Most recently I finished "Creatures of Light and Darkness" by Roger
Zelazny. I had a copy of this on my shelves for a while because Drew
recommended it, I think, back when we were living together at Wilkins.
It was a good fast read, with the whole novel being in the present
tense contributing to the pacing and also the sense of it being an
oral telling of very poetic, timeless myth. I had the urge to create a
graph over the course of the book, with a measure for each character
describing how much of a badass they were known to be at that moment.
Discover they're immortal? bubble gets bigger. Discover they can
travel through time? bigger. Discover they are in fact their own
grandfather? BIGGER. Win a battle of the mighty against your brother
by tripping him out, turning his eyebrows into electric eels and his
will into slimy puddles of fish piss? WE HAVE A WINNER!
--k2
I remember reading that when I was laid up at Rosewood after my shoulder surgery... I believe after the first few pages I even set aside the latest Harry Potter for it. Thanks Drew!
--fraggle
I like Zelazny's work generally, he (and I guess me) is big into
carrying through the assumptions of various religions and building
worlds based on them. Either good or just plain strange.
--drew
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Consider Phlebas, American Gods, Permutation City & The Left Hand of Darkness
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks was a fastpaced space opera romp in
the middle of a pan-galactic cultural war. It packed a lot of
interesting ideas into a lot of action. It had a bit of a Lord of the
Rings effect for me with how many characters it tries to maintain, but
the main few were pretty vibrant, the only problem I had with them was
their excessive display of super-human feats. It was a long book but
went really quickly because it tends to go from action scene to action
scene with very short downtime in between.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman was ok, but I wouldn't have picked it as
a Hugo+Nebula winner; if you've ever read "Small Gods" by Pratchet and
him, it has a lot of similar tropes, mainly about gods existing
because people believe in them. After reading it the book club didn't
have a whole lot to say about it; the ideas are pretty self contained
and the plot doesn't leave a lot of questions open. Still entertaining
though, and in one tiny passing insight it gave voice to a feeling I
have all the time: the TV shows that you haven't watched religiously
but that are still popular (for me: Seinfeld, Simpsons, CSI...) you
always somehow manage to catch the same episode of, over and over.
I've seen the "Furry" episode of CSI like 10 times!
Permutation City by Greg Egan was the weakest of the lot I'd have to
say, just because the plot premise was so flimsy, and I don't even
want to bother describing it here. It was redeemed for me by the
character portraits it paints using that premise: people who exist in
an isolated universe with infinite computational power and true
immortality - what would they do? One compelling image that stuck with
me was a guy who created virtual environments for himself that
reflected this infinity, climbing down a never-ending skyscraper, the
top in the clouds above, the bottom obscurred by clouds below, climb
climb rest, climb climb rest, his mental state looping happily without
variant for an entirely indefinite period of time. I've found myself
echoing those feelings at times recently: playing pool and drinking
with Jaffar in Vienna, biking and stopping at traffic lights, and
doing a 3-person box drill with a disc, moments that could've lasted
an arbitrary length of time and afterwards I never would've known how
long they exactly took.
The most recent is Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin (most
badass name/title combination ever, btw). It was an excellent novel
with a couple new ideas well explored (primarily androgynous humans
who only feel sexual drive every 26 days for about 4 days, during
which their first contact with others determines which gender they
become for that "kemmer") - very poetic and philosophical, incredibly
detailed and entertaining; if you're only going to read one of these
4, this should be it.
--k2
the middle of a pan-galactic cultural war. It packed a lot of
interesting ideas into a lot of action. It had a bit of a Lord of the
Rings effect for me with how many characters it tries to maintain, but
the main few were pretty vibrant, the only problem I had with them was
their excessive display of super-human feats. It was a long book but
went really quickly because it tends to go from action scene to action
scene with very short downtime in between.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman was ok, but I wouldn't have picked it as
a Hugo+Nebula winner; if you've ever read "Small Gods" by Pratchet and
him, it has a lot of similar tropes, mainly about gods existing
because people believe in them. After reading it the book club didn't
have a whole lot to say about it; the ideas are pretty self contained
and the plot doesn't leave a lot of questions open. Still entertaining
though, and in one tiny passing insight it gave voice to a feeling I
have all the time: the TV shows that you haven't watched religiously
but that are still popular (for me: Seinfeld, Simpsons, CSI...) you
always somehow manage to catch the same episode of, over and over.
