God, If You're Not Up There, I'm F*cked

God, If You're Not Up There, I'm F*cked (2011) by Darrell Hammond. I've never thought Hammond was especially funny, on Saturday Night Live or elsewhere, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of this book. In case you don't know, Hammond is the SNL star who famously portrayed President Bill Clinton for years on the Saturday night show. In this book, Hammond lays it all out -- his abusive mother, his alcoholic father, his own alcohol and drug abuse, his cutting, his mental illness. Somehow he makes it through all the trauma and drama, and his story makes for an interesting book. The chapters are short and punchy, and each chapter is broken up into easily accessible sections. It's an easy read, and illuminating. Grade: B+

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs (2011) by Walter Isaacson. Steve Jobs was not an enigmatic figure. He was a public figure, and there is ample record of his genius and his tantrums. Isaacson captures him, warts and all, in this well researched biography that traces Jobs' personal life as well as his working life, from beginnings in his parents' garage until his company, Apple, became the highest-valued technology company in the world. The beginnings are exciting, because you know that obstacles will be overcome, and toward the end it gets exciting again as new products are introduced -- the iPod, iPhone, iMac and iPad. Isaacson knows how to tell someone's life story and make it interesting, and he has accomplished that here. I found this book fascinating. Grade: A

The Sibling Effect

The Sibling Effect (2011) by Jeffrey Kluger. Using examples from his own family, Kluger runs through the full panoply of possible sibling combinations and permutations -- from the only child, to large families, to multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.). He does an admirable job of making his subject interesting and at the same time instructive. The subtitle of the book is, "What the bonds among brothers and sisters reveal about us." If you read this book, you will doubtless, at some point, see yourself in it and be made to ponder how your sibling situation has contributed to the adult you turned out to be. Grade: B+

The Visible Man

The Visible Man (2011) by Chuck Klosterman. There are many ways to approach a novel on this subject -- someone who can achieve effective invisibility. Klosterman has chosen to tell it from the point of view of a therapist, who takes on the "invisible man" as a client. He is not invisible, he insists. He is cloaked, wearing a special suit that bends light. He (whom she calls Y___) uses his cloaking ability to invade people's homes and observe them. The story becomes disturbing when he starts invading his therapist's home and spying on her and her husband. But Klosterman fails to do anything really original with this genre, and although the book is easy to read, on an interesting subject, it ultimately has little to say. Grade: B

At Last

At Last (2012) by Edward St. Aubyn. This is a masterful gem of a novel, describing in great detail the travails of being rich. Patrick, the main character, stands to inherit a small fortune passed down from his great-great-great-grandfather, who made a fortune in candles in America. Inherited wealth, it seems, is a great burden on those who receive it, because they feel guilty for being rich without having earned it. The essence of this book, however, is in the writing, which is gorgeous and seemingly flawless. It requires attention from the reader, because St. Aubyn is a writer given to flights of eloquence; and since it takes place in England, it's not always easy to follow for American readers. Still, it deserves top marks. Grade: A

The End of the Wasp Season

The End of the Wasp Season (2011) by Denise Mina. Alex Morrow, the protagonist of this novel, is a pregnant detective in the Scottish police. She is pursuing a killer -- someone wearing sneakers who stomped to death a young woman. We know early on who the pair of teens who committed the crime are, but we don't know which one of them actually did the dirty deed. Mina skillfully describes the world and the people who occupy it, painting with strong strokes the members of the police force and the family of the crime's perpetrator. Above all, this book is just a great read, and I enjoyed it very much. Grade: B+

The Dovekeepers

The Dovekeepers (2011) by Alice Hoffman. Set in approximately 70 A.D., this novel tells the story of several women, who each comes separately to the Jewish fortress of Masada in the hope of holding out against Rome. Hoffman tells her story colorfully, descriptively. The women are each distinct individuals whom we get to know through their struggles in the desert or in Jerusalem, also known as Zion. They hold out until the bitter end, but of course the Romans eventually overcome them. The fact that a few of them survive is part of the historical record, and Hoffman has researched her novel thoroughly -- as thoroughly as the sparse remaining records allow. The novel has an air of authenticity, and reads well. My only criticism is that it seems to be a "women's novel," not really geared toward the male reader. Grade: A-

Guts

Guts (2012) by Kristen Johnston. The subtitle of this book is "The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster." But it's really not that type of book. The great bulk of the story told in this slim volume is the tale of how, after years of drugs and drink, Johnston's stomach burst and spilled out it's contents into her internal cavity. She then spent about two months in a British hospital recovering, and discovered that her medical bill was surprisingly low. The main point to be made about this book is that it seems to be told with surprising honesty, and Johnston seems to hold nothing back in describing herself as an addict and an alcoholic. The case she tries to make, that everybody is addicted to something, is weaker. It's still a highly entertaining book, especially for those who saw her in the TV show, "3rd Rock from the Sun." In that show, she played an alien who came to Earth as part of a crew of four, and for some reason she ended up being the alien stuck with a female body. She was very good in that part, and it is interesting to read that she was abusing drugs and alcohol the entire time. Johnston deserves credit for telling her story with all its warts intact. Grade: B