62. Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein

I can't remember if I read about this book online first or if I saw Adelstein interviewed on The Daily Show first. Either way, I really wanted to read this based on what I was hearing about it. I had plenty of time to get excited about it because there was a 4 month wait at the library. 4 MONTHS! Sheesh.

From the only American journalist ever to have been admitted to the insular Tokyo Metropolitan Police press club: a unique, first-hand, revelatory look at Japanese culture from the underbelly up. At nineteen, Jake Adelstein went to Japan in search of peace and tranquility. What he got was a life of crime... crime reporting, that is, at the prestigious Yomiuri Shinbun. For twelve years of eighty-hour workweeks, he covered the seedy side of Japan, where extortion, murder, human trafficking, and corruption are as familiar as ramen noodles and sake. But when his final scoop brought him face-to-face with Japan's most infamous yakuza boss - and the threat of death for him and his family - Adelstein decided to step down... momentarily. Then he fought back. In Tokyo Vice, Adelstein tells the riveting, often humorous tale of his journey from an inexperienced cub reporter - who made rookie mistakes like getting into a martial-arts battle with a senior editor - to a daring investigative journalist with a price on his head. With its vivid visceral descriptions of crime in Japan and an exploration of the world of modern-day yakuza that even few Japanese ever see, Tokyo Vice is a fascination, and an education, from start to finish.

Summary lifted from the book jacket. Colin typed it up for because he can't stand my hunt-and-peck typing.

So, yeah. When I hear about Tokyo Vice, I thought it was going to be all about Adelstein's troubles with the Yakuza. I didn't connect that the title refers to the vice beat that he covered as a reporter. There's a lot of ugly stuff in this book about human trafficking, the sex trade in Japan, and the police force's dismissive attitude toward rape victims. There was one chapter in particular about an all-night tour he was given of the sex shop area that really got to me. Also, some very bad things happen -- a friend of Adelstein's disappears while helping him track down a story and someone shows him graphic photos of a murder victim, claiming that the murdered woman is his missing friend. Also, Adelstein didn't come off as very likeable to me. He never really explains why he went to live in Japan in the first place, which I found off-putting. He's very honest and upfront about the less sympathetic choices that he makes, and I respect that. But it doesn't really change the fact that he wasn't someone I was whole-heartedly rooting for.

Okay, I think that covers the cons. Let's get to the pros. Adelstein provides extensive background on journalism in Japan, which is very interesting. He's a talented writer, I give him that. And I don't know a lot about Japan, so I enjoyed learning more about the country as he experienced it. Here's one quote that I thought was especially interesting:

"It says a great deal about the safety of the country [Japan] that a murder, any murder, is national news. There are exceptions, however, and that's when the victim is Chinese, a yakuza, a homeless person, or a nonwhite foreigner. Then the news value drops 50%."

That's something I probably never would have known otherwise. So it wasn't a complete waste of time, even if the review makes it sound that way at first.

Ultimately, I was expecting to read part crime story, part memoir along the lines of American Shaolin by Matthew Polly. Not the case. Suffice it to say that I wish I had realized what I was getting into. A different mindset going in would have helped me enjoy this book more or get something more out of it. 

Here's the interview with Adelstein on The Daily Show:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Jake Adelstein
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

If you're interested, give the book a shot. You might love it, even if I didn't.

61. Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

I think most people felt the same way about the presidential election in 2008: The stakes were really high. Regardless of who they wanted to win, for a few months it was all people could talk about -- and talk they did, with a lot of passion. It was the kind of point in history that I think my kids will ask me about one day (when I eventually have kids, that is). So when I heard about Game Change, I placed a request for it at the library right away. I was still a bit late to the party, though; there were 24 people in line ahead of me. Now I'm here to tell you -- it was well worth the wait.

In 2008, the presidential election became blockbuster entertainment. Everyone was watching as the race for the White House unfolded like something from the realm of fiction. The meteoric rise and historic triumph of Barack Obama. The shocking fall of the House of Clinton - and the improbable resurrection of Hillary as Obama's partner and America's face to the world. The mercurial performance of John McCain and the mesmerizing emergence of Sarah Palin. But despite the wall-to-wall media coverage of this spellbinding drama, remarkably little of the real story behind the headlines has yet been told.