I've seen the "Furry" episode of CSI like 10 times!
Permutation City by Greg Egan was the weakest of the lot I'd have to
say, just because the plot premise was so flimsy, and I don't even
want to bother describing it here. It was redeemed for me by the
character portraits it paints using that premise: people who exist in
an isolated universe with infinite computational power and true
immortality - what would they do? One compelling image that stuck with
me was a guy who created virtual environments for himself that
reflected this infinity, climbing down a never-ending skyscraper, the
top in the clouds above, the bottom obscurred by clouds below, climb
climb rest, climb climb rest, his mental state looping happily without
variant for an entirely indefinite period of time. I've found myself
echoing those feelings at times recently: playing pool and drinking
with Jaffar in Vienna, biking and stopping at traffic lights, and
doing a 3-person box drill with a disc, moments that could've lasted
an arbitrary length of time and afterwards I never would've known how
long they exactly took.
The most recent is Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin (most
badass name/title combination ever, btw). It was an excellent novel
with a couple new ideas well explored (primarily androgynous humans
who only feel sexual drive every 26 days for about 4 days, during
which their first contact with others determines which gender they
become for that "kemmer") - very poetic and philosophical, incredibly
detailed and entertaining; if you're only going to read one of these
4, this should be it.
--k2
The Forever War
I listened to "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman on my kick of
Hugo+Nebula joint award winners. I'm always really happy when books
written 10 years before I was born have ideas in them that are new to
me. I had never considered Homosexuality as a dominant form of birth
control in society. It also makes me see Ender's Game in a new light,
since they have basically the same plot premise (ahhhh humanity is
attacked by the only other sentient race we've ever encountered!) but
they take very different paths through it. One of the biggest
differences is Haldeman stays within relativistic constraints, while
Card has the ansible for faster-than-light communication. I don't
think that's a weakness of Ender's Game though; it lets Card focus a
lot more on the human dynamics that are so interesting.
--k2
Hugo+Nebula joint award winners. I'm always really happy when books
written 10 years before I was born have ideas in them that are new to
me. I had never considered Homosexuality as a dominant form of birth
control in society. It also makes me see Ender's Game in a new light,
since they have basically the same plot premise (ahhhh humanity is
attacked by the only other sentient race we've ever encountered!) but
they take very different paths through it. One of the biggest
differences is Haldeman stays within relativistic constraints, while
Card has the ansible for faster-than-light communication. I don't
think that's a weakness of Ender's Game though; it lets Card focus a
lot more on the human dynamics that are so interesting.
--k2
The Art of Simple Food
Diana,
If you're looking for a good cookbook to cover the basics and explain everything from what to stock in your pantry to the best kitchen tools to have and lots and lots of really good (and mostly good for you) recipes, check out The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. It's probably similar to Bittman's book. Waters is one of the most significant American foodies, Chez Panisse is her restaurant and she basically started the localvore movement in the 80s in the bay area. Tessa and Deo gave Stu the book for graduation and he has been using it to cook the most amazing things ever since. But don't tell him I told you that, he wants to uphold the image that all he does at home is drink beer, watch sports and shave sweet moustaches.
--Acadia
If you're looking for a good cookbook to cover the basics and explain everything from what to stock in your pantry to the best kitchen tools to have and lots and lots of really good (and mostly good for you) recipes, check out The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. It's probably similar to Bittman's book. Waters is one of the most significant American foodies, Chez Panisse is her restaurant and she basically started the localvore movement in the 80s in the bay area. Tessa and Deo gave Stu the book for graduation and he has been using it to cook the most amazing things ever since. But don't tell him I told you that, he wants to uphold the image that all he does at home is drink beer, watch sports and shave sweet moustaches.
--Acadia
Think like a Chef & Ender's Game
Oh man.. water polo? My first ever shoulder dislocation was playing water polo..
Anyway, one of my favorite non-cookbooks is called 'think like a chef' or something like that. Very few recipes, but teaches you how to pair tastes and freestyle and stuff. I'll attribute 15% of my success to it.
