an ounce of skulduggery

2011 Books

o1. Nomad (Ayaan Hirsi Ali; 2010) | B +
o2. Tobacco Road (Erskine Caldwell; 1932) | B -
o3. By a Slow River/Gray Souls (Philippe Claudel; 1999) | A; translated by Hoyt Rogers
o4. Against Nature/Against the Grain (Joris-Karl Huysmans; 1884) | so bad; translated by ?
o5. The Sincere Cafe: Stories (Leslee Becker; 1996) | C
o6. The Roots of Obama's Rage (Dinesh D'Souza; 2010) | A
o7. Good Morning, Midnight (Jean Rhys; 1939) | B -
o8. Flight (Sherman Alexie; 2007) | B
o9. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Stephen King; 2000) | 3rd read
1o. The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values (Sam Harris; 2010)

11. Permanently Blue: How Democrats Can End the Republican Party and Rule the Next Generation (Dylan Loewe; 2010) | garbage, of course
12. Hard Rain Falling (Don Carpenter; 1966) | B +
13. The New Vichy Syndrome: Why European Intellectuals Surrender to Barbarism (Theodore Dalrymple; 2010) | A -
14. Relentless (Dean Koontz; 2009) | this is a joke, right?
15. Hell/The Inferno (Henri Barbusse; 1908) | C; translated by Robert Baldick
16. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World (Judy Doenges; 2006) | C
17. A Friend of Kissinger (David Milofsky; 2003) | C
18. Rock Paper Tiger (Lisa Brackmann; 2010) | C -
19. The Empty Family: Stories (Colm Tóibín; 2010) | D
2o. Jacob Have I Loved (Katherine Paterson; 1980) | A

21. So Close (Paulette Kincaid; 2010)
22. Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning (Nancy Pearcey; 2010) | A
23. Under the Greenwood Tree (Thomas Hardy; 1872)
24. A Country Called Home (Kim Barnes; 2008) | C
25. Swamplandia! (Karen Russell; 2011) | B -
26. The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist (Matt Baglio; 2009) | B +
27. The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald; 1925) | 2nd read
28. Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Jeff Lindsay; 2004) | B
29. The Andalite Chronicles (K.A. Applegate; 1997) | 5th read or so and better than I remembered
3o. Going Together (Arnold Grossman; 2007) | C

31. Gun, with Occasional Music (Jonathan Lethem; 1994) | A
32. Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman; 1996) | B
33. Caribou Island (David Vann; 2011)
34. The Magicians (Lev Grossman; 2009) | just ugh
35. The Lives of Rocks (Rick Bass; 2006) | B
36. A Separate Peace (John Knowles; 1959) | A
37. The Tiger's Wife (Téa Obreht; 2011) | B +
38. Hygiene and the Assassin (Amélie Nothomb; 1992) | A; translated by Alison Anderson
39. Peace (Richard Bausch; 2008) | B
4o. Wives & Lovers: Three Short Novels (Richard Bausch; 2004) | B

41. Stoner (John Williams; 1965) | A
42. Alien Hearts (Guy de Maupassant; 1890) | translated by Richard Howard
43. Theatre (W. Somerset Maugham; 1937) | A
44. Vice: One Cop's Story of Patrolling America's Most Dangerous City (Sgt. John R. Baker & Stephen J. Rivele; 2011) | A -
45. My Blood Approves (Amanda Hocking; 2010) | F
46. Invincible Summer (Hannah Moskowitz; 2011) | C
47. A Kind of Intimacy (Jenn Ashworth; 2009) | A -
48. An Irish Eye (John Hawkes; 1997)
49. Fear and Trembling (Amélie Nothomb; 1999) | A; translated by Adriana Hunter
5o. The Character of Rain (Amélie Nothomb; 2000) | A; translated by Timothy Bent

51. The Book of Proper Names (Amélie Nothomb; 2002) | A -; translated by Shaun Whiteside
52. Tokyo Fiancée (Amélie Nothomb; 2007) | A; translated by Alison Anderson
53. Switched (Amanda Hocking; 2010) | F
54. Among Others (Jo Walton; 2011) | B
55. The Israel Test (George Gilder; 2009) | B +
56. Who Shot the Water Buffalo? (Ken Babbs; 2011) | B
57. Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-Opening Journey across the Life Line (Abby Johnson w/ Cindy Lambert; 2010)
58. Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow (Nathan Bransford; 2011)
59. The Last Jihad (Joel C. Rosenberg; 2002) | B +
6o. Every Shallow Cut (Tom Piccirilli; 2011) | B +

61. True Grit (Charles Portis; 1968) | A
62. The Stranger Next Door (Amélie Nothomb; 1995) | A; translated by Carol Volk
63. Loving Sabotage (Amélie Nothomb; 1993) | A; translated by Andrew Wilson
64. Dying Inside (Robert Silverberg; 1972) | A
65. Human Rites: A Play (Amélie Nothomb; 1994) | A; translated by Natalie Abrahami
66. Ghost World (Daniel Clowes; 1997) | eh
67. The Tragedy of Arthur (Arthur Phillips; 2011) | B
68. The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens, and the Search for the Good Life (Bettany Hughes; 2010) | A -
69. Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis; 1956) | 4th read and good as ever
7o. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J.K. Rowling; 1997) | 7th read

71. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling; 1998) | 6th read
72. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling; 1999) | 5th read
73. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling; 2000) | 5th read
74. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling; 2003) | 5th read
75. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling; 2005) | 5th read
76. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling; 2007) | 5th read
77. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (J.K. Rowling; 2008) | 2nd read
78. The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays (Albert Camus; 1955) | translated by Justin O'Brien
79. The Stranger (Albert Camus; 1942) | translated by Stuart Gilbert
8o. The Uses of Pessimism: And the Danger of False Hope (Roger Scruton; 2010) | B

81. The Last Unicorn (Peter S. Beagle; 1968) | 2nd read
82. Modern Culture (Roger Scruton; 1998)
83. The Giver (Lois Lowry; 1993) | 3rd read
84. La Vita Nuova (Dante Alighieri; 1295)
85. Sexual Desire: A Moral Philosophy Of The Erotic (Roger Scruton; 1986) | A -
86. SeinLanguage (Jerry Seinfeld; 1993)
87. Deceived (James Scott Bell; 2009) | D
88. The Fire Within (Chris d'Lacey; 2001) | C
89. Menace in Europe: Why the Continent's Crisis Is America's, Too (Claire Berlinski; 2006) | A
9o. The Book of Skulls (Robert Silverberg; 1972)

91. Give Us A Kiss (Daniel Woodrell; 1996) | A -
92. Icefire (Chris d'Lacey; 2003) | F
93. Old Man's War (John Scalzi; 2005) | A
94. Jaws (Peter Benchley; 1974) | B -
95. Rabbit, Run (John Updike; 1960)
96. A Day And A Night And A Day (Glen Duncan; 2009) | B +
97. In The Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (Ambrose Bierce; circa 1870)
98. There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters (Claire Berlinski; 2008) | A
99. The Call (Yannick Murphy; 2011) | D
1oo. The Sisters Brothers (Patrick deWitt; 2011) | A -

1o1. Lost Horizon (James Hilton; 1933) | B +
1o2. Mob Killer: The Bloody Rampage of Charles Carneglia, Mafia Hit Man (Anthony DeStefano; 2011) | C -
1o3. Bloodlust: On the Roots of Violence from Cain and Abel to the Present (Russell Jacoby; 2011) | C -
1o4. Ablutions: Notes For a Novel (Patrick deWitt; 2009) | D
1o5. Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind (Tim Groseclose; 2011) | A
1o6. Mafiaboy: A Portrait of the Hacker as a Young Man (Michael Calce w/ Craig Silverman; 2008) | A -
1o7. Shatter Me (Tahereh Mafi; 2011) | F; literally the worst book I've ever read
1o8. After America (Mark Steyn; 2011) | A
1o9. Thinner (Stephen King; 1984) | C
11o. Mentor (Tom Grimes; 2010) | B +

111. My Abandonment (Peter Rock; 2008) | C +
112. Time and Tide: A Walk Through Nantucket (Frank Conroy; 2004) | B -
113. The Monkey's Wedding and Other Stories (Joan Aiken; 2011) | B
114. Day of the Oprichnik (Vladimir Sorokin; 2006) | (WTF?); translated by Jamey Gambrell
115. The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture (David Mamet; 2011) | A
116. The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation (Elizabeth Letts; 2011) | B
117. What Would Ben Stein Do?: Applying the Insights of a Modern-Day Pundit to Tackle the Challenges of Business and Life (Ben Stein; 2011) | B -
118. A Prayer For The Dying (Stewart O'Nan; 1999) | A
119. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned (Wells Tower; 2009) | B +/A -
12o. Getting Even (Woody Allen; 1971) | A -





2011 Films

o1. Black Swan (2010)
o2. 127 Hours (2010)
o3. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
o4. True Grit (2010) | theater
o5. Country Strong (2011) | theater
o6. Season of the Witch (2011) | theater/bloody awful
o7. The Inglorious Bastards (1978)
o8. Vera Drake (2004)
o9. The Rite (2011) | theater
1o. The Social Network (2010)

11. The King's Speech (2010) | theater
12. The Kids Are All Right (2010)
13. Due Date (2010)
14. The Fighter (2010)
15. Splice (2009)
16. Winter's Bone (2010)
17. Devil (2010)
18. Blue Valentine (2010)
19. The Illusionist/L'Illusionniste (2010)
2o. The Town (2010)

21. The Eagle (2011) | theater
22. Life As We Know It (2010)
23. The Ghost Writer (2010)
24. Rango (2011) | theater
25. The Next Three Days (2010)
26. Last Chance Harvey (2008)
27. Sucker Punch (2011) | theater (twice, even though it was horrible)
28. How To Be A Serial Killer (2008)
29. Source Code (2011) | theater
3o. Insidious (2011) | theater

