2010 Books

As 2010 was beginning, I set a goal of reading at least 24 books (2 per month) during the year. I'm happy to say that I exceeded that goal; I read a total of 36 books. It was my intention to write a blog ranking the top ten, but I got stuck. So instead, I will mention my favorite book of those I read in 2010, then make some general comments about others. So here goes:

Best book of 2010:
"Open" by Andre Agassi
As I've written before, I thought this was a great book; one of the best I've ever read. Even though I'm not a huge tennis fan, Agassi's style, attention to detail, and willingness to be brutally honest made for a riveting read.

Other books I liked:
"Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter" by Seth Grahame-Smith
This fictionalized biography tells the story of Lincoln's lifelong battle against vampires and reveals that this struggle was one the factors behind the Civil War. A very fun and enjoyable read.
"The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
Since this is my favorite movie of all time, I decided it was about time to read the book. For the most part, it was quite similar to the movie, but some scenes were definitely more elaborate and interesting in the book. Indigo and Fessick's adventure in the Zoo of Death was fascinating.
"1920 - The Year of the Six Presidents" by David Pietrusza
Tells the story of the election of 1920, which was affected in one way or another by six former or future presidents - Harding, Coolidge, Wilson, Hoover, and both Roosevelts. It was very well done; gripping even though the end result was already known. As an added bonus, when I first wrote about this book several months ago, the author came across my post and wrote a comment thanking me for the positive review. That was the greatest brush with celebrity this blog has ever seen.
"Luckiest Man - The Life and Times of Lou Gehrig" by Jonathan Eig
A must read for baseball fans, especially Yankee fans. It was an interesting look into the man's character.
"Moneyball" by Michael Lewis
Speaking of baseball, this book looks into the front office of the Oakland Athletics and shows the strategies they used to compete against teams that have more money to spend on players (i.e. the Yankees).
"Going Rogue" by Sarah Palin
I know that a lot of people don't like her, but I think she's been a positive breath of fresh air in what is (for me) the drab and dull world of national politics. The book explained her side of some of the controversies from 2008 - and I think did a good job of explaining them.

Classic Literature
A sub-goal that I had for 2010 was that at least six of the books I read be "classics". I fell a little short, but here are the ones I did read:
"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain (which I had read years ago)
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis ( I read this one while waiting around on Jury Duty day)
I really enjoyed all of these classics and intend to read several more in 2011. My favorite of the classics was probably Tom Sawyer. I have to admit that "The Catcher in the Rye" didn't really grab me - I kept waiting for it to get more interesting; maybe my expectations were off. It was still a worthwhile read, though.

One book that disappointed me
"The Yankee Years" by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci
As a Yankee fan, I certainly enjoyed the team's run of success during Torre's run as manager. However, this book seemed like an endless axe-grinding against those who weren't "True Yankees" (i.e. those who were part of the World Series winning teams from 1996-2000). The level of fawning over Derek Jeter was a bit much at times. Torre also took a bunch of cheap shots at Alex Rodriguez, who was an is a much superior player. Overall, Torre came off looking petty and vindictive and lost some respect for him after reading that book.

So there it is. I wish you all good reading in 2011 and I'll report back soon.

Dunkin' Everything

Saturday morning I went to Dunkin' Donuts to get a special breakfast for the family. As you probably know, you can buy a lot more than donuts at Dunkin' Donuts. They also sell munchkins, bagels, croissants, and of course coffee and assorted other beverages. It seems that it wasn't that long ago when the only food sold there was donuts and munchkins.

You might say, here goes Bill again, complaining about too many choices and varieties. It's true that I'm a bit of a curmudgeon; longing for a past, simpler time. When Oreos were single-stuff, M&Ms were plain, and DD sold donuts - a wide variety of donuts. Now, there are so many other items crowding the display shelves, most Dunkin' Donutses only carry about 10 or 12 different types of donuts. That's fine with me as long as they still offer good old jelly, but my wife wanted a donut with coconut - no dice. If only DD would focus on their core business, they could produce a wider variety of donuts, and satisfy more customers. Because really, who would actually want a croissant?