My school has a classroom set of Ender's Game. I checked one out so I could reread it. Then I realized I didn't have a lesson plan for my freshman class, so I checked out the rest. It's weird to teach that book in terms of themes and motifs and character analysis... but even more weird that it's making me appreciate it even more. One of my kids came in during lunch upset because other kids in our class were giving her shit all the time for 'acting like she was better than them just because she had a good friend she likes to be with in class.' I scrapped my lesson plan and we're spending two days looking at why some characters like Ender and some don't (and vice versa) and why kids are mean to each other. It was awesome.
And if you're wondering, yeah, it's still good.
--fraggle
Anyway, one of my favorite non-cookbooks is called 'think like a chef' or something like that. Very few recipes, but teaches you how to pair tastes and freestyle and stuff. I'll attribute 15% of my success to it.
My school has a classroom set of Ender's Game. I checked one out so I could reread it. Then I realized I didn't have a lesson plan for my freshman class, so I checked out the rest. It's weird to teach that book in terms of themes and motifs and character analysis... but even more weird that it's making me appreciate it even more. One of my kids came in during lunch upset because other kids in our class were giving her shit all the time for 'acting like she was better than them just because she had a good friend she likes to be with in class.' I scrapped my lesson plan and we're spending two days looking at why some characters like Ender and some don't (and vice versa) and why kids are mean to each other. It was awesome.
And if you're wondering, yeah, it's still good.
--fraggle
The Time Traveler's Wife (yet again)
> I checked out the Time Traveler's Wife as a book on CD, but realized that it
> was the abridged version. What I listened to, I have to admit, I really
> didn't enjoy at all. I'm not sure what the actual book is like, but the CDs
> seemed to have sentence structures that would start to annoy me pretty
> quickly. I noticed a lot of short phrases or even one word sentences.
> Like, "Running. Laughing. Walking on the beach. I used to do these
> things." I made that up, but stuff like that...not sure I can handle much
> of it. Is the real book written like that too?
I didn't notice any jarring pacing when I was reading it. I feel like
when you read it visually you can skip over those parts as quickly as
you like instead of being forced to listen to some narrator invest too
much emphasis into every word. Give the dead tree version a try, I bet
you like it.
-k2
> was the abridged version. What I listened to, I have to admit, I really
> didn't enjoy at all. I'm not sure what the actual book is like, but the CDs
> seemed to have sentence structures that would start to annoy me pretty
> quickly. I noticed a lot of short phrases or even one word sentences.
> Like, "Running. Laughing. Walking on the beach. I used to do these
> things." I made that up, but stuff like that...not sure I can handle much
> of it. Is the real book written like that too?
I didn't notice any jarring pacing when I was reading it. I feel like
when you read it visually you can skip over those parts as quickly as
you like instead of being forced to listen to some narrator invest too
much emphasis into every word. Give the dead tree version a try, I bet
you like it.
-k2
How to Cook Everything, Bakewise and Cookwise & The Time Traveler's Wife (again)
Fraggle, welcome to the water polo team!
I'm glad that you joined because I've recently looked into three books about cooking, which you might be interested to learn about.
1. How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman -- this was a pretty interesting book for me. It really did have tons and tons of recipes for nearly everything that I have always been curious about how to make, and the best part is that it kept stuff simple (including ingredients). I found it to be similar to the Reader's Digest do-it-yourself guides, where they give you suggestions about essential tools and ingredients and also a lot of explanation for even doing simple things. It didn't have photos (bummer) and some of the recipes weren't all that exciting, but as a starting place, I thought it was good.
2. Bakewise and Cookwise by Shirley Corriher -- these books are advertised as the science of baking and cooking. They are supposed to explain why ingredients do what they do and what parts they all play. I was interested in learning about substituting applesauce for butter/oil, but alas, it didn't really get into that. I was frustated with these books. Unlike the above book, these were all of those really strange recipies and ingredients that really, I'm never going to use. Why couldn't she just explain stuff about ingredients that normal people use? I'm not sure. The books weren't a complete loss. There are some interesting tidbits in there, but overall, I didn't find them to be as useful as I had hoped.
