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June 08
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August 19, 2007
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Dave Seah
added:
Nobody's Perfect: Writings from The New Yorker (Paperback)
by
Anthony Lane
bookshelves:
to-reread
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my rating:
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Dave said:
"My buddy Alen introduced me to Anthony Lane, who was one of my favorite movie reviewers in The New Yorker. Not that I read the New Yorker often, but when I do I always look to see if there's a review by this guy.
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August 17, 2007
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Dave Seah
gave  to:
Red Prophet (Tales of Alvin Maker #2)
by
Orson Scott Card
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my rating:
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Dave said:
"I liked the first book the Alvin Maker series, Seventh Son well enough for its folksy look at a young alternative America, filled with homespun magic knacks and big families dreaming even bigger of a better life. In Red Prophet, we get to see the fli...more
I liked the first book the Alvin Maker series, Seventh Son well enough for its folksy look at a young alternative America, filled with homespun magic knacks and big families dreaming even bigger of a better life. In Red Prophet, we get to see the flipside of the white man's knackery compared to those of the red man. It's a fascinating portrait of good versus evil, drawn along the fault lines of selfishness, ambition, misplaced good intentions, ignorance, and principle. The characters in the book, many of which you'd recognize from history, all have their own agendas and motivations, and Card takes us deep into their reasoning and nature of conflict. People just want to live their lives, most of the time, but the way they live them invariably steps on someone else's idea of what that means...the end result, on the Tippecanoe river, filled me with sadness. This is an alternative history of America, mind you, so the events portrayed will be different from what you read in history books. It is, however, imagined with great heart. Red Prophet is, I think, the best of of this six book series. (less)
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Dave Seah
marked as to-read:
Cloud Atlas (Paperback)
by
David Mitchell
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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July 28, 2007
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Dave Seah
gave to:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7)
by
J.K. Rowling
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my rating:
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read in July, 2007
Dave said:
"Part of me is thinking I shouldn't be throwin' around the 5 star rating so casually, but I was gripped all the way through. A few things struck me about the book:
* People die, the way they do...suddenly, unexpectedly.
* The psy...more
Part of me is thinking I shouldn't be throwin' around the 5 star rating so casually, but I was gripped all the way through. A few things struck me about the book:
* People die, the way they do...suddenly, unexpectedly.
* The psychology of friendship and social forces is not spelled out, but is ever present. It's a book about moral choices and getting beyond surface impressions, and goes out of its way to make sure they're not easy.
I'm impressed. More later once I'm done processing it.(less)
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July 23, 2007
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Dave Seah
gave  to:
Over Sea, Under Stone (The Dark Is Rising, Book 1)
by
Susan Cooper
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my rating:
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read in January, 1981
Dave said:
"I can't remember when I first came across this book, but I think it was passed to my sis and I by a nice Canadian missionary lady at the seminary we were growing up on. I remember being enthralled by it, as I was big into the Arthurian legend stuff v...more
I can't remember when I first came across this book, but I think it was passed to my sis and I by a nice Canadian missionary lady at the seminary we were growing up on. I remember being enthralled by it, as I was big into the Arthurian legend stuff via T.H. White's "The Sword in the Stone" and following series.
I recently bought this book again while hanging out at the Harry Potter VII release at Borders, passing the time. It's a fun read, though I found myself skipping passages to just find out what was going on. It might just be that I was trying to get the book out of the way, and wasn't in the mood to savor the read like I do with other books. (less)
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Dave Seah
gave  to:
Seventh Son (Tales of Alvin Maker #1)
by
Orson Scott Card
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my rating:
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read in January, 2007
Dave said:
"I was talking to a friend about a book she was reading that had folksy expressions in it, and I remembered the "Alvin Maker" series from Orson Scott Card. I'd forgotten how it's one of my favorite books. I like the depiction of an early alt...more
I was talking to a friend about a book she was reading that had folksy expressions in it, and I remembered the "Alvin Maker" series from Orson Scott Card. I'd forgotten how it's one of my favorite books. I like the depiction of an early alternative America with hard-working people speaking plainly to each other, the undercurrent of magic and good and evil, and the family life. It's also a story about a young boy growing into his talent and his mission (a common theme with OSC), and I just about always enjoy the journey. I see a lot of myself reflected in this book.(less)
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July 22, 2007
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Dave Seah
gave to:
Pattern Recognition (Paperback)
by
William Gibson
bookshelves:
to-reread
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my rating:
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read in January, 2003
Dave said:
"I has an affinity for cyberpunk stories, which is how I know Gibson's work. I feel a certain distance, though, between his characters and the world they are caught up in; the language is scintillating, but it feels very "surface" to me. Pat...more
I has an affinity for cyberpunk stories, which is how I know Gibson's work. I feel a certain distance, though, between his characters and the world they are caught up in; the language is scintillating, but it feels very "surface" to me. Pattern Recognition was the first of his novels that really spoke to me perhaps because the main character reflected a lot of what I was going through, and my own confusion with my emerging values versus the identity I wanted to step into. I enjoyed the book immensely, and it left a lingering impression (hence the 4 stars). I should reread it and write a real review.(less)
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