What I Read (2003)

This should be the last of these for a while.

What I Read (2003)

Jan. 1, 2003 Angel Chronicles Volume 1 by Nancy Holder "Novelizations of three Buffy episodes"

Jan. 1, 2003 The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan & Quentin Fiore "Interesting little book about effects of media. Argues that environment sets ground rules for content."

Jan. 5, 2003 Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis "Christian apologetic. Not nearly as persuasive as expected. Primary proof of God's existence is that inherent sense of right and wrong must be created by supernatural force."

Jan. 8, 2003 Night of the Living Rerun by Arthur Byron Cover "Buffy novel--worst I've read so far. Plot involves attempt by Salem-era spirits possessing people to free the Master."

Jan. 19, 2003 The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr "Thriller about serial killing mother set in early New York. For some reason, I really enjoyed this book, much more so than The Alienist."

Jan. 21, 2003 The Xander Years Volume 1 by Keith R.A. DeCandido "Novelization of three Buffy episodes; pretty well done."

Feb. 1, 2003 New Directions in American Religious History edited by D.G. Hart & Harry S. Stout "Collection of papers. Heavily focused on Protestantism, and mostly overview-bibliographical essays. Not terribly good."

Feb. 2, 2003 Angel Chronicles Volume 3 by Nancy Holder "Novelization of three 'Angelus' episodes. Very faithful to scripts."

Feb. 10, 2003 Germinal by Emile Zola "Story of Etienne, a miner who starts a labor revolt. Amazing detail and pathos, great mob scenes. Definitely worth reading."

Feb. 15, 2003 The Willow Files Volume 1 by Yvonne Navarro "Novelization of 3 Buffy episodes. One on 'Dead Man's Party' fills in a few gaps."

Feb. 28, 2003 Vanity Fair by William Thackeray "Story of Amelia, chaste & demure, and Becky, manipulative and cunning, and their respective fates. Ironic narrative style helps meandering flow."

Mar. 2, 2003 Buffy, the Vampire Slayer by Richie Tankersly-Cusick "Novelization of the movie. Some interesting differences--Merrick kills himself and Lothos is killed with a pencil."

Mar. 6, 2003 Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot by Al Franken "A hilarious book of political satire."

Mar. 9, 2003 Return to Chaos by Craig Shaw Gardner "Buffy book about a group of druids coming to Sunnydale to cast a major spell. Gets better as it goes along and ends up being a reasonably good story."

Mar. 18, 2003 Public Religion in American Culture by John F. Wilson "Discussion of concept of 'civil religion' in U.S. Rather theory-heavy & boring."

Mar. 19, 2003 Honest to God by John A.T. Robinson "Exploration by an Anglican Bishop in the 1960s about how Christianity needs to change in order to survive. Good discussion on re-envisioning God from 'out there' to in-between. Very radical for its time but well-written."

Mar. 26, 2003 A Preface to Morals by Walter Lippman "A book on morality after the 'acids of modernity' have dissolved belief in God. In many ways a great explanation of humanism. Specific details vague, but worth keeping in mind."

Mar. 30, 2003 Exile and the Kingdom by Albert Camus "Selection of short stories. A couple of nice ones, one great one: 'The Artist at Work.'"

Apr. 8, 2003 After Many a Summer Dies the Swan by Aldous Huxley "Story of an English professor's trip to America and a search for immortality. Damn good!"

Apr. 27, 2003 The Gulag Archipelago by Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn "An amazing book, a nonfiction chronicle of the gulag and Stalin's herculean effort to send almost everyone there. Terrifying."

Apr. 25, 2003 The Comic Book Companion by Ron Goulart "A short book of info on major comic book series and characters, focusing on the Golden Age."

May 4, 2003 Buffy X-Posed by Ted Edwards "Book on Buffy. Nothing terribly new or interesting."

May 7, 2003 The Plague by Albert Camus "A damned good novel about a city under plague. Shows effect of plague by portraying how the non-infected live."

May 15, 2003 The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics by Dennis O'Neil "Some good info but sparse on the practical details."

May 25, 2003 A Passage to India by E.M. Forster "An amazing book, Forsters' finest, on imperialism. Great novel, great characters."

June 30, 2003 Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan "Book 9 in the Wheel of Time. Slow-paced and relatively uninteresting until the very end when Rand cleanses Saidin."

July 8, 2003 Purity & Danger by Mary Douglas "Examination of the concept of purity and pollution. Some interesting insights but focused too heavily on 'primitive' cultures instead of 'modern' cultures."

July 21, 2003 Buffy: Pop Quiz by Cynthia Boris "I'm in Willow's study group."

Aug. 21, 2003 Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Psychological Issues (9th ed.) edited by Brent Slife "A nice collection of essays on all kinds of topics."

Aug. 21, 2003 Animal Farm by George Orwell "Best allegory I've ever read."

Aug. 23, 2003 Chicago Guide to Your Academic Career "Useful, general advice."

Aug. 28, 2003 Separation of Church & State by Robert Cord "Argument that Constitution was not intended to prohibit non-preferential aid to religion. Interesting research but methodology is suspect."

Aug. 31, 2003 True Believer by Eric Hoffer "Analysis of mass movements and their origins. Argues that frustration is the key to fanaticism. Several interesting passages."

Sep. 2, 2003 The Establishment Clause by Leonard W. Levy

Oct. 29, 2003 Chosen "Buffy novelization of the 7th season. Needs proof-read."

Nov. 6, 2003 The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen "Play of an aging architect and new love; rebellion against God & fears of new generation."

Nov. 11, 2003 Danse Macabre by Stephen King "Nonfiction discussion of horror in movies, television, and literature. Fairly interesting."

Nov. 2003 The Truth About Stories by Thomas King "The Massey Lectures, some very interesting stuff on what stories are and how they shape reality."

Nov. 2003 Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row by Christopher Golden "Best Buffy novel yet!"

Nov. 26, 2003 The Necklace and Other Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant "I was damned impressed by these stories. Guy is fascinated by prostitutes but presents them as real human beings with real feelings. I should read more."

Dec. 1, 2003 Halloween Rain (2nd time) by Golden & Holder "For some reason, I enjoyed this one more the second time--it would have made a solid first season episode."

Dec. 7, 2003 Sociology of Religion: A Canadian Focus edited by W.F. Hewitt "A few interesting essays on 'cafeteria religion', Catholicism in Quebec, and religious 'nones.'"

Dec. 8, 2003 Slayer's Handbook by Various "Buffy RPG book on playing Slayers."

Dec. 13, 2003 Buffy Core Rulebook by Various

Dec. 14, 2003 Watcher's Guide Volume 2 by Various

Dec. 21, 2003 See, I Told You So by Rush Limbaugh "Truly one of the most arrogant, annoying bastards."

Dec. 23, 2003 Lost Classics by Various "Short essays on books the authors think are neglected but important."

Dec. 24, 2003 Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain "Story where a prince and a pauper trade places. Focused on the unjustness of laws applied to the poor. Decent."

Dec. 26, 2003 Used & Rare: Travels in the Book World by Lawrence & Nancy Goldstone "Fairly interesting."

Dec. 26, 2003 Coyote Moon by John Vornholt "Buffy book."

Dec. 28, 2003 Ghoul Trouble by John Passarella "Buffy book."

Dec. 28, 2003 Night of the Living Rerun by Arthur Byron Cover "Buffy book."

Dec. 30, 2003 Everything's Eventual by Stephen King "Collection of short stories. Several good ones but a few complete clunkers."