Books I have read

TITLE	AUTHOR	WHEN READ	RATE	COMMENT
Steppenwolf	Herman Hesse	2011		A sad old man that life is very much worth living despite all the disgusting things around us and in us. Like listening to a scratched old record-- dirty and garbled but underneath the music is still good.
Siddhartha	Herman Hesse	2011		Beautiful story about a man who find his own redemption not through religious dogma but through his own experience.
Ishmael	Daniel Quinn	2010		Lecture from a gorilla whose main message is: stop destroying the world!
The Slave	Isaav Bashevis Singer	2010		Masterful... modern in outlook yet it feels like a folk tale and is impossible to put down.
Choke	Chuck Palahniuk	2009		Tries to be funny but it's not. Tries to have this dark social commentary but it's stale. Nobody cares about these weirdos and they're not even interesting.
Divisadero	Michael Ondaatje	2009		Kept looking for a connection between the stories or to somehow resolve them but the author completely ignores this expectation. NYT Review Explains of this division to the title of the book. Ha! Separate stories by themselves are OK. (Listened on audiobook)
Around the World in 80 days	Jules Verne	2009		Charming book. Not the adventure I thought it would be, which is good-- exceeds expectations. Can be somewhat cheesy portrayal of Brits but this is the source of it all.
Melachim Gimel (Hebrew)	Yochi Brandes	2009		Jewish version of the Da Vinci Code... semi-fact-based novel meant to shatter biblical pillars, and done in a captivating page-turner style.
Inner Tennis	Timothy Gallwey	2008		Very useful book about how to look at life, not just tennis. Can be applied to making music also. Somewhat overly accepting "no one is bad at Tennis" but very good ideas about how to think about your own physical movement through this world.
Twilight	Stephenie Meyer	2008		One of the worst books I read recently. Story about an ordinary life injected with contrived and unimaginative fantasy. Doesn't come close to the Harry Potter series in terms of invention and fantasy. Last bit of action at the end comes out of nowhere and has very little to do with the rest of the story. Despite all this, I am not surprised by shallow teenage girls crazing over this piece of banal consumer fodder.
The Source	James Michener	2008		Michener captures the spirit of Israel and Judaism as I thought no non-Israeli could. A must read for anyone interested in Judaism and the Middle East.
The History of Love	Nicole Kraus	2008		Contemporary 21st story-telling: not too abstract or far out. Brings several narratives from different time periods and perspectives together into a meaningful and unexpected synchronization. A good mix between philosphization and dramatic story telling. Lively characters.
Thunderbolt Kid	Bill Bryson	2008		Bryson being his usual cynical self about his childhood. It gets old. But he does have an uncanny way of making the mundane seem bizzare.
The Rest is Noise	Alex Ross	2008		Politically correct narration and fascination with the musical masterpieces and musical crap of the 20th century. Pretty interesting, but not discerning, not honest, not decisive. Tell us what you REALLY think!
Beware of God	Shalom Auslander	2008		Some of the stories are well crafted and even funny. Maybe it's part of the humor, but the overall tone reflects a bitter sarcasm that is as close-minded as the society it is making fun of.
The House in Amalfi	Elizabeth Adler	2008		Typical story of a hopeless romantic who falls in love with cliched beauties: Italian Men, coastline sunsets, chocolate, etc...... Very similar to Under the Tuscan Sun. Not very original but reasonably well crafted.
Peace Like a River	Lief Enger	2008		Dreamy book with a curious balance of nostalgia and novelty-- tragedy and beauty.
On the Road	Jack Keruac	2008		More about personal relationships than travel... all they did was zip through the country without really seeing anything except some bars.
Mozart in the Jungle	Blair Tindall	2008		Cleverly uses sex and drugs to trap readers into tirades about the business side of the classical music world. A typical professional musician who doesn't really love music.
