May 2024 Books

 I got tired of doing the math for the book count.

Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! By: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker

Non-fiction: Humor, Pop Culture, History, Memoir, 352 pages

Poorly Drawn Lines: Good Ideas and Amazing Stories by: Reza Farazmand

Fiction: Graphic Novel, Humor, 199 pages

Poorlier Drawn Lines by: Reza Farazmand

Fiction: Graphic Novel, Humor, 168 pages

The Fourth Closet: Five Nights at Freddy’s (Five Nights at Freddy’s Graphic Novel #3) by: Scott Cawthon, Kira Breed-Wrisley, Diana Camero

Fiction: Graphic Novel, Mystery, Pop Culture, Paranormal 192 pages

What Feasts at Night by: T. Kingfisher

Fiction: Mystery, Paranormal, Fantasy, 151 pages

Unfuck Your Eating: Using Science to Build a Better Relationship with Food, Health, and Body Image by: Faith G. Harper

Non-fiction: 192 pages

BuzzFeed Unsolved Supernatural: 101 True Tales of Hauntings, Demons, and the Paranormal By: Ryan Bergara, Shane Madej

Non-fiction: History, Paranormal, Humor, 234 pages

The Scary Book of Christmas Lore: 50 Terrifying Yuletide Tales from Around the World by: Tim Rayborn

Non-fiction: History, Short Story, Holidays 144 pages

The Shadows by: Vincent Zabus Art by: Hippolyte

 Fiction: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Politics 199 pages

Mera: tidebreaker:

Mera: tidebreaker by: Danielle Paige illustrated by: Stephen Byrne
Fiction: Sci-fi, Graphic Novel, Pop Culture, 191 pages

This book is a prequel to the Aquaman movie.  It tells the story of how Mera meets Aquaman, before he knew who he was. 

Good Advice From Bad People:

Good Advice From Bad People Selected Wisdom from Murderers, Stock Swindlers, and Lance Armstrong
Non-Fiction: Biography, 192 pages
Book Count: 66

After our last book of people that started out bad and turned good, we thought we would read this book of good advice that the creator of didn't follow.  This book is filled with a quote from some one and then a short 1-2 page biography of them that points out how they did the exact opposite of their advice.  It includes info on self help book writers that: went bankrupt, got divorced, ended up in jail or otherwise were the last person you would want to take advice from on a subject if they did what they said to do.  There are also entries on politicians,  sport stars, and televangelists. In short a who's who of people who said, "Do what I say, not what I do."

A Book in Review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle By: Barbara Kingsolver
Non-fiction: food 352 pages
Book Count: 56

This book was surprising good for the most part. Giving the other places I have seen it references I expected it to be mostly crap. It was for the most part interesting. It is mainly about how the author spent their year of living off the land. There are a few parts about how people are destroying everything and using fossil fuels is evil, but it also has an essay on why you should eat meat. There was only one place where the liberal earth first BS really annoyed me. In one paragraph the author goes on about how the way we eat is killing us and the world. (Not that I am not saying that some ways we use aren't bad for both.) But, she both talks about how the generations after her's (she's 55) are living shorter lives, and that the world is going to be horrible overpopulated in 40-50 years. Now even just putting theses to facts next to each other make it sound a little silly. When you look at the data on the world's population it becomes more of an issue of one or the other, but both of these things can't be true. Her longer living, large generation will be mostly dead in 50 years. If people are dieing younger then a lot of the next one will be dead too. Most of Europe and much of Asia average less then the 2 children per couple needed just to keep population at nearly a standstill. (2 kids still equals a small negative as not all people have kids. And the average is closer to 1.) And many of the populations that have a large number of children do so as they know most of there kids will die before adulthood, so unless people live longer lives in the future in 2 generations we most likely will not have a population explosion beyond what the earth can handle. Anyway besides that there were some fun and worth while info in this book. Things like menus and recipes for the foods found in each month and info on what time each food grows. In both cases that dates will very slightly based on where you live, but it gives a good rough idea.

A Book in Review: Black Belt Patrioism

Black Belt Patrioism By: Chuck Norris
Non-fiction: politics 189 pages
Book Count: 45

OK, I only read the book in order to post "Chuck Norris Facts" so. . .

Chuck Norris can sneeze with his eyes open.
Chuck Norris can eat just one Lay's potato chip.
Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves.
When Chuck Norris falls in water, Chuck Norris doesn't get wet. Water gets Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris can divide by zero.
Chuck Norris always knows the EXACT location of Carmen SanDiego.
Chuck Norris can drink an entire gallon of milk in thirty-seven seconds.
Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.
Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.
There is no such thing as global warming. Chuck Norris was cold, so he turned the sun up.
Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.
Chuck Norris can judge a book by its cover.
Chuck Norris doesn't actually write books, the words assemble themselves out of fear.


