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All books
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- The Deportees (31)
- and Other Stories
- By Roddy Doyle
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Finished in 2009
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- India After Gandhi (15)
- The History of the World's Largest Democracy
- By Ramachandra Guha
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Finished in 2009
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Probably the definitive history of modern, post-independence India. I don't know anything else quite like this book. Guha has drawn extensively from sources that you might not consider standard Historian material. He looks at old newspaper articles, magazines of the time, private correspondence b ... (continue)
- — Mar 28, 2009 | Add your feedback
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- Better (40)
- A Surgeon's Notes on Performance
- By Atul Gawande
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Finished in 2009
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Every little bit counts ...
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This is a book about getting better at what we do. The stories inside are all Atul Gawande's experiences as a doctor, but the lessons are broad. The writing is thoughful, unflinching, and yet sensitive. There aren't many doctor writers around who can show a candle to Gawande.
- — Apr 18, 2009 | Add your feedback
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- The White Tiger (538)
- A Novel
- By Aravind Adiga
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Finished in 2009
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A new writer to watch!
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This is a debut novel that announces the arrival of a fresh, original new voice. Aravind Adiga, and his narrator in the book, Balram Halwai, have a voice that is as unique as anything I have heard in a long time. This is a tale set in the dark underbelly of India, exploring the uneasy relationship ... (continue)
- — Feb 28, 2009 | Add your feedback
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- Predictably Irrational (269)
- The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
- By Dan Ariely
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Finished in 2009
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- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (304)
- By Junot Diaz
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Finished in 2009
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- The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 (92)
- By Paul R. Krugman
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Finished in 2009
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- Disgrace (394)
- A Novel
- By John Maxwell Coetzee
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Finished in 2009
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- Big Bang (53)
- By Simon Singh
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Finished in 2008
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- Unaccustomed Earth (99)
- By Jhumpa Lahiri
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Finished in 2008
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- The God Delusion (837)
- By Richard Dawkins
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Finished in 2008
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- Complications (80)
- A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science
- By Atul Gawande
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Finished in 2008
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- The Post-American World (73)
- By Fareed Zakaria
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Finished in 2008
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- The Black Swan (655)
- The Impact of the Highly Improbable
- By Nassim Nicholas Taleb
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Finished in 2008
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- While America Aged (2)
- How Pension Debts Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways, Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as …
- By Roger Lowenstein
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Finished in 2008
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The Deportees
Doyle's great strengths are his humor, and his grasp of Dubin's street speak. Both are in great effect here. The book is a collection of eight short stories looking at how Ireland is getting used to the large and sudden influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Africa. While the language thril ... (continue)
Doyle's great strengths are his humor, and his grasp of Dubin's street speak. Both are in great effect here. The book is a collection of eight short stories looking at how Ireland is getting used to the large and sudden influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Africa. While the language thrills at times, the structure did not work for me at all. The stories are written in very short chapters, to be publishable in serialized version. That makes for a bits-and-pieces story-telling technique that never quite lets us get under the skin of any character. Great concept, disappointing execution.
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