Thursday, October 21, 2004
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Nice Work
Nice Work, David Lodge
A ripping good tale. Great story, adulterous sex, titillating comedy, and with some fun philosophical questions to boot.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Friday, October 01, 2004
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Friday, August 20, 2004
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Ulysses
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Brave New World
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
I'm not sure if I liked this. I think it seemed quaint and forced, simplistic, childish.
The ideas in it make me curious, make me think I should maybe read it again. But the impressions I got from the first time are discouraging.
Hocus Pocus
Hocus Pocus, Kurt Vonnegut
I did a project comparing this to The Diviners, and one thing I remember emphasising was how the timeline in Hocus Pocus straddles both the near past and the near future. It starts some 20 years before the book was written, and ends some 20 years after. I thought that was a mark of the author's confidence.
I think it was quite good, though I don't remember what it was about, and its memory makes me want to read more Vonneguts.
Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern
Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern, Anne McCaffrey
I think this was the second time I read this, but not because I especially liked it. I remember the whole Pern series as being pretty good, though slightly vacant.
The Diviners
The Diviners, Margaret Laurence
I remember doing my homework about this book and finding an article that listed this book's first sentence as among the top first sentences of all time. It starts: "The river flowed both ways." And I think it continues with the same force.
The Agony and the Ecstasy
The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone
As far as I remember, this must have been pretty good. Since reading it I have always felt an emotional attachment for Michaelangelo.
Ender's Game
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
I remember thinking that the author must have calculated the thickness of the final chapter in order not to give away the book's ending.
Mona Lisa Overdrive
Mona Lisa Overdrive, William Gibson
I don't remember this much, although I remember eagerly awaiting it. Something about art theft, I think. Pretty good.
The Difference Engine
The Difference Engine, William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
This is probably the only historical science fiction novel I have read (as of 2005), and I still find it an extremely novel idea. Stunning, really. Wish I had thought of it.
Count Zero
Count Zero, William Gibson
I don't remember this. Is it the one with the bridge? I probably liked it a lot.
Neuromancer
Neuromance, Gibson
Second time.
I found it hard. Good, but hard. Still didn't get what happened exactly.
Monday, August 16, 2004
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Catch-22
Saturday, August 14, 2004
Friday, August 13, 2004
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Douglas Adams
Definitely not as inspired as The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
I remember a murder investigation in which the crime scene featured an impossible murder; I believe a man's head was found spinning on a record player in a room to which all access between the murder and its discovery had been impossible. This reminds me of Legion, by William Blaty.
Saturday, April 10, 2004
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien
I was proud of myself after finishing this. I was at a Catholic school, and we had Bibles, and I remember comparing the hefty sizes of both books and telling people "I've read a book bigger than the Bible."
(They didn't care.)
What can I say about a book I read 15 years ago and of which a hugely popular movie was recently seen by every person in the world? I can't trust my own memory. I think I liked it quite a bit. I remember building sandcastles representing the various cities in the book. I liked the whole logical geography of the whole thing.
I also remember that my dad thought the book was way too big to handle comfortably, so he cut it into its three component books with a kitchen knife, and announced that I should draw some nice new covers for the parts. Whatever... it fell into tatters.
Friday, April 09, 2004
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien
I liked this. Maybe it was a bit slow at times, but generally pretty good. I liked the comic book version that my brother got later.
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain, Esther Forbes
I think this was alright. I don't know if I would read it again, though. I might give it to my kid for "culture".
Monday, March 08, 2004
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Douglas Adams
This series, which started brilliantly and kept it up for a while, had largely changed tone by this point. There were several nevertheless interesting ruminations and absurdities left, like bistromath, plus sex to plug the cracks.
The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Hilarious and hard to put down. As of 2006, I have not read anything else like this.
Time Machine 2: Search for Dinosaurs
Time Machine 2: Search for Dinosaurs, David Bischoff
a Choose you own adventure book
The Stuttering Parrot
The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot, Robert Arthur
Just the title sounds so evocative and thrilling.
No seriously--they solved some mystery by figuring out why that parrot stuttered, right? Didn't they find it at the scene of the crime, and then search for its stuttering owner? That's so awesome.