Courtney's profile

44 ratings | 44 reviews
avg rating: 3.89

Courtney's bookshelves

read (44)

currently-reading (2)

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Courtney is currently reading

	07/12 Courtney is currently reading: Annual Reports 101 (Paperback) by Michael C. Thomsett bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
	Courtney said: "Because that's how I roll. I'm wild and crazy like that. Annual boo-yah. " add a comment
	01/10 Courtney is currently reading: A History of Chinese Civilization (Paperback) by Jacques Gernet bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
	Courtney said: "I'm trying to learn about ancient Chinese and Asian history this year. It was a 2008 resolution. I'd love other book recommendations if anyone stumbles upon this and has insight. " add a comment

Courtney's recent updates (rss)

July 19

Courtney marked as to-read:
The Princess Bride (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
by William Goldman
bookshelves: to-read

my rating:

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Courtney marked as to-read:
V. (Perennial Classics)
by Thomas Pynchon
bookshelves: to-read

my rating:

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Courtney read and liked Aerin's review of V.:

"I've been meaning to tackle Pynchon for some years now, because everything I'd read about him made it seem like his books would be right up my alley.

I should have known, however, not to start reading him now, when I'm crazy-busy with schoo...more I've been meaning to tackle Pynchon for some years now, because everything I'd read about him made it seem like his books would be right up my alley.

I should have known, however, not to start reading him now, when I'm crazy-busy with school and work. Pynchon is famously difficult and dense, and I just don't have the time to devote to serious reading these days. I kept telling myself, "After summer term finishes up, then we can get into some more meaty novels."

But I went to the library last week, and V. was staring at me from the shelf, looking deceptively slim next to the behemoth of Gravity's Rainbow, saying, "Come on, read me! I'm just a little book! You'll find the time!"

You, book, are a lying little bastard. I didn't get any homework done all week. And yet, I almost don't care, because this book kicked my ass in a way that no book has done in a long time.

I don't even know what to say V. was about, because the storyline constantly splits and meanders, flashing back and forth between different time periods, continents, and groups of characters. To give a very rudimentary summary, it follows Stencil, a man obsessed with a single paragraph that his father wrote in a diary before being killed in WWI: "There is more behind and inside V. than any of us had suspected. Not who, but what: what is she. God grant that I may never be called upon to write the answer, either here or in any official report." Without knowing why, Stencil is compelled to find out who or what V. is, and he spends all his time tracking down old documents, talking to acquaintances of his father, and traveling around the world in pursuit of her.

But it is the quirky little moments and subplots that truly make V. an addictive read: the priest who, convinced that humans are on the verge of being wiped out, retreats to the sewers to convert the rat population (who will, naturally, inherit the earth after humanity's demise). Or the beatnik bohemian artist who only ever paints cheese Danishes. Or the adventures of the New York City Alligator Patrol, who hunt the reptiles in the city sewers.

Yes, at times, the book gets tedious, and the style is occasionally impenetrable (I swear, there is a single sentence that lasts for a page and a half and contains -- I counted! -- 440 words). But this is the kind of book you can really sink your teeth into, that rewards careful attention, and that is bursting with themes and symbols and interesting characters and small threads of plot that meander, and merge, and split, and wind up utterly satisfying....less "

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Courtney gave

to:
Eon (Paperback)
by Greg Bear

my rating:

read in July, 2008

Courtney said: "Eon starts out a little off kilter and ends in a completely different universe. It's a long journey (and a long book), but also a fun, fast ride.

Greg Bear's story, written in the early '80s, is set in 2005. Bear didn't foresee the Challenger expl...more Eon starts out a little off kilter and ends in a completely different universe. It's a long journey (and a long book), but also a fun, fast ride.

Greg Bear's story, written in the early '80s, is set in 2005. Bear didn't foresee the Challenger explosion or the dissolution of the Soviet Union, so his vision of 2005 features a more advanced U.S. space program than the one we have today, and a completely different set of geopolitical challenges. Still, the premise is believable enough. A strange asteroid has entered orbit around the Earth, and the west's space program quickly responds to investigate. Soviets also want a piece of the action, though they don't move as quickly, and tension ensues.

The quick, insightful character sketches Bear draws as he introduces us to the main players make this seem like a group worth following - although at first it's not clear where, exactly, we're following them. Vasquez is a young Latina genius, just through with her doctoral studies, living a life of the mind. Hoffman is a powerful government insider who knows more than she's letting on. Lanier is a former pilot with a talent for administration. Mirsky loves Russia enough to overlook his country's flaws. Slowly it becomes clear that their lives will begin to entwine.

And slowly, things start to get weird. That rock that's orbiting the earth is no ordinary asteroid, though just what's inside is a highly classified secret. It turns out that this book is labeled science fiction for a reason.

And then the sci fi elements go into over drive, with hints of inter-dimensional travel, strange technologies and other unexpected twists that I won't reveal here. This isn't just science fiction, it's hard sci fi.

Don't let that turn you off if you're not normally a reader of the genre. This is no two-dimensional nerdgasm. It's a well-fleshed-out and complex story with a cast that's racially diverse, and believably so, and with well-rounded, fully motivated women and men. Yes, the novel gets especially weird in its final hundred or so pages, but by then you'll be so immersed in the story that you won't be able to put it down....less "

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New comment on Courtney's review of The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism In The Information Age

Courtney wrote: "I would love to borrow this. I don't mind a little overly hopeful. I'm probably a little overly hope...more "

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July 12

Courtney is currently reading:
Annual Reports 101 (Paperback)
by Michael C. Thomsett
bookshelves: currently-reading

my rating:

Courtney said: "Because that's how I roll. I'm wild and crazy like that. Annual boo-yah. "

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Courtney marked as to-read:
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Paperback)
by Anne Lamott
bookshelves: to-read

my rating:

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Courtney marked as to-read:
The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism In The Information Age (Paperback)
by Philip Meyer
bookshelves: to-read

my rating:

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Courtney marked as to-read:
The Great Crash 1929 (Paperback)
by John Kenneth Galbraith
bookshelves: to-read

my rating:

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Courtney's friends (19)

	Sarah 684 books 205 friends
	Steve 542 books 19 friends
	Sarah 330 books 280 friends
	Hung 146 books 17 friends
	Michael 339 books 26 friends
	Ginny 73 books 3 friends
	Dan 116 books, 9 friends Friend details Through a friend, College or University "We attended Grinnell College and met through mutual friends."
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