May 2003

Bringing Down the House by lz in Reading Archive on 27May2003

Ehh. Writing style of Mr. Mezrich leaves much to be desired. However, he was handed a story wrapped up with a bow on top, and didn't ruin it. This non fiction story follows a group of MIT whiz kids on a tour of Vegas, Atlantic City, riverboat casinos, and details...

Krakatoa by lz in Reading Archive on 21May2003

Superb, fantastic, excellent, thoroughly enjoyable! Winchester disappointed me slightly with his last book, The Map that Changed the World, but he has redeemed himself hugely with Krakatoa. As always, Winchester pays careful attention to the underpinnings of his story. Details range from the origination of plate tectonics (Alfred Wegener) and...

Women About Town by lz in Reading Archive on 14May2003

I like to give the ladies a chance. However, Jacobs' book turned out to be a fluffy quick beach read. Eye candy, of sorts. The characters of Iris and Lana were delightful, and 100 pages in I was enjoying the read. But when Iris, the model of a single, independent...

A Random Walk Down Wall Street by lz in Reading Archive on 03May2003

Great guide for novice investors/peeps who don't know what to do with their slight and tiny nest egg. One thing that stands out is the idea that an IRA is good b/c all interest, capital gains earned with it is tax deductible until you take the money out of the...

The Group by lz in Reading Archive on 03May2003

This is the book McCarthy is famous for; however, Birds of America was tremendously better. I'm not finished, but this is my early (100 pages in) opinion. (Later:) Now I am finished and I can declare with certainty that this book was much worse than expected. I'm sure it was...

Zen by lz in Stranded on 03May2003

Ugh. Don't know why I thought this book would help me figure out what I want to do with my life, but it didn't. One of the worst sorts of self-help books which don't offer much beyond zen phrases and workbook exercises (never made it that far). This sat on...

Intellectual Memoirs by lz in Reading Archive on 03May2003

Back to back disappointing McCarthy books is causing my enthusiasm for her to wane. Her 'intellectual memoirs' detailed just how much she stole from her real life to write The Group and other works. A better title would have been "Memoirs of a Trotskyite Who Slept With Lots of Men"....

Salt by lz in Reading Archive on 03May2003

An excellent history of salt beginning in early China and weaving through ancient Rome, Israel, US Civil War, US Revolutionary War, Italy, France, Sweden, Hawaii, Ghandi's India, Liverpool, Bahamas, Poland, Salzburg, Avery Island, San Francisco. The story also touches on the Morton Salt Company buying up little saltworks and becoming...
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