58,57,56

Due to some extra work, blogging is going to be a little sketchy than usual.
Three books this week.

Lost On Planet China: J Maarten Troost -a fun and occasionally disturbing stumble through the largest nation on earth. At points, terrifying in implication of what might be waiting as the rest of the world begins to realize that the sleeping giant is groggily getting out of bed. Based on this book, there's a pretty good chance we'll all be part of the empire eventually. Learn Mandarin.

Assassination Vacation: Sarah Vowell -Eh... liked most of this book, but realized eventually Vowell's romp through the history of presidential assassinations in America is a little bit shallow, occasionally lazy and a little annoying some of the time with the hipster view. Oh sure, it's fun. She is predictably quirky and informative, but she seems to have left out Kennedy only because it was too much of a bother to fly to Dallas. I liked it enough, however, to pick up another of her books.

Why We Suck: Dr. Denis Leary -Starts off fun. This book is mostly about Leary grappling with his own middle age and the inevitable comparison/contrast of these trying times and the good ol' days when he was a kid. A good comedian is a fair philosopher and thinker. Leary has bright moments -no doubt about it- but the book reads a little flabby, like he's repackaging material and needless repeating points he's already illuminated well enough. A joke told the second time around, a slightly different way, but with the same punchline eventually becomes a little tedious. Still, pretty fun.