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Prof Reads
So since I got my Kindle, I've been doing a lot of reading! I thought I should go ahead and write an entry about all the books I've been going through.
Life of Pi
Great book! One of those fancy New York Times Bestsellers, a simple but powerful story about a boy sharing a lifeboat with a bengal tiger and trying to both survive and not get eaten. Very compelling read, very grim at times, amusing or philosophical at others, I can't say anything about the ending.
Little Bee
Decent book turned into an awesome book by the force of the narrator. Nigerian teenage girl runs away to suburban London, lives cross paths, lessons are learned, etc etc etc. Little Bee has a way with words that turns this from an ordinary read into a fantastic one.
Discworld
I have finally gotten into Discworld! I am reading all of them, in order - I've read ten so far. Here are some one-sentence reviews:
The Color of Magic: This is the first one!
The Light Fantastic: Not as good as the first one, the Luggage remains the best character.
Equal Rites: I think this would make a great movie.
Mort: Discworld has the best Death, but we all knew that already.
Sourcery: I think Discworld is at its best when it doesn't try to be this epic.
Wyrd Systers: Got confusing near the end.
Pyramids: I really liked this one, even if the cast is never revisisted.
Guards! Guards!: I can't wait to get more into the Watch.
Eric: Eh.
Moving Pictures: Lots of cool ideas, I didn't really care for it that much as a unified narrative.
Overall love the series.
Malcom Gladwell Stuff
Malcom Gladwell is a guy who writes nonfiction books about really interesting ideas, and he writes them in a really interesting way that makes you think about things in new ways! I love that shit. Read so far is Blink, a book about the brain's ability to process huge amounts of information and filter them into split-second judgments with amazing reliability, and Outliers, a book about what separates the amazing elites of society from ordinary people. Both great reads!
Tales of the Otori
An overall above-average trilogy! Mostly non-magical adventure story in a fantasy world that is BASICALLY feudal Japan without any of the landmarks. Story of a young loser guy becoming an awesome badass warlord guy and also true love n' stuff. I hear there is a fourth book that sucks and a prequel book that rules.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I got this because it was the top selling book at Amazon for months. It was pretty good? Decently compelling read, I guess. Story of a middle-aged news reporter and a young socially abnormal hacker girl teaming up to solve a 50-year-old mystery. Some cool characters, a lot of uncomfortable topics broached repeatedly, a bit too long to really pull its weight.
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
This is a book that I loved but have a hard time recommending to anyone else. It's full of philosophy and complicated time travel plots and pop culture references. I mean, this is a book where the main character is a professional time travel salesman. Lots of insights into things like people's perceptions of time and memory and also some hardcore legit humor on the side. Check it out if you like XKCD, I guess.
Water for Elephants
Good book! Story switching back and forth between a guy joining the circus during the Great Depression and the same guy in his early nineties around the present day. The circus was full of weird and disreputable people and intrigue and love and zaniness and drama. Read if you like circuses or good characters but don't dislike sex and violence.
Replay
Great book with a great premise. A guy dies of a heart attack in 1988, then wakes up as his younger self in 1963, with all his memories of his last life intact. What do you do with that knowledge? What do you do differently? What can't be the same? Is he the only one who's replaying? I love time travel and this is a great new twist on it.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Very interesting read! A murder mystery with an autistic narrator. At times fascinating just seeing how his mind fits together, at times emotionally exhausting. Hell of a book.
Hunger Games
Awesome trilogy! Girl from a poor district gets selected to go compete in the Hunger Games at the rich capitol - a competition where kids from all the poor districts have to fight to the death until there's only one left standing. Tale of survival and revolution. Second book is the best.
Dresden Files
Yes I am finally getting back into this series. Just read Grave Peril, I like Michael and Thomas.
Room
Another weird kinda artsy book. The narrator is five years old, and has lived his entire life in a single room with his mother, to the point that he doesn't believe that the world outside of Room is real. Story of Jack discovering how big and complicated the world really is while we figure out why he never leaves the room he's in. Unique experience, Ma is a powerful emotional core for the book.
Next on the list is Black Prism, The Tipping Point, and The Girl who Played with Fire. Books, woo!
Life of Pi
Great book! One of those fancy New York Times Bestsellers, a simple but powerful story about a boy sharing a lifeboat with a bengal tiger and trying to both survive and not get eaten. Very compelling read, very grim at times, amusing or philosophical at others, I can't say anything about the ending.
Little Bee
Decent book turned into an awesome book by the force of the narrator. Nigerian teenage girl runs away to suburban London, lives cross paths, lessons are learned, etc etc etc. Little Bee has a way with words that turns this from an ordinary read into a fantastic one.