Apparently, I am hungry all winter and like to read about cooking and baking.
I checked out the Time Traveler's Wife as a book on CD, but realized that it was the abridged version. What I listened to, I have to admit, I really didn't enjoy at all. I'm not sure what the actual book is like, but the CDs seemed to have sentence structures that would start to annoy me pretty quickly. I noticed a lot of short phrases or even one word sentences. Like, "Running. Laughing. Walking on the beach. I used to do these things." I made that up, but stuff like that...not sure I can handle much of it. Is the real book written like that too?
--diana
I'm glad that you joined because I've recently looked into three books about cooking, which you might be interested to learn about.
1. How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman -- this was a pretty interesting book for me. It really did have tons and tons of recipes for nearly everything that I have always been curious about how to make, and the best part is that it kept stuff simple (including ingredients). I found it to be similar to the Reader's Digest do-it-yourself guides, where they give you suggestions about essential tools and ingredients and also a lot of explanation for even doing simple things. It didn't have photos (bummer) and some of the recipes weren't all that exciting, but as a starting place, I thought it was good.
2. Bakewise and Cookwise by Shirley Corriher -- these books are advertised as the science of baking and cooking. They are supposed to explain why ingredients do what they do and what parts they all play. I was interested in learning about substituting applesauce for butter/oil, but alas, it didn't really get into that. I was frustated with these books. Unlike the above book, these were all of those really strange recipies and ingredients that really, I'm never going to use. Why couldn't she just explain stuff about ingredients that normal people use? I'm not sure. The books weren't a complete loss. There are some interesting tidbits in there, but overall, I didn't find them to be as useful as I had hoped.
Apparently, I am hungry all winter and like to read about cooking and baking.
I checked out the Time Traveler's Wife as a book on CD, but realized that it was the abridged version. What I listened to, I have to admit, I really didn't enjoy at all. I'm not sure what the actual book is like, but the CDs seemed to have sentence structures that would start to annoy me pretty quickly. I noticed a lot of short phrases or even one word sentences. Like, "Running. Laughing. Walking on the beach. I used to do these things." I made that up, but stuff like that...not sure I can handle much of it. Is the real book written like that too?
--diana
Neuromancer
I just finished Neuromancer, by William Gibson. Shit, that man is
good. I thought it would be kind of like Neal Stephenson, because he
writes cyberpunk and I'd heard Gibson was like the grandaddy of
cyberpunk. But he makes Stephenson seem like a cheap plastic knockoff.
Seriously, this guy has sentences, paragraphs, sometimes whole pages
that just _sing_. I found myself re-reading those parts compulsively,
gating the rhythm, hearing the words over and over in my head.
I do have to confess though, one thing pissed me off, he had a couple
characters speaking in phonetical and apostrophy-filled jamaican
accents. I know what this winning recipe needs, someone saying "mon"
every third word and dropping articles of speech left and right! Ok,
pet peeve rant, everything else about the book is great, it won both
the Hugo and the Nebula deservedly, so read it.
--k2
good. I thought it would be kind of like Neal Stephenson, because he
writes cyberpunk and I'd heard Gibson was like the grandaddy of
cyberpunk. But he makes Stephenson seem like a cheap plastic knockoff.
Seriously, this guy has sentences, paragraphs, sometimes whole pages
that just _sing_. I found myself re-reading those parts compulsively,
gating the rhythm, hearing the words over and over in my head.
I do have to confess though, one thing pissed me off, he had a couple
characters speaking in phonetical and apostrophy-filled jamaican
accents. I know what this winning recipe needs, someone saying "mon"
every third word and dropping articles of speech left and right! Ok,
pet peeve rant, everything else about the book is great, it won both
the Hugo and the Nebula deservedly, so read it.
--k2
David Sedaris, Eye of the Albatross & Blink
I read The Time Traveler's Wife and I agree with k2, it's a good romantic book. Similar to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button if anyone has seen the movie (also recommended, btw).
Im not reading as much as I used to right now, Im trying to study for the LEED professional exam, but I read David Sedaris' latest book, When You are Engulfed in Flames. Funny, but not nearly as good as his other books. His stuff definitely became less funny the more popular he got. Naked will remain my favorite book by him.
