The Stupidest Angel

This is a Christmas story by Michael Moore.

It sees the return of the archangel Raziel (from Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff) along with a number of other characters from other books by the author. The book has the air of a bored author who just wrote something for kicks and giggles. That being the case, it's a fun, light, somewhat r-rated read for the Christmas season.

The Watchers

This is a book by Mark Andrew Olsen. Honestly, I picked it up because I liked the title, figured it would be some sort of 1984ish science fiction book. I was wrong.

The first few chapters were not captivating or anything, but they were ok. After about ten, I realized that Christianity was going to play a large part in this book, and I wondered if the author would be cool about it, in a DaVinci Code kind of way, or not-so-cool about it in a crazy bible thumper kind of way. It soon became evident the latter was the case. Even so, I persevered through 23 chapters and 145 of 411 pages.

But really, this book is lame. If there is an original thought in it, I didn't find it, except maybe the fact that heaven is really just an endless supply of LSD, or so the descriptions have lead me to believe.

So, if you are an east texas baptist, this is the book for you. Otherwise, don't bother.

Sword of Truth

This is a fantasy series by Terry Goodkind.

I've read five or six of these so far, out of the eleven that are published. It's sort of a cross between the Dune series, which I thoroughly bashed a couple years ago, and the Eragon books, which aren't too bad. (Some people may not like that comparison, since the first book of The Sword of Truth came out twelve years before Eragon, but they'll just have to deal with it.) Some scenes and plot devices lack originality. Some other questionable scenes are clearly just there to win points with the intended adolescent male audience.

Other than that, these are engaging books that a reader can lose hours in. I'd recommend it to fans of fantasy.

The Monsters of Templeton

This is a novel by Lauren Groff. I picked it up rather randomly at the library a while back. I was walking through the fiction section, looking for something to read, and noticed that there were two copies of this on the shelf. I figured no one would notice if I borrowed one.

Anyway, it's a rather interesting read, half mystery, half history lesson (though it is fictional history.) It's a pleasant and enjoyable book if you need something to pass away the summer.

The Alienist

This is a book by Caleb Carr.

It's nothing special. As far as thrillers go, it isn't thrilling. As far as mysteries go, it is not mysterious. And, as far as historical fictions go, it is not especially historical.

Let's first look at the thriller aspect. It's a crime novel. The characters are trying to catch the bad guy. Of course there is going to be a little bit of suspense, but Carr uses cliché lines like "The stakes, as they say, were rising" (pg 204) far too often for any serious reader to not laugh a little every time one appears. The suspense just isn't there.

Next, I would hesitate to call this book a true mystery story. To me, a mystery is a book where the reader has a chance to solve puzzles and figure out the truth in step with the characters. With The Alienist, such chances are never provided. Either the reader is ten steps behind because the clues are too obscure, for example requiring knowledge of New York's turn-of-the-century water system, or the reader is five steps ahead because the clues are so obvious that he/she is left waiting for the characters to catch up. So, no, this book is not a mystery.

Finally, I don't count this as historical fiction either. The Killer Angels is historical. Even Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff is historical. These are books that base their plot on specific historical events. The plot of The Alienist has practically nothing to do with the period it is set in other than that it happens to be the date on the newspaper. Maybe that is an exaggeration; the time period provides some limits to the techniques the characters use and the occasional paragraph-length aside, which give me reason to designate this book a "period piece," but definitely not a historical fiction.

So, all-in-all, The Alienist is a very unspectacular book. I'd recommend it only to the unfortunate soul who can't decide if he wants to read a thriller, mystery, or historical fiction.

The Graveyard Book

This is the most recent publication, a young adult novel, by Neil Gaiman (who will have a new picture book [I think] coming out on March 10, 2009.)

If you have read his short stories, you will quickly recognize this as an extension of "The Witch's Headstone" out of M is for Magic. I am convinced if Gaiman was not already a successful author, this book would not have been published. The first half of the book is not so much a single story, but a series of short stories describing events in the main character's life. One of these chapters actually is "The Witches Headstone." The second half of the book, while still more broken than your typical narrative, does successfully and gracefully conclude the story.

Anyway, this book is absolutely wonderful. The writing style is a good balance between what is found in Gaiman's adult novels and the easier to read young adult genre. The characters are enjoyable (and as a sidenote, Liza Hempstock is quite possibly the cutest character I have ever read.) And, as I said, the plot is creative and original.