31. Tangled (2010)
32. Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
33. Stolen (2009)
34. My Soul to Take (2010)
35. Hellraiser (1987)
36. Kick-Ass (2010)
37. Man on Fire (2004)
38. Scream (1996)
39. The Boys Are Back (2009)
4o. Proof (2005)

41. The Stand mini-series (1993)
42. The Tourist (2010)
43. Duplicity (2009)
44. Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
45. Easy A (2010)
46. Tenure (2009)
47. George Washington (2000)
48. Days of Heaven (1978)
49. Shopgirl (2005)
5o. Cabin Fever (2002)

51. Another Year (2010)
52. Repo Men (2010)
53. Red (2010)
54. Drop Dead Sexy (2005)
55. Machete (2010)
56. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
57. Buried (2010)
58. Outlaw (2007)
59. The Mechanic (2011)
6o. Green Lantern (2011) | theater

61. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) | theater
62. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) | theater x2
63. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
64. Jane Eyre (2011)
65. Le Samouraï (1967)
66. American Perfekt (1997)
67. Boot Camp (2008)
68. Darkness/T.M.A. (2009)
69. Children of a Lesser God (1985)
7o. Black Death (2010)

71. The Killing Jar (2010)
72. The Joneses (2009)
73. The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)
74. Wilderness (2006)
75. And Soon The Darkness (2010)
76. Confined (2010)
77. Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
78. Skin (2008)
79. Dirty Harry (1971)
8o. The Thaw (2009)

81. Hobo With A Shotgun (2011)
82. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) | theater
83. Possession (2009)
84. Cowboys & Aliens (2011) | theater
85. Bridesmaids (2011)
86. Meek's Cutoff (2010)
87. The Resident (2011)
88. Drive (2011) | theater
89. Horrible Bosses (2011)
9o. Killer Elite (2011) | theater

91. Red Riding Hood (2011)
92. Your Highness (2011)
93. The Prophecy (1995)
94. Longford (2006)
95. Outsourced (2006)
96. Birth (2004)
97. RocknRolla (2008)
98. Case 39 (2009)
99. Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
1oo. Sleeping Beauty (2011)

1o1. The Ward (2011)
1o2. The Secret (2007)
1o3. Pacific Heights (1990)
1o4. Johnny English Reborn (2011) | theater
1o5. Drive Angry (2011)
1o6. Moneyball (2011) | theater
1o7. Extreme Measures (1996)
1o8. Pride and Glory (2008)
1o9. Dutch (1991)
11o. The Tree of Life (2011)

111. The Woman (2011)
112. Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
113. Trespass (2011)
114. Hugo (2011) | theater, 3D
115. The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
116. The Godfather Part II (1974)
117. Volcano (1997)
118. The Godfather Part III (1990)
119. Highwaymen (2004)
12o. Planet of the Apes (2001)

121. The Help (2011)



TV
Mad Men, Season 1 (2007)
Mad Men, Season 2 (2008)
The Sopranos, Season 2 (2000)
Mad Men, Season 3 (2009)
Mad Men, Season 4 (2010)
Dollhouse, Season 2 (2010)
Dual Survival, Season 1 (2010)
The Walking Dead, Season 1 (2010)

take the horror challenge

100 50 Horor Movies in October
(movies I've seen before are italicized; wild cards are asterisked; + = best; - = worst)

oo1. Carrie (1976)
oo2. My Name Is Bruce (2006)
oo3. Phantom of the Opera (1998) (Argento)
oo4. Deadline (2009)
oo5. The Lost Boys (1987)
oo6. The Maiden Heist (2009)*
oo7. Cape Fear (1991)*
oo8. Borderland (2007) -
oo9. The Deaths of Ian Stone (2007)
o1o. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

o11. House of Wax (2005)
o12. The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
o13. The Burrowers (2008) +
o14. The Hitcher (2007)
o15. Isolation (2005) +
o16. A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)
o17. Orphan (2009)
o18. Død Snø/Dead Snow (2009)
o19. A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) -
o2o. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

o21. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
o22. A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) -
o23. Secretariat (2010)* +
o24. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
o25. Heartless (2009)
o26. Secret Window (2004)
o27. Se7en (1995)
o28. Ghost Ship (2002)
o29. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) - -
o3o. All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)

o31. New Nightmare (1994)
o32. Severance (2006)
o33. Jennifer's Body (2009) -
o34. Quarantine (2008)
o35. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
o36. The Proposal (2009)*
o37. It Could Happen To You (1994)*
o38. Freddy vs Jason (2003)
o39. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
o4o. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

o41. The Fly (1986)
o42. The Hole (2001)
o43. Prom Night (2008)
o44. Willard (2003)
o45. Dracula 2000 (2000)
o46. The Descent (2005)
o47. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
o48. Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