Books I read a long time ago but never did a proper water polo review....
Eye of the Albatross by Carl Safina
I was reading this basically all summer, I think you all saw me with it at some point. Carl Safina is basically my sister's hero and she highly recommended the book, and for a conservationist book, it's very well written. it describes albatrosses in the pacific ocean and the routes they fly throughout the pacific. They can actually fly while sleeping and go hundreds of miles from any land every day. But Safina also describes the efforts of scientists and volunteers throughout islands in the pacific and gives a hopeful message that what we as a species have done to the marine environment can be reversed. It's refreshing to hear a positive message about humans' impact on the environment.
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Apparently I can't really get into fiction anymore. It just doesn't hold my interest. Blink is all about how we make snap judgements, what it means to have a gut reaction to something and how our unconscious beliefs we don't even know we have affect our decisions. It's pretty nuts. The one thing that sticks with me the most about it is the description of a test where a person's face flashes on the screen and in a split second you have to hit a button 'good' or 'bad'. Black and white people both in that split second say the black faces are 'bad' the majority of the time. This one guy did the test online every day just to see if he could change it at all, but he couldnt, until one day when his black/white/good/bad was basically even and it was because he had been watching track and field in the olympics all day aka an extremely positive view of black people. I think the kids growing up right now may have vastly different results with this test after 4 (or 8?) years of Obama. Should be interesting....
Im not reading as much as I used to right now, Im trying to study for the LEED professional exam, but I read David Sedaris' latest book, When You are Engulfed in Flames. Funny, but not nearly as good as his other books. His stuff definitely became less funny the more popular he got. Naked will remain my favorite book by him.
Books I read a long time ago but never did a proper water polo review....
Eye of the Albatross by Carl Safina
I was reading this basically all summer, I think you all saw me with it at some point. Carl Safina is basically my sister's hero and she highly recommended the book, and for a conservationist book, it's very well written. it describes albatrosses in the pacific ocean and the routes they fly throughout the pacific. They can actually fly while sleeping and go hundreds of miles from any land every day. But Safina also describes the efforts of scientists and volunteers throughout islands in the pacific and gives a hopeful message that what we as a species have done to the marine environment can be reversed. It's refreshing to hear a positive message about humans' impact on the environment.
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Apparently I can't really get into fiction anymore. It just doesn't hold my interest. Blink is all about how we make snap judgements, what it means to have a gut reaction to something and how our unconscious beliefs we don't even know we have affect our decisions. It's pretty nuts. The one thing that sticks with me the most about it is the description of a test where a person's face flashes on the screen and in a split second you have to hit a button 'good' or 'bad'. Black and white people both in that split second say the black faces are 'bad' the majority of the time. This one guy did the test online every day just to see if he could change it at all, but he couldnt, until one day when his black/white/good/bad was basically even and it was because he had been watching track and field in the olympics all day aka an extremely positive view of black people. I think the kids growing up right now may have vastly different results with this test after 4 (or 8?) years of Obama. Should be interesting....
The Time Traveler's Wife, Time's Arrow & Fabric of the Cosmos
I finished 3 time-related books recently. The Time Traveler's Wife was
definitely the best of them. I mean, as long as you're also an
incurable romantic struggling in vain with the apparent conflict of
free will and belief in fate and destiny. Seriously, read this book.
Maybe not in public if you mind people seeing you cry (it's not a
question of if, but when), but definitely get to it.
The other two were ok. One was called Time's Arrow and had this guy
who was experiencing time backwards stuck in this other guy's head. It
was weird at first, the guy is a doctor so to the backwards traveling
dude had this bad impression of him at first, because the doctor kept
taking these healthy people and slowly, piece by piece, fucking them
up, until eventually in one magnificent healing event like a mugging
or raping or something they would get healthy again. Later on though
everything starts making sense to the backwards traveler, because it
turns out the doctor was a nazi, and by withdrawing just one syringe
of fluid, or gas, from the body of his patients, he could bring them
back to life and send them on their way. So yeah. Don't all run out to
read it at once.
