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Reactionary Hurl
- Domingo Rivera calls himself Cyber Lawyer. Is he partners with Robocop?
- Personalized plate? That's a defaming
- I caught a baseball, and it was THIS big
Short Book Reviews
- Steroid Nation
- Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
- The Virgin Suicides
Product Reviews
Comments
- Rob Woods (Interested in an adult Wiffle Ball league in Reno or (cough) Sparks?)
- Anon E. Mouse (April 2008: Ryan Jerz and friends visit the Republic of Molossia)
- Laura (Interested in an adult Wiffle Ball league in Reno or (cough) Sparks?)
- WBVega (See if you can figure out who wrote me these emails)
- TRCTommy (See if you can figure out who wrote me these emails)
Short Book Review: Steroid Nation
If you ever wondered why people care about the use of steroids by athletes and anyone else, look no further than this book. It says an awful lot.
The book was published at the time the Mitchell Report) was just being completed and making its way into the public realm. As the hearings in Congress went on, one recurring theme was that it’s not just athletes that use these drugs to improve performance. It’s their wives and possibly even their kids who use them to look better for photo shoots and to reach a point where they may someday be as good as their dads.
What’s the problem, you may ask. People use them to recover from injury…how is that any different than Drug X or Drug Y? Read the book and find out exactly what that problem is.
From my Shelfari entry:
Short Book Review: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
I finished Freakonomics about two weeks ago and finally am getting around to putting up what I thought of it. Actually, I’ve been trying to get through the blog posts they included in the “revised and expanded edition” that I have. I’ve got to say that it was a fantastic book.
I’m game for someone trying to figure out new ways of thinking and exploring issues that seem to be resolved. Moneyball was the first book I read that was in this vein, and it was an instant classic to me. Freakonomics is right up the same alley and couldn’t have been a better addition to my library.
Short Book Review: The Virgin Suicides
This is easily the toughest review I have written. It’s definitely the worst, but that doesn’t say a whole lot. I had a hard time figuring this book out. Whenever I read a book, I look the book up and get other people’s takes on it. I don’t wait until I’m done or anything like that. With The Virgin Suicides I struggled because I didn’t think I was seeing it the same way as everyone else. When I watched the movie after finishing the book, that view was pretty much confirmed.
Short Book Review: Ball Four
Being the baseball fan that I am, it was difficult to watch the game and pay attention to the current climate in the game (steroids) without running into people over and over who suggested I read Ball Four.
It’s the book that changed everything about how players are seen in the eyes of the public—from how they pass the time to how they get through the difficult stretches, and even what they do on their own time.
Short Book Review: The Plot Against America
I found this book by dinking around on Shelfari. I made the decision to read it based on a couple of things: a comment about it made by Reno Rambler, the popularity it seemed to carry on that site, and the cover. Having studied German in college and being interested in German history, the swastika on the cover grabbed me and told me I had to check it out. I’m glad I made that decision.
Short Book Review: Into the Wild
Based on a few suggestions, I picked up Into the Wild a few days ago and couldn’t wait to start it. Thanks to the movie, directed by Sean Penn, being recently released, the book has re-emerged on the mainstream circuit. I had been unable to get a copy at the library due to its popularity, so I had reserved myself to buying one, and as soon as I did, it popped up at Costco in a cheap format. Nice.
Short Book Review: The Population Explosion
This is the second book I picked up on my last doomed trio to the Carson City Library. I searched through a section that included some topics that I thought I’d love, and this one jumped out. The description told me that I would learn why population is the biggest contributor to global environmental problems (which, if you really think about it, should be pretty obvious). I was interested in learning what th specific reasons behind that assertion were, so I grabbed it. For the second book in a row, I was unable to read through the entire thing.
