An Accidental Terrorist by Steven Lang
I picked up this book while in Australia after finishing the ones I brought. It was good, one that you enjoy while reading but forget soon afterwards. A story of a young man trying to find his way in the world, he ends up getting mixed up with a group of environmentalists. I do really like the cover photo, which is probably why I picked it up.

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist... by Steven D. Levitt
A great book about looking at data in a new way. The author Levitt looks at numerous situations in a new light, providing a robust analysis and fresh insight to topics where your common sense may be wrong. Includes subjects to raising children, crime rate, abortion, organization of gangs, and what's safer a swimming pool or a loaded gun?

In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
A travel writer with a similar humor style as Dave Barry. This book is about his travels through Australia, which I was setting out to do. A pretty good book, I'd recommend it if interested in traveling to Australia or to learn a little about it.

The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuinn
My brother recommended this SciFi book to me a long time ago. It was sitting on my shelf for awhile and I finally read it. It was pretty good, I didn't like the writing style that much but the story and concepts are pretty interesting. A brief synopisis: a physict from the moon which was settled 100's of years ago by a bunch of hippie utopian people comes back to earth to learn what has changed there and to share his society with them.

Portable Door by Tom Holt
I read the sequel to this book before reading this one and it took a little out of it. A Harry Potter-ish story about a guy starting out in the work force and his first real job is working in a firm run by goblins and magic. The two books are very similar which made reading this one not as enjoyable.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
A pretty interesting look at how people think, form opinions and make decisions; a lot of which is unconscious. Touches on subjects of racism, discrimination, relationships and even military decisions.

Sin City sparked my interest in Frank Miller again, as did the upcoming V for Vendetta so getting back in touch with my inner geek I've been reading some graphic novels:

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Ronin by Frank Miller
Sin City by Frank Miller
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee

Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie.
A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace. This is a great little book, especially for one of those corporate business books. MacKenzie, who worked at Hallmark for 30 years, talks about staying creative and enjoying work in a large bureaucratic environment. The book is filled with little stories, anecdotes and unique views about numerous work and life situations. I also enjoy all the little drawings and pictures throughout the book. The book is short, small and fun to read; just a few days on the muni to and from work.

Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
A book about a young girl who is murdered and her ghost watches over the effect it has on her family and community as they grow and change. A good story told well, however it is one of those books that I'll read; like it while I'm reading it; and then within a few weeks forget completely about.

Moneyball by Michael Lewis
The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. If ever there was a book tailored for me, this was it. Baseball, statistics, math, economics and some one being unique and shaking up the establishment. The book talks about Billy Beane, the General Manager of the Oakland A's and how he is successful running a low budget baseball team with great results; looking in a new way how our national pastime is played, scouted and coached.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Yet another Harry Potter book. This one seemed to focus more on the characters and their relationships with each other than the typical mystery story. The "shock" of killing of one of the main characters was not too much of a surprise plus it didn't have much impact or strength behind it. So to me, seems wide open to bring him back; after all it is magic so good guys always get revived.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The story of a nine-year-old girl, sold with her sister into slavery by their father after their mother's death, who grows to become a beautiful geisha accomplished in the arts, dance, and clever conversation of entertaining men. The story which mostly takes place during the 1930's and 40's is told as a narration of the woman now old looking back on her life, wanting to get her story told.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
A friend of mine was getting rid of this book, so I temporarily saved it from the donation pile. The book is a quick easy read, less than 200 pages of a small book with large spaced out print. I don't think the book really delivers any sort of message or deep meaning, barely even a feel good story. Reminds me of a made-for-tv Hallmark movie, which I think was even made. Thankfully it was short.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
I picked this one up at JFK airport on my return from Spain. It was the only one that looked interesting and the story is based in Barcelona so seemed like a good fit. I enjoyed the book, it's a mystery story about a boy who discovers a rare novel and rumors tell of a disfigured man who has been burning every book written by the author.

Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia by Chris Stewart
Prior to my trip to Spain, I was at my local library looking for some books on Spain. I came across this non-fiction book about an English guy who moved with his wife to a mountain farm in the Andalucia region in Spain; regardless of the fact that it didn't have a water supply, an access road, or electricity. The story is a well written account of a foreigner setting up in a small farming community, living a simpler life and creating relationships with the locals.

