500 Books Reviewed on Keenan's Book Reviews

500 Books Reviewed on Keenan’s Book Reviews

I’ve posted reviews of 500 books on this blog. Here are links to the 50 most recent posts. Further down are links to more reviews.

First Time Reviews

A Mind for Numbers by Barbara A. Oakley

Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Become a Better You by Joel Osteen

The Beethoven Factor by Paul Pearsall

 

Bigger than Life by Marilyn Cannaday

Billion Dollar Whale by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope

The Boom by Russell Gold

Bored and Brilliant by Manoush Zomorodi

Chief Engineer by Erica Wagner

 

The Computers of Star Trek by Lois Gresh & Robert Weinberg

Contents Under Pressure by Sylvia F. Munson

Enchantress of Numbers by Jennifer Chiaverini

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Feeding the Fire by Mark E. Eberhart

 

The Frackers by Gregory Zuckerman

Get Your Sh*t Together by Sarah Knight

The Girls of Atomic City by Denis Kiernan

God’s Equation by Amir Aczel

Good Naked by Joni B. Cole

Happiness is a Choice by Barry Neil Kaufman

 

Haunted Jefferson City by Janice Tremeear

The Instinct to Heal by David Servan-Schreiber

It’s Not Always Depression by Hilary Jacobs Hendel

The Johnstown Flood by David McCollough

Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard

Learn Python 3 the Hard Way by Zed A. Shaw

Lift by Daniel Kunitz

 

Living Low Carb by Johnny Bowden

Lost Connections by Hari Johnson

Loving in Flow by Susan K. Perry

Making the American Body by Jonathan Black

The Math Myth and Other STEM Delusions by Andrew Hacker

 

Metering for America by Alfred Leif

Mr. America by Mark Adams

Move Ahead with Possibility Thinking by Robert H. Schuller

Pascal’s Wager by James A. Connor

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard P. Feynman

Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction by Patricia Highsmith

 

Range by David Epstein

The Revenge of Analog by David Sax

Scan Artist by Marcia Biederman

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg

 

Stat-Spotting by Joel Best

Super Attractor by Gabrielle Bernstein

Unimaginable by Jeremiah H. Johnston

Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It by Gary Taubes

Write Naked by Jennifer Probst

You are a Badass Every Day by Jen Sincero

 

Additional and Expanded Reviews

Atomic Habits by James Clear

The Introvert’s Way by Sophia Dembling

 

Continuation of list of 500 books reviewed

First 25 Reviews

Reviews 26-50

Reviews 51-75

Reviews 76-100

Reviews 101-150

Reviews 151-200

Reviews 201-250

Reviews 250-300

Reviews 301-350

Reviews 351-400

Reviews 401-450

New & Interesting Stuff November 24, 2018

Become a Better You by Joel Osteen

The Computers of Star Trek by Lois Gresh & Robert Weinberg

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

The Johnstown Flood by David McCollough

Making the American Body by Jonathan Black

New & Interesting Stuff September 29, 2018

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley

I posted reviews of the first five books in Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series. Now I’m finally getting to the last one eight years after it was published. It’s reflective of the way Scott Pilgrim might get things done.

In a way, the arc of this book reflects the arc of the series. In the start, Scott is stuck, not wanting to face the pain of losing his girlfriend, Ramona, just as he was avoiding the pain of entering adulthood at the start of the series. In the middle, he finds something worth fighting for, even if it means coming to grips with his past and facing the pain of changing. In both this book and the series, the thing worth fighting for is his relationship with Ramona. In the end, Scott embraces a new journey with an even more uncertain future.

Along the way, Scott’s longsuffering friends, who are growing up in their own ways, try to help him. Considering that Scott is often a self-centered jerk, it’s amazing he has so many friends who care about him and stick with him. It’s hard to make it in life without good friends.

I like the final words of the book, spoken by Scott before he and Ramona jump hopefully into the future, “We try again.” This is life. We try. We fail. Along the way, we make a life, a story, that we enjoy creating as we go along. If we don’t like it, we try again.

The other books in this series are

Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness

Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life

This series has also been adapted into a film, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Maus by Art Spiegelman 

O’Malley, Bryan Lee. Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour. Portland, OR: Oni Press, 2010.

350 Books Reviewed on Keenan's Book Reviews

I’ve posted reviews of 350 books on this blog. It’s hard to believe.  Here are links to the 50 most recent posts. Further down are links to more reviews.