Now that that is done about the book itself. This book is mostly what one would think it would be. As everyone that didn't know before the last presidential election now knows too, Chuck Norris is a Conservative, Christian, Republican that believes we should go back to a government that only has the powers explicitly granted it in the Constitution. This book goes over the main changes that he thinks should happen for his ideal government to be in place in America. As a political book by a celebrity I found it a lot better researched then one would expect. He referenced little known parts of American history and quoted the founding fathers a lot. All of this was noted in extensive end notes, appendices, etc. It also had a number of sections on his life, such as his conversion story and his work out schedule. (Which, includes the Total Gym.)

Gifts for Book Lovers- The Changing Face of War

Book Count: 98

For: Military historians

The Changing Face of War: Combat From the Marne to Iraq By: Martin Van Creveld
Non-Fiction: military, history 278 pages 2008

This is a book that looks at the changes in warfare in the last century. It also talks about earlier wars when explaining how fighting of the first World War developed. It goes mainly over WWI, WWII, the cold war, and modern fighting including both U.S. wars in Iraq, Israel’s wars and fighting in North Ireland. This book goes over many aspects of these fights and gives info on the wars as well as brakes down winning and loosing strategies.

A Holiday Book in Review – A Different Kind of Christmas

Book Count: 94
A Different Kind of Christmas By: Alex Halley
Fiction: historic, social issues 176 pages 1988

This book is by the author of Roots. It takes place in 1855 and is about a white man whose father is one of the largest plantation holders in North Carolina. He is going to school at Princeton and there is exposed to Northern ideas including ones dealing with anti-slavery groups. He becomes acquainted with a family of Quakers who force him to look at his pre-existing ideas on race and slavery.

A Book in Review – Fast Food Nation

Book Count: 41

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal By: Eric Schlosser
Non-Fiction: current events 270 pages 2001

This book is on the history of the fast food industry in America and the world and how it effects the lives of people. It talks about both the things that the industry does on purpose to increase their profits, often at the cost of employees and customers and all of the unintended effects of creating the industry. It also goes into attempts to change their practices and issues of food safety, especially in meat.

A Book in Review – The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Book Count: 31

The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster By: Bobby Henderson
Non-Fiction: politics, humor 166 pages 2006


This book is a little confusing. It starts out as a humorous book against intelligent design being taught as science, as it isn’t scientifically able to be tested. (Given as science cannot prove or disprove the existence of God.) It does this by pointing out that much like we can’t scientifically prove what caused evolution we can’t prove why gravity exists. The book’s answer: an invisible flying spaghetti monster that uses its noodley arms to push us down and who messes with test results to hide the truth of its existence from scientist. So far that all makes sense. (Really it does!) But then it becomes a book on the beliefs and practice of people who believe in the flying spaghetti monster, also known as Pastafarians. This part is funny and fun to read, but has little to do with the first part of the book, except in it’s use of science and math to prove the truths of the religion, such as the “scientific” proof that a lack of pirates is what causes global warming. (The flying spaghetti monster has a thing for pirates which is why it gets colder after “talk like a pirate day” [September] and Halloween [October], a day started by pirates according to Pastafarians, and a day people dress as pirates. The parts on why there are the increases of extreme storms due to global warming was actually “based” on how pirates sailing in the Caribbean effect ocean water temps and weather patterns.) It then ends with reconnecting to the first idea in a short two page letter to the reader.

A Book in Review – The Truth with Jokes

Book Count: 28

The Truth with Jokes By: Al Franken
Non-Fiction: politics 307 pages 2005

This is a book about the 2004 election and the Bush administration as told by a liberal Democrat. First, I would like to say that I didn’t read this book because I thought I would agree or disagree with everything said. I on occasion like to read books of politics from both sides of the political spectrum just to see what they are thinking and why. And giving the way the current election is going, I thought it might be a timely read. That being said this book has lots of information on politics with lots of notes in the back showing where the information came from, but not a lot of jokes and many of the jokes are a lot cheesier then you would expect from a man who is also a comedian. The “Letter to My Grandchildren” at the end was funny, but only because it was written from a future where because the Democrats were elected into power, all the ills of society were fixed (in about 3 months). And even if they somehow got God to be their candidate for president that’s not going to happen, given free will and all. (Unless it caused the end of the world, but then the letter wouldn’t make any since anyway.)