This is a book that will be adored by most of its readers, the small exception will be those who are obsessed with thrillers and suspense. If you enjoyed Gaiman's short stories, The Graveyard Book is a must-read.

The Sandman

This is the series of graphic novels written by Neil Gaiman (and much contributed to by artists, etc, whom I know nothing about.)

So far, this is the only graphic novel I have read, so I can't really tell you how it compares to other graphic novels, but the awards it has won probably testifies to its quality almost as well as I could. According to Wikipedia, it is the only comic book to ever win the World Fantasy Award and one of the few comic books to ever make it on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Well, I'm really just drawing a blank here...what can I say?

Gaiman is at his best in these stories. The world he creates becomes not just something the reader wants to believe, but something the reader can believe, an achievement made all the greater by the inclusion and morphing of so many religions and mythologies.

If you love Neil Gaiman already, you need to read The Sandman. If you don't know who Neil Gaiman is yet, go read something he wrote in a more respected medium, fall in love with him, then read The Sandman.

Interworld

This is a young adult novel coauthored by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves.

Admittedly, it's been a while since I read it, so I can't say anything very specific.

Probably the biggest thing fans of Neil Gaiman will notice is a fairly large departure from Gaiman's traditional style, even more so than in Good Omens, which he coauthored with Terry Pratchett. And, though I hate to say it about anything Gaiman has touched, this is a fairly average book.

I guess if you liked Ender's Game (by Orson Scott Card) then Interworld might be right up your alley.

Hunger Games

This is a young adult novel by Suzanne Collins, and evidently the start of a series.

Like Child-44 (previous post) I found Hunger Games on a Barnes and Noble list, this one for the best young adult novels of 2008.

In a literary sense, this book is of a higher caliber than the typical Harry Potter or Twilight-type young adult novel, and in an entertainment sense, it is just as gripping, if not even more so. The main character is extremely well developed, but if there are any drawbacks to this novel, it is the lack of information about secondary characters. Generally, all the reader gets to know is what the main character thinks about everything else.

Anyway, go read this book. It doesn't take long, and after everyone is finished with Twilight, this is likely going to be the series they are talking about.

Child-44

This is a novel by Tom Rob Smith.

Child-44 is a suspense/thriller/general-page-turner-type-book set in Stalinist Russia. However, since the author is English, was born in 1979, and studied creative writing in college, and because I personally know very little about the USSR, I'm not going to say how accurate of a portrayal it is.

I picked it up because Barnes and Noble named it as the best fictional novel of 2008. My own opinion is that it is an above average suspense novel, but still a far reach from anything great.

I'll say one thing that annoyed me though. This book is written in third-person limited, but this "limited" part switches from scene to scene. For one part, the reader may be following the thoughts of the main character, for the next part, it could be the thoughts of his wife, or his boss, or his antagonist. It could be an interesting technique, but the author fails to make it flow smoothly, instead leaving gaping holes and making the reader wonder, "If she is thinking this now, then why was she doing that back there?"

In short, this is not a book you need to go out of your way to read. If you are bored, going to be sitting in waiting rooms a lot, go ahead and check this out, otherwise don't worry about missing out.

The Road

This is a novel by Cormac McCarthy, noted on the cover for being read by Oprah's book club.

I didn't really like it.

Basically, The Road tries to be a metaphor for life. (Not a very original metaphor in my humble opinion.) Traveling along this road (yes, there is an actual road) are the two main characters, a man and his son. The crux of this novel is going to be in how the reader goes about trying to interpret its meaning, because it is cleverly written so that there are endless layers of interpretation and possible meaning...

...which makes it great for studying in a classroom or a second-rate book club. (Oprah?)

My problem with the book was that it made absolutely no attempt to be personal. The characters are the definition of flat. Thus there is no way for a reader to relate to the characters, and what could have been a semi-decent novel is really just a waste of time.

If you are trying to teach a group of dimwits how to think about what they read, this is the book for you. If you are looking for something intelligent, meaningful, or even just entertaining, look somewhere else.

The Kite Runner

This is a New York Times bestseller by Khaled Hosseini.

This book is yet another rendition of Things Fall Apart. It is the story of a coward, and as an extra treat, the main character is Afghan. I can safely promise you, if it were set any where else in the world, the book would not be half as popular as it is.

