Quick housekeeping update. As you may have noticed, I finally got around to updating my links, as most of the people listed over there haven't written a new blog post in over a year. They've been replaced with links to some of the blogs that I read regularly, bringing me up to about 2006 in standard blog practice.

Anyway, your guide to the changes, as if you couldn't just click on the links to see what they're about:

538 is a political blog from the same people who bring us the Baseball Prospectus. As you'd expect, their main stock in trade is in applying quantitative analysis to elections and issues. The folks behind it are clearly to the left, but they're at least not of the shrieking, Michael Moore/Keith Olbermann school of discourse.

Adventures in Snack Canyon is a movie blog I contribute to, which is funny given how infrequently I go to the movies.

Jon Couture's link is no longer to his personal blog but to the one he does while covering the Red Sox for the New Bedford Standard-Times, the finest fishwrap on all of the South Coast.

Charlie Pierce comes to us via the Boston Globe, which I take as a small step towards apologizing for the decades of inflicting Dan Shaugnessey on the public. You may know Pierce from his contributions to NPR shows like Only a Game and Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!

Finally, there's Joe Posnanski, who is now on staff at Sports Illustrated after his most recent stint for the Kansas City Star (which, between him and TV writer Aaron Barnhart, should have made it the pop culture newspaper of record). For the blog Joe writes about pretty much anything that comes to mind, from his love of Bruce Springsteen to a fascination with Snuggies. With apologies to his previously mentioned colleagues (save Shaughnessey), I'd say he's currently the best sportswriter in America. Sadly, he's moving from a self-named location to SI's website, trading in his very pleasing minimalist layout for one that's busier (though, thankfully, not as nightmarish as your average page at ESPN.com).

Book Log 2010 #10: The Women by T. C. Boyle

Very engaging fictional history/bio of Frank Lloyd Wright "written" by a former apprentice but told through the relationships between the architect and three women in his life (two wives and a lover). In each case, we see Wright for all of his gifts and faults, and it's easy to see why each of these women would fall both in and out of love with him, often more than once.

The book did remind me a bit of Riven Rock, another historical novel set around a genius (this time certifiably mad) and his wife. Both look at relationships strained by the husband's mental gifts (and deficits), the line between genius and madness, and how people dealt with the prevailing social mores of the times (in Wright's case, the issue of free love comes up quite a bit, while the wife in Riven Rock becomes involved in the women's suffrage movement). Both are worth reading, though The Women is the better of the two.

Book Log 2010 #9: The Way Through the Woods by Colin Dexter

The case of a missing Swedish student, thought to be cold, heats up again when a cryptic letter is published in the newspaper. Inspector Morse, on a forced vacation, sees the letter, and gets himself back on the case, with the usual results.

This is the best novel in the series to this point, and it hits on all of the usual themes we've come to expect from Morse mysteries. There's also a neat little twist at the end that underscores just how unique Morse is as a detective.

Book Log 2010 #8: Searching for Whitopia by Richard Benjamin

This book chronicles Benjamin's adventures living in three of what he calls whitopias - locations that are whiter than the national average and have experienced greater than average population growth over the last 10 years from white people moving in. His interest is to find out why people are moving to these areas and what the advantages (and disadvantages) of living in a pocket of paleness.

Adding to the adventure is the fact that Benjamin is black, making him an obvious outlier in the communities he chooses (one each in Utah, Indiana and Idaho). And while he does experience some obvious racism, for the most part he finds his place in each community without too much trouble. Coupled with the discussions he has with residents, it becomes clearer that the whitopias aren't as much about race as they are about class and a perceived difference in values.

And that's where Benjamin is concerned. As much as the new residents feel comfortable and safe in their whitopia, the increased homogeneity of the community means less diversity in thought, culture, etc. How these places will fit in with the national community, which is growing more diverse, is an open question.

