Synopsis: An assortment of hilarious vignettes from the periods of Burroughs’ life not already canvassed in “Running with Scissors” or “Dry”. Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant.
My Take: Here’s the thing about Augusten Burroughs. I love him – at its best, his writing zings and fizzles with caustic, but good natured wit. Sadly, my fiancée’s first exposure [...]
Entries Tagged as 'American'
“The Da Vinci Code”, Dan O’Brien
July 19th, 2009 · 1 Comment · American, Fiction, Trash
Synopsis: I think everyone pretty well knows the deal here.
My Take: WARNING RANT AHEAD
I would have never picked up this book if left to my own devices but I was bullied into it by both friends and family who accused me of being a shallow snob for turning my nose up at a book [...]
Tags:Dan Brown
“All Too Human: A Political Education”, George Stephanopoulos
July 13th, 2009 · No Comments · American, Non-Fiction, Politics, biography
Synopsis: One time choir boy, Rhodes Scholar and Dukakis operative pens a first person account of the experience of being a senior staffer for the Clinton campaign and subsequently presidency. Honest, insightful and controversial.
My Take: The best book ever written by a political insider. Odds are, that if you ask someone who has spent [...]
“Lush Life”, Richard Price
July 10th, 2009 · No Comments · American, Fiction, Trash, Under-Rated
Synopsis: An aspiring writer and practising bartender is shot dead in a mugging gone wrong on the streets of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It’s written by a screen-writer for The Wire – what more do you need to know?
My Take: I hadn’t even heard of Richard Price when a friend recommended “Lush Life” to [...]
Tags:Richard Price
“Make Gentle The Life of This World: The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy”, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy
July 9th, 2009 · 1 Comment · American, History, Non-Fiction, Politics, Quotes, The Kennedys
Synopsis: A collection of the words that Robert Kennedy used to move others, and the words of others that moved Robert Kennedy.
My Take: Compiled by RFK’s ninth child (!), “Make Gentle The Life of This World” is a delicious combination of extracts from Robert Kennedy’s own speeches and a selection of passages from a daybook [...]
"Super Crunchers: How Anything Can Be Predicted", Ian Ayres
July 6th, 2009 · No Comments · American, Economics, ICT, Non-Fiction, Policy
Synopsis: Technological advances that dramatically reduce the costs of collecting and storing data combined with vast increases in computer processing power has made data driven decision making both more powerful and more feasible.
My Take: Ian Ayres is a great advocate. Perhaps the reason for this is that he divides his time and expertise between the [...]
Tags:Ian Ayres
"Digging to America", Anne Tyler
July 5th, 2009 · No Comments · American, Fiction, Trash
Synopsis: Two Korean babies are adopted by American families with different approaches to ethnicity.
My Take: I only picked this one up because I thought the little Asian girl on the cover of the Australian edition was cute – and yes, you can judge a book by it’s cover. A totally lightweight book targeted at stay [...]
Tags:Anne Tyler
"Less Than Zero", Bret Easton Ellis
July 4th, 2009 · 1 Comment · American, Fiction, Literature, Nihilist
Synopsis: Privileged LA teen returns to the West Coast on holiday from his East Coast University. The protagonist attempts to confront the emotional emptiness of his casually amoral life the only was he knows how – through sex, drugs and pointless consumption.
My Take: In my first year at university I went through a [...]
Tags:Bret Easton Ellis
"RFK Funeral Train", Paul Fusco
July 1st, 2009 · No Comments · American, Art, History, Politics, The Kennedys
Synopsis: Photo-journalist Paul Fusco presents a collection of his photographs from the carriage of Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral train.
My Take: Bobby is a bit of a political hero of mine. He was pilloried as a ruthless political operative in life and is revered as an inspirational idealist in death. He combined compassion and pragmatism in [...]
Tags:Paul Fusco·RFK·Robert Kennedy
“Words that Work: It’s not what you say, It’s what people hear”, Frank Luntz
June 29th, 2009 · No Comments · American, Non-Fiction, Politics
Synopsis: Politics is about voters, not politicians. It’s not what politicians say, it’s what voters hear.
My Take: Frank Luntz has an impressive CV. An Oxford University PHD, Luntz rose to prominence as the chief pollster for Ross Perot’s outsider presidential bid in 1992. After providing polling for Rudy Giuliani’s successful NYC mayoral campaign, Luntz then [...]
Tags:Frank Luntz