The last one was pop science, kinda like A Brief History Of Time,
called Fabric of the Cosmos. The author goes into more detail on
relativity which was exciting, but then later on he wanders off into
string theory and like nine million different theories that can't be
proven by experiment any time soon. One of the exciting ones though
was if gravity is leaking into other dimensions we might be able to
detect it, and the other dimensions might be much bigger than we
thought, like as big as a 10th of a millimeter, which is huge! But
nobody has found any leakage yet. I hope there is a leakage and we can
communicate with aliens in the other dimensions by fucking with
gravity in systematic ways and having them send gravity signals back.
That would be sweet. I'll have to ask Jaffar though if he thinks
there's any chance that could ever happen.
Vanessa, I will probably not watch the Twilight movie with you, but my
little sister might, she blogged about it a little while back.
--k2
definitely the best of them. I mean, as long as you're also an
incurable romantic struggling in vain with the apparent conflict of
free will and belief in fate and destiny. Seriously, read this book.
Maybe not in public if you mind people seeing you cry (it's not a
question of if, but when), but definitely get to it.
The other two were ok. One was called Time's Arrow and had this guy
who was experiencing time backwards stuck in this other guy's head. It
was weird at first, the guy is a doctor so to the backwards traveling
dude had this bad impression of him at first, because the doctor kept
taking these healthy people and slowly, piece by piece, fucking them
up, until eventually in one magnificent healing event like a mugging
or raping or something they would get healthy again. Later on though
everything starts making sense to the backwards traveler, because it
turns out the doctor was a nazi, and by withdrawing just one syringe
of fluid, or gas, from the body of his patients, he could bring them
back to life and send them on their way. So yeah. Don't all run out to
read it at once.
The last one was pop science, kinda like A Brief History Of Time,
called Fabric of the Cosmos. The author goes into more detail on
relativity which was exciting, but then later on he wanders off into
string theory and like nine million different theories that can't be
proven by experiment any time soon. One of the exciting ones though
was if gravity is leaking into other dimensions we might be able to
detect it, and the other dimensions might be much bigger than we
thought, like as big as a 10th of a millimeter, which is huge! But
nobody has found any leakage yet. I hope there is a leakage and we can
communicate with aliens in the other dimensions by fucking with
gravity in systematic ways and having them send gravity signals back.
That would be sweet. I'll have to ask Jaffar though if he thinks
there's any chance that could ever happen.
Vanessa, I will probably not watch the Twilight movie with you, but my
little sister might, she blogged about it a little while back.
--k2
Twilight
Finished up Stephanie Meyer's Twilight on the plane right home. The paperback version has the large font that makes you feel like you're in grade school again.
Admittedly, the plot line also made me feel like I was in grade school most of the time. A girl starts at a new school, crushes on a mysterious boy, you've heard it all before. The part that is supposed to be unique I knew already from reading the cover, and from watching ads for the movie: the boy's a vampire. And there you have the first 90% of the book.
Despite most of the book being entirely unsurprising, I absolutely loved every second of it. Maybe it just won out on my subconscious cost benefit analysis super easily because the book was such an easy and quick read, and I was mildly entertained the whole time. Or maybe Stephie Meyer is such a genius that she can make basic events funny and interesting. Or maybe I just miss being in grade school. Who knows.
Even if you hate the first 90% of the book, it's probably worth fighting through it to get to the last 10% of the book which is AWESOME.
Anybody want to go watch the movie with me?
--vanessa
Admittedly, the plot line also made me feel like I was in grade school most of the time. A girl starts at a new school, crushes on a mysterious boy, you've heard it all before. The part that is supposed to be unique I knew already from reading the cover, and from watching ads for the movie: the boy's a vampire. And there you have the first 90% of the book.
Despite most of the book being entirely unsurprising, I absolutely loved every second of it. Maybe it just won out on my subconscious cost benefit analysis super easily because the book was such an easy and quick read, and I was mildly entertained the whole time. Or maybe Stephie Meyer is such a genius that she can make basic events funny and interesting. Or maybe I just miss being in grade school. Who knows.
Even if you hate the first 90% of the book, it's probably worth fighting through it to get to the last 10% of the book which is AWESOME.
Anybody want to go watch the movie with me?