Rashi's Daughters: Joheved	Maggie Anton	2008		Beautiful snapshot of life in 11th century France. No real plot, just a telling of a part of a life. Interesting bits of history to be learned too. Especially entertaining and enlightening if you know about wine and Judaism.
Cross	James Patterson	2008		Usually after reading a book you feel full, proud, learned. This one makes you feel guilty, dirty, disgusting. Patterson is a master of suspense but he stoops to the lowest of the low to grab our voyeuristic tendencies and our fascination with the obscene. Just when you think commercialized noveling can't go any lower, they pull this trick: the first two chapters of his NEXT novel, leading you to believe that it's part of the old story. GRRR
A Thousand Splendid Suns	Khaled Hosseini	2007
Giving Up America	Pearl Abraham	2007		Potentially good story about former Hasidic girl who goes through a usual American divorce story. Nice direct style, but never fulfills potential of her unique background, which would have given the story originality. Instead, the character mostly mopes about her boring office job and detached husband..
The Lost Continent	Bill Bryson	2007		Humorous and opinionated matter-of-fact narrative about travels across America. Funny because it's oh-so-true, and because he's almost always negative. When he gets what he wished for he complains and seeks what he complained about before. Clever, revealing and personal. (Listened on audio, excellent reading by William Roberts)
A Monk Swimming	Frank McCourt	2007		The stupidity, misfortune, and other adventures of an Irish alcoholic in the footsteps of his alcoholic father.
Angels & Demons	Dan Brown	2007		Almost the exact same formula as DaVinci Code, only the riddles are even easier to solve. I knew it was Castel San Angelo the whole time! Unbelievable riveting though, like a thriller movie.
The Idiot	Fyodor Dostoyevsky	2007		Dostoyevsky could have said what he had to say in half the verbiage. And I'm sick and tired of stories about the Russian nobility. The Prince reminds me of some people I know, yet he's made so extreme that it comes off as artificial.
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows	JK Rowling	2007		What a thrilling end to an epic series! I read them all, and I literally cried through a loving smile at the end. This generation grew right along with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
The Alchemist	Paulo Coelho	2007		A charming adventure journey, on the cheesy side, about destiny, decision-making, and the self.
Next	Michael Chricton	2007		One of the most impossible-to-put-down books I have ever read. I finished it in record time. Even though the science fiction is typically bizzare for Chricton, he tells a great tale.
Washington Square	Henry James	2007		Great story about an unlikely heroine, a simple-minded victim of more intelligent and successful people all around her. Even the less succesful and those who love her victimize the poor ugly dummy; the whole world pitches in.
Daisy Miller	Henry James	2007		Parallel antithesis of Washington Square. Also a victim, but this time because she is charming and beautiful.
Prey	Michael Chricton	2007		Typical Chricton, not one of his best, but interesting ideas about biology, evolution, and science coming together in the swarm concept.
The Far Euphrates	Aryeh Lev Stollman	2007		Weird book about 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation holocaust survivors. Holocaust's ripple effects continue to wreak their pain on victims. How many generations will it take? Given how we remembered the temple's destruction and before, this will haunt for millennia. Solitary Canadian Jewish family's particular tale. Lots of cryptic symbolism, I think.
The Good People of New York	Thisbe Nissen	2007		Cheese galore. Hadas recommended it. A middle class life. Moody teenager, divorce, career, bla bla bla. Nothing extraordinary, except how it changes focus from mother, to the daughter. Cheesy happy ending.
Moby Dick	Herman Melville	2006		READING it was an adventure. Mind boggling, bizarre work that surpasses all genre and anything that came before it. Exhausts the subject of whaling.
Tuesdays With Morrie	Mitch Albom	2006		An old man bravely and jovially faces death.
Five People You Meet When You Go to Heaven	Mitch Albom	2006		This guy (Albom) is obsessed fixed on this idea of death. A fantasy trip through life after death.
Kite Runner	Khaled Housseini	2006		Riveting story about growing up in Afghanistan. The cruelty and injustice is appalling, but the ending is heartbreakingly beautiful.
