Eschewed Obfuscation

I'm putting this review, perhaps the longest book review I've ever written, under a cut for both length and content. A warning: I now hold a decidedly low opinion of Leslie What.

( In which I exemplify logorrhea in written form )

While I was initially attracted to the concept of Logorrhea--I love spelling bees and vocabulary words--I chose to read it for Theodora Goss's Kubla Khan story. That, and other surprises such as Daniel Abraham (whose novels have now moved up my TBR list significantly) and Duncan's unexpected success in short form made this collection satisfying. Other stories fell in the mediocre hit-or-miss range, with the notable exceptions of Michael Moorcock's trite "A Portrait in Ivory" and certainly Leslie What's tale "Tsuris." Overall, an average book for me as far as anthologies go, with stories at both extremes. I tentatively issue a broad recommendation because the range of genre and style here is so wide; you will probably find at least one story to like.

ETA: Minor edits to correct grammar.

The Insider's Guide to the Colleges 2003
by Staff of the Yale Daily News (eds.)
977 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Nonfiction/Self-Help/Education

More reliable than Fiske when dating is accounted for (renovations, changed outsourcing, etc.) A good reference book, in my opinion, but the organization (alphabetical by state) is not conducive to browsing by similarity or cross-applications--one of my favorite parts of Fiske's guide were the similar colleges suggestion sidebar.

And that's all I have to say, really. College research is interesting enough (for me, and I admit that I'm rather a freak in this regard) but it's not much to write home about.

Binge: Campus Life in an Age of Disconnection and Excess
by Barrett Seaman
310 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction/Education

An interesting enough book, again, if you happen to enjoy college research. It doesn't live up to the inflammatory title and is actually a documentary-like open look at college life. Seems impartial, too, with admitted and minimized biases (Seaman is an alumni and trustee of Hamilton College, one of the schools covered). Twelve diverse colleges and universities are examined in a neat extended journalism piece. From the title, you should be able to tell if you'd be interested; Binge obviously appeals to a certain specialized audience.