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“Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave” by Frederick Douglass

I wanted to read this in honor of black history month. Douglass does not pull any punches. He gives you a thorough and complete description of not only the events of his life to that point, but on the very experience of being a slave. Parts of it are nearly impossible to get through, but then I guess he accomplishes exactly what he set out to do.  Published in 1854, this was released into the thick of the abolition movement and no doubt was influential in the path towards the Civil War. Arguably one of the most important historical autobiographies of the time, I think it should be essential reading for every American.

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (Book 2) by J.K. Rowling

Another great read. She does such a great job of introducing elements (people, places, things) that seem like they don’t belong, but she always circles back to bring them back into the the fold. What’s surprising is how complex these plots are for kid’s books; and I hear they only get more complex in the later books.

If I’m not careful here, I’m going to begin sounding like a Rowling fanboy. But really, as much as I’m enjoying these books so far, I don’t really care.

My review of Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone (Book 1)

“The End of Eternity” by Isaac Asimov

There have been exactly 0 books written by Isaac Asimov that haven’t blown me away in some way, and this continues the tradition. Probably the most thoughtful and philosophical time travel story I’ve ever read or seen. Written in 1954, various plot points have obviously been heavily borrowed by many, many novels and movies since. The plot deals with the morality of time travel and interfering with different time periods. Morality themes aside, it’s also just one hell of a fun read.

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (Book 1) by J.K. Rowling

I fought off reading this for so long, but after a strong endorsement from my brother, I decided to give it a shot.  Rowling sure knows how to spin one hell of a yarn.  The pacing is fantastic.  I finished it in just a few hours of reading time.  I just ordered the next 3 books, so yeah, consider me converted.

A History of India: Volume I by Romila Thapar

I couldn’t even get through it and gave up halfway through. Not particularly well written and extremely dry and dull (a deadly combo).  She goes into minute details that are overkill for a book targeted to an average reader.  There’s also no clear delineation between different eras, so at any given moment I had a hard time remembering whether we were in the 2nd century or the 7th century, which goes back to the shoddy narrative.  Thapar also has a clear bias against religion of any sort.  Not that I disagree, but it’s a little too overt and distracting.  Anyone know of any good books on Indian history?

The Bad Guys Won by Jeff Pearlman

I think Bobby Ojeda put it best when he said, “…we [‘86 Mets] were a bunch of vile fuckers.”  Hard to argue, but dammit if they weren’t fun to root for.  Now I knew these guys were pretty wild, but I don’t think most people realize how insane they were.  It’s a wonder they were able to perform after all the booze, women and drugs.  Some people call it destiny, but I would say it was a confluence of factors that coalesced into this one perfect season at the perfect moment in history.  It made me sad to think of the lost potential of Gooden and Strawberry.  They were destined for the hall of fame, but maybe ‘86 wouldn’t have happened if not for their downfall. Who knows, but it was fun to reminisce and remember my childhood in Flushing for a little while.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

As a young adult novel, I loved it.  While it went a bit too radical for me in the beginning, Doctorow brings the main character back to center with some gleaned wisdom towards the end.  I wish I had a book like this to rile me up when I was a teenager.  I would have been a distinctly different person for it.  And that shows the influence I think this book could have on young people.

Now if I put my adult hat back on, I thought the writing was a bit clunky at times and some of the characters actions didn’t ring true.  But these are minor quibbles in an overall very good book.

On a side note, this is the first ebook I read on my Motorola Droid.  I didn’t think I’d like reading ebooks, but I have to say consider me converted.  While I still love the feel of real books, for commuters I don’t think you can beat the convenience of one-handed reading.