Book Buffet

I've been on a recent reading kick lately, thanks to working across the street from the library. All I do is go online and request the books I want, and then they send me an email when the books are ready to be picked up. I highly recommend this for anybody who likes to read, but doesn't like paying for a book a week at Borders.

I recently finished Ball Four by Jim Bouton. This is a first person account of Jim Bouton's season as a relief pitcher for the Seattle Pilots. I had always heard about this book, but never got around to reading it until now. I can see how this book was shocking in it's time, but now in the age of ESPN, it comes off as kinda dull. It doesn't help that Bouton comes off as an arrogant jerk. I'd give it a C.

The next book I read was Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis, which is about the game of Scrabble, and the people who play the game competitively. It really goes into detail about the words that can be used in playing the game, to the point of serious tedium. But if you can get past this, the profile of the players and how they interact at tournaments is fascinating. And the author starts the book out giving himself a year to become an expert, and slowly becomes consumed by Scrabble. He becomes very much like the people he set out to write about. I give it a B.

Finally, last night I finished Body Piercing Saved My Life by Andrew Beaujon. It is an outsiders look at the world of Christian rock music. By outsider, I mean someone who isn't a Christian, or has any previous experience with evangelical Christianity. I really give the author credit for covering a topic like this objectively. He doesn't act scornful or disdainful of the subject he covers, with maybe the exception of worship music (and I really can't fault him for that). Bonus points for his interview with one of my all time favorite artists, Steve Taylor. I recommend this book for anybody who is a Christian and wants to see how their lifestyle appears to non-Christians. An excellent book. Definitely an A.

Finally, It Gets Better

I finally found the summer movie I've been waiting for: Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest. It's a decent action flick that seems to have a little bit of everything for everyone. I particularly enjoyed Johnny Depp's character, as he seems to be having fun playing this character. It more than makes up for the disappointment of all the other so called "blockbusters" heading down the pike these days.