what makes human human? i've come to realize this question is as pointless as asking what makes chicken chicken.

2010.08.09

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"running with the demon" by terry brooks

"truth was, you shared an uneasy sense of kinship with even the most unfortunate, disaffected souls; you felt you had known at least a few of them during your life. you had all been children together, with children's hopes and dreams. the dark future that had claimed those few was never more than an arm's length away from everyone else. you knew that. you knew that a single misfortune could change your life forever, that you were vulnerable, and to protect yourself you wanted to know everything you could about why it had touched another and passed you by."

rating: 8.5/10

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"the incredible shrinking critic" by jami bernard

what girl hasn't made an attempt at losing a few unwanted pounds. jami makes her journey at reclaiming herself witty and inspiring.

"i slept on it, chewed on it, the idea burrowing into my mind and heart, an earthworm aerating my subconscious."

"it's another key to weight loss: the goal isn't for the cerebral part of you to whip the corporal part into shape so it can be trotted out in polite company wearing the perfect little black dress. the goal is to show yourself respect by treating your body well. weight loss, once again, is a happy by-product of healthy living, not an end in itself."

rating: 8.5/10

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"dragonwell dead"

i'm not even going to dignify this book with a summarization. if you're looking for a deep, probing mystery, skip it.

rating: 4/10

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religulous

"it's not that the church has the idea, you know, they're gonna train us up so we can be the first ones out there to baptize those extraterrestrials before the mormons get at them."

father george coyne, phd
vatican observatory

rating: 9/10

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"watchmen" by alan more

"life's so fragile, a successful virus clinging to a speck of mud, suspended in endless nothing."

rating: 7/10

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"a princess of roumania" by paul park

"'in books you always know the rules. or at least that there were rules if you could learn them. that's the difference between stories and real life, i thought. but maybe nothing real ever makes sense, ever feels like home.'"

rating: 7/10

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