I'm hungry. Going to be a hungry sort of day, I guess, since it's Book Club tonight and I'll need to save up points for it. Unsatisfied appetite, unsatisfied mind -- this month's book was Nightlight, which is the Harvard Lampoon's parody of Twilight, along with Stephanie Meyer's partial draft of Midnight Sun (which is the events of Twilight from Edward's point of view). Neither of them really grabbed me, though.
The jokes made in Nightlight were pretty good, but they stretched it out too long -- they could've made it a short story or novella-length piece and it would've been much tighter and funnier.
And Midnight Sun was... well, an unfinished draft. I could feel that it might have been a fun read if she'd decided to finish it and clean it up, and it would have been even better if she'd written it earlier and spliced it into Twilight so that we were getting both points of view in the same book. But it's a draft. There were unexplained things, scenes that made no sense, characterizations that didn't work, consistency issues... Eh.
Other than that, I'm pretty well drawing a blank today.
Such is life.
Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Dang Book Club
Went to book club last night, had several drinks in celebration of my first club meeting in over a year where I could both a) drink and b) stay later than 9:45. (Whoo, pregnancy/nursing!)
The book was Momzillas. I don't remember the author's name, because I only got about forty pages into the book before deciding I don't have enough spare time to be reading a book I actively hate. The writing wasn't bad, though a little heavy on unexplained and unnecessary flashbacks (at least in the 40 pages I read). There were glimmers of real humor, here and there, and she kept throwing in references to a surprisingly wonderful list of movies. But I couldn't get past the Mom-Competition thing. Which was the whole point of the book, I know, but... Seriously, I have enough issues with worrying about whether people are judging me and my parenting as it is without having to put up with even a fictional set of judges. (I do like "momzilla" as a nickname for these people, though.)
Also, since I skipped ahead and read the ending when I decided that I wasn't going to bother with the middle of the book -- the ending was trite, insipid, and too "perfect" for believability. (Spoiler warning... Skip to the next paragraph if you actually think you might read this.) Okay, I can kind of buy the best friend suddenly winding up with the husband's best friend because that kind of thing does sometimes happen in real life. But the gargoyle mother-in-law suddenly becoming warm and caring just because the husband finally stood up to her? HA. HA. HA. Yeah, maybe she finally shut her mouth -- but actually changing her attitude? No way. I say this in all honesty with the perspective of someone who still feels kind of inadequate in the MiL's eyes, despite an honest, unforced increase in warmth from her -- I can't imagine an ultimatum actually changing her opinions, and I can't imagine her opinions not making themselves known, subtly, even if she's technically toeing the line.
Also, the whole person-by-person epilogue blurby thing... that's a device for movies that don't have time to actually tie off all the threads properly. One real epilogue chapter in the book could have easily gotten across all those tie-offs without being nearly so gimmicky. Ug.
Anyway, that's my quickie review. The book club was divided about evenly between "loved it" and "hated it" -- and sometimes that leads to interesting discussions of the book, but this time, the book being so fluffy, we mostly just talked about the real momzillas in our lives and segued off into stories about the kids and such, as usual.
But while we were there, Kris and Tammy talked up Facebook and kind of pushed the rest of us to join, so... *sigh* I did. I'd managed to avoid social networking sites up until now, but I suppose it was inevitable, eventually. More shocking yet -- it's not blocked from my office. I have to assume some higher-ups are using it as a networking tool, because I can't imagine a major site like that actually escaped the notice of the content-blocker gargoyles. You know, 'cause I really needed another thing to eat up my time.
Especially since my boss decided it was time for me to dive into proposal management, so in the grand spirit of "throw the baby in the pool and see if she floats," he's given me two proposals to coordinate, both of which are on tight schedules. (Even tighter than most proposals, in fact. Which is really saying something.)
Whee...
The book was Momzillas. I don't remember the author's name, because I only got about forty pages into the book before deciding I don't have enough spare time to be reading a book I actively hate. The writing wasn't bad, though a little heavy on unexplained and unnecessary flashbacks (at least in the 40 pages I read). There were glimmers of real humor, here and there, and she kept throwing in references to a surprisingly wonderful list of movies. But I couldn't get past the Mom-Competition thing. Which was the whole point of the book, I know, but... Seriously, I have enough issues with worrying about whether people are judging me and my parenting as it is without having to put up with even a fictional set of judges. (I do like "momzilla" as a nickname for these people, though.)
