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September 04
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Reid
gave
 
to:
Flow, My Tears, the Policeman Said (Paperback)
by Philip K. Dick
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Reid said:
"4.5 stars. A damn good dystopic novel about identity and celebrity, as well a twisted police state. I read this book essentially in a day, on a long bus trip to northern Sichuan. The characters are pretty sweet, typically cynical and asshole chara...more
4.5 stars. A damn good dystopic novel about identity and celebrity, as well a twisted police state. I read this book essentially in a day, on a long bus trip to northern Sichuan. The characters are pretty sweet, typically cynical and asshole charatcers for Dick. I found this book really easy to get into, a real gripper, with a whopper of an ending. The Man in the High Castle may be better but this one is damn good....less
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Reid
gave
to:
Tai-Pan (Mass Market Paperback)
by James Clavell
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Reid said:
"A good historical/swashbuckling romp, depicting the foundation of Hong Kong. It's a pretty fun read, good for bus trips and plane rides.
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August 16
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Reid
gave
to:
China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power (Paperback)
by Nicholas D. Kristof
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Reid said:
"A strong, well-written journalistic piece of China-watching from the late 1980s and early 1990s. It appears that China has continued on the trend of "gradual evolution," with a rising middle-class, increased competition in business and a m...more
A strong, well-written journalistic piece of China-watching from the late 1980s and early 1990s. It appears that China has continued on the trend of "gradual evolution," with a rising middle-class, increased competition in business and a more liberal society. I enjoyed the book, it is very readable and quite critical of China but interesting as a period piece. A good read....less
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August 11
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Reid
gave
to:
Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1)
by Robin Hobb
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: fantasy dorks
read in August, 2008
Reid said:
"I was quite sceptical of the book before I began but once I got around 50 pages in, I couldn't put the book down. The format (coming-of-age, first-person perspective) is a bit standard but the emotional development and the well-crafted twists are en...more
I was quite sceptical of the book before I began but once I got around 50 pages in, I couldn't put the book down. The format (coming-of-age, first-person perspective) is a bit standard but the emotional development and the well-crafted twists are enjoyable and rewarding for a careful reader with a good memory. I'll be reading the rest of the series and am very interested in seeing more of the Red-ship raiders. ...less
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July 27
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Reid
gave
to:
The Warrior Prophet (The Prince of Nothing, Book 2)
by R. Scott Bakker
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Reid said:
"This what a good sequel should be: a slow, climactic build on the foundation of the first book, eliciting more, complex emotions from the readers, slowly illuminating more aspects of the central characters, a moderate addition of new perspectives, an...more
This what a good sequel should be: a slow, climactic build on the foundation of the first book, eliciting more, complex emotions from the readers, slowly illuminating more aspects of the central characters, a moderate addition of new perspectives, and, most important in fantasy novels, a richer and wider understanding of the world the story is couched in. For those of you who know George R.R. Martin (the best fantasy writer since Tolkien), Bakker really deserves to be in the conversation, and in some ways, he is more staisfying, especially the knowledge that the series has been finished, allowing a seamless experience of the story. The Holy War becomes more than before, with some terrific battles and more bone-chilling moments, plot twists and deaths. This is some good shit, I read for about 7 hours of my flight across the Pacific, only slept for about an hour in 24 hrs of travel. ...less
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July 16
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Reid
gave
to:
The Tortilla Curtain (Paperback)
by T.C. Boyle
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Reid said:
"If you haven't read T.C. Boyle yet, start. Nw. Drop City is phenomenal, but this is a more serious book, a 1991 take on Southern California that rings very true for this era (recession, plummeting real estate costs, a Republican-dominated political...more
If you haven't read T.C. Boyle yet, start. Nw. Drop City is phenomenal, but this is a more serious book, a 1991 take on Southern California that rings very true for this era (recession, plummeting real estate costs, a Republican-dominated political scene, etc). Anyway, its about two couples, one rich, white, upper class (he's a nature writer, she's a real estate agent) and a Mexican day laborer. Basically, both of their lives go to shit, they run into each other and essentially cause havoc in each other's lives, the book becomes more and more depressing until the final sentence. Read this, or at least read some Boyle. There may be a few living American writers I like as much as him: Chabon, Eugenides, uh, thats it I guess. And homeboy is prolific. Check his shit out, economical with the word choice, fully-developed characters and depressing as fuck when it comes to the human condition. Amazing....less