--vanessa
The Last Lecture, Bonk & The Big Necessity: The unmentionable world of human waste and why it matters
I too hate it when authors are way too impressed with themselves. It doesn't even have to be the author, main characters like that also really drive me crazy. Tuesdays with Morrie? Awful. I don't like being preached too. Amazingly enough, The Last Lecture didn't bother me nearly as much as I thought it would...I even teared up towards the end.
I'm impressed that you could get through the whole book when you disliked it. I can't do that. Maybe you should read a different memoir rather than another from this author. That way, you'll be able to know if it's memoirs that you don't like or just this guy.
If you're looking for some good non-fiction, non-memoir books, I would recommend:
Bonk: The curious coupling of science and sex by Mary Roach -- Acadia suggested this to me and I really enjoyed it. Drew said that you probably wouldn't need to read the whole book to enjoy it, you could just read the footnotes, which are hilarious. I would also recommend going to the first page of every chapter, reading the title of that chapter, and then looking at the accompanying photograph.
The Big Necessity: The unmentionable world of human waste and why it matters by Rose George -- This book is all about shit. I have learned more than I ever needed to know about sanitation, India, and my drinking water, but it's one of those books that sort of make you realize that you are better off being aware of our shitty problem. My only beef with the book is that the end is not nearly as exciting as the beginning. The author sort of goes on and on about open-defecation and other sanitation problems, but in the end, can't really offer a solution other than awareness of sanitation issues is a good start. The bad thing is that this book made me realize that there is one more thing on a long long list of infrastructures that are in need of being updated/created. Good luck to Obama. He has a rough 4-8 years ahead of him.
--diana
I'm impressed that you could get through the whole book when you disliked it. I can't do that. Maybe you should read a different memoir rather than another from this author. That way, you'll be able to know if it's memoirs that you don't like or just this guy.
If you're looking for some good non-fiction, non-memoir books, I would recommend:
Bonk: The curious coupling of science and sex by Mary Roach -- Acadia suggested this to me and I really enjoyed it. Drew said that you probably wouldn't need to read the whole book to enjoy it, you could just read the footnotes, which are hilarious. I would also recommend going to the first page of every chapter, reading the title of that chapter, and then looking at the accompanying photograph.
The Big Necessity: The unmentionable world of human waste and why it matters by Rose George -- This book is all about shit. I have learned more than I ever needed to know about sanitation, India, and my drinking water, but it's one of those books that sort of make you realize that you are better off being aware of our shitty problem. My only beef with the book is that the end is not nearly as exciting as the beginning. The author sort of goes on and on about open-defecation and other sanitation problems, but in the end, can't really offer a solution other than awareness of sanitation issues is a good start. The bad thing is that this book made me realize that there is one more thing on a long long list of infrastructures that are in need of being updated/created. Good luck to Obama. He has a rough 4-8 years ahead of him.
--diana
Running with Scissors
this past weekend, i read running with scissors. its a memoir. the overwhelming feeling i took away from it is that i'm not a big fan of memoirs. or maybe just this memoir. there's a feeling of self-satisfaction dripping off the author that bothered me. and also his constant reminiscing about the times that his friends told him he should be a writer, and he said that it was a bad a idea. as if he would like us, his audience to understand and marvel at the fact that his genius was bursting forth at an early age, even before he could recognize it in himself.
despite these facts, i will probably read his second book. there are two reasons for this - one, there were brief moments of genius. i'd be willing to say that at the sentence level, burroughs does some wonderful things. maybe even at paragraph level. two, i'd like to believe that i'm wrong in my initial assessment. eternal optimism > haterade.
--jay
despite these facts, i will probably read his second book. there are two reasons for this - one, there were brief moments of genius. i'd be willing to say that at the sentence level, burroughs does some wonderful things. maybe even at paragraph level. two, i'd like to believe that i'm wrong in my initial assessment. eternal optimism > haterade.
--jay
A Scanner Darkly
A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick
This book kicked ass, it's definitely worth it's reputation as a
classic. Stylistically and thematically I caught myself reminiscing
about A Clockwork Orange sometimes, and then he goes and lays some
heavy shit down on you with his dedication at the end. Definitely read
this book.
