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Archive for October, 2009

Raid on the Sun by Rodger Claire

Oct 13

Posted by The Valet in Non-Fiction | No Comments

Raid on the Sun by Rodger Claire

Raid on the Sun by Rodger Claire

If for some unknown reason you had felt that Saddam Hussein had been wrongfully targeted by the U.S. military campaigns in Iraq may I please direct you to page 13 of this book where Rodger Claire outlines Hussein’s youthful and disturbing practice of stabbing helpless dogs in the stomach with a red hot poker. I mean cute harmless dogs, why Saddam why? OK, that doesn’t necessarily redeem anyone’s actions but at a minimum it demonstrates what kind of a child he was.

Alas this book is not really about Hussein. Instead its a non-fictional thriller that reads more like a novel outlining a single controversial air assault on Iraq’s first and hopefully last attempt to develop atomic weapons, otherwise know as WMD’s (you know, those things Bush was looking for). If you didn’t already know that Israel has one of the strongest military forces in the world this book will help you realize that. It came as no surprise to me when I read about the incredible detail that went into this strike. A year and half in the making, utmost secrecy and pin point accuracy are a few of the trademark attributes with which the Israeli military operates.

Being a member of the tribe and a firm believer in Israels staunch policy and politics in the middle east I will not be critical of the actions which were taken. Instead I will applaud the bravery and heroics of the elite airmen who took this daring and dangerous strike on without asking questions fully aware that they may not return. Had it not been for their actions the volatile middle east would possibly be a nuclear waste land today.

This is a short one, I promise…

This Weeks Book Events, SF (week of 10/12)

Oct 12

Posted by The Valet in Events | No Comments

Ah, to have the time to do the things you enjoy. Unfortunately I do not have that. But, hopefully some of you out there do. It would be remiss of me to mention that as of the 9th of this month Litquake here in San Francisco has begun. Everything I know about the week long event I learned on the website so if you’re interested take a look. Basically it’s an expression of the bay area Lit scene. Most of the events are panels and or discussions and some author events. I don’t really plan on going to any of these events as for me, I prefer the intimate atmosphere of an in-store signing. Now, let’s see what’s happening this week.

Monday, October 12
@ 6pm
- Doug Dorst, author of Alive in Necropolis will be at the Page on Divisadero. Yes, it’s a bar. Apparently the Page was some sort of inspiration for Mr. Dorst as I guess it somehow a part of his novel (sorry, I haven’t read it so I can’t give you more information that that). At the event though there will also be free tarot card readings. Alluring, no? Mr. Dorst will also be at Book Passage in the Ferry Building at 6 pm on Wednesday the 14th.

Tuesday, October 13
@ 730
- Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor with Frank Portman will be at the Booksmith in the Haight presenting the long titled Gimme Something Better: The Profound, Progressive, and Occasionally Pointless History of Bay Area Punk from Dead Kennedys to Green Day. I didn’t grow up in the Bay Area but I know that there is a long history here of punk music and this books is a fine chronicle of it. Boulware and Tudor, both journalists, will not fail to enlighten you about the storied history of the bay area punk music scene. Oh, and don’t forget about Frank Portman aka Doktor Frank of MTX, King Dork and Andromeda Klein fame. If I’m not studying for my midterm that’s later in the week I’ll be there.

Alright, it’s very uncharacteristic of me but I’m just not feeling up to working more on this weeks events rights now. Partially because there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot more going on this week given a lot of the authors are tied up with Litquake and partially because I’m being lazy. I promise that should I hear of any other events this week, there will be updates!

This Weeks Book Events, LA (week of 10/12)

Oct 12

Posted by The Valet in Events | 1 Comment

Ah yes, another weeks worth of events in Los Angeles that I will not be at. But, I know my lovely sister has finally returned from LA and she will go to all these events just for me! Just teasing Lor, I expect nothing of the sort.

Monday, October 12
@ 930pm
- David P. Murphy, author of Zombies for Zombies: Advice and Etiquette for the Living Dead will be signing his book at Book Soup. I admit this is not an event for a book I would typically be at. But… this book does look pretty cool. I do realize Zombies these days are pretty much the cool of the cool and yes this book is certainly leaning on that. It’s basically a Dummies book on how to enjoy your life as a zombie, you know style, recipes and fitness. These days I feel like a zombie so maybe I could use the help.

