Recent reads

Here are the books I've read since around Christmas time:

Phil Gordon's Little Green Hold 'Em Book - I got this one for Christmas and really enjoyed it. Gordon is a very smart guy and I actually think he may be a little underrated as a tournament player simply because he's so often in the limelight for other things, like TV shows. But this book is very informative. He presents bite-sized nuggets of Hold 'Em information, ranging from overall play and strategy to incredibly specific tips for particular situations. Case in point: Gordon goes out of his way to write an integral section on the importance of stealing blinds as the cash bubble nears in a tourney. Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson both made the same point when they spoke at my Full Tilt luncheon at the WSOP last summer. But Gordon takes his theory a step farther--he finds that the absolute best time to steal a quick pot is right before a dinner break...and he's got a point. Huge overhead displays on the tourney floor count down the time remaining in a level, and more often than not, players want to head for that door as soon as possible...thus, they aren't looking to get involved in a big pot right before the meal break. Brilliant little insights like this typify Gordon's book. I loved it, and I know I'll read it again. Grade: A-

School Days by Robert B. Parker - I love Parker and I've read every novel he's ever written. This one is the latest in the ongoing series about Spenser, the wisecracking Boston P.I. This one deviates a little bit from recent offerings in that Spenser's trusty, badass sidekick Hawk is nowhere to be seen...and neither is Susan Silverman, his often annoying better half. In this book, she's out of town essentially for the duration, and thank god for that, because the biggest knock on Parker's recent works has been his instance on having Spenser moon over Susan time and time again. We get it already. This time, Spenser runs a solo job when hired by the grandmother of a boy involved in a bloody school shooting. It's typical Parker, with taught, well-paced storytelling, and the ending isn't exactly predictable, but fulfilling enough. Not a classic Spenser book, but hardly a bad one. Grade: B.

A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal by Anthony Bourdain - Bourdain's first book, Kitchen Confidential, was brilliant, and it made him a star. Please don't judge him or his work on that Fox sitcom that's already been axed--although I even thought that show had potential. Bourdain is a talented chef and a passionate foodie and in this one, he cruises around the world, eating every exotic menu item he can find, with the entrees ranging from a whole slaughtered hog that died at his hand as the guest of honor to...wait for it...the still beating heart of a cobra. Yum! The highlights are engaging enough--like the laundry list of over a dozen faux pas one might unwillingly commit at a traditional Japanese haute cuisine meal-- but the book seems to wander aimlessly, meandering from one locale to another without any discernable reason. It's a decent read but not as good as his other book. Grade: B-.

Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman - I adored Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs and I practically lived some parts of Fargo Rock City, so I eagerly looked forward to this book, which Klosterman advertises as "85% of a true story" that sees him loading up a rental car and driving thousand of miles around America to visit the sites where famous (and not so famous) rockers died. It's an interesting enough premise, and Klosterman scored points with me right away by nicknaming his rented Taurus "The Ford Tauntaun," but instead of offering up a look at rock immortality or examining the dichotomy of life and death, the book instead veers into Nick Hornby-esque "looking back at past failed relationships through a musical filter" territory. Klosterman even openly acknowledges this. It's not bad, so to speak, just not what I expected or hoped for. It's still vintage Klosterman--he decides that 600 CDs is just the right amount to pack for his trip, he goes on for several pages comparing past girlfriends to various members of KISS based on their personalities, etc. But the incessant rambling about the pros and cons of each of his life's loves grew a little tiresome. I liked it, but I could have loved it. Grade: when not talking about past loves: A-. When writing fictionalized conversations between three different old flames at once: C-. Overall: B. (note: I just read that Klosterman is writing a Super Bowl blog for ESPN. This could be good--if it is, I'll link to it)

Other reads coming soon: Mary Mary by James Patterson and Cell by Stephen King.