Felicia Pride: The Message- 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs
I was pretty excited when I first saw this book. I envisioned it as sort of a Hip-Hop version of "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff." Unfortunately, it was more of an autobiography for the author. While many of the songs featured in the book provided a walk down memory lane, I thought the "life lessons" should be a little more general, rather than a snapshot of different points in the author's life.
(The list item has a youtube video, please visit the list to check it out)
Eric Schlosser: Fast Food Nation
This book just blows my mind. It totally reminds me of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" in that it really is a piece of modern muckraking. Fast food is pretty disgusting and the people that control the industry (and their government minions) often care more about making money than they do the well-being of society. Will this make me swear off meat and fast food? Hmm....
(The list item has a youtube video, please visit the list to check it out)
Will Blythe: To Hate Like This Is To Be Happy Forever
As a loyal fan of ACC basketball, I figured this would be a proper read for this year's ACC tournament and March Madness. Unfortunately, Duke got upset by Clemson, thus eliminating the Duke/ Carolina championship game I was hoping for. The book was ok, but I feel that Blythe tried to do too much. Rather than just being the story of Carolina's championship run in '95, this book was also a sociological study, a personal narrative, and an apology to the author's father. In addition, I felt that too much of the book focused on a nominally interesting role player, Melvin Scott.
(The list item has a youtube video, please visit the list to check it out)
Paul Auster: The Brooklyn Follies
This was another book club selection. It is the story of a man named Nathan Glass who is "going to Brooklyn to die." Along the way he learns a little something about himself and meets all sorts of crazy characters. This was a pretty good book but just short of great. I like how Auster worked in so many literary references, but in the end there was just something missing.
(The list item has a youtube video, please visit the list to check it out)
James Frey: A Million Little Pieces
I was a little late to the party with this book. I bought it a long time ago and it just sat on my shelf. I finally read it and I was really impressed. By now everyone has heard about how Frey fabricated a lot of the details in the book. I guess I am a little bothered by that, but not really. It was still an engrossing book and a great read. I loved this book and couldn't put it down...that is until the last page. I won't spoil it but I just hated the very end. Still a good read!
(The list item has a youtube video, please visit the list to check it out)