- Typhoon by Charles Cumming. I really liked this tale, suspense set in China over the last 15 years, with some nicely shaded characters. Amazon says just 3.5 stars, but I’m at least 4 stars, I would pick up another book by the author in a heartbeat.
- Invisible by Paul Auster. Quite a twisted little tale of a very evil and manipulative man working his way through a set of lives. And a very nice structure to the tale, raises the book above your typical mystery. I’ve had several Austers on the shelf for a while, very worth the time. Amazon says 4 stars, I’m good with that.
- The Private Patient by P.D. James. This one feels to me like it is the dead zone between a good mystery yarn and literature. The author aspires to write a deeper more thoughtful tale but is just boring. Doubt I will finish. Amazon says 4 stars but really not close.
Posts Tagged Books
- Freedom by Daniel Suarez. Not as mind-wreckingly good as his prior, Daemon but a very nice conclusion to the tale. 3.5 stars, Amazon says 4.5 stars but that I think is carryover from the first book.
- Give Me Liberty by Naomi Wolf. Nice nonfiction complement to the above. Does a nice job of illustrating how our rights have been eroded, and admonishing us to do something about. Amazon says 4.5 stars, well, it is a fine book, but I’d stop at 3.5
- Judas Unchained by Peter Hamilton. Vaguely remember the prior book but it has been a while and this book does not stand alone. Amazon says 4 stars, I am hard on books today, I’d say 3 stars
- The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes. History of the Depression, interesting although some of the details could have been left to an appendix. Roosevelt’s level of power was amazing. The story of the transformation of government into a very active role is told well and is clearly not an unalloyed good. The abject failure of monetary policy is well told and a good lesson for today. And my impression of Hoover from high school history as a total bumbler changed, he was incredibly competent prior to his stint as president. Amazon says 4 stars, I’ll say 3.5, and with tighter editing could have been a 4.
Preston is exhibiting that he knows deeply what it means to feel ‘entitlement’. My reaction when I read Preston’s quote was exactly the same as this writer. Fortunately his books are throw-away fluff, and not even good throw-away fluff, so I will miss nothing if I never buy one again.
OK so Amazon’s move against Macmillan was seriously ham-handed and Amazon is still caught up in their own undershorts. Some Amazonians deserve some serious reprimands, this is just not the way these things are handled. Now Amazon has created even more problems for itself.
That said — we are talking about 4-5 days of inconvenience Amazon has caused readers and authors. Stupid but fixable.
As Charles points out, Macmillan is trying to put the screws to all of us big time and for the long run. They are grabbing for more dollars out of out pockets at a time when book costs are heading down. Now, if Macmillan was passing all this on to authors, I might be OK with it, but I suspect it is being absorbed by a bunch of corporate suits.
Who is our real friend here? Shame on Amazon for being so clumsy, but greater shame on Macmillan.
- Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. Excellent tale of a Stalin-era security officer in Moscow trying to unravel a series of murders while his own loyalty to the state is under question. He comes to grips with his own morality, his relationships, and his family history as he pursues the case in the face of increasing personal costs. 4.5 stars on Amazon, really an excellent tale.
- The Hidden Family and The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross. Stross has written some good books but these are not it Choppy. A protagonist who is alternately wickedly competent and incredibly dumb, as the plot demands. Sloppy. Mailing it in? The Amazon ratings on this series is declining and I’d have to concur.
- At Empire’s Edge by William Dietz. Barely in and it reads like a bad Star Trek script. Why did I buy this dreck. Amazon says 4 stars, must be Dietz’s mom rating over and over again, this is not readable, 0 stars.
- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Stilted, awkward, dull. Applies to characters and prose. No idea why people like this book or why it wins awards. Amazon says 3.5 stars, I’ll say 1 — readable but dull as dirt, I gave up.
- Fragment by Warren Fahy. Crichtonesque romp on a remote jungle island. Engaging and fun. Amazon says 4 stars, a very solid piece of entertainment.
- The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. Amazing story. Intertwines the tale of an outcast, a tragic family, the sad 20th century history of the Dominican Republic, and classic science fiction themes. Unique and surprisingly hopeful. Amazon gives 4-5 stars, this is definitely a 5 star read.
- Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon. Great tale of middle age adventurers. Jacket blurb says reminiscent of Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories and this is dead on. Amazon says 3.5 stars but I thought this was fun, 4 stars at least.
