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July 15
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Michael
gave
 
to:
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Paperback/Newbery Summer)
by Robert C. O'Brien
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my rating:
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Michael said:
"I read this because I watched the movie 29384329 times as a child. The movie was better because the rats have swords. If you must read a book about talking rodents then I recommend Watership Down before this one.
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April 26
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Michael
gave
to:
Atlas Shrugged (Paperback)
by Ayn Rand
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my rating:
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Michael said:
"Some people think AS is one of the worst books ever written. Others treat it as their Bible. I fall somewhere in between. For me, this is an excellent, often bad-ass, story wholly worthy of five stars.
This is said to be Rand's masterpiece, whe...more
Some people think AS is one of the worst books ever written. Others treat it as their Bible. I fall somewhere in between. For me, this is an excellent, often bad-ass, story wholly worthy of five stars.
This is said to be Rand's masterpiece, where she lays out the tenants of her Objectivist philosophy by way of a creative thesis. In short, she presents a well-founded argument for the ethical consideration of douchebaggery. Which is fine. I think she is for the most part right (the primary exception being her objections to spirituality, which are without merit even in the context of the allegory she writes).
There is little reason to think that this is a bad book unless you're utterly and completely offended by the message. I find it unfortunate that so many people seem to be incapable of appreciating the story....less
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Michael
gave
to:
Neuromancer (Paperback)
by William Gibson
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my rating:
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Michael said:
"Gibson says everything exactly once, and it's all important. That makes this a pretty difficult read but in no way detracts from how awesome it is. This is the book that provided a very loose basis for The Matrix. Neuromancer is better.
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Michael
gave
to:
A Clockwork Orange (Paperback)
by Anthony Burgess
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my rating:
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Michael said:
"Once my favorite book. Great on every level.
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April 25
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Michael
gave
to:
Desperation (Paperback)
by Stephen King
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my rating:
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Michael said:
"Alright. Enjoyable enough that I wanted to read it basically all the time but not as good as some of King's other stuff I'd read (ie The Stand).
This started out strong, and was scary as hell. Funny thing though; as the plot picks up the pace it...more
Alright. Enjoyable enough that I wanted to read it basically all the time but not as good as some of King's other stuff I'd read (ie The Stand).
This started out strong, and was scary as hell. Funny thing though; as the plot picks up the pace it's so much less frightening (and therefore less engaging) because of how much the author has revealed by that point.
In the interest of full disclosure, I do believe this gave me nightmares....less
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Michael
gave
to:
Tender Is the Night (Penguin Modern Classics)
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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my rating:
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Michael said:
"Definitely my favorite FSF and on my short list for my all-time favorites. Need a re-read to write a review worth reading.
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Michael
gave
to:
Babylon Revisited: And Other Stories (Paperback)
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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my rating:
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Michael said:
"Noteworthy mainly for how much it made me want to read Tender is the Night again.
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March 23
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Michael
gave
to:
Flashman (The Flashman Papers)
by George MacDonald Fraser
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my rating:
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Michael said:
"Flashman is awful. He is a liar, a cheater, a braggart, a douche-a-lucy-liu of the highest degree. He is fully aware of his faults and at times takes pride in his own detriment to society.
Kicked out of boarding school for drunkenness, our hero ...more
Flashman is awful. He is a liar, a cheater, a braggart, a douche-a-lucy-liu of the highest degree. He is fully aware of his faults and at times takes pride in his own detriment to society.
Kicked out of boarding school for drunkenness, our hero joins the British Army (after sleeping with his father's mistress), where he gains great admiration for sparing someone in a duel (which he rigged) (and the duel was over a prostitute). After a brief station in Scotland (where he sleeps with his host's daughter, who Flashman suspects is mentally handicapped, and is later forced to marry her), he is sent to India (where he buys a woman) and eventually Afghanistan (where he sells her). And no matter what Flashman does (spoiler: it's all very bad), anyone who can attest to his cowardice ends up dead (usually his fault) and he ends up being the most celebrated officer of the British Army.
