So far this year, Part II

Back in the summer, I recounted the books I'd read this year up to that point. Now that the year's almost finished, I figured I'd take stock of the rest. Here's what I've read:

"When Trumpets Call" by Patricia O'Toole: A fantastic biography of Teddy Roosevelt after his presidency. It also has great history of Taft's presidency, as TR was a major factor in that.

"Sex, Drugs and Coco Puffs" by Chuck Klosterman: This was a Powell's impulse buy, and I have to admit, I've since become a Klosterman disciple, as he is able to write intelligently and analytically about pop culture, which is basically what I aspire to do in life.

"Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James Lowen: This book makes a great case for the need to reform the way kids are taught history in school. It talks about unnecessary hero worship (Columbus Day, anyone?) and the lack of women, Native Americans, and other minorities in history books. A great read for any future educators, or anyone interested in that process.

"Killing Yourself to Live" by Chuck Klosterman: In this, Klosterman includes his musings on society, music, and affairs of the heart against a backdrop of a trip he's taking in which he visits the death sites of famous musicians. It's incredibly enthusiastic and thoughtful writing.

"A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers: Clearly, I was on the memoir tip after reading Klosterman. I have to agree with Blake's assessment that this book never quite lives up to how good the writing in the first 1/3 of the book is, but even so, the writing is, yes, staggeringly good.

"Tales From the Oregon Ducks Sidelines" by Brian Libby: A totally awesome book about Oregon football history, written by my equally awesome brother. And a foreword by Joey Harrington!

"Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History" by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: I first read Ulrich's book "A Midwife's Tale" in college, which is widely considered a breakthrough for the field of social history. This book's title comes from a phrase this author originally wrote in an otherwise little-noticed article that eventually spawned a mini revolution -- you've probably seen the phrase on T-shirts, bumper stickers, etc. Interestingly enough, Ulrich explains in the book, the phrase was never meant to be a call for women to behave improperly, rather, she was lamenting the fact that the everyday lives of women who labored in the home were rarely recorded.

"The Partly Cloudy Patriot" by Sarah Vowell: This is a collection of essays by a fellow female history nerd/social observer. While I liked her writing, I mostly felt annoyed that I could have written virtually the same book, and perhaps slightly better.