As much as I liked reading about Benjamin's experiences, I did feel a bit lost with the social science aspects of the book, especially at the end. Not sure if that's my fault or Benjamin's, but it does suggest that it may be just beyond the point of being a good commuting read (unless you can focus better than I can while on the train).

Book Log 2010 #7: The Paris Vendetta by Steve Berry

This latest installment in the Cotton Malone series has our intrepid State Department agent turned bookseller on the trail of a lost treasure amassed by Napoleon. Also looking for it is a French plutocrat who is forming a cartel of Europe's richest people, with an eye towards manipulating financial markets for the group's personal gain. I'm still not quite sure if there's supposed to be a connection between the two, other than showing the leader's avarice.

This clash also involves Henrik Thorvaldsen, Malone's benefactor, as the leader of the cartel is also indirectly responsible for the death of his son (which Malone witnessed but was unable to stop). Thorvaldsen involves himself with the group as well, ostensibly to help Malone, but really to avenge his son's death.

While still not as good as his earliest books, this entry in the series is less dopey than some of the more recent ones. There is one major event that will shake up the series, and I like that Berry had the guts to do it, though it is offset by the potential addition of some younger characters who are pretty annoying.

Bottom line, it's worth reading if you've stuck with the series, but that's about it.

Book Log 2010 #6: The Anarchist by John Smolens


Amid the rising tide of anarchism, a Buffalo dock worker named Moses Hyde must help catch a band of anarchists who may or may not be involved with the assassination of President William McKinley. The assassin, Leon Czolgosz, clearly has anarchist beliefs, but is perhaps a little delusional as to his role in the movement (he sees the killing as a way to get close to leader Emma Goldman, whom he has never met).

This doesn't really matter to the Pinkertons and other security agents, who see the killing as evidence of a coming revolution. Hyde has to help them catch Czolgosz, and quickly, both to save himself and his girlfriend, a Russian prostitute who is also seen as a potential anarchist.

I like that someone is plumbing this era for historical fiction - so much of it centers around wars - and I enjoyed the story well enough. Much of the "evidence" that puts Hyde and his girlfriend in jeopardy is coincidental, and I did feel after a while that it was cropping up as a way to goose the action. It's not perfect, but it was worth the read.

I expect most guys going into fatherhood shared the same thoughts that I had at this point last year - mostly variations on "What the hell have I gotten myself into?" - and it was amusing to look at the recap post I wrote last year, if just for the recurring theme of feeling ill-prepared.

Funny thing is, a year out, I don't think I'm any more prepared. I'm certainly more experienced, both in the day-to-day skills (diapering, etc.) and in interpreting the various cries and expressions that mark hunger, boredom, sleepiness, and so on. But I've never quite shook the feeling that there are any number of things out there I am just nor prepared to handle.

But I am beginning to think that that feeling never really goes away. I just need to master it and keep a level head while trying to figure out what to do. Thankfully, the (not so) little guy hasn't thrown us too many curveballs. He eats well, sleeps well, and will happily play whenever there's an inanimate object to grab (or put in his mouth).

What has gone away is the "what have I done?" feeling. I'd like to think that all prospective parents have that selfish part of their brain that kicks in, reminding them that they've traded sleeping in, eating out and romantic getaways for early mornings, Hot Pockets and car trips punctuated by frequent potty breaks. I know I had my moment with this.

I soon enough learned, though, that there's an irreplaceable joy in all the moments, little and big, joy that's different from what's I'd previously experienced. I never quire thought I'd be goofy about a first tooth, or those first gurgly sounds that lead to a voice, or the first time the kid was able to put his foot in his mouth. But I am, and I can truly say that whatever lingering doubts I had about becoming a parent and loving a child are long gone. I look forward to seeing the boy when he wakes up, when I get home from work, when I put him to bed, and in all the moments in between. I can't say I look forward to some of the things that are coming - I have to teach him how to go the bathroom? - but I know that I will finds things to love even about the times that I may dread.

Happy birthday, Joe.