80 Book Reviews/Interviews From This Year Plus Ones From Prior Years

News Type: Other — Sun Oct 21, 2007 8:25 AM EDT

sbutki-interview, sbutki-review, sbutki-reviews, sbutki-interviews

I decided for 2007 to try to meet two challenges from two LiveJournal memes: To read 100 books and to watch 100 movies. Since I review books and movies and interview authors this gives me a chance to open my eyes to lots of different things. This is my list of books so far this year (with full reviews/interviews via links), followed by my latest reviews: A R stands for review, an I stands for an Interview, E stands for Essay and ND stands for Not Done yet. (I know, what a tough coding system - good thing there's a helpful index!)

1. R - Wordplay - This is a companion book to the documentary. Very good stuff and it gave me
the encouragement I needed to proceed with my New Year's Resolution of getting better at crossword puzzles.

2. R- Michael Connelly - Echo Park Connelly, one of the best living crime writers, cranks out another great page-turner. I interviewed him earlier this year for his excellent Crime Beat, a collection of police stories he wrote for the L.A. Times and other newspapers

3. I - Chew On This: Fast Food Nation (one of my favorite nonfiction books ever) was adapted for the teenage set and it's a well-done book, full of great facts and anecdotes that will put you off fast food if you're not already appropriately disgusted by the ethical and health issues involved in its consumption. My interview with the co-author is here

4 and 5 -I - Laura Lippman - Baltimore Noir and No Good Deed. Baltimore Noir is a great collection of noir stories by Baltimore writers - some are quite excellent. No Good Deeds is the latest of her amazing series about Tess, a Baltimore reporter-turned-private investigator (as opposed to Lippman, a Baltimore reporter-turned-novelist). My 2006 interview with her is here.

6- A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby - R - I was prepared to hate this book, (fearing he'd fall for what I call the Stephen King trap) though I hoped I would not have to and was delighted to find I loved it.

7. R - America: The Book While not as funny as the original edition nor the television program (or its dvds), this book is still pretty amusing, especially if you are fascinated by humor or history.

8.I - Death of a Maid by M.C. Beaton. I interviewed the writer who I found quite interesting.

9. I - The Know-It-All By A.J. Jacobs One of the funniest books, and most intriguing interviews, I've done this year.

10. R - $100 Baby by Robert Parker - Not one of his better books, especially compared to, say, Small Vices or Cold Service.

11. R - Hollywood Station - Joseph Wambaugh shows again why he is one of the best of his genre

12. R Everything Is Illuminated

13. I - The Watchman by Robert Crais. Another powerful book by one of the best thriller writers around I interviewed him and wrote a somewhat fawning introduction here

14. I - King Dork by Frank Portman This book is a true delight. It's going to be the book which I'm going to tell everyone I know to go read. You should be able to understand why I'm so excited after reading my review and interview about the book

15. I - Find Me by Carol O'Connell

16. I - Helltown by Dennis O'Neil

17. I - Best of Slate

18. I - The Spellman Files is one of my favorite funny crime novels I've read in recent years and I enjoyed interviewing Lisa Lutz, the author.

19. I - I Love You,Let's Meet A good book about on-line relationships. In my interview I pressed for more details, dirt and thoughts not neccesarily in that order

20. Dating Up: Dump the Schlump And Find A Quality Man

21. I - Best NonRequired Reading 2006

22.I - Things To Be Survived by Scott Tinley

23. I - Ian Rankin was kind enough to allow me to interview him again, this time for his excellent new Inspector Rebus book, The Naming of the Dead.

24. I - News Junkie by Jason Leopold

25. I - I've Heard That Song Before by Mary Higgins Clark

26. I - Cartoon History of the Modern World.

27. I - Lumiere Affair

28. I - What's So Funny? By Donald Westlake

29. I - The Royal Nonesuch by Glasgow Phillips

30. I - Martha Kimes - Ivy Briefs

31-33 - I - Robert Parker books –

34 - I - Tim Green, American Outrage

35 - I - Michael Connelly, The Overlook

36 and 37 - R - Christopher Buckley, Thank You for Smoking and Boomsday

38 and 39 - I - James Lee Burke

40 and 41 - R - Annie Dillard

42 - I - Donald Westlake

43 - I- Barry Eisler

44 - E - Peter Elbow

45. R- Daniel Tammett

46. I - Karen Hanson - Chicago Blues

47 – The Cult of the Amateur

48. I - Roger Ebert - Your Movie Sucks

49. I - Matt Richtel - Hooked

50. I - Walter Isaacson - Author of Einstein: His Life and Universe

51. I - Ann Rule - Too Late To Say Goodbye

52. I - John Burnett - author of Uncivilized Beasts.. Travels With an NPR Correspondent

53. Patrick Anderson, Author of The Triumph of the Thriller: How Cops, Crooks, and Cannibals Captured Popular Fiction

54 - I - Lloyd Dangle - Troubletown

55- R - Laura Lippman - 56- R - R- Harry Potter

ND - 57 - R - The Long Road Home - Gary Trudeau ND - 58 - R - The War Within - Gary Trudeau ND - 59 - R - Doonesbury - The War Years: Peace Out, Dawg, and Got War?

Book 61 - Jack Getze - Big Numbers

Book #62 - Giles Blunt - By the Time You Read This

Book #63 - Jeffrey Deaver - Sleeing Doll

Book #64 - George Shuman - Last Breath

Book #65 - Mike Carey- The Devil You Know

Book #66 - Robert Fulghum - What Have I Done?

Book #67 Tom Straw, Author of the Trigger Episode

Book #68Charlie Huston, author of the Shotgun Rule

Book #69 Bill Bryan, author of Keep It Real<

Book #70 Wesley Stace aka John Wesley Harding, athor of By George strong>

Some of my prior reviews>

Matt Groening - The Huge Book of Hell

Brad Meltzer, author of the Book of Fate and now writing Buffy comics

Personal Injuries by Scott Turow

(** I'll add more over time)

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