First Time Reviews

A Complaint Free World by Will Bowen

A Little History of Science by William Bynum

A Professor, a President, and a Meteor by Cathryn J. Prince

Ada's Algorithm by James Essinger

The Age of Edison by Ernest Freeburg

Better for All the World by Harry Bruinius

Changing Minds by Howard Gardner

Complaint Free Relationships by Will Bowen

Depreciation Systems by Frank K. Wolf & W. Chester Fitch

Esther

Ezra

Fic by Anne Jamison

The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons

The First 20 Hours by Josh Kaufman

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

Future Bright by Martin E. Martinez

The Introvert's Way by Sophia Dembling

Isaiah

Job

Kirby by Mark Evanier

Level Up Your Life by Steve Kamb

Life's Matrix by Philip Ball

Make a Joyful Sound by Helen Elmira Waite

Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

Miss Mizzou by J. B. Winter

Nehemiah

9 Things You Must Do by Henry Cloud

Old Testament History

On a Grander Scale by Lisa Jardine

The Organized Mind by Daniel J. Levitin

The Peerless Peer by Philip Jose Farmer

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Planck by Brandon R. Brown

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler & Robin Koval

Professional Amateur by T. A. Boyd

Public Utility Depreciation by NARUC

Reading Comics by Douglas Wolk

Return of the Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

Rock Breaks Scissors by William Poundstone

Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Second Chronicles

The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer

Small Move, Big Change by Caroline L. Arnold

Smartcuts by Shane Snow

Switch on Your Brain by Caroline Leaf

Timeless Healing by Herbert Benson with Marg Stark

Waste and Want by Susan Strasser

Additional and Expanded Reviews

It's Not About Me by Max Lucado

Mark

Matthew

Continuation of list of 350 books reviewed

First 25 Reviews

Reviews 26-50

Reviews 51-75

Reviews 76-100

Reviews 101-150

Reviews 151-200

Reviews 201-250

Reviews 250-300

New & Interesting Stuff April 12, 2014

Alternative Fuels and Energy Resources Articles and Links (Revised)

Esther

Infrastructure & Environment News

The Introvert's Way by Sophia Dembling

Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

New & Interesting Stuff February 15, 2015

Old Testament History

Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe by Bryan Lee O'Malley

This fifth installment of the Scott Pilgrim series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley seems to me to be the Kim Pine story. Kim is Scott’s ex-girlfriend and bandmate. She has enough troubles of her own with a bad roommate, cheating boyfriend, and a sense of losing her edge as Sex Bob-omb makes and album instead of playing musing.

In spite of this, Kim musters the selfless courage to help Scott and Ramona get over their baggage and try to make their relationship work. She draws out the best of friends often seem to be not worth the trouble, especially Scott. She supports and encourages both, and helps them to connect when they can’t seem to do it on their own.

Scott is being a jerk, as usually, through much of the book. He is incredibly forgetful. I suspect it is a kind of Peter Pan syndrome. On his 24^th birthday, Scott vows to stop aging. He seems to have trouble forming new memories. For all the progress he made in previous books, he is still resisting the transition to adulthood.

Even with the focus on Kim, the story of the evil exes continues. Scott defeats the Katayanagi twins, though in a different manner than the movie. This is another scene of Kim’s selfless friendship.

Of all the books, this one has the sense of being “in between.” It is in between the build and the climax to be expected in the final book. I think O’Malley made a good choice in bringing in Kim so much in this volume. He was able to move the story of Scott and Ramona along while also giving some space to look around and not rush to the end. Scott is too messed up to make it on his own, so it is nice to see one of them get some attention.

Bryan Lee O’Malley also wrote

Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness

Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life 

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Maus by Art Spiegelman 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Film)

O’Malley, Bryan Lee. Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe. Portland, OR: Oni Press, 2009.

New & Interesting Stuff Nov. 15, 2014

A Complaint Free World by Will Bowen

Better for All the World by Harry Bruinius

Mark

Matthew

New & Interesting Stuff July 7, 2014

November Featured Book

November Featured Category

9 Things You Must Do by Henry Cloud

Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Thanksgiving Links 2014

Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together is the fourth volume of a six-volume work by Bryan Lee O’Malley. In reviewing other volumes of the series, I’ve mentioned that the story is a pilgrimage. In this volume, things start moving.

