Books I Read in 2010 (Part 2/2)

And here’s part 2 of the list of books I read in 2010.

  • Abnormal Psychology by Gerald Davison and John M. Neale
    Another book I found at the Asylum Hostel in Sydney. It’s a textbook for psychology students, which I’m not, but it was still interesting to read about the different kinds of disorders out there and how psychology is attempting to cure them.
  • The Game by Neil Strauss
    I recently read that this book is supposed to be turned into a movie, so quick, read the book before the movie comes out so you can say, “Oh, well, the book was better.” Seriously, though, the book is not a must read by any standards, but it certainly has some interesting aspects. It’s about how Neil Strauss himself, once a geeky, shy and inexperienced fella, learned all about being a pick-up artist when he researched pick-up artists for a story.
  • Cause Of Death by Patricia Cornwell
    Another good Patricia Cornwell crime novel.
  • Romulus, My Father by Raimond Gaita
    I had never heard of the book or the movie adaptation with Eric Bana and Franka Potente, but I found the book in the hostel, so… Raimond Gaita is an Australian philosopher, and in this book he writes about his father’s life, how they emigrated to Australia and what their life there was like. It’s not a nice rags to riches story, it’s a dark story about poverty, suicide and mental illness. It’s still a good read, though, somewhat hopeful despite all the darkness.
  • Sofies Welt by Jostein Gaarder
    This book also showed up at a hostel. The English title is “Sophie’s World”, the original Norwegian title “Sofies verden”. I started reading this over a decade ago and put it down after 20 pages because it bored me. This time around I simply had nothing else to read so I read it, still thought it was pretty boring in parts. I have no idea why this book was so successful. Maybe it’s a neat idea but I’d have preferred to read all this stuff in textbook form. Dumb.
  • Blood Born by Kathryn Fox
    Kathryn Fox is an Australian medical practitioner and author of crime novels. She lives in Sydney, actually, which is where I found this book in a hostel, I think. But who can remember. At any rate, it’s a good read and it’s not bad as crime novels go, but I do prefer Patricia Cornwell’s books. Just because I like Kay Scarpetta more.
  • Evening in Byzanthium by Irwin Shaw
    Also from some hostel or another. It’s about this aging movie producer who goes to the Cannes film festival and is thinking about a new project to tackle. It’s also about his relationships and his life. It’s not about terrorists, however, which is peculiar because the movie based “loosely” on this book is about terrorists taking over the Cannes film festival. Weird. At any rate, I think the book is from the 70ies and it shows, and I liked it. The protagonist always mixed whiskey and water, if I remember correctly, and when a charming Israelian guy left a bottle of Jack Daniel’s in our fridge, I tried replicating this “recipe”. Pretty gross.
  • Lautlos by Frank Schätzing
    German crime novel, basically. Was okay.
  • The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
    Someone left this at the hostel, which made me particularly happy. I thought the translation into English was really strange and seemed to me like the translator’s first language wasn’t English. But apparently I’m the only one, as the guy even got an award for his translation. It’s a good read and I like the characters in it, so I might have to read the other two parts as well.

3 Replies to “Books I Read in 2010 (Part 2/2)”

  1. I thought the very same thing about “Sophies Welt”. My aunt gave it to me once as a present and I just couldn’t believe it got so many awards, because it’s simply dull. *shrugs*
    Maybe we just don’t *get it*. :-D

    1. Yes, we rather take our thoughts of existentialism from Battelstar Galactica! Am I right? *high-five* :)

  2. HAHA! INDEED!
    What could teach me more about existentialism than Jamie Bamber’s abs?! *high-fives back*

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