Wednesday, October 14
@ 7pm
- David Alan Grier, comedian and author will be signing his new book Barack Like Me at Vromans. Greir let’s us into his world by telling me and you in his book about growing up during a time of prominent politics, culture and race. I can only imagine his anecdotes will humorous, entertaining as well as moving. I mean I find it amusing that a comedian like Mr. Grier attended President Obama’s inauguration but got stuck behind a tree and couldn’t see a thing. Mr. Grier will also be at Book Soup on Tuesday the 13th at 7pm.

Thursday, October 15
@ 7pm
- Alicia Silverstone, actress and author will be signing her book at Book Soup. Seriously, I am not writing down the name of her book. I can’t bring myself to. The only reason I would go is to see her not the book. I mean, she’s no Natalie Portman is she? If Natalie were to put her name on this book I would be ranting and raving (I think). Yes, it’s biased, but that’s what you get.

Saturday, October 17th
@ 4pm – 6pm
- Vroman’s and Goodreads will be holding a book swap. They suggest you bring all those books you read over the Summer and all those books you bought for class but never needed and “swap” them. Honestly, I’m not too sure how this is going to work. I’m guessing you’ll just be swapping them for books from other swappers? Not too sure how the book store factors in there but… maybe just because you’re there you’ll buy some books too!! Personally, the most exciting part of this whole event is the fact that Let’s Be Frank Hot Dogs will be there selling their dogs and sausages. Sounds Delicious. What’s even better is that I just learned they have a shop in SF, how great is that!

Poll Numero Duex Results

Oct 9

Posted by The Valet in Uncategorized | No Comments

I know, you’ve been waiting so patiently for me to tell you what book won, thank you. Don’t worry there was only a slight hint of sarcasm in there. But, seriously, thank you to those of you who voted. I did have a much better turn out this time with a total of 28 voters (ok, one of them was me) but that’s ok. Not only that but I also tried a lot harder to get people to vote. I feel a little crummy for that cause it kind of bugs me when people constantly tell you to look at there stuff on facebook but, I guess you just got to do it sometimes.

I know there were issues with poll, some people couldn’t vote, some people couldn’t figure out how to vote (not true) and others looked and just didn’t know any of the books. All of which are perfectly fine excuses. I know there are still a lot of kinks to work out.

What was interesting though was that at one point in the week there was a 6 way tie that went further and turned into an 8 way tie and finally resulted in a two way tie. The books that tied in the end, with four votes a piece were…

Tricked ya, gotta click here to see the books!

Replay by Ken Grimwood

Oct 9

Posted by The Valet in Fiction, Science Fiction | 4 Comments

Replay by Ken Grimwood

Replay by Ken Grimwood

If you’re looking for a time traveling book (cause I know so many of you are) do yourself a favor and resist picking up Niffenger’s The Time Travelers Wife and read Replay instead. You will not be disappointed. Sure I liked Niffengers book plenty, albeit it was a little sappy and a little romantic for me, but I also read it before I read Replay.

My sister actually found this book at the Brookline Booksmith in Brookline, MA while we were there for a family event. I think it was just one of those random purchases that you really have no idea what it is your buying, but she struck gold as far as I’m concerned.

To try and explain the book, imagine the movie Groundhog Day, now imagine instead of having one day being repeated again imagine repeating 25 years of your life with full knowledge of what the future will bring. Pretty damn scary if you ask me. Sure you would be able to gamble, and invest smartly and become wonderfully rich because you’d have all the knowledge of what’s to come but is that fulfilling ? What would you do when you die again, and have to repeat those 25 years again? And again? And again?

What if you tried to tell the world that you knew what was going to happen in the following 25 years, would you try and change things, would you try and figure out why this is happening? If so, think about what might result. You could end up starting new wars, causing different viruses, allowing for more destructive and dangerous dictators. Let’s throw another loop in there, what if you found another person who was actually going through the same thing? Ahh, so many questions.

