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lamb explores and explodes the myth of the grumpy old Jehovah of the Old Testament in a thorough and witty manner.
Gulp
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Roach points her love of science – and her sarcastic sense of humor – toward the human digestive system, from nose to, um, the other end. I dare you to read it at meal time.
Glock
Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun by Paul M. Barrett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What is this? A business book that reads like a thriller? A history book that reads like film noir? Whatever it is, it is riveting reading.
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
One of those rare books that is the perfect alignment of concept, plot, and writing, and is so well executed that it makes me want to give up on writing my own stuff. Five stars… and five tissues.
Elimination Night
Elimination Night: A Novel by Anonymous
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Amusing potboiler taking place behind the scenes of a certain thinly-veiled talent search program, replete with dueling egos, backstabbing, betrayals, and airing of dirty laundry.
Master and Commander
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The only problem with getting hooked on O’Brian’s seafaring series is that I now have 19 more books to add to an enormous queue of wanna-reads. guess I need to clear my calendar and get busy.
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America: by Bernard Goldberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A fun book that roasts nincompoops on both sides of the political aisle (but mostly the left). The book was written in 2005 and could use an update.
Black Gun Silver Star
Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves by Art T. Burton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
While the book sometimes got bogged down with digressions or minutia, the story of Bass Reeves still proves to be compelling and historically important. He shouldn’t be ignored
Parliament of Whores
Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government by P.J. O’Rourke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
O’Rourke’s classic about the “workings” of government is just as funny and relevant as when it was written 20+ years ago. Only the names and dollar amounts have changed.
2012 in Review
Everybody else is doing it – why not me? The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog and sent it to me with the option of making it public. So I might as well. I suspect this will be the easiest blog entry I will ever have to make.
PS: Happy 2013!
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 6,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 11 years to get that many views.