In Game Change, John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, two of the country's leading political reporters, use their unrivaled access to pull back the curtain on the Obama, Clinton, McCain and Palin campaigns. How did Obama convince himself that, despite the thinness of his resume, he could somehow beat the odds to become the nation's first African American president? How did the tumultuous relationship between the Clintons shape - and warp - Hillary's supposedly unstoppable bid? What was behind her husband's furious outbursts and devastating political miscalculations? Why did McCain make the novice governor of Alaska his running mate? And was Palin merely painfully out of her depth - or troubled in more serious ways?

Game Change answers those questions and more, laying bare the secret history of the 2008 campaign. Heilemann and Halperin take us inside the Obama machine, where staffers referred to the candidate as "Black Jesus." They unearth the quiet conspiracy in the U.S. Senate to prod Obama into the race, driven in part by the fears of senior Democrats that Bill Clinton's personal life might cripple Hillary's presidential prospects. They expose the twisted tale of John Edwards's affair with Rielle Hunter, the truth behind the downfall of Rudy Giuliani, and the doubts of those responsible for vetting Palin about her readiness for the Republican ticket - along with the McCain campaign staff's worries about her fitness for office. And they reveal how, in an emotional late-night phone call, Obama succeeded in wooing Clinton, despite her staunch resistance, to become his secretary of state.

Summary lifted from the book jacket. Colin typed it up for me because he can't stand my hunt-and-peck typing.

When Game Change first came out, people were buzzing about it. It seemed to me that every reviewer, blogger, member of the peanut gallery all had comments about how gossipy and salacious the book was, especially because they were questioning the writers' methods of quoting and paraphrasing -- and leaving unnamed -- sources. Based on the buzz, I assumed that the book wouldn't be very substantial. (And believe me, I would have been fine with that.) It could not have been further from the truth. It's... well, substantial. I read a lot of gossip, because that's my thing, and this book isn't gossip. At least, I didn't get that vibe.

The main focus is the battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton during the primaries; you can tell that this pair of opponents fascinates Heilemann and Halperin. I would have been interested to read some more about the other major players, but the Barack-Hillary relationship dominates the story-telling. I didn't follow the primaries closely at all, especially after the downfall of Edwards, so parts of the book were actually kind of suspenseful, because I didn't know who won each primary. I was surprised by how invested I became during reading, because of course I already knew the ultimate outcome -- regardless of how you view their methods of quoting sources, you have to admit that that takes talent. I really wasn't expecting the book to focus on the primaries so much, and I was especially surprised that the election night was basically skipped over. The book concludes on the morning of November 5, and Obama convincing Clinton to come on board as Secretary of State. It wasn't an unpleasant surprise, but at the same time I would have been happy to read a book that zeroed in on the presidential election.

I liked reading about Obama because he comes across as a normal person. I think he's a great man, but at the end of the day he's still just a guy. And the writers recognize that, which is nice. Even though I do think he's a great man, I try not to drink the kool-aid on this one, you know? So it's refreshing to learn about the days when he lost his temper or complained about something, just like I've been known to do occasionally. (Right, Colin?) The Clintons are seriously fascinating. I think people will be writing about their dynamic and influence for years to come. And wow... I was so wrong about John Edwards. It's a little scary how off-base I was. Even taking everything in this book with a grain of salt, John comes across as a delusional pretty boy and Elizabeth is just plain scary. One staffer told the writers about one day when, after some crisis in the campaign, John left him a voicemail telling him that he did well and John understood that things happen and to keep his chin up (I'm paraphrasing, of course). The next voicemail the staffer received, basically moments later, was from Elizabeth chewing him out -- the staffer says that Elizabeth called him poison and "dead to them." Yeesh.

You can tell that the writers don't feel the McCain campaign was as compelling as the Democratic primaries. They do cover the trials and tribulations of McCain securing the nomination and fighting to keep his head above water during the presidential campaign, but not in nearly as much detail. It took a long time to get around to Sarah Palin, and when they did it fell a bit flat. I personally don't think much of her, but you can't deny that she's a lightning rod. No one's opinion of her is just "meh." Everyone has a strong and immediate love or hate of her. So I expected to be more invested while reading about her role, but I wasn't really. They try to make you wonder if she's mentally unstable, but their case is a bit thin. Don't get me wrong, there is some interesting stuff here, just not as much as I expected. (Expectations are everything, aren't they?)