Don Juan	Byron	2006		Shockingly and mesmerizingly beautiful verse about that mischievous little Johnny boy. Many favorite lines about the true beauties of life: women, wine, and sunshine.
Atlas Shrugged	Ayn Rand	2006		An epic masterwork, but woefully misguided and delusional. The logic is practically impeccable, but she makes the wrong fundamental assumptions (in my opinion) about the reasons for being. Other main flaw in the logic is disregard for the environment and ignorance of the side-effects.
Sometimes Art Can't Save You	Jill Ferguson	2005		Refreshingly but shockingly honest tale about domestic abuse of an artsy teenager. Jill is not afraid to write about the most gruesome details, even though the happen every day all over the world.
1001 Arabian Nights	Sheherezade	2005		After a few of these, you get the idea, and then they all meld together. The idea is: a tale within a tale within a tale, usually about genies, sultans, and adulterous females.
The Odyssey	Homer	2005		What a great adventure tale! Infinitely better than the Iliad.
Travels With Charley	John Steinbeck	2005		Inspiring journey across America
The Iliad	Homer	2005		Had to put it down after the 1000th description of a fleet footed hero stabbing this or that fiery eyed hero. Basically a play by play of the Trojan War. Historically significant, ok. But as reading material?! Pointless! Where's the "masterpiece" everyone is claiming?
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince	JK Rowling	2005		The wizarding tale gets ever more complicated and dark.
Fathers and Sons	Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev	2005		Sad story about changing times.
Pere Goriot	Honore de Balzac	2005		Sad story about the irrationality of love, especially filial.
Alice in Wonderland	Lewis Carroll	2005		Interesting to read the source after being so familiar with the movie, pop culture references.
Clara	Janice Galloway	2005		Disappointing when stories about interesting people turn out to be mostly run of the mill.
The Queen of Spades	Alexander Pushkin	2005		Short story about a gambler who goes crazy.
The Picture of Dorian Gray	Oscar Wilde	2005		Excellent story about the picture that absorbs its subject's sins. Written in Wilde's witty style, overflowing with wonderful details.
The Music Lesson	Katherine Weber	2005		Turns out to be neither about music nor a lesson nor even the Vermeer painting. Typical female book- a woman fed up with a comfortable life, who needs an exotic man somewhere else.
Of Mice and Men	John Steinbeck	2005
An Na	A Step From Heaven	2005
The Joy Luck Club	Amy Tan	2004
A Solitary Blue	Cynthia Voigt	2004
The Bad Beginning	Lemony Snicket	2004		Formulaic storytelling style gets annoying very quickly. Harry Potter wanna be.
Longing	JD Landis	2004
The Kreutzer Sonata	Leo Tolstory	2004
War and Peace	Leo Tolstoy	2004
Shoa Shelanu (Hebrew)	Amir Gutfruend	2004
Airframe	Michael Chricton	2004
Music of a Life	Andrei Makine	2004
Kitchen	Banana Yoshimoto	2004
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler	Italo Calvino	2004
Reading Lolita in Teheran	Azar Nafisi	2004
The Heart of Redness	Zakes Mda	2004
Chronicle of a Death Foretold	Gabriel García Márquez	2004
The King of Torts	John Grisham	2004
The Hot Zone	Robert Preston	2003
In the Lake of the Woods	Tim O'Brien	2003
East of Eden	John Steinbeck	2003
Virgin Blue	Tracy Chevalier	2003
The Life of Pi Patel	Yaan Martel	2003		How can an entire novel be based almost solely on a boy on a boat? Yaan Martel achieves a trippy voyage through the ocean, with surprises at the end that tie everything together brilliantly.