The fictional and dastardly works of Flashman aside, this is an actual-factual historical work. Hey, did you know that, of the 4,500 members of the British Army and the 10,000 civilians that retreated from Kabul in 1842, only one person made it to India? Well, I sure didn't before I read this. The fact that, during this horrific episode, Flashman spent much of his time trying to sleep with some other officer's wife provides some welcome comic relief, but I learned as much from Flashman as I did from Kite Runner. And Flashman has more sex in it (well, more non-butt-related sex).
There's a whole Flashman series (centered around the 19th century's greatest military blunders), and I am looking forward to reading the rest....less
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March 22
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Michael
gave
to:
Men and Cartoons (Paperback)
by Jonathan Lethem
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my rating:
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Michael said:
"I'm a big Lethem fan but I couldn't give this one more than three stars (and the third star comes only on the basis of how readable the author manages to make even his worst stories).
Lethem writes both Science Fiction and whatever non-science-f...more
I'm a big Lethem fan but I couldn't give this one more than three stars (and the third star comes only on the basis of how readable the author manages to make even his worst stories).
Lethem writes both Science Fiction and whatever non-science-fiction fiction is properly called (Fi? Non-sci-fi-fi? Bi-mon-sci-fi-con?), but before this I've only read his works featuring lasers and genetically enhanced kangaroos and so forth. There is science fiction in this book, to be sure, but much of what could maybe be considered science fiction here is actually just unrealistic fiction. Not fantasy, either. Just kind of lazy what-if thinking that isn't interesting enough to engage you for more than a couple of pages.
For example, what if there was a sitcom about a giant crab that lived with an otherwise normal human family? And if this giant crab was actually a crab and could talk, what would he have to say to an avid fan after the show ends? Pretty wacky, huh? Well, that's pretty much the whole plot of "Interview with the Crab." Sorry. Believe me when I say that any potential you may see from the above synopsis is long gone by the time you get to the last story of the book (where "Crab" is imposed upon the reader).
It is noteworthy that the collection's first story, "The Vision," was one of the more gripping stories I've read recently. It was also completely realistic: no sci fi and no crabs, the first such Lethem story I had ever read. He is apparently pretty unique in his willingness to switch to and from science fiction (his wikipedia entry refers to him as a "genre bender"). That may be all well and good most of the time but when he makes these lame quasi-scientific scenarios up I just get annoyed.
Postscript: it is also worth noting that the titular character of "Super Goat Man," who, wackily, exists both in a comic book and in real life, battles villians by the name of "Vest Man" and "False Dave."...less
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March 12
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Michael
gave
to:
Red Lights (New York Review Books Classics)
by Georges Simenon
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my rating:
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Michael said:
"Ok, so imagine that your wallet gets stolen, or your car gets keyed, and this happens as a result of something dumb you did. Even though someone else wronged you, it was your fault and you get to blame yourself forever. That's the whole story of Re...more
Ok, so imagine that your wallet gets stolen, or your car gets keyed, and this happens as a result of something dumb you did. Even though someone else wronged you, it was your fault and you get to blame yourself forever. That's the whole story of Red Lights right there. Something happens and it is awful and the weiner protagonist feels bad.
Simeon apparently examines the theme of people losing control and consequently earmuffing everything up at length throughout his writing career, which included the writing of 200 novels. So maybe if you read them all you gain some wisdom about it, but this one didn't teach me much.
One admirable quality of the book is Simeon's clipped prose. I would call it Hemingway-esque but it didn't jive all that well with the story. It did, however, give a more immediate, play-by-play feel to the narrative, which would have made it great had the story been at all engaging.
(Note that the tragedy of the story is much much worse than getting your car keyed or losing your wallet; I don't mean to equate these problems to what happens in the book. I just mean that everyone knows that feeling and it's what you get from Red Lights)...less
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