I recommend that you check out this book if you're interested in learning more about this election. Enough time has passed to put events into perspective, and I think it would be interesting even if you had followed the news closely during this time. 

60. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

My friend Sarah recommended Shiver to me, and I immediately placed a request for it at the library. I will always, always take Sarah's recommendations. Not only does she have good taste but she's also a librarian and YA/children's author. She's currently revising her first YA novel, and I am dying to read it. Luckily, Sarah's in the market for a proofreader so I get to read it before she publishes. You should visit her blog, The Restless Writer, to read more about her writing adventures. (She mentions Shiver and its upcoming sequel in this post.)

The cold. Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf - her wolf - watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why. The heat. Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace . . . until now. The shiver. For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human - and Grace must fight to keep him - even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

Plot summary lifted from the book jacket. Colin typed it up for me because he can't stand my hunt-and-peck typing.

I liked Shiver, but I didn't love it. It's definitely well-written and tells an interesting story. There's one specific reveal of information that I was pretty impressed by -- looking back, the clues are there but the reveal wasn't spoiled. I love that. Stiefvater skillfully laid the groundwork for a sequel, without leaving issues unresolved in a way that would frustrate readers. All in all, I thought it was a solidly decent YA novel.

So why didn't I love it? Shiver is the first YA novel that I've read that I honestly felt like I was too old to read it. (For the record, I'm 29 years old. I'll have to change the About Me section of the blog come November!) For example, throughout the book Sam thinks of song lyrics to describe the way he feels. The song lyrics made me cringe a little. I'm too old and jaded to appreciate them! While I appreciated the story, it just didn't grab me whole-heartedly. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to read the sequel this summer, but I am a little curious about what happens next so I might have to. If you have love for the YA or paranormal romance genres, I recommend trying out Shiver. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on it!

59. If You Have To Cry, Go Outside by Kelly Cutrone

If you watch as much reality TV as I do, chances are you know who Kelly Cutrone is by now. She terrorized the girls on The Hills (and, to a lesser extent, The City), popped up in Project Runway season one winner Jay McCarroll's documentary Eleven Minutes, and now has her own show on Bravo chronicling the ups and downs at her fashion PR firm, People's Revolution. (That last one is Kell on Earth, it's strangely addictive.) She makes for good TV, so I knew that I had to try out her book. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't too long and I figured this would be probably be a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Kelly Cutrone has long been mentoring women on how to make it in one of the most competitive industries in the world. She has kicked people out of fashion shows, forced some of reality television's shiny stars to fire their friends, and built her own company -- one of the most powerful PR firms in the fashion business -- from the ground up. Through it all, she has refused to be anything but herself. Kelly writes in her trademark, no-bullshit style, combining personal and professional stories to share her secrets for success without selling out. Let's face it: this is a different world than the one in which our mothers grew up, and Kelly has created a real girl's guide to making it in today's world. Offering a wake-up call to women everywhere, she challenges us to stop the dogged pursuit of the "perfect life" and discover who we are and what we really want. The she shows us how to go out there and get it. Much of our culture teaches us to muzzle our inner voice and follow the crowd; Kelly enables us to stop pretending and start truly living. With chapters on how to find your tribe (those like-minded souls who make your heart sing), how sometimes a breakdown is really a breakthrough, and how there is no such thing as perfection, Kelly also shares practical advice, such as how to create a personal brand and how sometimes you have to fake it to make it.

Summary lifted from amazon.com. 

If You Have To Cry, Go Outside is part autobiography and part how-to. Kelly uses stories from her life to illustrate points she's making, and shares how she has learned from various mistakes. I found it to be a very effective writing style; I was engaged with the personal stories and that made me pay attention when she described her methods for succeeding. I have to say, though, reading this book made one thing abundantly clear to me:

I AM A TOTAL SQUARE.

