75 Books...More or Less! discussion

Hello all,

Since I just passed the half-way point of the challenge, I thought I would start posting. So, in the words of the Joker, "And here we...go"

1. The Lost German Slave Girl by John Bailey
2. 1434 by Gavin Menzies
3. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
4. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
5. The Dark Child by Camara Laye
6. The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford
7. While America Aged by Roger Lowenstein
8. How the Bible Was Built by Charles Merril Smith
9. A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz
10. God's Problem by Bart Ehrman
11. Rome Inc. by Stanley Bing
12. Bottlemania by Elizabeth Royte
13. The Mapmaker's Wife by Robert Whitaker
14. Julius Winsome:A Novel by Gerard Donovan
15. Midnight at the Dragon Cafe by Judy Fong Bates
16. What the Gospels Meant by Gary Wills
17. Atheist Manifesto by Michel Onfrey

18. They Knew They Were Right:The Rise of the Neocons by Jacob Heilbrunn
19. God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens
20. Opposing Viewpoints Series- Humanity's Future
21. Freethinkers by Susan Jacoby
22.The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration
by Bruce M. Metzger The Text of the New Testament Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (4th Edition)
23. The Shia Revival by Vali NasrThe Shia Revival How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future
24. Jesus Interrupted by Bart Ehrman
25. Why I Am Not A Muslim by Ibn Warraq
26. The Return of History and The End of Dreams by Robert Kagan
27. At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig:Travels Through Paraguay by John Gimlette
28. The Wreck of the Medusa:The Most Famous Sea Disaster of the Nineteenth Century by Jonathan Miles
29. Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan

Here are some more...

30.Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don't Add Up
by John Allen Paulos
31. The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism by Ron Suskind
32. People of the Book:A Novel by Geraldine Brooks
33.Have Faith Anyway:The Vision of Habakkuk for Our Times by Kent M. Keith [image error]
34. Standing in the Light:My Life as a Pantheist by Sharman Apt Russell [image error]
35. The Elephant and the Dragon:The Rise of India and China and What It Means For all Of Us by Robyn Meredith
36. The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
37. 7 Deadly Scenarios: A Military Futurist Explores War in the 21st Century by Andrew F. Krepinevich
38. We Look Like the Enemy:The Hidden Story of Israel's Jews From Arab Lands by Rachel Shabi

That puts me halfway. I don't know if I will make it, but I will give it my best shot. By the way, all of these books, and many others are reviewed on my book blog. Please feel free to drop by and check it out:
http://maphead.vox.com/

-m

Maphead, welcome - and congrats on being halfway there! You've got quite an interesting mix of books that you've read this year.

39. The Secret War with Iran by Ronen Bergman

Kay wrote: "Maphead, welcome - and congrats on being halfway there! You've got quite an interesting mix of books that you've read this year."
Thanks Kay, I'm just happy someone other than myself is reading this !

40. The Case For Democracy:The Power of Freedom To Overcome Tyranny and Terror by Natan Sharansky

Maphead wrote: "Kay wrote: "Maphead, welcome - and congrats on being halfway there! You've got quite an interesting mix of books that you've read this year."
Thanks Kay, I'm just happy someone other than myself i..."

I actually read all the posts - I figure, why be a moderator otherwise? Although my schedule may only allow me to check in 2 or 3 times a week, I thoroughly enjoy it when I am able to stop by and see what everyone's reading.

Maphead wrote: "Kay wrote: "Maphead, welcome - and congrats on being halfway there! You've got quite an interesting mix of books that you've read this year."
Thanks Kay, I'm just happy someone other than myself i..."

I've also been reading your list... and raiding it for ideas :) How was "Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants"? It sounds interesting and the excerpt from Amazon was good... but it was also just the introduction, and often the introduction is engaging while the rest of the book is dry. Does Sullivan's writing style of the intro carry over to the actual book?

41. Rogue Nations-Opposing Viewpoints ed.by Louise Gerdes

42. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

43. My Father's Paradise:A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar

44. Doctor Olaf Van Schuler's Brain by Kirsten Menger-Anderson

45. Out of Egypt: A Memoir by Andre Aciman

46.Is the Bible Fact or Fiction?: An Introduction to Biblical Historiography by Barbara E. Organ

47. The Beast God Forgot to Invent:Novellas by Jim Harrison

48. Literature and War:Conversations with Israeli and Palestinian Writers by Runo Isaksen

49.Philosophy of Religion by John Hick

50.Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boomer Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys edited by Mary Eberstadt

51.Comeback:Conservatism That Can Win Again by David Frum

52 The Ayatollah Begs to Differ:The Paradox of Modern Iran by Hooman Majd

53. The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria [image error]

54. The Suicide of the West:Radical Islam's Threat to the West by Lee Harris

55. Riddled With Life:Friendly Worms, Ladybug Sex and the Parasites That Make Us Who We Are by Marlene Zuk

56. 1688: A Global History by John E. Willis Jr

57. The Way of the World:From the Dawn of Civilization to the Eve of the Twenty-First Century by David Fromkin

58. Being Arab by Samir Kassir

59. Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power is Transforming the World by Joshua Kurlantzick

60. Patience with God: The Story of Zacchaeus Continuing in Us by Tomas Halik

61. Wolves, Jackals and Foxes: The Assassins Who Changed History by Kris Hollington [image error]

62. Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World by Carl W. Ernst

63. Why We're Liberals: A Political Handbook For Post-Bush America by Eric Alterman

64. Thy Kingdom Come:An Evangelical's Lament by Randall Balmer

65. Defusing Armageddon: Inside NEST, America's Secret Nuclear Bomb Squad by Jeffrey T. Richelson [image error]

66. The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World by Vijay Prashad

67. Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny by Amartya Sen

68. Heresy: A History of Defending the Truth by Alister McGrath [image error]

Maphead,

You have such an intriguing reading list - some heavy and interesting stuff!

Kay wrote: "Maphead,

You have such an intriguing reading list - some heavy and interesting stuff!"
Why thanks ! My friends give me rough time for reading such heavy stuff. Even my sister says, "don't you ever read anything light ??!!!"
I don't know if I will make it to 75, but I will give it my best shot.
If you ever get a chance, drop by my book blog http://maphead.vox.com/
Once again, thanks for dropping by. I'm just happy somebody's reading my posts !!
-m

Maphead, I also always read your posts! Now I'm looking forward to checking out your blog as well!!

Thanks Andrea !!!
I just updated my book blog a few minutes ago. Please feel free to drop by anytime.
http://maphead.vox.com/

I bookmarked you so I will be stopping by a lot...lol

Andrea wrote: "I bookmarked you so I will be stopping by a lot...lol"

Me, too! Love your blog, Maphead.

Thanks Andrea and Kay !
Drop by the book blog anytime !!
http://maphead.vox.com/

69. Catholic Does Not Equal The Vatican: A Vision For Progressive Catholicism by Rosemary Radford Ruether [image error]

70. The Future Church:How Ten Trends Are Revolutionizing the Catholic Church by John L. Allen, Jr. [image error]

71. Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution by Shirin Ebadi

Maphead, Looks like Iran Awakening would be a fascinating read (as so many of your choices are)!

Kay wrote: "Maphead, Looks like Iran Awakening would be a fascinating read (as so many of your choices are)!"
It was actually. And quite readable, too !

72. A Saint On Death Row: The Story of Dominique Green by Thomas Cahill

73. Searching Issues: Tackling Seven Common Objections to the Christian Faith by Nicky Gumbel