Yet another book I thoroughly enjoyed. I like Levitt’s approach to answering the questions he raises in the book. The style is fun to read. I’d love to read some of his actual papers to get more of the details and statistics that are glossed over in this book.

Just my type of book. As a reader, I knew just as much, or as little, as the protaganist did, himself. I love books where I learn things at the same time as the characters. Nothing is too obvious or too subtle.

(completed March 2006)

Les Mis was even better than I had hoped. Though I was excited about completing a 1200+ page book, I certainly would’ve loved to have read about these characters forever (perhaps forever is a slight overstatement).

Tessa and I discovered the other day that I don’t remember anything about this book and that I need to reread it before beginning the sixth one.

I do not wish I were a teenager again. And I hope that Harry is a little less teenager-ish in Book 6. It was fun to read, but definitely not my favorite.

I read this book while visiting Moscow, which made a great book even better. I stood outside Sadovaya 302-b and beside Patriarch’s Pond. The Master and Margarita was highly entertaining and imaginative. I enjoyed the political satire and its religious twist.

I chose this novel because it was the shortest piece of Russian literature I could find before going to St. Petersburg. It reminded me a lot of Knut Hamsun’s Hunger. I enjoyed it, though it’s certainly not a favorite.

I read this book while visiting Moscow, which made a great book even better. I stood outside Sadovaya 302-b and beside Patriarch’s Pond. The Master and Margarita was highly entertaining and imaginative. I enjoyed the political satire and its religious twist.

(completed 6/12/05)

I devoured this book the way I did Everything is Illuminated. After hearing over and over that Everything is Illuminated wasn’t as great as everyone said it was, that it was nothing special, I started to believe it. Reading EL&IC reminded me that Foer’s style works for me. Although his topics are intrinsically tragic and touching, he adds a level of creativity that I haven’t found in many other books.

It was odd to pick it up so shortly after The Tin Drum where young, percussive musician Oskar struggles to fit into the world around him. I couldn’t help but see similarities.

(completed 6/5/05) Old School was an enjoyable, quick read. I didn’t like it quite as much as This Boy’s Life, but it was great to get a quick taste of Tobias Wolff.

(completed July 2004)

A gift from Angela. This book was funny and had a unique style. A great way to start my summer of reading in Berlin.