My Life, 1998-2010, As Seen through My Amazon Purchases

Posted on: 29 October 2010 /
Categories: Personal History, Self

More show, less tell:

1998

  • The Mac Is Not a Typewriter, Robin Williams
  • Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis
  • Ball Four, Jim Bouton

1999

  • Stats Minor League Handbook 2000, Bill James
  • Stats Major League Handbook 2000, Bill James
  • Best American Short Stories 1999, Amy Tan (ed.)
  • A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. LeGuin
  • Scream, Dracula, Scream, Rocket from the Crypt (CD)
  • Permission Marketing, Seth Godin
  • Anaconda (VHS Movie)
  • 1999 Minor League Scouting Notebook, John Sickels
  • You’ve Come a Long Way Baby, Fatboy Slim (CD)
  • Dr. Axelrod’s Mini-Atlas of Freshwater Aquarium Fishes, Dr. Herbert Axelrod

2000

  • The Innovator’s Dilemma, Clayton Cristiansen
  • Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types, David Keirsey
  • Enema of the State, Blink 182

2001

  • The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, Brady Udall
  • Philips EXP103 eXpanium Portable MP3-CD Player with 45-Second Anti-Skip and Car Kit
  • Perl for Dummies, Paul Hoffman
  • The Associated Press Style Book and Briefing on Media Law, Norm Goldstein (ed.)
  • Don’t Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Steven Krug.
  • Lord of the Flies, William Golding
  • The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury

2002

  • The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home, Kent Lester
  • The Simpsons – Complete Second Season (DVD)
  • Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? (DVD)
  • On the Waterfront (DVD)
  • Building Wealth: The New Rules for Individuals, Companies, and Nations in a Knowledge-Based Economy, Lester C. Thurow

2003

  • The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the CIA, Allan Swenson
  • Inside the CIA, Ronald Kesler
  • Greatest Hits, 1991-2001, Barenaked Ladies (CD)

2004

  • The Mental Game of Baseball: A Guide to Peak Performance, H. A. Dorfman
  • Charley Lau’s Laws on Hitting, Charley Lau

2005

  • Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator Earphones
  • Thirsty, M.T. Anderson
  • Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner
  • Stranger Things Happen, Kelly Link
  • Post Office, Charles Bukowski
  • Aristoi, Walter Jon Williams
  • A Place So Foreign and Eight More, Corey Doctorow
  • The Snow Queen, Joan Vinge
  • Eastern Standard Tribe, Corey Doctorow
  • Life, Gwyneth Jones
  • Olympic Games, Leslie What

2006

  • Creating Short Fiction: The Classic Guide to Writing Short Fiction, Damon Knight
  • The Year’s Best Science Fiction: 22nd Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois (ed.)
  • D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths, Ingri D’Aulaire
  • The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein
  • I, Claudius, Robert Graves
  • Beginnings, Middles, and Ends, Nancy Kress
  • Dynamic Characters: How to Create Personalities That Keep Readers Captivated, Nancy Kress
  • Macally USB Slim Keyboard – ICEKEY
  • The Field Guide (Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1), Holly Black
  • On the Road, Jack Kerouac
  • New York Doll (DVD)

2007 (a representative sample)

  • Free Orange County: The Ultimate Free Fun Guide to the California Riviera, Robert Stock
  • Lonely Planet Los Angeles and Southern California, Andrea Schute-Peevers
  • iRobot Roomba 4220 Discovery SE Intelligent Floorvac Vacuuming Robot, Grey
  • The Movies (Mac) (Video Game)
  • The Road, Cormac McCarthy
  • Kid A, Radiohead (CD)
  • Given Up for Dead: America’s Heroic Stand at Wake Island, Bill Sloan
  • FUBAR F—ed Up Beyond All Recognition: Soldier Slang of World War II, Gordon Rottman
  • Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
  • Making the Corps, Thomas Ricks
  • Last Chapter, Ernie Pyle
  • Up Front, Bill Mauldin
  • Brave Men, Ernie Pyle
  • Guidebook for Marines, Leatherneck Association
  • World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics, Stephen Bull
  • The World Within War: America’s Combat Experience in World War II, Gerald Linderman
  • With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa, Eugene Sledge
  • Stay Off the Skyline: The Sixth Marine Division on Okinawa, An Oral History, Laura Homan Lacey
  • Guadalcanal: Starvation Island, Eric Hammel
  • Peleliu 1944: The Forgotten Corner of Hell, Gordon Rottman
  • The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed, Andrew Doughty
  • Kauai Trailblazer: Where to Hike, Snorkel, Bike, Paddle, Surf, Jerry Sprout
  • US Marine Corps Scout/Sniper Training Manual
  • Solomon Islands Map
  • Moon Handbooks South Pacific, David Stanley
  • On the Canal, Ore J. Marion
  • No Bended Knee: The Battle for Guadalcanal, Merrill B. Twining
  • Into the Valley: Marines at Guadalcanal, John Hersey
  • Guadalcanal Diary, Richard Tregaskis
  • The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer

That was about half of the war-related books I bought from Amazon in ’07.