2010 Books (re-reads noted)

01. The Good Rat: A True Story (Jimmy Breslin; 2008) | B
02. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Stephen King; 2000) | A -
03. Eating Mammals (John Barlow; 2004) | C+
04. The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez (Philip Carlo; 1996)
05. An Imaginary Life (David Malouf; 1978) | C
06. Hey Nostradamus! (Douglas Coupland; 2003) | C
07. The Texan and the Pregnant Cowgirl (Mary Starleigh; 1998) | how could you resist a book with a title like that?
08. Redburn (Herman Melville; 1849)
09. The Beans of Egypt, Maine (Carolyn Chute; 1984) | A
10. The Great Divorce (C.S. Lewis; 1946)

11. A Severe Mercy (Sheldon Vanauken; 1977)
12. O Pioneers! (Willa Cather; 1913)
13. Water for Elephants (Sara Gruen; 2006) | C -
14. Misery (Stephen King; 1987) | B +
15. Teacher Man (Frank McCourt; 2005) | B -
16. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry; 1943)
17. Push (Sapphire; 1996) | blech
18. The Meat and Spirit Plan (Selah Saterstrom; 2007) | oh please
19. The Stand: Complete & Uncut (Stephen King; 1978) | C
20. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Stephen King; 2000) | 2nd read

21. Out Stealing Horses (Per Petterson; 2003) | A -
22. The Humbling (Philip Roth; 2009) | B -
23. The Mad Ones: Crazy Joe and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld (Tom Folsom; 2009) | C
24. An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems (Glenn Beck; 2007) | hilarious and sensible
25. Johnny Got His Gun (Dalton Trumbo; 1939)
26. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (Stephen King; 1999) | D
27. She's Come Undone (Wally Lamb; 1992) | D
28. The Complete Poems of Stephen Crane (Stephen Crane)
29. The Crusades, Christianity, and Islam (Jonathan Riley-Smith; 2008)
30. St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves: Stories (Karen Russell; 2006) | 2nd read

31. Twitterature (Alexander Aciman & Emmett Rensin; 2009) | F
32. The Plague (Albert Camus; 1947) | A
33. Call Me Ahab: A Short Story Collection (Anne Finger; 2009) | F -
34. The Dead Father's Club (Matt Haig; 2006) | B
35. Legend of a Suicide (David Vann; 2008) | A -
36. A Grief Observed (C.S. Lewis; 1961)
37. The New Concise History of the Crusades (Thomas F. Madden; 2005/1999) | A -
38. Outer Dark (Cormac McCarthy; 1968)
39. The Hole We're In (Gabrielle Zevin; 2010) | D; wish it could be unread
40. Pieces for the Left Hand (J. Robert Lennon; 2005) | B +

41. The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists (Ravi Zacharias; 2008)
42. Talk Talk (T.C. Boyle; 2006) | C
43. Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation (Jason Mattera; 2010) | A -
44. Jesus' Son: Stories (Denis Johnson; 1992) | B
45. The Original Jesus: The Life and Vision of a Revolutionary (N.T. Wright; 1996) | B -
46. The Nimrod Flipout: Stories (Etgar Keret; 2004) | A
47. 7 Souls (Barnabas Miller & Jordan Orlando; 2010) | D
48. Watching Gideon (Stephen H. Foreman; 2009) | C
49. Anonymous Rex: A Detective Story (Eric Garcia; 1999) | A -
50. Girl With a Pearl Earring (Tracy Chevalier; 1999) | A -

51. The Gospel According to the Son (Norman Mailer; 1997) | F
52. The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes (Bill Watterson; 1992)
53. Like You'd Understand, Anyway: Stories (Jim Shepard; 2007) | meh
54. The Essential Calvin and Hobbes (Bill Watterson; 1988)
55. Shiver (Maggie Stiefvater; 2009) | the best part was how my copy of the book smelled
56. The DUFF (Kody Keplinger; 2010) | D
57. Drowned Boy: Stories (Jerry Gabriel; 2010) | B
58. Infidel (Ayaan Hirsi Ali; 2006) | A
59. The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen's Guide (Sally Pipes; 2008) | A
60. A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea (David Vann; 2005) | A -

61. The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins; 2008) | A -
62. Columbine (Dave Cullen; 2009)
63. Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films With Wisdom & Discernment (Brian Godawa; 2002)
64. The Book of Imaginary Beings (Jorge Luis Borges; 1957)
65. Open Closed Open: Poems (Yehuda Amichai; 1998/2000)
66. Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past (Bruce Bartlett; 2008) | A -
67. Something Is Out There: Stories (Richard Bausch; 2010) | A
68. Courage: A Novel of the Sea (Alan Littell; 2007) | C
69. House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski; 2000)
70. Tales of the Ten Lost Tribes (Tamar Yellin; 2008) | B