Discworld
I have finally gotten into Discworld! I am reading all of them, in order - I've read ten so far. Here are some one-sentence reviews:
The Color of Magic: This is the first one!
The Light Fantastic: Not as good as the first one, the Luggage remains the best character.
Equal Rites: I think this would make a great movie.
Mort: Discworld has the best Death, but we all knew that already.
Sourcery: I think Discworld is at its best when it doesn't try to be this epic.
Wyrd Systers: Got confusing near the end.
Pyramids: I really liked this one, even if the cast is never revisisted.
Guards! Guards!: I can't wait to get more into the Watch.
Eric: Eh.
Moving Pictures: Lots of cool ideas, I didn't really care for it that much as a unified narrative.
Overall love the series.
Malcom Gladwell Stuff
Malcom Gladwell is a guy who writes nonfiction books about really interesting ideas, and he writes them in a really interesting way that makes you think about things in new ways! I love that shit. Read so far is Blink, a book about the brain's ability to process huge amounts of information and filter them into split-second judgments with amazing reliability, and Outliers, a book about what separates the amazing elites of society from ordinary people. Both great reads!
Tales of the Otori
An overall above-average trilogy! Mostly non-magical adventure story in a fantasy world that is BASICALLY feudal Japan without any of the landmarks. Story of a young loser guy becoming an awesome badass warlord guy and also true love n' stuff. I hear there is a fourth book that sucks and a prequel book that rules.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I got this because it was the top selling book at Amazon for months. It was pretty good? Decently compelling read, I guess. Story of a middle-aged news reporter and a young socially abnormal hacker girl teaming up to solve a 50-year-old mystery. Some cool characters, a lot of uncomfortable topics broached repeatedly, a bit too long to really pull its weight.
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
This is a book that I loved but have a hard time recommending to anyone else. It's full of philosophy and complicated time travel plots and pop culture references. I mean, this is a book where the main character is a professional time travel salesman. Lots of insights into things like people's perceptions of time and memory and also some hardcore legit humor on the side. Check it out if you like XKCD, I guess.
Water for Elephants
Good book! Story switching back and forth between a guy joining the circus during the Great Depression and the same guy in his early nineties around the present day. The circus was full of weird and disreputable people and intrigue and love and zaniness and drama. Read if you like circuses or good characters but don't dislike sex and violence.
Replay
Great book with a great premise. A guy dies of a heart attack in 1988, then wakes up as his younger self in 1963, with all his memories of his last life intact. What do you do with that knowledge? What do you do differently? What can't be the same? Is he the only one who's replaying? I love time travel and this is a great new twist on it.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Very interesting read! A murder mystery with an autistic narrator. At times fascinating just seeing how his mind fits together, at times emotionally exhausting. Hell of a book.
Hunger Games
Awesome trilogy! Girl from a poor district gets selected to go compete in the Hunger Games at the rich capitol - a competition where kids from all the poor districts have to fight to the death until there's only one left standing. Tale of survival and revolution. Second book is the best.
Dresden Files
Yes I am finally getting back into this series. Just read Grave Peril, I like Michael and Thomas.
Room
Another weird kinda artsy book. The narrator is five years old, and has lived his entire life in a single room with his mother, to the point that he doesn't believe that the world outside of Room is real. Story of Jack discovering how big and complicated the world really is while we figure out why he never leaves the room he's in. Unique experience, Ma is a powerful emotional core for the book.
Next on the list is Black Prism, The Tipping Point, and The Girl who Played with Fire. Books, woo!
no subject
I always figured Girl With the Dragon Tattoo to be one of those airplane novels--y'know, the crappy ones you read on the plane when you need something to pass the time? Those are the only ones they advertise on public transport, and that book has been (AND STILL IS) all over the buses and Underground FOR MONTHS. Years even, maybe.
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime I never finished, and I read it years ago. (Way back when I lived in America.) I don't remember much, but I do remember the narration--found it very, very interesting.
AAAAARGH AND DAMMIT HUNGER GAMES THE BOOK IS SITTING LIKE 5 FEET AWAY FROM ME BUT SO MANY ESSAYS TO WRITE
no subject
Dragon Tattoo is kind of in that genre, yeah. Better than the average one, sure, but still not really literature.
Curious Incident's strongest feature was definitely the narration, yeah.
AND ALLOW YOURSELF ONE CHAPTER PER COMPLETED ESSAY IT'S A MOTIVATION TACTIC
no subject
no subject