2008 (selections)

  • Polar Insulated Water Bottle (24-Ounce, White)
  • Stearns SunShower 4.0 with Pocket and 3-4 showers (Capacity- 4 gallons)
  • Coleman SportCat Perfectemp Catalytic Propane Heater with Instastart Technology
  • From Here to Eternity, James Jones
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Video Game)
  • Deliverance, James Dickey
  • Wii
  • 4x Hasbro Nerf N-Strike Firefly REV-8
  • Football Manager 2009 (PC / Intel Mac) (Video Game)
  • Fallout 3 (XBox 360) (Video Game)
  • Slumberjack Big Timber 10F Long Right Sleeping Bag
  • Intex Pillow Rest Twin Airbed with Built-in Electric Pump
  • Samsung Touch of Color T260HD 26-Inch LCD HDTV Monitor
  • Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens
  • (Man, you can sure tell what years I was gainfully employed — Toshiba, Amazon thanks you!)
  • The Heritage of World Civilizations: Combined Brief Edition, Albert Craig et al.
  • Economic Policy Beyond the Headlines, George Schultz
  • The American Age: United States Foreign Policy at Home and Abroad 1750 to the Present, Walter La Feber
  • Realities of Foreign Service Life, Patricia Linderman
  • Basic Economics, Thomas Sowell
  • A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East, David Fromkin
  • Agents of Innocence, David Ignatius
  • Costa Rica (Country Guide), Mara Vorhees
  • Living Abroad in Costa Rica, Erin Van Rheenen
  • The Lives of Others (DVD)
  • Karting: Everything You Need to Know, Memo Gidley
  • Pidgin: The Languages of Oceania, Trevor Balzer
  • Canon ZR800 MiniDV Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom
  • Advanced Elements BackBone – For AdvancedFrame1
  • Substance, Joy Division (CD)
  • Logitech Harmony H-659 Advanced Universal Remote Control (Black)
  • Rand McNally 2008 Road Atlas and Travel Guide: United States/Canada/Mexico
  • Property Management for Dummies, Robert Griswold
  • Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy

2009 (selections)

  • The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips, Readers Digest
  • Montrail Enduro-Sole LP (Black)
  • Kaplan GMAT 800, 2005/06
  • NHL 09 (XBox 360) (Video Game)
  • Slumberjack Standard Camp Pillow
  • Contour Elliptic Trekking Poles by Black Diamond
  • Full-Size Aluminum Folding Portable Chair
  • Folding GI Aluminum Cot -Aircraft-Aluminum Construction-3 Years Warranty-Top Of The Line Construction-Reinforced Aluminum Frame-400 lbs. Max Weight Ca
  • FitDeck Bodyweight & Instructional DVD
  • Kindle 2
  • The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 11th Edition, Graduate Management Admission Council
  • National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States
  • Xantrex Technologies 851-0400 XPower Plus 400-Watt Inverter
  • Oahu Revealed: The Ultimate Guide to Honolulu, Waikiki and Beyond, Andrew Doughty
  • Fallout (Mac) (Video Game)

2010 (selections)

  • Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition
  • Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation, James Utterback
  • Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill
  • Information Ethics: Privacy, Policy, and Power, Adam Moore (ed.)
  • Brother HL-2170W 23ppm Laser Printer with Wireless and Wired Network Interfaces
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
  • Fallout: New Vegas (XBox 360)
  • The Makings of a Hard Rock Miner, Stephen Voynick
  • Design and Analysis: A Researcher’s Handbook, Geoffrey Keppel
  • Framing the Domains of IT Management, Robert Zmud (ed.)
  • Writing the Doctoral Dissertation, Gordon Davis
  • All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
  • Nordic Ware Microwave Eggs ‘n Muffin Breakfast Pan
  • Iwo Jima 32 Piece set by BMC Toys
  • Hercules XPS 2.0 30 2.0 Multimedia Speakers (Black)
  • Day and Overnight Hikes in West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest, Johnny Molloy
  • Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
  • Complete Tiling (Stanley Complete)
  • Complete Wiring (Stanley Complete)
  • Complete Baths (Stanley Complete)
  • Rubbermaid 3H89 Configurations 4-to-8-Foot Deluxe Custom Closet Kit, Titanium
  • The Milepost 2010: Alaska Travel Planner
  • Sierra Designs Light Year 1 One-Person Ultralight Tent
  • Hiking from Here to Wow: Utah Canyon Country, Kathy Copeland
  • Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets, John Lewis

Man. That’s basically every major event in my life coupled with my susceptibility to pop culture and overlaid with stuff I thought I might want to do. That’s definitely me since 1998.

bkd

6 comments

  • telkontar

    My history, as found in commenting on your Amazonian history:
    1998 — You could have borrowed Mere Christianity from me.
    1999 — Wizard of Earthsea — soon to be a motion picture (I think). Calling things by the correct name is very, very important.
    2000 — Clayton Christianson – isn’t he a celebrity now?
    2001 — Lord of the Flies –I thought of it last night when it was announced that Sam and Eric were the next heat in the Rocket Derby. I started, but could not finish, the Martian Chronicles at Lakota Jr. High. 2001 was a very busy year for me and I have 3 comments for your year, to0.
    2002 – I’ve seen the Simpsons.
    2003 – I respect the acts of the CIA
    2004 – I did not realize hitting a baseball was a legal issue.
    2005 – 2005 was not an Olympic year.
    2006 – D’Aulaire cannot match Edith Hamilton, my muse of Greek culture. I am not too concerned about the Harsh Mistress bombing earth with lunar rocks.
    2007 – I loved Making the Corps. Old Breed is intense.
    2008 – I am glad your sleeping bag zips on the right. Will you move to Costa Rica?
    2009 – The most scenic drives are still drives. I still take them, when available.
    2010 – I have my Father’s version of Utilitarianism. He was a bit extreme. Carnegie Rocks! I was thinking that I need a dedicated egg-microwaving dish last night! Last, freaking night! Cereal bowls are too deep.