Also, since I skipped ahead and read the ending when I decided that I wasn't going to bother with the middle of the book -- the ending was trite, insipid, and too "perfect" for believability. (Spoiler warning... Skip to the next paragraph if you actually think you might read this.) Okay, I can kind of buy the best friend suddenly winding up with the husband's best friend because that kind of thing does sometimes happen in real life. But the gargoyle mother-in-law suddenly becoming warm and caring just because the husband finally stood up to her? HA. HA. HA. Yeah, maybe she finally shut her mouth -- but actually changing her attitude? No way. I say this in all honesty with the perspective of someone who still feels kind of inadequate in the MiL's eyes, despite an honest, unforced increase in warmth from her -- I can't imagine an ultimatum actually changing her opinions, and I can't imagine her opinions not making themselves known, subtly, even if she's technically toeing the line.
Also, the whole person-by-person epilogue blurby thing... that's a device for movies that don't have time to actually tie off all the threads properly. One real epilogue chapter in the book could have easily gotten across all those tie-offs without being nearly so gimmicky. Ug.
Anyway, that's my quickie review. The book club was divided about evenly between "loved it" and "hated it" -- and sometimes that leads to interesting discussions of the book, but this time, the book being so fluffy, we mostly just talked about the real momzillas in our lives and segued off into stories about the kids and such, as usual.
But while we were there, Kris and Tammy talked up Facebook and kind of pushed the rest of us to join, so... *sigh* I did. I'd managed to avoid social networking sites up until now, but I suppose it was inevitable, eventually. More shocking yet -- it's not blocked from my office. I have to assume some higher-ups are using it as a networking tool, because I can't imagine a major site like that actually escaped the notice of the content-blocker gargoyles. You know, 'cause I really needed another thing to eat up my time.
Especially since my boss decided it was time for me to dive into proposal management, so in the grand spirit of "throw the baby in the pool and see if she floats," he's given me two proposals to coordinate, both of which are on tight schedules. (Even tighter than most proposals, in fact. Which is really saying something.)
Whee...
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Book Review: Pattern Recognition
Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson.
I usually like Gibson's stuff. Like most cyberpunk writers, he's got a major hardon for last-minute deus-ex-machina plot resolutions (though the king of those is Neal Stephenson -- when he's got a plot) but in this one the deus was at least introduced before he got around to the ex machina part of it, so it didn't feel nearly as out of left field.
On the other hand, it annoys me if I can't make sense of a title, and aside from the fact that the main plot revolved around identifying and tracing a digital watermark, I didn't really get any kind of "pattern recognition" resonance out of the book. Oh, sure, I could pull an English major-ish stunt and locate a bunch of examples of pattern recognition in the story, but they didn't resonate as significant.
What's more, I was expecting Gibson to build a pattern for the reader to recognize, and if he did, I completely missed it. Though my pattern recognition skills aren't the sharpest, and I'll admit to having read the book in two to three page spurts, which isn't the best way to sort and process data for patterns, so maybe there's something there after all.
Aside from that disappointment, though, it was a pretty good book. Nothing I'm going to feel compelled to re-read anytime soon (and in another few years, it'll feel hopelessly dated) but I'm not sorry I read it. It had some interesting concepts and a few fun tropes, Gibson is always excellent about characterizations.
All in all, for a book I picked up from the used bookstore, I'm pretty sure I got my money's worth. I give it two thumbs up... but one of them belongs to the Michelin Man.
I usually like Gibson's stuff. Like most cyberpunk writers, he's got a major hardon for last-minute deus-ex-machina plot resolutions (though the king of those is Neal Stephenson -- when he's got a plot) but in this one the deus was at least introduced before he got around to the ex machina part of it, so it didn't feel nearly as out of left field.
On the other hand, it annoys me if I can't make sense of a title, and aside from the fact that the main plot revolved around identifying and tracing a digital watermark, I didn't really get any kind of "pattern recognition" resonance out of the book. Oh, sure, I could pull an English major-ish stunt and locate a bunch of examples of pattern recognition in the story, but they didn't resonate as significant.
What's more, I was expecting Gibson to build a pattern for the reader to recognize, and if he did, I completely missed it. Though my pattern recognition skills aren't the sharpest, and I'll admit to having read the book in two to three page spurts, which isn't the best way to sort and process data for patterns, so maybe there's something there after all.
Aside from that disappointment, though, it was a pretty good book. Nothing I'm going to feel compelled to re-read anytime soon (and in another few years, it'll feel hopelessly dated) but I'm not sorry I read it. It had some interesting concepts and a few fun tropes, Gibson is always excellent about characterizations.