Personal reflection, this way…

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis

Oct 8

Posted by The Valet in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Moneyball by Michael Lewis

Moneyball by Michael Lewis

Ding, Ding, Ding… we have a winner!!! Michael Lewis is the first repeat author on the blog. Congrats to you good sir. (Blind Side by Mr. Lewis being the first of his books I reviewed)

First things first. Contrary to what I feel I’ve heard, if you are not the least bit interested in baseball than you should not read this. For someone as interested in baseball as I am, at times I even felt a bit bogged down and overwhelmed by all the statistics and numbers.

Second things second. If you are interested in baseball then you should promptly get away from reading my blog (not really though) and go get this book.

Third things third. It is slightly ironic that I read this book on the eve of the 2009 amateur baseball draft (clearly this review was written some time ago). A draft where it is thought that a pitcher from San Diego State University, Stephen Strasburg, may fetch more than $10.5 million (according to ESPN) as a signing bonus (ok, it actually worked out to be $7.5 million plus another $7.5 million through 1/2011, and no I do not believe that is part of his $15.1 million contract). I can only imagine Billy Bean, current general manager of the Oakland A’s is laughing.

Oh, there’s more…

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much… by Allison Bartlett

Oct 7

Posted by The Valet in Non-Fiction | 7 Comments

Man Who Loved Books Too Much... By Alison Bartlett

Man Who Loved Books Too Much... By Alison Bartlett

When I first heard about The Man Who Loved Books Too Much I was worried. Not for my love of books, or that the rare book police would be onto me but worried that this book would be somewhat like The Island of Lost Maps. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy “Island” it was, as I characterized in my review, just somewhat bland and I was worried that this book would be too.

Thankfully Allison Bartlett delivers in a way that Miles Harvey didn’t. She made her book and story personal, enjoyable, light and interesting. I had actually attempted to catch Ms. Bartlett at recent signing here in San Francisco but unfortunately arrived a little too late. I really wanted to ask Ms. Bartlett some questions and inquire as to whether or not she is familiar with Island of Lost Maps. I guess I’ll just have to wait a little longer.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much was a fun, quick read. I didn’t really know what to expect but Ms. Bartlett skillfully and artfully focuses on one particular thief and his state of mind. She managed to immerse herself into the world of rare books, see things that would astound you and I and speak to a good number of people to provide the most complete picture available.

What really struck me about this story is how simple it was. Here you have this normal guy who likes to collect things, show them off and pretend to be someone he’s not. Then there’s the guy that’s looking for him and his loot all the while there is a pesky (I mean that in the nicest of ways Allison) journalist who is trying to get inside both their brains and figure out how they tick. Fantastically simple, true and entertaining.

Oh, it gets better, and there are pictures!

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Oct 6

Posted by The Valet in Fiction | No Comments

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

I think I can say, that everyone that has read this book has come away with a different view of it. I don’t really mind if you disagree with my feelings, I kind of hope you do. The one thing that could have redeemed this story for me though would have been learning to avoid stepping in dog poop shortly after finishing it. Not exactly altruistic of me but perhaps ”selfless,” according to Mr. Howard Roark in The Fountainhead.

I think my grandmother said it best when she told me her feelings on how the book must read to me. In short what she said is that the book is generational. Obviously a word like that can have several meanings (I think) but what she implied it to mean was that the philosophy and thoughts of the time during which the book was written were significantly different to what they are now.  I can only imagine the cultural and philosophical impact  a book of this nature must have had when she first read it. I’m sure it would have taken on a whole different meaning to me had I been around then to read it.

The same evening I finished the book and stepped in dog poop I went to a concert alone. The show itself was altogether disappointing but what was important was my walk to the show. I was slightly inebriated and always when I’m in that state I get to thinking. Lucky for me my thoughts were centered on The Fountainhead. I could share these thoughts with you but yet when I try to write them out it’s very difficult for me to convey exactly what is I’m trying to say. Not to mention the fact that this is supposed to be a book review and not a high school English paper.

So in lieu of that, I’m going to give you my short review and tell you a little bit about the book. And then hope that you don’t step in dog poop once you’ve finished it.

On to the review!