In Your Dreams by Tom Holt
I picked this book up after reading the back cover, knowing very little about the story or author. It wasn't quite what I expected, a little more fantasy than I thought it would be. However, it didn't detract from the book at all, just a little surprising when goblins and other things start running around. It was an enjoyable book about a simply guy just trying to get by in life.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
After finishing the previous Murakami book, I enjoyed his writing so much I picked up another. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle also seemed to have more critical acclaim. I think that might be just because it is thicker. I really enjoyed it, I like his writing style, his characters are interesting and realistic. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle dragged a little; a few too many side characters and stories which distracted from the main plot. I would still recommend the book, but would suggest reading Dance Dance Dance before.

Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami
I discovered this author in a Japanese bookstore, he is one of the more famous Japanese authors. Dance Dance Dance is about a 30-something guy who trying to interpret a dream gets caught up with a strange cast of characters, murders and mystery. An excellent story, with great writing, humor, a bit of philosophy and commentary on our advanced capitalist society. I really enjoyed this book. I ended up buying another Haruki Murakami book for the flight home.

Free Will: A Very Short Introduction by Thomas Pink
Another Very Short Introduction book (see below review), I'm not quite sure why I bought this book. I think I was buying the other Philosophy book and wanted another on a similar topic. Big mistake. This book was so dry and boring I just couldn't finish it. I consider myself a pretty good thinker and I enjoy paradoxes and philosophical questions and debates, but the Free Will "issue" is just a lame topic; the whole debate is about can we really have freedom of our actions when they are caused and determined by external criteria. Then debating this over and over and over.

Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction by Edward Craig
While traveling I came across this new series "A Very Short Introduction" from the Oxford Press; they are a small format, perfect for traveling, and an introduction to some interesting topics. I picked up this one on philosophy, it had been awhile since my Philosophy 101 class and I was in a "Why are we here" philosophical kinda mood.

The subject matter of this book was pretty good, however the author's style was horrible. There were so many parentheses and asides, that some asides had asides. Another annoying habit was he would refer to another text, say a passage from Nietzsche and then start commenting on the text as if you just read it. I thought this was an Introduction book, not a companion reader. I am tempted to give this book only one star, except the subject matter was interesting. However, I wouldn't recommend this book, there has to be a better introduction to philosophy book out there.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
This is a wonderful book about a mathemtically gifted young boy who has serious social problems. He finds a dog murdered and sets out to find the killer. The book is well written using a dark witty humor to look at serious issues. At times it can be sad, funny and horrible all in the same scene. I would definitely recommend reading it.

Etiquette Guide to Japan by Boye De Mente
In preparation for my trip to Japan, I checked this book out of the library. It turned out to be a pretty good book. It explains the different etiquette and customs of Japan for various occasions, such as meeting people, apologizing, complimenting, tea ceremony, weddings, and so forth. In each section, it also include a little history on the etiquette and how it came to be. The book is geared more towards the businessman but I found it useful, I'll find out if it's accurate or not.

Lumakick by Richard Hahn
A comic book, with two editions so far. It has very little words in it, and the art work is mediocre but I really enjoyed it. The humor, insight and emotion in it really struck a nerve with me. I look forward to more editions, but they look to be few and far between.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
After hearing much ballyhooing about this book, I gave it a shot. How can people give rave reviews about a book on punctuation. Well, it turned out to be pretty good; enlightening on the proper use of punctuation marks and enjoyable to read at the same time, thanks to the great British humour in it.

Running with Scissors by Auguste Burroughs
A good friend recommended this one to me and I have to agree with her, it is great; a little scary that it is a memoir. Burroughs story is brilliant, weird, horrible, funny and dark all at the same time. An interesting childhood made for a very enjoyable book, I look forward to reading more from him.

Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
After being disappointed with the election, and inspired by Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention, I was looking forward to reading about Obama and his life. The overall story and message of hope in the book is good but it drags a little and goes into too much detail in some spots.

What Should I Do with My Life? by Po Bronson
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Poland by James Michener
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction by Kurt Vonnegut
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Miss Wyoming by Douglas Coupland
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Peopleware : Productive Projects and Teams
Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
Kennedy and Nixon : The Rivalry That Shaped Postwar America
Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
21 Dog Years: Doing Time @ Amazon.com
The Design of Everyday Things
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll
Speed Up Your Site: Web Site Optimization

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (Three Book Set)
Harry Potter Paperback Boxed Set (Four Book Set)
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of America

Hyperion Series by Dan Simmons
Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
Microserfs by Douglas Coupland
Ghost Soldiers: WWII's Most Dramatic Mission