All in all, for a book I picked up from the used bookstore, I'm pretty sure I got my money's worth. I give it two thumbs up... but one of them belongs to the Michelin Man.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Book: Holy Cow
(In case you were wondering: yes, as a matter of fact I am trying to do a review on each book I read before I take it out of the sidebar.)
Holy Cow by Sarah MacDonald is, in summary, about a woman who goes to India and, despite being an atheist, decides to try on a half-dozen or so religions for fit.
I went through the book half-cringing in expectation that she'd end the book in the bosom of Mother Church, but she didn't. She did come away with an expanded sense of personal self and spirituality.
But here's the thing: I didn't feel it.
She did a fantastic sense of conveying the feel of the various religions and retreats she visited, she imaged India and her experiences there quite vividly... and yet I couldn't detect any difference between the author at the end of the book from the author at the beginning of the book. I guess that's because she probably didn't start writing the book until after it was all over, or maybe it's an artifact of my having read most of the book in 2-3 page snippets, but it seemed to me that her tone was pretty much the same when she left India as it had been when she arrived. At any rate, I didn't get a feel for her having actually grown or changed as a person, no matter what the words said.
Which is too bad. I wanted to like this book about spirituality that didn't climax with a come to Jesus moment and then spend the denouement trying to sell me on the One True Way. Instead, it left me feeling vaguely concerned for the author's sense of self.
Holy Cow by Sarah MacDonald is, in summary, about a woman who goes to India and, despite being an atheist, decides to try on a half-dozen or so religions for fit.
I went through the book half-cringing in expectation that she'd end the book in the bosom of Mother Church, but she didn't. She did come away with an expanded sense of personal self and spirituality.
But here's the thing: I didn't feel it.
She did a fantastic sense of conveying the feel of the various religions and retreats she visited, she imaged India and her experiences there quite vividly... and yet I couldn't detect any difference between the author at the end of the book from the author at the beginning of the book. I guess that's because she probably didn't start writing the book until after it was all over, or maybe it's an artifact of my having read most of the book in 2-3 page snippets, but it seemed to me that her tone was pretty much the same when she left India as it had been when she arrived. At any rate, I didn't get a feel for her having actually grown or changed as a person, no matter what the words said.
Which is too bad. I wanted to like this book about spirituality that didn't climax with a come to Jesus moment and then spend the denouement trying to sell me on the One True Way. Instead, it left me feeling vaguely concerned for the author's sense of self.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Book: Little Brother
Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow
This is an easy read (it's written at the YA level) but not an easy read. It involves some tough topics and inspires some pretty heavy thinking. Shortest summary possible: Near-future sci-fi in which a 17-year-old high school kid gets on the bad side of the Department of Homeland Securities.
What's really in it?
That about sums it up. Maybe not so much the fencing or the giants. Replace those with hacking and massive political machines. Everything else... check. Also, pirates, video games, and LARPing.
It's well-written. The kid is exceptionally clever and well-educated for a 17-year-old, but not unbelievably so. It's terrifying in its plausibility. It makes you really think about where you think the boundary should be that divides safety from freedom, and what could change the location of that boundary.
It's well-researched. The history, the social science, the technology, the methodologies, all ring true, even the ones that are extrapolated into the future.
And it's free; just download it off the website and you're good to go.
Two thumbs up, five out of five stars, a must-read for anyone over the age of about thirteen who plans to live or do business in the U.S. for the next decade.
This is an easy read (it's written at the YA level) but not an easy read. It involves some tough topics and inspires some pretty heavy thinking. Shortest summary possible: Near-future sci-fi in which a 17-year-old high school kid gets on the bad side of the Department of Homeland Securities.
What's really in it?
Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...
That about sums it up. Maybe not so much the fencing or the giants. Replace those with hacking and massive political machines. Everything else... check. Also, pirates, video games, and LARPing.
It's well-written. The kid is exceptionally clever and well-educated for a 17-year-old, but not unbelievably so. It's terrifying in its plausibility. It makes you really think about where you think the boundary should be that divides safety from freedom, and what could change the location of that boundary.
It's well-researched. The history, the social science, the technology, the methodologies, all ring true, even the ones that are extrapolated into the future.
And it's free; just download it off the website and you're good to go.
Two thumbs up, five out of five stars, a must-read for anyone over the age of about thirteen who plans to live or do business in the U.S. for the next decade.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)