This Weeks Book Events, LA (week of 10/5)

Oct 5

Posted by The Valet in Events | No Comments

To live and die in LA. I will be doing neither. Well, of course should I find a job there that could all change, but I’m not really looking despite a plethora of publishers being there. This week has a strong list of events in the Bay Area, let’s see if LA can match that.

Tuesday, October 6th
@ 4pm
- Scott Westerfeld, author of Leviathan as well Uglies (on my reading list) will be at the Santa Monica Public Library. He may be a young adult author but I can guarantee you he has some interesting insights into the world. His latest book Leviathan with a cover which looks like this book has something to with the steampunk rage, is WWI story that sounds pretty thrilling. There is something about YA authors, they seem to have this indelible insight into the world of the YA and are capable of enthralling everyone from every demographic with their novels.

Tuesday, October 6th
@ 730
- Nick Hornby, author, has just released a new book titled Juliet, Naked and will no doubt be discussing this book along with his other big hits including About a Boy, Slam and of course High Fidelity at the Skirball Cultural Center, I believe this event is being put on by Book Soup. I’m sure there will be plenty of young and middle aged women at this event that Hornby has won over with his great style of writing about love, relationships and humor. I’d be there if I could to distribute business cards, listen to Mr. Hornby and possibly meet my future wife.

Thursday, October 8th
@ 730pm
- Oran Canefield, author of Long Past Stopping will be at the Stories Books. At first I wasn’t going to mention this event but after reading a little about the book, I got interested. Oran, is the son of Jack Canefield who is the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul and his story is one of rebellion and drug abuse in this crazy world in which we live. I guess I’m just curious to hear whether or not all of this is a direct result of his father’s success as a motivational speaker. Coincidence, I think not. I wonder how Mr. Canefield feels now?

Thursday, October 8th
@ 730pm
- Here’s a rather unusual event, yet it caught my interest enough so that I thought you should know about it. Colin Dickey will be at Skylight Books to discuss his book Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius which believe it or not is about the theft and desire to own the skulls of celebrities (and I don’t think we’re talking about Angelina Jolie here, although, Natalie Portman’s could be worth something 80 years from now, she’s smart and gorgeous). I’ve read books about the theft of rare maps and rare books but here we have a look into the theft of something even more obscure. It would be pretty interesting to pick Mr. Dickey’s brain.

This Weeks Book Events, SF (week of 10/5)

Oct 5

Posted by The Valet in Events | No Comments

Admittedly I have done none of my usual research on what’s going on this week prior to writing this. No excuses. I did however find out about two events happening this week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, that I had not heard anything about nor would I have (I think) if I hadn’t received an e-mail from the Center for the Art of Translation.

I tried to get to an event this past week, on Friday, but I was a little too late, happy hour got in the way. Thankfully, the woman I spoke with at Cover to Cover where I was hoping to meet Allison Bartlett author of The Man Who Loved Books Too Much (look for my review soon) was able to answer some of the questions I had wanted to ask Ms. Bartlett. So it was a little indirect and I still hope to speak with Ms. Bartlett someday, but it was fun nonetheless. Alright, on to this week’s events:

Monday, October 5th
@ 730pm
- Oran Canefield, author of Long Past Stopping will be at the Booksmith in the Haight. At first I wasn’t going to mention this event but after reading a little about the book, I got interested. Oran, is the son of Jack Canefield who is the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul and his story is one of rebellion and drug abuse in this crazy world in which we live. I guess I’m just curious to hear whether or not all of this is a direct result of his father’s success as a motivational speaker. Coincidence, I think not. I wonder how Mr. Canefield feels now?

Tuesday, October 6th
@ 12pm
- Natasha Wimmer, translator for Roberto Bolano will be reading from 2666 and The Savage Detectives at 111 Minna. At first when I read the notice of this reading I had actually thought Robert Bolano would be there as well, but after further review, I’ve realized that he will not be in attendance. That’s ok though, I’m sure Ms. Wimmer will have some interesting insights into the man that has seemingly sparked a global phenomenon. I’ve had the pleasure of reading the The Savage Detectives and Bolano certainly has a lot of depth, philosophy and thought infused in his writing style.

Keep reading to see what’s happening the rest of the week

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