Michael Savage: Trickle Up Poverty...

The Good: For starters, I am a casual listener of the author's radio show, "The Savage Nation". If you are unfamiliar, Michael Savage is one of America's most popular conservative radio talk show hosts. He is a paleoconservative, that means that he has no love loss for either liberals, nor "Bushite" neo-conservatives. He is a multi-time NY Times best-selling author, and this is his rebuke of President Obama's economic "plans".
To summarize his radio-style, he's a combination of Glen Beck and Anthony Bourdain, although he'd label both of them as shlemiels. He's precisely a product of his environent, the son of 2 NYC immigrants who made it on their own. He's a recovering liberal, entrenched in the ultra-liberal enclave of San Fran.
He holds a Ph.D. in anthropology, and the good doctor treats the reader to a case study on President Obama's Marxist-Leninist ideology, and the Maoist and Collectivist leanings of most of his unelected czars. The result is quite educational, and very scary.
In short, it's a necessary text for all concerned about the continuation of The Republic.

The Bad: As I stated in the beginning of this project, I really, really hate it when non-fiction texts aren't read by their authors. Savage uses his voice to make his living for God's sake. This was very, very disappointing.

The Ugly: Very little. He is a social scientist, and a professional bloviator, so it is a little long-winded, but I loved it.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Freakonomics...

Disclaimer: I read the follow-up "Superfreakonomics in 2010.

The Good: I am the audience for these guys. I am not swayed by "feel-good" stories, or any "sports-as-life" narratives. But, take the questions that no one asks in life, use empirical data, and give the answer that no one wants you to: I'm in. The book is written by a couple of economists, also in my wheelhouse. But, it is very well-written; entertaining, and if you listen to the audio - well read, though not by the author(s). The book asks many varied and hilarious questions: What really caused the violent crime wave of the late 80's/early 90's to disappear? (Roe v. Wade, amongst other factors), and Do black mothers doom their children to lesser life results by their "black-sounding" names? (No. Sort of.) Great questions, even funnier answers, all with quanitifabled evidence as support. Love it.

The Bad: Of course, as with me, the book misses some importnat human factors in its arguments. I recognize this about myself, as well as the results of Freakonomics.

The Ugly: It's too short. It leaves those of us into the book, really hungry for more. Fortunately, there's Superfreakonomics!!!

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5. I think that they should've combined the two books - but this was perfect for the purposes of my quest!!!

Water For Elephants...

Disclaimer: This is the 1st book suggested by someone else, my sis, and the first book in a long time that I read purely in anticipation of an upcoming movie.

The Good: For starters, the book is set in two different periods. Narrated by both a 23-year old and a 93-year old (or 90) Jacob. For the audiobook, these parts are read by two different readers, and they are both fantastic. The reader of the 23-year old Jacob must voice many different and intriguing circus-related characters, and does so magnificently. The 93-year old (or 90) Jacob tells his story from first-hand voice, and the narrator does a bang-up job. Also, the construction of the characters is phenomenal, even the characterization of Rosie the Elephant Bull. In the end, the reader is lead to literally cheer an elephant triumphing over the dastardly August. The settings are fantastic, what you'd expect for a prohibition-era circus tale. The scenes set upon the circus train are especially my favorites. They are breathtaking and exhilirating. The bottom line is that this is a simple love story, but the setting, the characterization, the story-telling makes it so much more than that.

The Bad: The stuff that would really interest me: the redlighting of Camel and Walter, the garotting of Uncle Al, the death of August, these things are not told in near enough vulgar detail. That's what I want. But, that is a really pickky point.

The Ugly: My only real beef was that much modern day beliefs, standards, colloquialisms, etc. were attributed to the story, which was set in 1931. It really bothered me. But, that's just me.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5. Which is good. Aside from a few deviations from the novel (Marlena was a brunette, there is no Uncle Al, Jacob is being played by a total pussy), I am excited about the movie, which I wasn't before I read this. I expect it to have the fantastic artistic cinematography of Tim Burton's "Big Fish", combined with the cool period scapes of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". And, that's a good thing.

Justin Halpern's "Shit My Dad Says"

The Good: All of it. Chicks won't get it, like the Three Stooges. But for a dude, this shit is like the bible for dealing with a son. It's very short, but packed with wisdom - and nothing but laughs. I literally laughed out loud the entire read. p.s. Thanks to Barry and Jana for the book.

The Bad: Myself. I am pissed that I didn't know about this phenomenom earlier. Halpern has 2 Million Twitter fans, and has been doing this for a while. Reading his Tweets nearly makes me crap my pants. I'm disappointed that I wasn't on the front-side of this. This is the kind of thing that I usually know. If you are a guy, and you're not following his Tweets - you should be.

The Ugly: This has been made into a CBS sitcom. That can't be a good thing. I haven't watched it, I probably won't watch it - in order to do Halpern's book justice, it would have to be on premium cable. Comment if you think that I'm wrong about that.

Overall Rating: 6 out 5, or the best possible rating that I can give. If you're a dude - just read it - trust me. Disclaimer: chicks, you won't get it.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The Good: Alot. I was drawn to read this for two reasons. First of all, I have no affintity for outdoorsmanship. The things that motivate Aron Ralston on a daily basis, have absolutley no draw for me. However, Char and I saw the story on this on Dateline several years back, and it was very intriguing. I want to see the James Franco movie, 127 Hours, based on Ralston's story, so I was motivated to read the book. Also, I'm thoroughly mesmerized by the mentality that it would take for a man to saw his own right arm off. The will to live, the desperation for freedom, the sheer state of shock that one must be in to come to that point - it is so compelling to me. And, in a brilliant turn of events, not only did Ralston write the text himself, he also narrates the audiobook. It is pretty much everything that I hoped for, from the details of Ralston drinking his own urine, to the amputation procedure. It is riveting, and, from the horse's mouth.

The Bad: The double-edged sword of Ralston reading the audiobook is that not only do I have to hear it from the horse's mouth, I have to listen to Ralston. As previously stated, I can't comprehend the mentality of a guy like Ralston, and, also, that makes it hard for me to emphasize with a guy who goes out and gets his arm stuck under a boulder. He a granola-loving fruit bar, and I really find it hard to care that he hacked off his own arm.

The Ugly: Nothing, really. Other than the not carrying for the subject of the text - but that's alot.