71. Welcome to Obamaland: I Have Seen Your Future and It Doesn't Work (James Delingpole; 2009) | B +
72. Purity of Heart Is To Will One Thing (Søren Kierkegaard; 1846)
73. Smaldone: The Untold Story of an American Crime Family (Dick Kreck; 2009) | B
74. The Miscreant (Jean Cocteau; 1921)
75. Waiting For The Barbarians (J.M. Coetzee; 1980) | A
76. Where Mercy Is Shown, Mercy Is Given (Duane "Dog" Chapman; 2010)
77. Snuff (Chuck Palahniuk; 2008) | F; everything he's written after FC has been terrible
78. Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins; 2009) | B
79. Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins; 2010) | C; pretty lame, especially after the quality of the first book
80. The Unnamed (Joshua Ferris; 2010) | C

81. The Gaze (Elif Shafak; 1999) | B
82. Small Crimes in an Age of Abundance (Matthew Kneale; 2005) | B -
83. The Fall (Albert Camus; 1956) | A
84. Into The Wild (Jon Krakauer; 1996) | B -
85. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone (J.K. Rowling; 1997) | 6th read
86. Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass (Theodore Dalrymple; 2001) | A
87. Grotesque (Natsuo Kirino; 2003)
88. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis; 1952)
89. Of Mice And Men (John Steinbeck; 1937) | A
90. The Abolition of Man (C.S. Lewis; 1943) | 2nd read

2009 Films (all virgin viewings; counting re-watches would at least triple the number)

001. Saw V | D -
002. The Duchess (plane) | B
003. Elegy | A -
004. Jane Eyre | C +
005. The Wrestler | A -
006. The Hamiltons | B +
007. My Own Private Idaho | A
008. Death Defying Acts (plane) | C
009. Wild Hogs | D
010. Firefly (tv series) | A
011. Single White Female | A -
012. Serenity | A -
013. Doubt | A
014. Teeth | C -
015. Freeway | C +
016. A Perfect World | B +
017. House of Sand and Fog | A -
018. Gran Torino (theater) | B +
019. Twilight (dollar theater) | D
020. Con Air | C +
021. La Pianiste | C
022. Hounddog | B
023. Slumdog Millionaire | A -
024. The Crossing Guard | B
025. Yes Man | C +

026. Diary of a City Priest | B
027. Waitress | B +
028. Perfect Strangers | +
029. Cold Comfort Farm | B +
030. The Room | epic
031. La Cité Des Enfants Perdus | A
032. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | B -
033. Coraline (dollar theater) | B +
034. Next | C
035. What Just Happened | B -
036. Bottle Shock | B
037. The Last Word | B +
038. Tempted | C
039. The Babysitters | B +
040. Såsom i en spegel | A
041. Shakespeare Retold: The Taming of the Shrew | A
042. Captives | B -
043. The Weather Man | A -
044. Angels and Demons (theater) | B
045. Fanboys | B +
046. New In Town | C
047. Terminator Salvation (theater) | C
048. Surviving Desire | B +
049. Star Trek (theater) | A
050. Nattvardsgästerna | A

051. The Constant Gardener | A -
052. Enemy at the Gates | B
053. Up (theater) | B
054. Un coupable idéal/Murder on a Sunday Morning | A
055. John Q | C -
056. Pumpkin | A -
057. My Life in Ruins (theater) | C +
058. Fearless | A -
059. Bride Wars | D +
060. The Omega Man | B
061. My Sister's Keeper (theater) | C
062. The Tale of Despereaux | C
063. Inkheart | C +
064. The Unborn | D +
065. Jeremiah Johnson | B
066. Vanishing Point | A -
067. The Women | D
068. RENT | D
069. The Notebook | B
070. No Reservations | C +
071. Munich | A -
072. Bart Got A Room | C +
073. Stardust | B
074. The Spiderwick Chronicles | C
075. Kinsey | B

076. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (theater) | B -
077. Knowing | C
078. Bosque de sombras | C +
079. Very Young Girls
080. Repo! The Genetic Opera | B +
081. Sunshine | C
082. Ghost Town | B +
083. 3:10 to Yuma | A -
084. The Contract | F +
085. Brüno | vile, worthless, and a depressing indication of the level to which our society has fallen
086. Public Enemies (theater) | A -
087. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | A -
088. Miss Potter | B
089. The Hangover | B
090. Charlie Bartlett | B -
091. Julie & Julia (theater) | B +
092. The Reader | B
093. Running With Scissors | A -
094. Proof of Life | C
095. Monster's Ball | C
096. Watchmen | B
097. Whisper | A -
098. Antichrist | B -
099. Little Shop of Horrors | D
100. House of Wax | B +

101. Trick 'r Treat | B
102. Child's Play | C
103. Suspiria | B
104. The Strangers | C +
105. Spider Baby | A -
106. Drag Me To Hell | B -
107. Singin' in the Rain | A
108. Them/Ils | C
109. Angel Heart | B -
110. Paranormal Activity | C
111. IT | B +/D (the last fourth sucks)
112. Shakespeare in Love | B
113. Amelia (theater) | C
114. Vanity Fair | C
115. Irresistible | B +
116. Little Children | B +
117. Asylum | C +
118. Election | B
119. The Fall | A
120. Nobel Son | B +
121. Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (theater)
122. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | C
123. The Invention of Lying | C
124. The Proposal | B

