Franzen, Gladwell, O'Neill, Gutkind

Netherland by Joseph O’Neill. One of the best novels I’ve read this year. Seriously. O’Neill’s characters are fascinating, remarkable, and the book’s both lyrical and a hell of a good ride. “…echoes of The Great Gatsby…” says Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times. Highly, highly recommended by me, too. Hardback. 150 EEK.

Blink by Malcom Gladwell. If you haven’t read anything by the New Yorker writer Gladwell, you owe it to yourself. He’s making a good living pulling down what must be five bucks a word from the New Yorker (arguably the English language’s finest glossy magazine), as well as churning out bestsellers which explain human behavior and get him a ticket to the 25,000-dollar-a-night lecture circuit. Blink is about “the power of thinking without thinking” and how your first instinct is probably right. A fine read for the curious. A doubly good read for those in marketing who need to freshen up the batteries in their bullshit sprayers. 150 EEK. Sold.

The Best Creative Nonfiction, edited by Lee Gutkind. Volume 1 of Gutkind’s interminable series (we assume--I've got vol. 2 on order). For my money, it’s a mixed bag. Some of the stories soar (Olivia Chia-lin Lee’s incomparable “Pimp,” the story of a highly-paid, San Francisco call girl), but others fall short. But, all in all, this is a nice (though certainly not representative) sample of some of the better non-fiction being written today. 100 EEK.

The Twenty-Seventh City by Jonathan Franzen. Sold.

The Discomfort Zone by Jonathan Franzen. Don’t buy this if you haven’t read a couple of Franzen’s books. But if you have, this “deeply lyrical” (The Times) book is a must. 100 EEK.

To purchase or trade books, write me at v.vikerkaar@gmail.com.