Lolita	Vladimir Nabokov	2003
The Da Vinci Code	Dan Brown	2003
Beethoven: The Life and Music	Louis Lockwood	2003
Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix	JK Rowling	2003
Daughter of Fortune	Isabel Allende	2003
The Red Tent	Anita Diamant	2003
Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire	JK Rowling	2003
Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban	JK Rowling	2003
Balzac & the Little Chinese Seamstress	Dai Sijie	2003
Indivisible by Four	Arnold Steinhart	2003
An Uncommon Friendship	Bernat Rosner & Fredrick Tubach	2003
The Good Earth	Pearl S. Buck	2002
Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets	JK Rowling	2002
Girl With A Pearl Earring	Tracy Chevalier	2002
Bach, A Biography	C Sanford Terry	2002
Catcher in the Rye	JD Salinger	2002
Twelfth Night	William Shakespeare	2002		If music be the food of love play on. We'll play on even though it isn't.
The Sound and the Fury	William Faulkner	2002
Crime and Punishment	Fyodor Dostoyevsky	2002
The Importance of Being Ernest	Oscar Wilde	2002
Brave New World	Aldus Huxley	2002
Heart of Darkness	Joseph Conrad	2002
Hamlet	William Shakespeare	2001
Tess of the D’Urbervilles	Thomas Hardy	2001		Memorable strawberry-stuffing scene. The tragic life ruined by the brutality of civil society.
Johannes Brahms A Biography	Jan Swafford	2001		This book got me interested in music history and musicology. Unfolds dramatically, with musical examples. Told passionately, end effectively.
An Equal Music	Vikram Seth	2001
Behazara Mi Tuitchi (Hebrew)	Yosi Ginsburg	2001
Narcissus and Goldmund	Herman Hess	2001
The American Pageant	Bailey & Kennedy	2001
The Bean Trees	Barbara Kingslover	2001
Song of Solomon	Toni Morrison	2001
The Little Prince (French)	Antoine de St. Exupery	2001
The Great Gatsby	F. Scott Fitzgerald	2001
The Grapes of Wrath	John Steinbeck	2001
The Scarelet Letter	Nathaniel Hawthorne	2001
The Crucible	Arthur Miller	2001
Our Town	Thornton Wilder	2001
The Jungle	Upton Sinclair	2000
The Rosendorf Quartet (Hebrew)	Nathan Shaham	2000
Angela’s Ashes	Frank McCourt	2000
The Old Man and the Sea	Ernest Hemmingway	2000
All Quiet on the Western front	Erich Maria Remarque	2000
1984	George Orwell	2000
Macbeth	William Shakespeare	2000
The House on Mango Street	Sandra Cinceros	1999
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	JK Rowling	1999
The Samurai’s Garden	Gail Tsukiyama	1999
Armageddon Summer	Jane Yolen & Bruce Coville	1999
Fahrenheit 451	Ray Bradbury	1999
1984	George Orwell	1999
Animal Farm	George Orwell	1999
Child of the Dawn	Gautama Chopra	1999
Romeo and Juliet	William Shakespeare	1999
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings	Maya Angelou	1999
The Mayor of Casterbridge	Thomas Hardy	1999
The Lord of the Flies	William Golding	1999
Nectar in a Sieve	Kamala Markandaya	1999
A Separate Peace	John Knowels	1999
To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper Lee	1998
The Chosen	Chaim Potok	1998
My Name is Asher Lev	Chaim Potok	1998
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer	Mark Twain	1998
Indian Blue Moon (?)	FORGOT	1998
Maus	Art Spiegelman	1998
The Hunt for Red October	Tom Clancy	1998
The Diary of Ann Frank	Anne Frank	1998
Dune	Frank Herbert	1997
The Rainmaker	John Grisham	1997
The Runaway Jury	John Grisham	1997
Beowulf	Unknown	1997
The Firm	John Grisham	1997
The Chamber	John Grisham	1997
The Pelican Brief	John Grisham	1997
The Lost World	Michael Chricton	1997
A Time to Kill	John Grisham	1997
Jurassic Park	Michael Chricton	1996
Disclosure	Michael Chricton	1996

... Any Suggestions???