Nothing signals a figurative move like an actual move. Scott’s friend and bandmate, Kim, moves from her apartment into a house with some friends. One of these friends has sound editing equipment, so Scott’s band, Sex Bob-omb, moves from playing clubs to recording an album. Eventually, Scott is forced to move because the lease is up on the apartment he shares with Wallace.

The important moves in the series, though, are Scott’s stumbling from an extended adolescence toward adulthood. His internal challenges are represented by external challenges. In order to have a place to go when he leaves the apartment he shares with Wallace, he proposes to move in with Ramona. One can imagine how disastrous this might be in the state of their relationship at the start of the book; Scott must make an emotional move to Ramona and responsibility first.

This emotional move is achieved in several stages. Scott practices self-control by resisting the temptation for an easy, breezy summer fling with a woman he knew from school who has a crush on him. He takes on responsibility by getting his first job as a dishwasher at age 23.

His other conflicts are represented or resolved in combat. It wouldn’t be Scott Pilgrim without cool fight scenes. His relationship with Ramona is haunted by his not actually broken off relationship with Knives. Knives’ vengeful father hunts down and attacks Scott. In addition, another of Ramona’s evil exes arrives. It’s neat that he survives combat with Mr. Chau and defeats Roxie. The powerful actions he takes are to confess his love to Ramona, accept the baggage of her past, and treat Mr. Chau (an through him Knive’s) with respect.

Self-control, responsibility, love, acceptance, and respect are a decent set of virtues for a young man to practice. Scott is not perfect, but his journey isn’t to perfection, it’s to maturity.

Bryan Lee O’Malley also wrote

Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life 

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Maus by Art Spiegelman 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Film)

Superman versus the Ku Klux Klan by Rick Bowers

O’Malley, Bryan Lee. Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together. Portland, OR: Oni Press, 2007.

300 Books Reviewed on Keenan’s Book Reviews

I’ve posted reviews of 300 books on this blog. It’s hard to believe.  Here are links to the 50 most recent posts. Further down are links to more reviews.

First Time Reviews

1939 by David Gelernter

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

American Nerd by Benjamin Nugent

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes

The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman

Blue Revolution by Cynthia Barnett

Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel by Frances & Joseph Gies

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Dog Days by Dave Ihlenfeld

Double Your Brain Power by Jean Marie Stine

Epistles

First Chronicles

First John

First Kings

First Peter

The Genius in All of Us by David Shenk

The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Hebrews

Help, Thanks, Wow by Anne Lamott

The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron

How to Build an Android by David F. Dufty

I Declare by Joel Osteen

James

Jude

Life's Not Fair, but God is Good by Robert H. Schuller

London Under by Peter Ackroyd

Miss Leavitt's Stars by George Johnson

Men of Tomorrow by Gerard Jones

Mojo by Marshall Goldsmith

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein

The Most Effective Organization in the U.S. by Robert A. Watson & Ben Brown

No Excuses by Brian Tracy

Pauline Letters

Philemon

Quiet by Susan Cain

Rapt by Winifred Gallagher

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose

Revelation

Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Second John

Second Kings

Second Peter

Second Samuel

The Solution by Lucinda Bassett

Succeed by Heidi Grant Halvorson

Superman versus the Ku Klux Klan by Rick Bowers

The Thinking Life by P. M. Forni

Third John

This Year I Will... by M. J. Ryan

Additional and Expanded Reviews

1089 and All That: A Journey into Mathematics by David Acheson

1939 by David Gelernter

American Nerd by Benjamin Nugent

The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways by Earl Swift

The Brooklyn Bridge: They Said it Couldn’t be Built by Judith St. George

Buried Alive: The Terrifying History of Our Most Primal Fear by Jan Bondeson

Dreams of Iron and Steel by Deborah Cadbury

The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems by Henry Petroski

The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson

How to Build an Android: The True Story of Philip K. Dick’s Robotic Resurrection by David F. Dufty

Men of Tomorrow by Gerard Jones

Quiet by Susan Cain

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

The Physics of Superheroes by James Kakalios

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen Ambrose

Continuation of list of 250 books reviewed

First 25 Reviews

Reviews 26-50

Reviews 51-75

Reviews 76-100

Reviews 101-150

Reviews 151-200