I swear if I don't hit my 100 books it'll be because of all the reading detours I've taken.

I checked Greg Critser's Fat Land out of the library and read it last week. Think "Super Size Me" in book form without quite the same personal touch (and no vomiting). It's a quick read but rather sobering on the increasing rate of obesity in the U.S.

Alberto Manguel's Into the Looking-Glass Wood is a collection of reviews and essays about reading, writing and authors. Decent, though not as good as his A History of Reading.

John Nichol's The Sterile Cuckoo is a light tale of a college romance. I started more book with more hope for the characters than I ended with, which I suppose was the point but was frustrating none-the-less. Unfortunately the movie isn't available on DVD so I can't add it to my netflix queue. (I wish I remembered what made me buy the book in the first place though).

I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in a few days last weekend (bypassing much-needed sleep in the process). Whatever you may think of the content, you have to admit she's a good storyteller.

Ryszard Kapuscinski's The Emperor is a somewhat disjoint (due to being mostly comprised of anonymous interviews) but interesting look at the fall of Haile Selassie's rule in Ethiopia.

I'm currently working on Philip Gourevitch's We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families (so far good, but depressing) and Keith Harman's Gumshoe Gorilla.

posted by kristin at 12:17 AM