"Glamorama" by Bret Easton Ellis

I've also read "Less Than Zero," "American Psycho," and "Rules of Attraction" by the same author. I thought "Less Than Zero" was a good book, "American Psycho" was a GREAT book, and "Rules of Attraction" was a book full of uninteresting characters that never really went anywhere.

"Glamorama" is something of a sequel to "Rules of Attraction," featuring Victor Ward (Johnson), who was introduced in "Rules". Patrick Bateman, the serial killer (?) featured in "American Psycho," also makes an appearance. Besides these two characters, the book includes a long list of supporting characters, and name-drops just about anyone who was anyone in the 1990s.

The plot of this book is largely irrelevant, and just about all of the characters are so shallow and self-obsessed that it's difficult to care about any of them for very long. Perhaps this was the author's intention, but reading a book of this length - which is essentially just a compilation of long and semi-witty conversations - became a task after the first few chapters. Ellis offers some great insights on our obsession with celebrity culture, but "Glamorama" could have probably been half the length and offered just as much.

"American Psycho" is one of my favorite books ever, and so I was more than willing to give the author a chance on this one. In other words, I wanted to like it. Unfortunately my hopes were defeated, and I am left to wonder how an author of such unquestionable talent could write something so vapid and uninspired.

"The King James Bible" by God (and King James)

Who is this God person anyway? Does He exist, or is He just playing a joke on us? Is He a man, or just an Incarnation of one? Does he want us to be Jews or Christians? Catholics or Protestants? Mormons or Unitarians? Does He care if we believe in Him? Does He have a Facebook profile?

Whoever "He" is, he is often referred to (by more ignorant folks) as the author of the Bible. Better-educated Christians would refer to Him as the inspiration for the Bible. Still better-educated people (likely the product of universities), would start throwing around letters like J and P, refer to languages ranging from Hebrew to Aramaic, and generally confuse people with their well-endowed erudition.

Whatever one thinks about the Bible, it is of inarguable importance to Western culture, and should be read on that score, if on no other. It has shaped our language in countless ways, and in doing so has shaped our ways of thinking. This is particularly true of the King James Version of the Bible, which is the most historically important of all the English-language Bibles.

I have read the Bible several times. I've read the King James Version (KJV) twice, as well as the New Standard translation. I have also read the Bible in the Latin (Vulgate) version and the New Testament in Chinese. For this reason, you might think me a religious person, but this is far from the case. I am an agnostic, and merely find that studying religious texts offers many insights on human nature.

A lot of people won't "stoop" to reading the Bible. They think it's only for converts, and they are hostile to the idea of religion in general. This, I think, is a mistake on their part. The Bible can be read as both a reflection of, and as a motivating force within human history. It is also a rich source of poetry, philosophical speculation, and mythology. The same could be said for all the other major religious texts, from the Qur'an, the Upanishads, to the Zend Avesta. You could even make a case for the Book of Mormon and L. Ron Hubbard's "Dianetics." I have read all of them, and I have learned a lot.

So let me take this time to encourage you to read your Bible. It has a lot to tell us about ourselves. As to this matter of God, I'll leave that to your discretion.