Book Reviews [Getting Caught Up]
Category: Books & Writing...
Posted Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at 06:39 AM [GMT-6]

With everything that's been going on -- most of which now escapes me, but I'm sure it was all quite profound -- I've neglected to write anything about the four books I completed during the past few weeks. (Also, since each of these books was either a gift or on my own dime, instead of being review volumes for the Hatchette Book Group, I felt less pressure to write about them...which was actually kind of nice.)

For your consideration, here are some mini-reviews of those books:

• Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything: I sometimes think that if I was able to rewind the clock, I'd become an economist. The essence of economics as an academic discipline is nothing less than attempting to understand human motivation, and even though its most common manifestation centers on financial parameters, co-authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner show that it has application to almost every aspect of human endeavor. This is a well-written, clever book that explores such burning issues as why your realtor will likely get more for her own house than she will for yours, and why most crack dealers still live with their moms.


• King Dork: What do you get when you combine the dark humor of Heathers with the coming-of-age geekiness of Sixteen Candles? I have no idea, but it could resemble pop-punker-turned-writer Frank Portman's ode to angsty teenaged rock-n-roll band fantasies. This novel is a first-person account of a high school freshman attempting to make sense of a world that he's well-equipped to handle, as long as he doesn't actually have to, you know, talk to anyone else. If you ever doodled made-up band names on your algebra book cover, you'll find something to laugh about in King Dork. It may be worth reading if only to find out who Dr. Frank considers to be the greatest rock bands of all time. Note: This is a book about teens, but not for teens, due to language and sexual content. Trivia bit: This is one of the few novels that has its own original theme song.


• The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More: Wired Magazine editor Chris Anderson wrote a book about power curves and made a jillion dollars. His basic premise is that the web allows savvy businesses to provide unlimited inventory at essentially zero carrying cost, thereby eliminating the need to rely on "hits" to provide profits. It's not rocket science, and in five years (or, perhaps, already) the general perception of the premise will be akin to our modern view of the "breakthrough" of identifying the law of gravity, but it's still worthwhile to contemplate how the internet has changed some business paradigms.


• American Gods: [I'm including this for the benefit of my friend and fellow book-lover, mis_nomer.] America is a tough place to be a god, and it's a darn shame, considering just how many of them are lurking about. Neil Gaiman's 2001 sci-fi novel brings together a myriad of deities whose loyal worshippers brought them to America and then, for sundry reasons, abandoned them. What's a god to do when no one takes him (or her...or it) seriously? This is a dark book, understated and intelligent, not a classic but still worth the investment of a few days of reading time.

As long as I'm in the review mode, I might as well tell you that I'm a few chapters into another book, but it's a bit different than those I've mentioned above. DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model by Jeremy Keith will revolutionize the way I build websites. Or at least it would if I could figure out what the heck it's about. Just kidding (sort of); it's basically a Javascript tutorial designed to ensure that scripts are compatible with all civilized browsers, and that they degrade gracefully for accessibility purposes. It's quite interesting, in a geeky sort of way.

And if all this isn't eclectic enough, the next "official" review book will be a history of the Grand Ole Opry. Stay tuned!