Book 14 of 100 – “Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass”

I read this book mostly out of necessity. I took a history class this semester and our final paper required that we read it and write about it. It was not a very difficult read, being a small, thin book that is what I expected. However, it was very interesting.

In this autobiography, we learn about the events that shaped Douglass into the great man that he eventually became. If you are a history buff, this is a definite must-read. I got a very interesting look at what life was like as a young slave at the brink of the war. Douglass went on to do some very wonderful things and helped shape our country as free for all.

Book 13 of 100 – “How to Win Friends and Influence People” (supposedly) by Nicholas D. Satan and Prof. Marcus J. Weeks

Let me start off by letting you know that this book is completely satirical and is a wonderful play against the popular Dale Carnegie book. The subheading is “666 Ways to Guarantee Success in the Workplace.” The physical aspect of the book is actually quite cool and secretly appealing in a its-possible-I-might-be-demonic sort of way. The hard covered book is black with ominous red lettering, red satanic stars, and an awesome elastic diary strap. The inside pages appear to be slightly burned and there are many sections that indicate blood was spilled in the writing of this book.

I found “How to Win Friends and Influence People” on sale at a local bookstore and purchased it, along with a book about homosexuality, much to the horror of, what I can assume, was a 60 year old, very Christian, cashier.

This book was funny, it played off of the seven deadly sins (but combined two of them so there were only six), and it talked about the merits of each. For example, if you are greedy, you get to have a lot of money. How awesome right? It even mockingly referenced people who practiced the standards of the book, but who were actually just big criminals.

As interesting as this book was, I also found it slightly annoying. It was somewhat repetitive and way too over the top. I understand their reasoning in doing this, the best way to avoid law suits is to make it very clear that you are joking, but I find that I prefer humor that you have to work for at least a bit. I did get a really cool “Satan-Corp” Diploma of completion out of it, something I will always cherish and probably never actually display in any form of office space. For now, I would like people to assume I am still a good person.

Book 12 of 100 – “The Year of Living Biblically” by AJ Jacobs

In this novel, AJ Jacobs takes on the ridiculous task of following every single rule that is outlined in the bible as closely as possible, then he documents his journey. I read this very interesting book at the request of a wonderful friend and I found it to be a great suggestion.

AJ Jacobs did not make his job easy. He chose to spend eight months following the Old Testament to a key and later spend four months following the New Testament from the bible. As much as I enjoyed this book and the humorous comments that Jacobs made, I found it somewhat difficult to read. There are times that he makes long, drawn out references that don’t completely make sense. He can get lost in how he feels about what he is doing or adversely lost in the micro challenges that he faces.

AJ Jacobs in his extreme detail told a story of something I know I will never be able to do. This was a fun book, but be careful not to read it with a fine-tooth comb or a critics tongue. Enjoy this book for the book and the challenge that Jacobs takes on.

Book 11 of 100 “The Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx and Friedrick Engles

How about this for a diverse read? I recently spent a weekend in Tucson. Since my friends and I don’t play by traditional vacation rules, we decided to try out something new and visit an LGBTQA all inclusive coffee house and book shop. Let me tell you, this little place was the most adorable coffee shop I have ever been to. On top of it, they managed to make a perfect caramel macchiato with almond milk. While we were visiting, they happened to be having a Marxist study. SUPER COOL! Although we didn’t participate on the study, we did have some interesting conversations about Mr. Karl Marx. So, I decided I would look into some of his work and get some more diversity in my studies. This book did not turn me into a communist, but it was interesting. Marx and Engles throw some really interesting theories out there. Some of their thoughts about how capitalism would turn out are pretty interesting and fun to play around with. I encourage those who are going to read this to do so with an academic, not political, mindset. Do not attempt to challenge all of the perspectives that they display, simply study them. You might learn something, I did.