--k2
This book kicked ass, it's definitely worth it's reputation as a
classic. Stylistically and thematically I caught myself reminiscing
about A Clockwork Orange sometimes, and then he goes and lays some
heavy shit down on you with his dedication at the end. Definitely read
this book.
--k2
Man Without a Country & Zodiac
I finished two other polos recently. They were ok but I don't really
recommend them.
Man Without A Country - Kurt Vonnegut
This was mostly Kurt rambling about life, the universe, and the Bush
administration. There are some funny parts but it's mostly things you
already know like, americans are raping the planet and don't seem to
care, told to you very eloquently.
Zodiac - Neal Stephenson
Not his best work. All of Stephenson's protagonists are badasses, but
this kind of reads like, "and then he took speed instead of sleeping,
and then he figured out everything that was a mystery up until now,
and then some people tried to kill him so he tried to kill them back,
and then he took acid instead of sleeping, and then he figured out
everything else that was a mystery up until now, and then the book
ended and you were glad."
--k2
recommend them.
Man Without A Country - Kurt Vonnegut
This was mostly Kurt rambling about life, the universe, and the Bush
administration. There are some funny parts but it's mostly things you
already know like, americans are raping the planet and don't seem to
care, told to you very eloquently.
Zodiac - Neal Stephenson
Not his best work. All of Stephenson's protagonists are badasses, but
this kind of reads like, "and then he took speed instead of sleeping,
and then he figured out everything that was a mystery up until now,
and then some people tried to kill him so he tried to kill them back,
and then he took acid instead of sleeping, and then he figured out
everything else that was a mystery up until now, and then the book
ended and you were glad."
--k2
Nightwatch & The Professor and the Madman
All right Water Polo members, I'm going to read a Terry Pratchett book. I've never read him, but I heard he was really funny and I like funny books. Little did I know, his writings are not only supposed to be funny, but they are listed in the sci-fi/fantasy genre.
There's a series that he wrote called "Discworld" and my library doesn't have too many of his books in, so I just grabbed one ("Night Watch") as sort of a trial book.
...
So far my book talks about witches and the phantom of the opera. It's entertaining, but Pratchett might not be a book club repeat.
My friend Hilary also suggested that I read this book:
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
She said that it's about one of the men who helped to put the Oxford Dictionary together and, as the title suggests, he is quite insane. I think that it's a true story, but it might be historical fiction. I would have to check. I'm not sure what about the book makes her think that I would like it, but she seemed very sure that it's something I would enjoy and I trust her.
--diana
There's a series that he wrote called "Discworld" and my library doesn't have too many of his books in, so I just grabbed one ("Night Watch") as sort of a trial book.
...
So far my book talks about witches and the phantom of the opera. It's entertaining, but Pratchett might not be a book club repeat.
My friend Hilary also suggested that I read this book:
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
She said that it's about one of the men who helped to put the Oxford Dictionary together and, as the title suggests, he is quite insane. I think that it's a true story, but it might be historical fiction. I would have to check. I'm not sure what about the book makes her think that I would like it, but she seemed very sure that it's something I would enjoy and I trust her.
--diana
Truckers & Diggers
if i remember correctly, at some point during my childhood i read 'truckers' and 'diggers', which were pretty good, and by pratchett. but then again, i was a kid. so they might have been good in a way that only 10 year olds can appreciate. but there were nomes!
--jay
--jay
Feeling Very Strange & Another Roadside Attraction
Two that I just finished and loved were:
Feeling Very Strange - an anthology of a pseudo-genre called "slipstream", edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel.
Short stories with varying elements of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. A really good read.
Another Roadside Attraction - by Tom Robbins.
Super trippy, as Tom Robbins does. I found my own vocabulary to be much increased in periods just after reading, because of Robbins' excessive and obsessive variety. Also I thoroughly fell in love with Amanda, which is unequivocally what the story is about.
--k2
Feeling Very Strange - an anthology of a pseudo-genre called "slipstream", edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel.
Short stories with varying elements of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. A really good read.
Another Roadside Attraction - by Tom Robbins.
Super trippy, as Tom Robbins does. I found my own vocabulary to be much increased in periods just after reading, because of Robbins' excessive and obsessive variety. Also I thoroughly fell in love with Amanda, which is unequivocally what the story is about.
--k2
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