2009 Books (re-reads noted)

01. House (T. Dekker & F. Peretti; 2006) | D-
02. The Shack (William P. Young; 2007) | F
03. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (Charles Darwin; 1859)
04. Gates of Eden (Ethan Coen; 1998) | B
05. No one belongs here more than you. (Stories by Miranda July; 2007) | B -
06. The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien; 1937) | 2nd read; A -
07. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography (Humphrey Carpenter; 1977) | A
08. The Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels; 1848)
09. The Road (Cormac McCarthy; 2006) | A
10. On the Genealogy of Morals (Friedrich Nietzsche; 1887)

11. The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien; 1954) | 2nd read; A
12. Mariette in Ecstasy (Ron Hansen; 1991) | A -
13. Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth (John Garth; 2003) | B
14. Civilization and Its Discontents (Sigmund Freud; 1930)
15. Black Dogs (Ian McEwan; 1992) | A
16. Fear and Trembling (Søren Kierkegaard; 1843) | pretty amazing
17. Orthodoxy (G.K. Chesterton; 1908)
18. The Road to Middle-Earth: How J.R.R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology (T.A. Shippey; 2003) | B
19. J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century (T.A. Shippey; 2000) | A
20. Paula Spencer (Roddy Doyle; 2006) | A -

21. Collected Poems, 1909-1962 (T.S. Eliot; 1963)
22. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Benjamin Franklin; 1791)
23. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë; 1847) | 3rd read
24. Daisy Miller: A Study (Henry James; 1878) | 2nd read
25. The Idea of a University (John Henry Newman; 1923)
26. Moby-Dick (Herman Melville; 1850) | this might be the best book I've ever read
27. The Silmarillion (J.R.R. Tolkien; 1977)
28. The Abolition of Man (C.S. Lewis; 1943) | A
29. Reflections on the Revolution in France (Edmund Burke; 1790)
30. Dracula (Bram Stoker; 1897) | pretty much hated it

31. Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Friedrich Nietzsche; 1885)
32. My Sister's Keeper (Jodi Picoult; 2004) | C -
33. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling; 2000) | 4th read
34. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling; 2003) | 4th read
35. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling; 2005) | 4th read
36. The Straits (Jeremy Craig; 2009) | B -
37. Redeeming Love (Francine Rivers; 1991) | 2nd read; last read when I was 13
38. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling; 2007) | 4th read
39. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (J.K. Rowling; 2007)
40. Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card; 1985) | B

41. All Shall Be Well; and All Shall Be Well; and All Manner of Things Shall Be Well (Tod Wodicka; 2007) | A
42. The Assistant (Bernard Malamud; 1957) | A -
43. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger; 1945) | D
44. Bag of Bones (Stephen King; 1998) | A -
45. The Snapper (Roddy Doyle; 1992) | B +
46. Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton; 1990) | B -
47. Disgrace (J. M. Coetzee; 1999) | A
48. The Ellimist Chronicles (K.A. Applegate; 2000) | 3rd read, I think
49. The Silence of the Lambs (Thomas Harris; 1988) | 2nd read
50. Hatchet (Gary Paulsen; 1987) | 2nd read

51. Cathedral (Raymond Carver; 1983) | A
52. Dolores Claiborne (Stephen King; 1993) | A
53. The Writing Life (Annie Dillard; 1989)
54. Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides; 2002) | D
55. Slow Storm (Danica Novgorodoff; 2008) | ?
56. Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (Hannah Arendt; 1963) | A
57. Enchanted Night (Stephen Millhauser; 1999) | B +
58. The Tenth Circle of Hell: A Memoir of Life in the Death Camps of Bosnia (Rezak Hukanovic; 1996)
59. Watchmen (Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons; 1986) | B +
60. Eleanor Rigby (Douglas Coupland; 2004) | B -

61. The Professor's Daughter (Joann Sfar & Emmanuel Guibert; 1997) | B
62. Storm of Steel (Ernst Jünger; 1922) | A -
63. The Late Hector Kipling (David Thewlis; 2007) | A -
64. The Sufferings of Young Werther (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; 1774) | what a whiner
65. St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves: Stories (Karen Russell; 2006) | A -
66. Home Truths (David Lodge; 1999) | B
67. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett; 1990) | C
68. Maus: A Survivor's Tale I: My Father Bleeds History (Art Spiegelman; 1986) | A
69. Maus: A Survivor's Tale II: And Here My Troubles Began (Art Spiegelman; 1991) | A
70. Pet Sematary (Stephen King; 1983) | 2nd read; B +