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July 10
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Reid
gave
to:
The Darkness That Comes Before (The Prince of Nothing, Book 1)
by R. Scott Bakker
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: fantasy lovers, history nerds, religion dorks
read in July, 2008
Reid said:
"I approached this book with some skepticism after reading some disheartening amazon reviews. But I was really surprised by how much the world drew me in. Much like George R. R. Martin, with whom the comparison is justified, Bakker gives us his worl...more
I approached this book with some skepticism after reading some disheartening amazon reviews. But I was really surprised by how much the world drew me in. Much like George R. R. Martin, with whom the comparison is justified, Bakker gives us his world as it occurs to the characters, without any bunk exposition or textbook-style re-telling of events to get us caught up. Instead, we wonder, (what is the Tusk? how does magic work here? etc) seeing only a corner of the vast tapestry at a time. The maps and appendices in the back are quite helpful and the first couple hundred pages are a constant back-and-forth to keep the names straight (think War and Peace). And while this may not be the best written book I've ever read, its a damn good page-turner, a gradual building of tension and excitement, such that, yesterday when I realized I would finish so soon, I looked around in all the area's bookstores, used and new, and couldn't find the second or third books, thus forcing me to order them from amazon. Ever notice how really good books usually don't end up in used bookstores? This is either because a. people don't resell them or b. the employees swoop them up before they even hit the shelves. Try to find more Philip K Dick books than Androids or Minority Report in a used bookstore. Anyway, back to the book: this is excellent high fantasy, replete with power struggles, religion, history and diverse P.O.V. characters. And the parallels with our world are pretty damn sweet, its all men fighting, got the usual men destroying each other theme, etc. I cannot wait to read the second and third books, this is a damn good trilogy thus far. ...less
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July 01
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New comment on Reid's review of
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
(see all 2 comments)
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Reid
gave
to:
War of the End of the World (Paperback)
by Mario Vargas-Llosa
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Reid said:
"This is the first book by Vargas Llosa I've read. I was impressed by his varying and diverse characters, his descriptive prose and his refusal to give his characters a moral high ground over one another. The book slows down quite a bit after the fi...more
This is the first book by Vargas Llosa I've read. I was impressed by his varying and diverse characters, his descriptive prose and his refusal to give his characters a moral high ground over one another. The book slows down quite a bit after the first hundred pages or so, but continued diligence pays off, especially as the conflict becomes more and more imminent. A tough read but excellent, and a great view of Brazilian culture as it transitions from slavery to the twentieth century. ...less
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May 20
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Reid
gave
to:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Hardcover)
by Junot Díaz
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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recommended for: anyone/nerds
read in May, 2008
Reid said:
"It's very easy to floss about how tight a book is after it's won a massive award like the Pulitzer. So I won't say that my job is hard here, but that unlike some critically-acclaimed novels, this one delivers. Diaz is comfortable in his own skin, i...more
It's very easy to floss about how tight a book is after it's won a massive award like the Pulitzer. So I won't say that my job is hard here, but that unlike some critically-acclaimed novels, this one delivers. Diaz is comfortable in his own skin, in being who he is, much like Oscar. But I think the narrator, Yunior, shows us the other side of the author, the player, the popular cat out at the parties. I think Diaz is a two-faced coin, spinning on a table, waiting for a passer-by to snatch it up to see which face comes up heads. The use of narrative voice in this novel is really splendid, as is the Dominican history which none of us know. Really quite eye-opening.
Wao follows in the mold of many immigrant novels, tracing back the ancestors diaspora and being clear to draw comparisons across many genres. The author's references should be caught by many well-versed in the lore of Scifi and fantasy but also just readers in general. Here's the thing that makes this novel so much better than others: if you miss the reference, it's so brief and fleeting it doesn't matter. The natural arc of the story drags the reader in, the references and metaphors just toppings on the sundae for those who manage to catch them.
I can't really think of much more to say, other than buy this book. I finished it in less than a week and was reading it at stoplights. A book has gotta be good to put one in physical danger/run the risk of getting a ticket for something as stupid as reading and driving....less
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Ancient World
— 40 members
— last activity 7 days ago, 05:21PM
