All In : The (Almost) Entirely True Story of the World Series of Poker

by Jonathan Grotenstein, Storms Reback

Holly got this book for me at the library… I thought it might be an interesting book about Poker, and I thought about getting it myself. Well, instead it was a storytelling book. The first chapter was interesting, as it talked about how the World Series of Poker got started, but, frankly, I don’t care about the rest of the book. So, I’m going to stop after the first chapter and return it.

Just a Geek

by Wil Wheaton

I am not really a book person, but, I’m trying. I used to read a lot when I was a child. I learned how to read at a very young age and loved reading. But, as I got older, I got, well, lazy. Holly loves books, and obviously I want to impress her, so I’m trying, damnit.

Everyone knows Wil Wheaton as the guy who played Wesley on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Fortunately, he’s a touch more than that. He’s a geek, and he’s not afraid to admit it. He has hosted his own weblog for years at www.wilwheaton.net. He has also admitted to himself that he’s a writer. A damn good one, at that. “Just A Geek” is his second book and is mostly a collection of selected weblogs and backstories to go with the blog postings. Don’t let this fact discourage you in the least. It is a completely entertaining read, from cover to cover. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Great read.

Pornified : How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families

by Pamela Paul

I got this book after seeing it reviewed on Slashdot. Seemed interesting. I’m a sociology buff so this was right up my alley. A book on how porn has changed life in America. It started off not too bad… interesting facts, interesting studies, interesting stories. Research to back the claims and observations. A very interesting read. Then, I guess she ran out of content. The last two or three chapters were completely dry and “preachy” (That isn’t including the Conclusion chapter). Read on for more.

In the later chapters, she brings a story of a guy who is married and has a daughter… and a porn addiction. He started looking at porn in his early teens and when the Internet came into the home, he found that he was spending all of his free time looking at porn… going from relatively “tame” porn to very hardcore then to child porn. He stole a pair of his 14 year old daughter’s panties and took pictures of himself wearing them. He sent the photos to people on the Internet. His daughter found the picture on his computer. She freaked out (natch) and started cutting her underwear up with scissors.

The author attributes all of this behaviour to pornography. Now, I’m sorry. You don’t start wearing your daugher’s panties from watching porn alone. I’m sure there are other mental issues going on with this particular individual. I’m not a sociologist or a psychologist, but, I feel secure in saying that porn isn’t the cause of this individual’s issues. but an accelerant. If John Doe wants to sit at home for four hours a day masturbating to a woman in a leather catsuit whipping a bald, 60 year old midget on the ass, more power to him. If he goes out and starts abusing people, arrest him.

The end, like I mentioned earlier, is all preachy. Porn causes all of these problems with society, so something needs to be done. Maybe the liberal in me is saying “personal freedom” too loudly for me to hear the best for everyone. I don’t know. I do know that at the end, the book was no longer interesting, it was a serious grind.

I was glad to see that Slate thought some of the same things I did.

I’ve been trying to figure something in my head, and maybe you can help me out, yeah? When a person is insane, as you clearly are, do you know that you’re insane? Maybe you’re just sitting around, reading “Guns and Ammo”, masturbating in your own feces, do you just stop and go, “Wow! It is amazing how fucking crazy I really am!”? Yeah. Do you guys do that?
– David Mills (Brad Pitt), in “Seven”

Feel This Book : An Essential Guide to Self-Empowerment, Spiritual Supremacy, and Sexual Satisfaction

by Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo

I borrowed this book from the library, because I’m cheap. Our library has self checkout stations that have a built in barcode scanner and a receipt printer. I scanned my card and went to scan the book. I happened to open the front cover. On the inside front cover, in blue metallic glitter marker, a girl had written the following.

Disclaimer; This Book Sucks!!! (triple underlines) It’s no suprise that they are shamed of it now!!! They should have put it in a drawer for a few years and then read it again to realize what a big mistake it is!!! They would would have saved themselves alot of money and time paying a shrink to listen to the trauma this book caused.

I pointed this out to the librarian, who made a note and stuck it in the book so they can decide what to do about it next time it’s returned. I personally think it’s funny. Holly thinks it was really uncool.

Edited 17-Oct-2005: I decided not to read this book after all. I’ve got two more books in the pipe which seem a whole lot more interesting than this book.