71. The Grave Robber's Daughter (Richard Sala; 2007) | this stuff gets published?
72. Dangerous Laughter: Thirteen Stories (Stephen Millhauser; 2008) | first half is exquisite; second half is mostly tedious
73. Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury; 1953) | B
74. Changing Places (David Lodge; 1975) | B +
75. The Anubis Gates (Tim Powers; 1983) | A -
76. The Collector (John Fowles; 1963) | A
77. Under the Net (Iris Murdoch; 1954) | B +
78. Coraline (Neil Gaiman; 2002) | B
79. The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins; 2006) | C
80. Giovanni's Room (James Baldwin; 1956)

r e s t r i c t e d
a c c e s s

2008 Movies (all virgin viewings)

01. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - 8
02. National Treasure: Book of Secrets - 3
03. The Bucket List - 6
04. Knocked Up - 7
05. Saw IV - 4
06. The Man Who Would Be King - 7
07. Judas Kiss - 7
08. Snow Cake - 9
09. Juno - 6
10. Blood Tea and Red String - 9
11. Coach Carter - 4
12. Wristcutters: A Love Story - 6
13. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - 4
14. Wicked (bootleg) - 5
15. Lars and the Real Girl - 7
16. Good Luck Chuck - 1
17. Dedication - 8
18. Margot at the Wedding - 5
19. Jane Eyre - 5
20. Descent - 3
21. Something the Lord Made - 6.5
22. A Tale of Two Cities - 10
23. Hamlet - 8
24. Hamlet - 7
25. Hamlet - 7

26. August Rush - 7
27. 10,000 BC - 4
28. Vantage Point - 6
29. The Defiant Ones - 9
30. A Good Year - 8
31. 88 Minutes - 4
32. Bang Bang You're Dead - 5
33. The Winter Guest - 8
34. An American Crime - 8
35. Once - 7
35. Bee Movie - 5
36. No Country For Old Men - 7
37. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story - 1
38. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - 6
39. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - 4
40. Iron Man - 7
41. Bella - 6
42. The Incredible Hulk - 4
43. The Happening - 5
44. Death Becomes Her - 6
45. El Orfanato (The Orphanage) - 9
46. Ravenous - 5
47. Get Smart - 6.5
48. Otis - 7
49. Dead Alive - ?
50. He Was A Quiet Man - 8

51. Click - 6.5
52. Chance - 3
53. Joshua - 8
54. Hancock - 8
55. The Local Stigmatic - 6
56. Clerks. - 6
57. Not I
58. Rough for Theater I
59. Ohio Impromptu
60. Fido - 8
61. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - 6.5
62. Grayson Arms - 2
63. WALL E - 10
64. Deliverance - 7
65. Jackass Number Two - 0
66. Dan in Real Life - 6
67. Hairspray - 5
68. Boogie Nights - 6
69. Irreversible - 6
70. Happily N'Ever After - 4
71. Journey to the Center of the Earth - 5
72. Enchanted - 5
73. Freedom Writers - 5
74. The Black Cauldron - 7
75. The Nanny Diaries - 4

76. The Sentinel - 4
77. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - 4
78. Dreamgirls - 4
79. Elizabethtown - 6.5
80. Mamma Mia! - 5
81. 16 Blocks - 6
82. Lawn Dogs - 8
83. American Dreamz - 3
84. The Dark Knight - 6.5
85. In the Company of Men - 9
86. The Brave One -8
87. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 3
88. Brother/Brat - 8
89. Kids - 5
90. Prom Night - 3
91. Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door - 5
92. Candyman - 8
93. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - 7 (for entertainment value)
94. Snakes on a Plane - 8 (EV)
95. For the Bible Tells Me So - 4
96. Henry Poole Is Here - 7
97. Deathtrap - 6
98. Short Cuts - 9.5
99. 21 - 4
100. Baby Mama - 3

101. The Air I Breathe - 5
102. Showgirls - (this movie defies the rating system) (also, it requires more men)
103. The Monster Squad - 5
104. Cruel Intentions - 6
105. Misery - 7
106. Sleepaway Camp - 8
107. Hatchet - 4
108. Boogeyman - 3
109. The War Zone - 10
110. Cannibal Holocaust
111. Alpha Dog - 5.5
112. Righteous Kill - 7
113. Play
114. The Piano - 8
115. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer - 7
116. The Wolf Man
117. Funny Games U.S. - 8
118. Funny Games - 8
119. Shutter - 4
120. Insanitarium - 5
121. Halloween - 5
122. August Underground - 0
123. Blood Diner - 3
124. Cannibal! The Musical - 6.5
125. Last House on the Left - 7

126. Suspect Zero - 5
127. House - 4
128. Love Object - 7
129. The Ruins - 7
130. The Fun Park - 2
131. eXistenZ - 9
132. The Midnight Meat Train - 6
133. Martin - 8
134. Tropic Thunder - 6
135. Puppetry of the Penis: Live at the Forum
136. Step Brothers - 1
137. Eastern Promises - 7
138. The Search For John Gissing - 8
139. The House Bunny - 4
140. Blow Dry - 5
141. Rasputin - 8
142. The Secret of Roan Inish - 8
143. Eden Lake - 7
144. Purple Violets - 6
145. Gardener of Eden - 6
146. Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 4
147. Chasing Amy - 5
148. Strictly Sexual - 5
149. Lakeview Terrace - 7
150. Nothing - 7