Okay, not really. But I am mildly horrified by Kelly's life story. By my count, Kelly has: had problems with addiction, been married and divorced twice, been totally impractical in countless ways, and taken this absolutely crazy path to enlightenment. I am at my core a very practical person, and some of Kelly's "adventures" had me cringing and shaking my head. She also talks a lot about creating your own religion that honors you; she believes you should study many religions and practice the parts that make sense to you. Now, in theory this makes a lot of sense. But I couldn't help thinking that a lot of it sounded like hippie crap. So I won't be taking all of Kelly's advice but I enjoyed reading it and I did find the experience valuable. Although Kelly came off as kind of out there to me, I think reading what she has to say opened me up to some new ideas. And I appreciate that she seemingly genuinely wants to share what she knows to help the next generation of young women.  

One last thing. The full book title is If You Have To Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You. I would just like to go on record that my mother did tell me that. (And it has come in handy a few times.) Thank you, Mom!

58. Cage of Stars by Jaquelyn Mitchard

At some point I added Cage of Stars to my master spreadsheet that tracks what books I have read for this project and what books I might want to read for it. For the life of me I can't remember when I heard about it or where, but I have a vague memory of thinking the plot sounded interesting. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any articles or reviews about this book on my usual sites, so I can't recall exactly why it sounded interesting. 

Ronnie Swan is a sheltered young girl from a deeply religious family whose childhood abruptly ends when she witnesses the murder of her two younger sisters. At not quite 13 years old, Ronnie is baby-sitting on a bright fall day, hiding in the shed as she waits for her sisters to find her. Instead of their excited laughter, there is only silence. When Ronnie opens the door, it is to a sight that will crack her life in two. The murderer, Scott Early, is a young graduate student suffering from schizophrenia who is given treatment, rather than punishment. Upon his release from the mental health facility a few years later, Ronnie's parents meet with Scott and his wife and find relief in forgiveness. Ronnie, who went from a carefree girl to an overburdened adult in a child's body in a matter in minutes, cannot. As she enters adulthood, she carefully plans out her revenge and sets out to hand Scott the punishment she feels he never received.

I drew from the (really long) plot summary on jackiemitchard.com while composing the above overview.

I really can't remember why I wanted to read this book, but I have a feeling that I thought it was more suspenseful. You know, will Ronnie be able to carry about her plan? That kind of thing. This book is really more about the process of grieving and ultimately very sad. I think you're supposed to find it uplifting at the end, but I didn't. I generally take away the sad instead of the uplifting, though.

I would advise you to steer clear of this book if you have no interest in the Mormon faith. Ronnie's family is Mormon, and there is a great deal of information about the religion and day-to-day life of a practicing Mormon family. It's as though Ronnie, our narrator, is telling this story to someone unfamiliar with the subject and has to take frequent tangents to put everything into context. I happen to have known most of the information already, so I got bored a lot. (Side note: I have a weird fascination with the FLDS cult and learned more about the LDS than I expected to when reading up on the fundamentalist off-shoot.) I don't know, maybe it was just that Ronnie's faith was such a big part of her life, motivations, world view that all of the background information simply couldn't be avoided. For whatever the reason, it didn't appeal to me.  

There were bits of foreshadowing that I liked, as always, but they fell a little flat at the end. Overall, the pace was kind of slow and I felt bored most of the time. It became a book that I just had to get through, which is never good. I don't necessarily think this is a bad book, it's just not what I expected and not really what I'm interested in. 

57. The Godfather by Mario Puzo

I don't really remember why I chose to read The Godfather. I saw the movie once in high school; a few of my friends who took the film class were assigned to see a showing of the movie adaptation at the Main Art in Royal Oak and I tagged along. I vividly remembered the scene with the horse head, but other than that I just remembered it being really long. But for some reason, I thought of The Godfather when I was trying to find a book in the movie adaptation category and I suddenly felt really excited to read it. (And it didn't hurt that the edition for Kindle on PC only cost $6.39.)

I couldn't find a succinct plot summary anywhere, so I thought about attempting to write one myself... but come on. You know the basics, right? (If not, do a quick Google search and you'll find over 3 million results to sift through. Go ahead, I'll wait.)

