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December 07
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Andy
gave
 
to:
Starship (Paperback)
by Brian W. Aldiss
bookshelves:
sci-fi
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my rating:
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read in December, 2007
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December 06
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Andy
gave
to:
Don't Stop the Carnival: A Novel (Paperback)
by Herman Wouk
bookshelves:
contemporary
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in January, 2007
Andy said:
"Man what a book to read when you're on the verge of a mid-life crises. This book is another from my book club, The Irregulars. I found it a relatively easy read and had characters that I could relate to if not completely connect with. My biggest disa...more
Man what a book to read when you're on the verge of a mid-life crises. This book is another from my book club, The Irregulars. I found it a relatively easy read and had characters that I could relate to if not completely connect with. My biggest disappointment is the way it just ended, without much resolution at all.
(Update: OK, after a few months, and some reflection, I think I finally do get the ending after all.)...less
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Andy
gave
to:
A Simple Plan (Paperback)
by Scott Smith
bookshelves:
contemporary
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my rating:
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read in December, 2007
Andy said:
"My rating may seem a little harsh, but even though this book has its good points, it has some bad ones too. I guess I just had a hard time with the believability of some portions. And those plot points were crucial to the rest of the story. Now, if y...more
My rating may seem a little harsh, but even though this book has its good points, it has some bad ones too. I guess I just had a hard time with the believability of some portions. And those plot points were crucial to the rest of the story. Now, if you can overlook those, then the story moves along fairly well. The pacing is good, not necessarily a page turner, but you do want to keep reading. But then everything seems to fall apart at the end. I'm in a book club and no one seemed to be satisfied with it. It just seems like with so many directions it could have went, the author picked the exact one we didn't like. Now, that all said, the book did accomplish what I figure is one of its primary goals, namely to leave you feeling like you just woke up from a nightmare. I'd have to say it did that quite well....less
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November 27
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Andy
gave
to:
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Paperback)
by Douglas Adams
bookshelves:
sci-fi
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my rating:
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read in October, 2007
Andy said:
"Great fun, especially the first couple of books. Slows down towards the end though. Adams' humour kept me chuckling out loud, I'm sure leaving my fellow diner's wondering what was so funny. Unfortunately, it did start to get old by the fourth book. P...more
Great fun, especially the first couple of books. Slows down towards the end though. Adams' humour kept me chuckling out loud, I'm sure leaving my fellow diner's wondering what was so funny. Unfortunately, it did start to get old by the fourth book. Possibly, if they had been read individually, with a break in between, this might not have been so bad, but this IS the Ultimate collection, so that's what you have. Still, it is nice to not have to buy a bunch of books to get a complete series....less
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Andy
gave
to:
Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire Trilogy, Book 1)
by C.S. Friedman
bookshelves:
fantasy,
sci-fi
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my rating:
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read in November, 2007
Andy said:
"When fantasy and science-fiction meet, you get the Coldfire Trilogy. This first book might have stood alone except for a paragraph or two in the last chapter. Yeah, there were loose ends, but aren't there always. So the story might have ended except ...more
When fantasy and science-fiction meet, you get the Coldfire Trilogy. This first book might have stood alone except for a paragraph or two in the last chapter. Yeah, there were loose ends, but aren't there always. So the story might have ended except for those couple of paragraphs, but isn't it grand that they didn't.
Anyway, the story really picks up the concept of the dark hero. One of the main characters, the primary antagonist I would say, has pretty much 'sold his soul to the devil'. He is by nature evil and as much as you want to just hate him for it, like the protaganist in the story, you just can't. You need him too much....less
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Andy
gave
to:
The Demolished Man (Paperback)
by Alfred Bester
bookshelves:
sci-fi
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in November, 2007
Andy said:
"This has been on my list of books to read for quite a while and I must say it did not disappoint. Well written with characters you care about. A good murder mystery with a bit more going on. The story takes place in a well realized future that is com...more
This has been on my list of books to read for quite a while and I must say it did not disappoint. Well written with characters you care about. A good murder mystery with a bit more going on. The story takes place in a well realized future that is complete in its imagining. I'd recommend it as a good, easy read....less
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October 14
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Andy
gave
to:
The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (Hardcover)
by John Grisham
bookshelves:
contemporary
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in October, 2007
Andy said:
"This book seemed to be written to make a point. It apparently is Grisham's first foray into non-fiction, and while I don't exactly love his fiction, I'd have preferred it to this. The story is told in a 'just the facts' manner that for the first two ...more
This book seemed to be written to make a point. It apparently is Grisham's first foray into non-fiction, and while I don't exactly love his fiction, I'd have preferred it to this. The story is told in a 'just the facts' manner that for the first two thirds leaves you completely non-invested. I just couldn't bring myself to care for the characters involved. Finally, in the last third, the book picks up a bit, but finally, leaves you wondering why. It just seems that the wrong character is picked to be the central character. And the only reason I can see that the less than sympathetic of the two wrongly convicted men is picked, is that the one ended up on death row while the other 'only' got life in prison.
And I guess that's the biggest problem. There's a point trying to be made in the book, about how bad capitol punishment is because the innocent are convicted. But upon review, you realize that much is left out to make this point. You never really get to see the other side, the point of view of those 'evil' police and prosecuters. So many questions that might have put them in a better understanding seem to be left unasked....less
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Andy
gave
to:
Double Star (Mass Market Paperback)
by Robert A. Heinlein
bookshelves:
sci-fi
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2007
Andy said:
"This was an interesting story with reasonably good story telling that you would expect from Heinlein. The characters were a bit flat to me, but likable. The pacing was good and the ending didn't frustrate you even if it was a bit predictable.
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Andy
gave
to:
Brave New World (Paperback)
by Aldous Huxley
bookshelves:
sci-fi
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in August, 2007
Andy said:
"I left this book in a somewhat disturbed state of mind. It raised so many questions. Does a modern society need a God? Is happiness better than nobility? Is stability better than creativity? All of this makes you think and in the end, the author neve...more
I left this book in a somewhat disturbed state of mind. It raised so many questions. Does a modern society need a God? Is happiness better than nobility? Is stability better than creativity? All of this makes you think and in the end, the author never really answers the question. The administrators of this 'utopian' future make their case and make it well. The discontents try to argue against it, as might we if we were suddenly dropped into this society, but their arguments always have a reasonable answer. Always there is an end that justifies the means. So in the end, the questions remain. While we may not want to accept this future, can we come up with any better arguments against it? And aren't we already heading this direction, subtly, slowly, inexorably....less
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July 07
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Andy
gave
to:
The Dante Club: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
by Matthew Pearl
bookshelves:
contemporary
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in January, 2006
Andy said:
"Not my least favorite book club (The Irregulars) choice, but not my favorite. The story had interesting characters, based on historical persons, and a fairly interesting mystery to solve. But I never strongly connected with the characters, so I can't...more
Not my least favorite book club (The Irregulars) choice, but not my favorite. The story had interesting characters, based on historical persons, and a fairly interesting mystery to solve. But I never strongly connected with the characters, so I can't really give it over 3 stars....less
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Psi-Phai
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