Considering I work for J. Craig Venter, this might be a slightly biased review. Although, I must mention that this is really his side of the story and I would love to read someone else’s point of view of the same events.

With that said, it was great to hear how Craig has accomplished some of the most important biological discoveries of the current times. It also becomes more evident why others despise him for his ego. Was the book well written? Not really. If I didn’t work for him would I have enjoyed the book? Maybe, hard to tell.

A non-fiction collection of stories by Chuck Palahniuk. Some of the stories were pretty boring, but all of them were short. A great book to read when you only want to read a little at a time. Or if you’re ADD.

The most interesting stories in the book were the ones Palahniuk wrote about himself. Obviously the most detailed and with a first person commentary, these stories sounded the most genuine. The other stories recounted short interviews and brief encounters, which made it seem more of an in-depth journalistic study than a inside look into a topic.

Shane’s life is a mess. He’s the prime suspect for a murder he may not have committed. He drinks. A lot. He works at an insurance company alphabetizing papers, but really he spends it making sculptures out of paper clips and sitting on the toilet. But Shane doesn’t care ( about much of anything ). Just like Neilan didn’t care about the plot.

But that’s okay, because the book was so deliciously bitter and witty. You could probably relate to book, if you ever looked around you and said under your breath, “Where am I and how did I get surrounded by these stupid people?”

My one major complaint is that the salt shakers really didn’t mean anything beyond being a common material object easily stolen from public places. Well that, and they’re funny.

The story claims it will make you believe in God. Did it make me believe in God? No, I cannot say that it has. But it did make me wonder about what we consider good stories and how imagination can make any situation better. Or at least more interesting. For a better story of course.

Either way, great storytelling and a book you could think about for a long time.

Another excellent book by Vonnegut. His style of leisurely packaging up his thoughts on the end of the world by human greed and self-delusion is actually quite refreshing.

And there is a midget dancer; Russian, nonetheless.

We’ll start this review later.

I must admit, I did not have high expectations for this book, but for some reason, bought it anyway. But my attention was grabbed (and held) within the first few pages. The almost nihilistic tone which puts the reader into the ‘shoes’ of Peter, a man in a coma after trying to kill yourself. And you soon realize that you are a bastard, because the book tells you so. After being insulted greatly for a while (and believing it) you realize that the book is nothing more than a diary kept by your wife (and she hates you for what you’ve done) so you can know what happens when (if) you wake up.
Oh, and craziness ensues, a big mystery, and an overall creative plot. Excellent book!

This debut novel from Benjamin Kunkel was an enjoyable read. Often clever and quite humorous, Kunkel writes about a priviledged young male adult self-diagnosed with a disease causing indecisiveness.

What started out as a very directed and concrete story line soon fizzled out into a mess of an unmemorable ‘plot’. There were a lot of things written that didn’t seem to work back into the story line as I thought they should and the descriptions of the supporting characters left them all feeling like they were the same person.

Even if the plot lost direction, the language was consitent and dialog witty, which kept my attention enough to read on.

This is one of those books that makes you think about things you never have to think about. Like why someone looks happy or what does it actually mean to pay attention? A lot more on the pyschology side than the neuroscientific side, this book explores many everyday phenomena that we miss on a regular basis.

Not only does Johnson explore our reactions to our own experiences, but he also tries to explain why, evolutionarily speaking, we function that way.

An interesting look into the biggest biological mystery.

The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions.

Upon picking up this book, I knew little about the M.I.T. Blackjack team and what they did. I had heard stories of how they were very good at what they did and made some money, but I had absolutely no clue to what extent they had taken it.

Ben Mezrich cleared this all up. His great story telling takes the reader through the ins and outs of this operation, from smuggling hundreds of thousands of dollars in casino chips and cash through airport security to living a double life; work Mon-Fri, 9-5 and making millions of dollars on weekends.

An interesting perspective for the book (and nice cover design) is what originally drew me to this book. The uncommon perspective used made me believe I would enjoy the book, and I did; for the most part. Despite Haddon’s obvious deep knowledge for autism, the story itself was left lacking. After the initial surprise and ‘novelty’ of the almost awkward perspective wore off, I felt myself wanting more from this book.

The main character had many challenges to overcome, but I never actually felt happy/proud/sad for him (which I don’t believe to be a character development flaw, in this context). Haddon almost builds a wall between you and the characters, even though you are seeing this through a child’s eye.

But at the end of the day, the story was no less exciting then watching an episode of ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force’.

This wonderfully amusing book took me by surprise. Each chapter is a short memoir of David Sedaris’ childhood, filled with some unusual adventures, from hitch hiking with a paraplegic to having servants wax your change. Sedaris writes in a very humorous tone, basically turning some of his misfortunes into the readers entertainment. Come to think of it, it really wasn’t the stories that made the book enjoyable. It was how Sedaris wrote them. A very unique, consistent style throughout the book, loaded with wit and humor.

Although Sedaris has a way with sarcasm and making fun of his family, there are also messages to be had underneath each of the short essays. He doesn’t make them glaringly obvious or the major focus for the book, but one can tell that they are there on purpose. He reveals much to the reader in the literal interpretations of the essays in the book, but also in the subtext. Which is why I understand the title of the book and what it stands for.

This book gave an overview of how far the science community has come in regards to biotechnology and in specific, DNA technology. It also touched on the implications that are begining to arise in the area of bioethics. I had hoped this would be more of an ethics piece than an introduction to molecular biology book, but it failed to do so. Half the book was spent reviewing basic biology (which most people with a high school education would know the gist of) and left out interesting details I was hoping to find. All in all, no surprises in this piece. If you want to learn about molecular biology and why DNA is important, I would recomend this book, otherwise, it’s pretty run of the mill.

The book is mainly an American social commentary written from the perspective of an observer. The author (long time comedian George Carlin) puts together what seems like a journal, offering up his thoughts in a comedic light. He touches on a wide range of topics including pop-culture, politics, religion, and culture, just to name a few. Although very funny at times, the book is nothing more than one man’s opinions on a range of topics. After the first 20 pages, his “in your face” and “lets shock’em with my wild ideas” style got really old. But I ended up reading the entire book, because George Carlin is a great comedian, and this comes through in the book.