I was not expecting to like The Godfather as much as I did. It is a definite page-turner, or whatever the equivalent is when you're reading on-screen, and each time I had to stop reading I was anxious to get back to it. The book opens with the wedding of Don Corleone's daughter Connie, just as the movie version opens, and it's a very effective way to immerse readers into this world. I found it easy to keep track of who the characters were and what was happening, which I was a little surprised by. After all, there is a lot going on. But Puzo doesn't overwhelm you with information, and I found myself hungry for more background and more information. I was completely engrossed in this new setting and then the story moved into the war between the five families, and it became very suspenseful. That was actually my favorite part of the book, which is unusual for me -- I've mentioned time and time again in these reviews how I get lost in action sequences. So I was pretty impressed while reading that I was so hooked during this part. 

The filmmakers had to cut out a lot when putting together the movie, and I think they made smart choices. I re-watched the movie after finishing the book, and it seemed like they chose to include all of the parts of the book that I liked the best. But there's no comparison here for me -- I definitely like reading the book better than watching the movie. I don't think the movie envelopes you in this world as effectively as the book does. For example, Michael's trip to Italy. In the book, Michael spends a lot of time with one of men who he's staying with and learns from his stories about how his father's world works. He comes back to New York with this greater understanding of his father and is comfortable joining the family business. In the movie, Michael's trip is kind of pointless. I think they tried to make the murder of his wife Michael's motivation for working with his father, but I'm not buying it. 

Also, I prefer the pacing in the book. This may be due in part to the fact that I didn't grow up loving the movie. I do know people my age who have seen the movie a million times and are totally devoted to it. I think watching it for the first time as an adult, you'll probably find the pacing of the movie to be extremely slow. That's one of the things that Colin mentions in his review of the movie, and I agree with. Although, he really didn't enjoy the wedding scene and thought it was overly long. After reading the book and re-watching the movie, I told him how much longer that scene could have been! But honestly, you don't even think about that when you're reading. For me, the time reading really flew by and I was sad when I finished the book. It's the kind of book that I wish I could read for the first time again. 

56. Y, The Last Man, No. 1 Unmanned, by Brian K. Vaughn

I knew about this series of graphic novels because of Lost. I'm the type of viewer that reads four or five blog recaps after each episode, because I can't possibly take in all of the details and wrap my mind around the bigger picture at the same time. (It's a tough show.) After one episode, last season I think, all of the posts I read mentioned that Hurley was reading Y the Last Man in one scene. For some reason, that title stuck in my mind and I recognized it when I asked around for graphic novel recommendations and a couple of people brought it up. I could tell that Colin thought it would be cool if I read it, and I love when he thinks I'm cool, so I checked out volume one, Unmanned, from the library.

Yorick Brown is an escape artist; has a fabulous girlfriend who's traveling in Australia; and possesses a genetic make-up that's allowed him to survive a plague that killed every male being on the planet except for him and his pet monkey. Yorick is the last man on earth, and in the resulting chaos, he must find a way to help save the human race. At least that's what the (now all-female) government thinks. Yorick would prefer to find his girlfriend, but it's hard to get a flight halfway around the world when almost all the pilots and mechanics are gone. It's hard enough to drive down the block, since the streets are jammed with the cars of men who were behind the wheel when the instantaneous plague hit. Furthermore, the entire social fabric has gone to hell, with gun-wielding wives of Republican representatives insisting on getting their husbands' seats and tribes of latter-day Amazons claiming males were meant to die. Since Yorick's mother is a congresswoman, he's protected by secret spies. And his escape skills come in handy when he's trapped first by a marauding garbage-woman and then by his mother, as she tries to keep him from doing anything stupid. Meanwhile, who are the mysterious Israeli soldiers who seem so gratified by the situation, and why is Yorick's sister so intent on joining the Amazons? 

Plot summary lifted from amazon.com. 

I can sum up this review in one sentence: Dude, it was awesome! No, really it was. I loved it. This world is intensely interesting; I love reading about these characters and how each react to this bizarre situation. Unmanned has a little bit of everything: tongue-in-cheek humor, action, intrigue, pathos. I was really disappointed when I found out that the library doesn't carry all of the volumes, because I immediately wanted to devour the rest of them. I'll probably invest in buying them at some point; I can see tearing through them and then re-reading more carefully every once in awhile. I highly recommend checking this series out. 

Oh, and here's a screen grab of Hurley with his copy on Lost:

w00t!