151. Million Dollar Baby - 6
152. Wanted - 7
153. Fred Claus - 4
154. Seven Pounds - 8
155. Choke - 5
156. In Bruges - 7.5



2008 Books (re-reads in italics)

01. American Gods (Neil Gaiman) - abandoned after 379 pgs.; 4
02. Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie) - 7
03. The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood) - 6
04. Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis) - 8
05. Pride & Prejudice (Jane Austen) - 9
06. Henry IV, Part One (Shakespeare) - 7
07. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë) -2nd read; 7
08. Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë) - 2nd read; 9.5
09. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens) - 3rd read; 10
10. Hamlet (Shakespeare) - 8

11. Collected Stories: A Play (Donald Margulies) - 6
12. Fences (August Wilson) - 7
13. Proof: A Play (David Auburn) - 6
14. The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky) - 7
15. The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare) - 7
16. Anna in the Tropics (Nilo Cruz) - 4
17. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy) - 10
18. Doubt: A Parable (John Patrick Shanley) - 6
19. The Sounds of Poetry: A Brief Guide (Robert Pinsky) - 5
20. The Real Thing (Tom Stoppard) - 5

21. Julius Caesar (Shakespeare) - 9
22. The Book of Hosea (God)
23. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling) - 3rd read; 10
24. The Book of Jeremiah (God)
25. The Book of Isaiah (God)
26. A Winter's Tale (Shakespeare) - 6
27. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (J.K. Rowling) - 4th read;10
28. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling) - 4th read; 10
29. Nicholas and Alexandra (Robert K. Massie) - 8
30. Prince Caspian (C.S. Lewis) - 6

31. The Butcher Boy (Patrick McCabe) - 4
32. the curious incident of the dog in the night-time (Mark Haddon) - 4.5
33. The Immoralist (André Gide) - 7
34. Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov) - 10
35. A Moveable Feast (Ernest Hemingway) - 8
36. King Solomon's Mines (H. Rider Haggard) - 7
37. Closer (Patrick Marber) - 9
38. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J.K. Rowling) - 10
39. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling) - 5th read; 10
40. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling) - 4th read; 10

41. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky) - 6
42. The Law of Violence and the Law of Love (Leo Tolstoy) - 4
43. I, Lucifer (Glen Duncan) - 9
44. The Woman Who Walked Into Doors (Roddy Doyle) - 8
45. Candide (Voltaire) - 9
46. Ion (Plato)
47. Winesburg, Ohio (Sherwood Anderson) - 10
48. The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer (Philip Carlo) - 7 (4 for writing; 10 for story)
49. The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald) - 7
50. Out Of The Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis) - 6

51. Cane (Jean Toomer) - 8
52. Twilight (Stephenie Meyer) - 2
53. Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston) - this book really irritated me, but it is a good and important one, objectively; 8
54. The Last Place I Want To Be (P. Buchanan)
55. The Professor's House (Willa Cather) - 10
56. As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner) - i hate Faulkner so much; 10
57. The Way of the Wiseguy (Joey Pistone) - 6
58. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Frederick Douglass)
59. The Best American Short Stories 1999 - 6.5
60. yet unpublished manuscript by Buck

61. Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (ZZ Packer) - 6.5
62. Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri) - 7.5

take the horror challenge

An undertaking like this naturally makes me wonder what, exactly, constitutes a 'horror' movie. Where does a 'thriller' end and a 'horror movie' begin? Does it necessarily include a great deal of gore and gratuitous nudity? Is it just what IMDB classifies as belonging in the genre? Most importantly, can I watch the Hannibal Lecter four-film saga for the count?

For my own purposes, I've decided upon the following (and perhaps obvious) requisite: that one of the movie's primary intents is to horrify me.

HORRIFY (v) : to cause to feel extreme apprehension or unease; to cause to experience horror

HORROR (v) : an intense painful emotion of fear or repugnance; an intense dislike or aversion; an abhorrence

Now, certainly an Obama campaign commercial will cause, in me, an intense feeling of repugnance, an intense dislike and aversion, even an abhorrence. (And like many horror movies, they also often make me laugh). However, presumably his ads are not intended to provoke such a reaction in the audience, so they don't count. Intent is key. Obviously, it might at times be a toss-up what a film's main intent is, but I think it's easiest to tell this within the horror genre, which is convenient. I also think it's the best standard I can use to distinguish the horror movie from the not, for the purposes of this challenge.

In summation, does IMDB list The Silence of the Lambs as belonging to the 'horror' genre? No. Does it seem to be the film's intent to cause extreme unease, fear, repugnance, and abhorrence? Absolutely, hell yes, and so, this little thought experiment is a success!

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