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I read books : July edition
Jul. 18th, 2013 07:52 pmSome good ones
City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster that gave Birth to Modern Chicago by Gary Krist - This is a book that proves it wasn't always better in the old days. In the span of two weeks in 1919, Chicago was home to race riots, labor strikes, a little girl's disappearance and an aviation disaster. the thing that holds the story together was Chicago's arrogant mayor and his political machine, and their run-ins with the state's governor, who was from the same political party, but whose ambitions were directly opposed The topic makes fascinating reading.
It pulls from diaries and newspaper reports of the day, so it's factual, but there's enough info to make it paced like a novel. Yet, it's not overly fictionalized, which probably wouldn't have worked for me. Certainly recommend it, and I may just have to check out a few books off Krist's Chicago-centric reading list he includes at the end.
The Know it All - by AJ Jacobs - Jacobs is a writer for Entertainment Weekly (don't hate) and he is on a quest to be the smartest man in the world, a task he plans on accomplishing by reading the Encyclopedia Britannica.
It's a riotous book. Jacobs gets compared to people like Dave Barry, but someone like Joel Klein is probably closer. The book is consistently funny and because of the topic, it has some fascinating trivia like Dan Rice, the clown who was so popular he ran for President in 1868. It's perfect toiletside reading (yeah, I went there) because of the mix of great trivia and plenty of laughs. An easy read that also will make you a bit smarter. This was recommended to me and I am passing along the recommendation. I see Jacobs has since went into immersion journalism (following this up with The Year of Living Biblically -an attempt to follow the Bible as literally as possible. Not sure how good that is, but based on this book, i am in.
What If: Short Stories to Spark Diversity Dialogue- by Steve Robbins- Pretty much what it says. Quick page or two long ruminations that get a good conversation going. Maybe not a book everyone would want to read front to cover, but for it's goal, it's about perfect. Many of the blurbs are based on the author's stories of his kids and experiences, though others are observational (If Star Trek, the original series was so diverse, then why were all the people in charge of the Enterprise, white men?) Really good at what it is trying to accomplish.
City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster that gave Birth to Modern Chicago by Gary Krist - This is a book that proves it wasn't always better in the old days. In the span of two weeks in 1919, Chicago was home to race riots, labor strikes, a little girl's disappearance and an aviation disaster. the thing that holds the story together was Chicago's arrogant mayor and his political machine, and their run-ins with the state's governor, who was from the same political party, but whose ambitions were directly opposed The topic makes fascinating reading.
It pulls from diaries and newspaper reports of the day, so it's factual, but there's enough info to make it paced like a novel. Yet, it's not overly fictionalized, which probably wouldn't have worked for me. Certainly recommend it, and I may just have to check out a few books off Krist's Chicago-centric reading list he includes at the end.
The Know it All - by AJ Jacobs - Jacobs is a writer for Entertainment Weekly (don't hate) and he is on a quest to be the smartest man in the world, a task he plans on accomplishing by reading the Encyclopedia Britannica.
It's a riotous book. Jacobs gets compared to people like Dave Barry, but someone like Joel Klein is probably closer. The book is consistently funny and because of the topic, it has some fascinating trivia like Dan Rice, the clown who was so popular he ran for President in 1868. It's perfect toiletside reading (yeah, I went there) because of the mix of great trivia and plenty of laughs. An easy read that also will make you a bit smarter. This was recommended to me and I am passing along the recommendation. I see Jacobs has since went into immersion journalism (following this up with The Year of Living Biblically -an attempt to follow the Bible as literally as possible. Not sure how good that is, but based on this book, i am in.
What If: Short Stories to Spark Diversity Dialogue- by Steve Robbins- Pretty much what it says. Quick page or two long ruminations that get a good conversation going. Maybe not a book everyone would want to read front to cover, but for it's goal, it's about perfect. Many of the blurbs are based on the author's stories of his kids and experiences, though others are observational (If Star Trek, the original series was so diverse, then why were all the people in charge of the Enterprise, white men?) Really good at what it is trying to accomplish.
