Assignments (updated)

In the past, I have assigned some of my favorite books. I then watch in horror as those books are not enjoyed the same way I enjoy them. So, this year I am adopting Dave's strategy for assignments, which is to pick books the assignees would not otherwise read. My assignments for 2012:

Dave - Summer Meditations, by Vaclav Havel. (Vaclav Havel died in 2011, and this book is a collection of his thoughts before he took over the presidency and his thoughts on how to manage a country after it had been carved up over the previous century). Also, I assign The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman. Have fun! None of my assigned books could kill a large animal or replace a cinder block, unlike the last few years! You're welcome.

James - I do not imagine you would ever read Chuck Klosterman unless I assign it. I debated between Downtown Owl and The Visible Man, but I think you will enjoy Downtown Owl more. So, I assign it to you, but I grant you the right to switch it for The Visible Man if that sounds more appealing.

Alan - I will give you a choice as well (but partly because I'm not sure if you have or have not read either of these). Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns-Goodwin or Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I also choose these because I have them in paper form and can lend them to you. If you have read them both, I'll be assigning you to read a Jon Ronson book.

So there you have my assignments. Happy reading in 2012.
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So, yeah, I figured we could all just appropriate Joe's post and put all our assignments on here. I'm resourceful/lazy like that. Also, since, James and Alan are sort of strangers in all this, they don't have to assign each other anything....unless they want to, in which case...have at it.

Joe- The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman: because you hate westerns and sci-fi, so a combination has got to be good, right? Also, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay because, despite my recommendations and shouts of affection, you will never read Chabon unless I make you, dammit.

James- 1776 by David McCullough. McCullough is one of the best historians I've ever read, and 1776 is a short, but sweet, look at one year in Washington's military; a year that started badly but would end in a huge 'victory" for the Revolutionaries. (I own this, and can lend it to you)

Alan- I know we talked about you reading Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut, and I'm just making it official. Great, Great book. I hope you will like it, and if you don't, I'll never fucking speak to you again.



(Kidding.)


It's Friday night and I just finished Geraldine Brooks's March. This was
probably not the most exciting way in which to spend the start of my weekend but
at least at this moment I am ahead of Dave by a book.

Speaking of Dave, my assignment to you is Winston Churchhill's The Second World War. Now I know that it says on the box that it is complete in 6 volumes and it may seem slightly unfair of me to assign you this rather lengthy treatise of over 2400 pages (especially after you gave me Slaughterhouse Five at 215 pages) but, I think you will like it, and let's face it you're a bit of a machine and this levels the playing field. Just kidding!!!! I want you to read Pillars of the
Earth by Ken Follet, it's a little lengthy but one of my favorite books of the past few years. Trashy fiction maybe but it will keep you engrossed and you'll love it as much as I did I hope.

Joe- You get the The Dark Tower by Stephen King, not all that deep and I read it in high school and remember loving it. I think by assignment is the only way you might pick it up and Dave just finishing the 7th in the series reminded me of it. I believe you need more fiction in your life. I may reread the series myself it’s been a long time since I was in the land of the gunslinger.

James- We have not met, Dave’s correct in that but I want you to read the Social Animal by David Brooks. David Brooks is a New York Times columnist who swings a little right of Barack and me but I thoroughly enjoyed this examination of the psyche and what shapes character and personality. I hope you like it as much as I did.