Keep Turning

A Writer's Companion [Richard Marius]

2007-01-29T19:23:00.000-05:00

A reference book that gives hope to any potential writer.

Read: 01/29/2007

'Tis [Frank McCourt]

2007-01-29T19:18:00.000-05:00

I think I'll like this book better when I'm older.

Read: 01/25/2007

The Picture of Dorian Gray [Oscar Wilde]

2007-01-29T19:03:00.000-05:00

Enjoyable. For the most part.

Read: 01/20/2007

Absalom, Absalom! [William Faulkner]

2007-01-29T18:55:00.000-05:00

Best book I've ever read.

Read: 01/16/2007

Wit [Margaret Edson]

2007-01-29T18:41:00.000-05:00

A play concerning itself with the last days of cancer.

Read: 01/13/2007

The Tale Of Genji [Murasaki Shikibu]

2007-01-29T18:29:00.000-05:00

I just read the first part of this 11th century Japanese classic. That's enough for now.

Read: 01/12/2007

Through The Looking Glass [Lewis Carroll]

2007-01-29T18:21:00.000-05:00

Fun.

Read: 01/09/2007

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland [Lewis Carroll]

2007-01-29T18:15:00.000-05:00

Before Monty Python, there was Alice.

Read: 01/08/2007

Pyongyang: A Journey In North Korea [Guy Delisle]

2007-01-29T17:53:00.000-05:00

Delisle created this graphic novel after spending two months in Pyongyang. He is a sensitive observer, and this work is worth reading. North Korea is nutzzz!

Read: 01/08/2007

Murder On The Orient Express [Agatha Christie]

2007-01-08T01:01:00.000-05:00

I know who did it.

Read: 01/07/07

Perdido Street Station [China Mieville]

2007-01-08T00:42:00.000-05:00

I appreciate Mieville's imagination.

Read: 01/07/07

The Awakening [Kate Chopin]

2007-01-07T12:08:00.000-05:00

A classic deserving of a quality post.

Read: 01/01/07

The History of Love [Nicole Krauss]

2006-12-31T17:21:00.000-05:00

Are you sad? That's okay, it just means you're in love.

Read: 12/31/06

300 Miles [Ben Kimball]

2006-12-26T11:31:00.000-05:00

A neat little book describing my friend's partial through hike of the AT. He writes well, and it was an engaging read. The personal account gives a very good idea of what it is really like to hike the trail.

Read: 12/26/06

Earthwalk [Philip Slater]

2006-12-25T23:34:00.000-05:00

Published in 1975, this book is a lament on the state of Western Civilization. Under the banner of progress and change, Philip Slater believes human beings are moving further away from living fulfilling lives. There is a vague sense from Slater that we can make things better, but it seems more likely we'll destroy ourselves. We'll really muck things on Earth in the process, but it will heal itself once we are gone.

I'd like to dismiss this book out of hand, but Slater constructs some very convincing arguments as to why we are on the wrong track. If you are looking for answer on how to correct our course though, this isn't the book. I respect Slater for this, and it is the only indication that he thinks humans are smart. Here are the facts, he seems to be saying, do with them what you will.

Read: 12/25/06

Have Space Suit - Will Travel [Robert A. Heinlein]

2006-12-18T13:18:00.000-05:00

A "gee-whiz!" sort of sci-fi book. It had a nice balance of soft and hard science fiction. Heinlein was interested in telling a compelling story, but didn't mind dedicating explanatory paragraphs to how space suits functions, or how to calculate the distance between stars.

Heinlein had an agenda with this book. He wanted to make sure the reader understood that it is only with passion and hard work that a person achieves their dreams. You'll run into a lot of people who want to block your progress, but pay no attention to them. If you want something, you can get it.

Read: 12/16/06

The Crying Lot Of 49 [Thomas Pynchon]

2006-12-12T16:16:00.000-05:00

The Pynchon book you read, if you only read one Pynchon book in your life. In other words, his shortest by about 500 pages.

People with silly names - and probably significant ones, if you are smart - run around finding out silly things. For instance, there is a vast conspiracy having to do with an underground mail delivery service.

I suppose one reads Pynchon not for the plot and character development, but for his eccentric style. Hidden within the chaos are some truly unique and inspiring thoughts.

Read: 12/11/06

One Man's Meat [E.B. White]

2006-12-12T15:59:00.000-05:00

This is a set of essays White wrote over the course of four years while on his "salt water farm" in Maine. Sure, they get "farmy" every once and awhile, but he mainly sticks to larger topics. WWII, for instance, begins shortly after her moves there. He is an astute observer, and I believe his thoughts on many topics are still relevant today.

He sure is gloomy, though.

Read: 12/10/06

Out Of Control [Kevin Kelly]

2006-12-12T15:40:00.000-05:00

"The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World." Don't ask, because I don't know. I can tell you this, Kevin Kelly is an extremely inquisitive person. Ultimately he wants to find out what makes life tick, and how humans - both in biological and intellectual forms - will evolve in the years to come.

This book, like Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything," embraces huge ideas. When the goal is to explain everything, anything is fair game. The reader encounters the expected (Darwin's theory of evolution) and the unexpected (a verse of Brownian poetry). Kevin Kelly wants to get at answers, and he'll use both scientific and metaphysical tools to get there.

Read: 12/03/06

Salamandastron [Brian Jacques]

2006-11-15T11:42:00.000-05:00

The sixth book in the Redwall series. I guess the good news is you know exactly what you are getting into when you pick up one of Brian Jacques's books. If you are in the mood for absolutely clear cut moral storytelling, pick up one of the 2,541 books in the Redwall series!

Read: 11/14/06

Trumpet of the Swan [E.B. White]

2006-10-28T15:47:00.000-04:00

I was on an E.B. White kick, so I read this book too. I found it a lot more whimsical then "Charlotte's Web."

Good god, that's all I got.

Read: 10/26/06

Charlotte's Web [E.B. White]

2006-10-24T13:46:00.000-04:00

I managed, somehow, to not read this book for the first 26 years of my life. I don't even think I saw the whole animated film.

I picked it up for a couple reasons, one of them being White's involvement with "The Elements of Style." You can see how Strunk influenced his writing. White's economy of language isn't simply due to this being a children's book, but because he really believes that it is the best way to present your writing.

The story itself, like many great kids books, is surprisingly dark. I was left feeling that life will always be, to a great extent, uncertain. It is not in our power to hold onto the things we love and cherish. These things come to you quite by accident, and it takes a great amount of caring and skill to keep them close by.

Read: 10/24/06

The Elements of Style [William Strunk and E.B. White]

2006-10-21T00:53:00.000-04:00

A concise reference book on how to write well. Simple rules emphasize the importance of mastering the basics of the English language. Less is always more for Strunk, and his case is convincing.

Read: 10/21/06

City of Saints and Madmen [Jeff Vandermeer]

2006-10-17T23:33:00.000-04:00

I'd write a long review, but Mr. Vandermeer used up most of the words. This thing had a 70 page glossary.

Read: 10/17/06

Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World [Haruki Murakami]

2006-10-05T12:34:00.000-04:00

Murakami is too cool for school.

I'll write a better post if someone comments.

Read: 10/05/06