June 02, 2006

Book Club

Most recently read:

  • Connie Willis: To Say Nothing of the Dog. I think that this is the first time that I've read anything by Connie Willis. She's won a huge number of awards (8 Hugos and 6 Nebulas, at last count), and she's very funny (both as a speaker, and in her writing). This is a time-travel story crossed with a Victorian comedy of manners. Unfortunately, I've never read Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Jerome K. Jerome, so I felt like I was missing a lot of the subtext. (Note: Three Men in a Boat is available as a free e-text from gutenberg.org.)
  • Nalo Hopkinson: Skin Folk. I was lucky enough to hear Nalo Hopkinson read at Torcon, and I like the way she writes. A co-worker gave me this collection of short stories; he told me not to bother returning it— it wasn't his thing. Snake is an incredibly creepy horror story, and Fisherman is wonderful— sexy and lush. Some of the stories didn't satisfy me, but the ones that are good are very good.
  • Wendy McClure: The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan. I don't know that this really qualifies as a "read." If you're a fan of Lileks' Gallery of Regrettable Food or if you enjoyed Wendy's original candyboots.com web site, check out her book. As she herself puts it: Once upon a time the world was young and the words "mackerel" and "pudding" existed far, far away from one another.

Currently in the midst of:

  • Mark Twain: Roughing It. I started reading this after seeing an article in the Travel section of the New York Times entitled, Mark Twain's Hawai'i. (Note: Roughing It is available as a free e-text from gutenberg.org. The Hawai'i section starts with CHAPTER LXII. Bound for the Sandwich Islands.)
  • Eoin Colfer: The Arctic Incident. I borrowed the first three Artemis Fowl books from Cheryl a few months ago. I enjoyed the first one, and I've been (slowly) making my way through the second one. They're kids' books, but still quite enjoyable, in large part because the author doesn't write down to his audience. And it's delightful to have a child protagonist who is ruthless and Machiavellian. Who says that kids' books have to be all sweetness and light?

In the queue:



Posted by rv at June 2, 2006 11:54 AM to book
Comments

FYI: Adblock blocks those pics/links...

The Devil in the White City is pretty good thus far. The milieu and overall story (which is non-fiction) are good, I just wish a *better* writer used them. I think the book would be more interesting if it contained more photographs in addition to the descriptions of the fair and its construction.

(Note that the book isn't exactly non-fiction as it tells us what the players think and feel as a fictive narrative would.)

Posted by: poz at June 3, 2006 03:16 PM

I changed the post and eliminated the picture links. Since I was revamping it anyway, I added my opinion on what I've read and what I'm reading.

I hope that I get more enjoyment out of "Devil in the White City" than you are. I fear that I will also want more photographs and better writing, but maybe I am less picky in some regards. (I think that I enjoyed The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay more than you did.)

Recommended: Kevin Baker's Dreamland: A Novel.

Posted by: rv at June 4, 2006 07:47 PM

I really like Connie Willis's writings. I liked To Say Nothing of The Dog, but also felt that I missed something cause I hadn't read the Jerome K Jerome thing. I highly recommend Doomsday Book, Bellweather and Lincoln's Dream.

Posted by: cf at June 6, 2006 09:34 PM

I want to read "Roughing It" before I get to HI, but had not realized its size. Have you also read or are you thinking about reading "Letters from Hawaii"?

I think that they are somewhat related or I recall some sort of relationship mentioned in the NYT article.

Posted by: Iwan at June 7, 2006 12:25 PM

According to the NY Times article, "Mark Twain in Hawaii: Roughing It in the Sandwich Islands" is "more portable, consisting of relevant chapters from "Roughing It," Twain's book of Western travels. Those chapters are basically the Hawaii letters in polished form; Twain added some material and left out the cruder parts."

I skipped the first 60-something chapters of Roughing It, and CHAPTER LXII. Bound for the Sandwich Islands.

Posted by: rv at June 7, 2006 02:16 PM