Jason’s Comments (group member since Feb 27, 2008)

Jason’s comments from the The Book Challenge group.

5. Welcome to My Country--Lauren Slater (2/29/08 - 3/1/08)
A brilliant mix of psychology, memoir, and highly poetic prose. Slater's compassion radiates off every page to the point that it is difficult to imagine a reader not being touched by her words. Especially poignant are the chapters about Joseph, who steadfastly attempts to defeat his schizophrenia by returning to college, and Linda, whose situation is a direct reflection of the author's own past struggles. Hopeful as well as heartbreaking; an incredible book.

I'm on a roll now! Five books down, 75 to go...

Currently reading:
We All Fall Down--Robert Cormier

In queue:
Emma--Jane Austen

4. Star Trek: Enterprise--Vonda McIntyre (2/25/08 - 2/29/08)
Not exactly everything I was hoping this novel to be, but has a certain charm to it. The first hundred-odd pages are fun, particularly in the character interactions as Kirk meets Spock, Spock meets McCoy, and Janice Rand gets a surprising amount of text devoted to her. Then a Klingon refugee shows up, there's a flying horse and a traveling vaudeville troupe in space, and a first contact with a mysterious species to clutter the plot in the second half. This book is a mixed bag.

Currently reading:
Welcome to My Country--Lauren Slater

In queue:
We All Fall Down--Robert Cormier
Emma--Jane Austen

3. Earthbound--D.M. Arnold (2/21/08 - 2/27/08)
This took a bit of work to visualize the Floran culture in my head, but once I did I found it was a rewarding experience. Earthbound is published online (easy to find via Google by typing in name and author), a page-turner with the occasional dry spots that could probably have been left out without sacrificing the integrity of the story. The characters are well-realized, though the main character of Nyk annoyed me from time to time by being overly honest and open with people when it seems he would save himself a lot of trouble by keeping his mouth shut and his ears open more often. This does lead to some interesting scenes, however. I love the character of Suki. This is the first of a series (five books so far), and I'll definitely be reading the rest.

Currently reading:
Star Trek: Enterprise--Vonda McIntyre

In queue:
Welcome to My Country--Lauren Slater
We All Fall Down--Robert Cormier

I'm shooting for 80 books in 2008. I'd go for 100 but I'm starting a bit late. (That rhymed...)

These are the books I've read so far this year:

1. Colonization: Second Contact—-Harry Turtledove (2/?/08 – 2/23/08)
Maintains the consistency of the overall Worldwar/Colonization series of books. In fact I liked it a bit better than the four Worldwar novels, though this may be because it's an alternative take on the 1960s, one of my favorite eras in history. Held my interest very well.
2. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat—-Oliver Sacks (2/23/08 – 2/25/08)
At first I borrowed this from the library only because Awakenings was checked out. But I found that this book was very interesting in its own right. Lots of case studies here... I probably would have liked it better if there had been fewer of them but they had been dealt with in more detail, as some were barely enough to begin to get a picture of the people they were about. Quite a good short read, but I would recommend An Anthropologist on Mars over this.

Currently reading:
Earthbound--D.M. Arnold
Star Trek: Enterprise--Vonda McIntyre

In queue:
Welcome to My Country--Lauren Slater
We All Fall Down--Robert Cormier

I'm reading Earthbound online, two or three chapters at a time, whenever I can tear myself away from random Internet surfing. Normally I only read one book at a time, but I guess I was just feeling rebellious. :)