Reading Hornby's collections from The Believer is like having coffee with a bookish friend, who is from England, and is hilarious. And who happens to ...moreReading Hornby's collections from The Believer is like having coffee with a bookish friend, who is from England, and is hilarious. And who happens to be a famous writer. Truly enjoyable.(less)
Three stars? I liked this book. It was very entertaining. Fast paced. I wanted to really love this book, the way I really loved The Steel Remains, but...moreThree stars? I liked this book. It was very entertaining. Fast paced. I wanted to really love this book, the way I really loved The Steel Remains, but I had one major issue.
The Cold Commands is all set up for book three, which will come out who knows when. There are a lot of forces at play, here, things hinted at and whispered about, but Morgan seems to be holding back the big boom for the next book.
After I read the next book, if it's sufficiently awesome, maybe I'll revise my rating.(less)
Asterios Polyp is a 'paper architect.' None of his designs have ever been built, but he's still widely respected. He's also super smart (too smart for...moreAsterios Polyp is a 'paper architect.' None of his designs have ever been built, but he's still widely respected. He's also super smart (too smart for his own good?) and really fun to read about. And he has a crisis. And it's beautiful.
Asterios Polyp is the first graphic novel I've really fallen in love with since I graduated from high school. It's the first one I've read that feels like it was really and truly written and drawn with an adult audience in mind. (less)
Pretty entertaining book. It's a collection of essays, basically, about Frauenfelder's efforts to get more connected to the things in his life. He gar...morePretty entertaining book. It's a collection of essays, basically, about Frauenfelder's efforts to get more connected to the things in his life. He gardens, raises chickens, builds, and tinkers. The chapters are linked by the overarching DIY philosophy.
That said, some of the writing feels a little precious, and the book actually discouraged me a bit. I'm relatively handy, but the problems the author encounters served as cautions against taking on anything too grandiose (like raising chickens in an urban or suburban setting).
But if you're interested in the 'maker revolution,' this is a good book to read as an introduction to 'making stuff.' It's relatively simple to get started. You don't have to kill your lawn to make space for a garden, as the author does. You can start by cooking more meals at home or baking your own bread. The goal is simply to be productive, to consume less, and to feel a connection with the world around you. (less)
[title: The Caine Mutiny] is a near-perfect novel. It's a great combination of a character study and an adventure story. And, because the characters (...more[title: The Caine Mutiny] is a near-perfect novel. It's a great combination of a character study and an adventure story. And, because the characters (especially Captain Queeg) are so much fun to read about, even the parts that would otherwise be boring keep you hooked.
I've read plenty of Pulitzer prize-winning novels that were less than great, but this one lives up to the hype.
One caution: don't watch the movie, or even read about the cast, before you read the novel. Some of the casting decisions are baffling, and you don't want those Hollywood actors getting in the way of your imagination.(less)
This one lost me at about the halfway point. It doesn't seem to really be about anything. I mean I guess you could say it's about how screwed Western ...moreThis one lost me at about the halfway point. It doesn't seem to really be about anything. I mean I guess you could say it's about how screwed Western culture is, but he's not very subtle in his satire, and it wasn't very satisfying, as a theme. He doesn't use his characters to bring you along to his obvious sense of despair for our future. So you just don't care. Or at least I didn't care. (less)
Tom Perrotta took a chance with The Leftovers (which I received through the Goodreads Firstreads program). The setting and characters are familiar (su...moreTom Perrotta took a chance with The Leftovers (which I received through the Goodreads Firstreads program). The setting and characters are familiar (suburbia and suburbanites), but he adds a major dose of the supernatural to the mix: a Rapture-like event known as the Sudden Departure. (I'm not giving anything away here; this is all on the book jacket and in the prologue.)
The Leftovers, as the title implies, is about those who are left behind, to borrow a phrase from that other book about the Rapture. But here's the catch, many of the people whom one would expect to be included in the disappearance (i.e. practicing Christians) were among the leftovers, and many people who were not believers at all, or who led 'immoral' lives, were among the departed.
So how do normal people deal with an event of this magnitude? Many of them join cults, apparently. And many of them begin to ignore the old rules.
And this was my one problem with the book: the characters seemed too normal. It took me a long time to really identify with them.
Having said that, I did begin to identify with them and care about them, and I was surprised by how everything wrapped up. Perrotta also succeeds in introducing a certain amount of dread in the middle section of the book, which keeps you reading happily.
All in all, the story flows effortlessly, and it's enjoyable reading. I only wish Perrotta had invested more imagination in his characters and a little less in the speculative aspects of the story. In the end, this is a story about people rebuilding their lives after a devastating loss, and it's about finding something to live for when everything you believe turns out to be wrong.
Speculative fiction, done correctly, is just a different way of looking at the world we live in today, and that's the best way to read this book. We're caught in a culture divided in two: one group smugly believes they have access to Absolute Truth, and the other group lives under the burden of nihilism. Maybe the way to reconcile these two camps is to agree that there is something way bigger than us out there, something we'll never understand, but to which we owe a great measure of respect, even awe.
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