- A Handbook of Statistical Analyses Using R by Brian Everitt and Torsten Hothorn. I wanted an overview of R, this wasn’t it, but a useful set of case studies of the various types of problems that R can be used on. Very thinly reviewed on Amazon, I’d say 3 stars.
- The Perfect Fruit by Chip Brantley. Moderately interesting story of the inside of the fruit growing industry. Personally would have enjoyed more of the science, and more color on the people in the industry. Amazon says 5 stars but not a ton of reviews. I’d say 3.
- The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke by Timothy Snyder. The blurb on Amazon drew me, and I enjoy history. The author attempts to enliven this story with a lot of meandering and fictionalization, it just didn’t work for me. Perhaps Habsburg history is meandering and confusing, perhaps just this telling, I’ll never know as I am giving up. Amazon says 4.5 stars with a light review history, I’d say 2.5. It is not terrible but just didn’t grab me.
Skiff — huh?
Jan 5
Skiff e-reader targeted at magazines and newspapers — OK I love gadgets and will try darn near anything, but this is a headscratcher for me. I love my Kindle because a) it is way easier to travel with than 5 books, and b) the e-books are generally cheaper than print books, and as a heavy reader, this is hundreds of dollars a year. I get huge payback because of these facts.
What payback will I get from Skiff? It won’t be any easier to travel with than 5 magazines really — magazines don’t take much room, and I dispose of them as I go (to the degree that I read any magazines at all anymore). And magazines aren’t that expensive, there is no way I can save that much money.
I understand the publishers are casting about for a lifesaver but this seems like a waste.
Holiday time, and time for some light escapist reading.
- The Moor by Laurie R. King. Part of her Russell series, and excellent. Interesting character, very atmospheric (the “Moor” refers to the moorlands of England). The mystery itself was nothing special but the character and atmosphere make up for it.
- Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie. A mystery set in the Britain of Roman times. An interesting lead character, the doctor affiliated with the Roman legionnaires. The story is choppy and doesn’t hang together well, but the character has promise.
- Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds. Modern space opera. Great reviews but I found it unoriginal.
- The Fade by Chris Wooding. Fantasy set in an underground world at war, very engaging. Grabs you from the first chapter.
- Awesome Studio Mango rugs. Love the asymmetry.
- Hometown Jigsaw Puzzle. Would order one but 2-3 weeks for production…
- Compartes Chocolates. Not really a chocolate fan but these are just so great looking…
- Blue shift bumper sticker. Geek humour.
- Tyler Cowen’s book list. His recos have a high hit rate.
- Pocket Ref book. If Kurt recos, it will be good.
- 3d power plug. Doesn’t exist but if it did…
- Cole-Bar Hammer. OK I only drive about 30 nails a year but still this looks like a winner.
- LED Bed. Looks like effective birth control to me.
- Motif cube. Looks puzzle-ish but isn’t.
- Power Plug with USB. Way underpriced.
Tim motivated me to look over all the books I’ve read in the last 6 months. Some great ones and some dreck. The ones I am glad I read:
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Brutal, spartan. Viggo is the right man for the role.
- The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook. A nice little tale of small town adultery and how it rips apart the lives around it. Edgar Award winner tho certainly not structured like a typical mystery. Hard to find.
- The Power Of Myth by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers. Classic book about some of the deep issues of life and humanity.
- QED by Richard P. Feynman. Simple (to the degree that anything quantum can be simple) explanation of the basics of quantum electrodynamics.
- The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria. A little dated by financial events but still good.
- Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks. Seemingly a space opera but actually a thoughtful book about humanity, the futility of war. Must read the epilog.
- The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer. Excellent tale of a CIA agent dealing with betrayal at many levels and his own secrets. Emotionally crushing ending.
- Await Your Reply by Dan Choan. Strange tale of a serial ID thief trying to find a life for himself.
- In Pale Battalions by Robert Goddard. A woman gradually discovers the truths about her family and background — the cruelty and crimes during WWI which defined her life.
- Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson. Excellent tale of post-apocolyptic America. Classic tragedy themes narrated in a folksy Twainish style.
- The Only Three Questions That Count by Ken Fisher. One successful investor’s view on how to invest. The discussion on national debt levels alone is worth the book.