First off, the language annoyed me. It's obvious that English is not the author's native language, though it is still easier to read than Things Fall Apart. If I were being generous, I would make allowance for broken sentence flow and the occasional odd turn of phrase. But honestly, the whole thing felt sort of fake as I was reading it, almost like the author could have written it perfectly, but instead decided on using the language to scream, "I'm a foreign writer! Don't judge me!"

Nor was the plot really praise-worthy. I found the introduction particularly annoying. The author spends all his time trying to build up to this point in time where "everything changes." Instead of introducing his characters, fleshing out their relationships, he screams that this big moment when "everything changes" is about to come without the readers really even knowing what currently "is." So, eventually we get to the night that "Afghanistan changed forever" then nine pages later the author writes, "And for the most part...life went on as before." Maybe it's just me, but I think this author really needs to take a lesson in cause-and-effect. The end effect is that the author squandered his chance to adequately introduce his characters, and now has to inject little bits of history into the storyline as he goes along.

As for the rest of the plot, it is not incredibly original.

This book pissed me off a little bit. I can easily understand how someone who hasn't read great books could mistake this for a great book, but in my opinion it really just comes off feeling like a fraud.

Anybody could read this book, and as long as they start with low expectations, they may find it worthwhile, if not enjoyable.

Spook Country

This is William Gibson's most recent book and a somewhat sequel to Pattern Recognition.

I would make the argument that this is a book that has to be read slowly or by someone with ADD. At any point, there are three or four separate story lines each written in third person limited, and, unlike most authors who choose to dedicate a good amount of time to follow just one story line (such as in Lord of the Rings or the Inheritance Cycle,) Gibson makes the jump each chapter. Since chapters can be as short as one page, and generally at least under ten, this tendency can quickly wear down the reader. On the other hand, it has the benefit of not leaving the reader hanging too long after each jump, and there is no need to "go back in time" to catch up one story to the next. Whether or not this style is a critique really will depend on the reader.

A second observation, one I just realized applies somewhat to all of Gibson's books, is that the actions of the main characters are not really driving the story's plot. Rather secondary characters and characters that the reader never even see drive the plot; the main characters just get caught up in the flow, and the true story is how these personalities act in their given circumstances. The result of this is that the climaxes of this book are not when the action climaxes, but when the story lines following each character meet.

While I didn't like Spook Country as much as Pattern Recognition, it is still a very good book. Though, also like Pattern Recognition, and as I maybe indicated above, the climax is a little weak, which could definately be a problem for some readers. However, since I am a sucker for well written characters, I don't mind this critique much.

As to who should read this book......I don't actually know that I can define some certain group of people. My guess is that the people who will like this book will be able to read this review and decide for themselves (or maybe I just flatter myself with the quality of my reviews.) Regardless, read it.

Pattern Recognition

This is a novel by William Gibson.

I came across this book sort of by chance. I had the urge to read Neuromancer (also by Gibson) and, while picking it up, noticed this book next to it. Pulling Pattern Recognition off the shelf I noticed a blurb from Neil Gaiman on the back cover. Of course, I then had to read it.

Naturally, Pattern Recognition is a wonderful, wonderful book. If I didn't know already that it was by the same author as Neuromancer, I would never have guessed (though Neuromancer is also very good.) The style, though possibly not original, is not quite like anything I have come across before, and I must say I love it. The main character is extremely well developed, and supporting characters, while necessarily less developed, are well written.

If I had to critique anything about it, I would say that that the story is a little basic and the climax is a little low. I find I don't care too much about this though because the story is so well told, it doesn't need to be fancy. I will certainly be reading more of Gibson (of course allowing a short break for the release of Eragon book 3.)

This book I really recommend to anyone and everyone. Ok, that's a lie. If you are a conscienceless grammar Nazi, you won't be fond of the style I am so lavishly praising. But otherwise everyone can adore this book.

Book of Air and Shadows

This is a novel by Michael Gruber.

I must say this is probably the first decent book I have read in a while. I came across it at Barnes & Noble while waiting for the midnight release of Breaking Dawn. (I'm a sucker for midnight releases.) As it turned out, the least populated aisle was the one with Danielewski's House of Leaves in it, so I pulled it down and settled myself in to read a few random sections while I waited. (It's a good book for that sort of thing, akin to the Bible in a way, though I'm sure saying so will get me eternally damned.) This book, Book of Air and Shadows, happened to be right on the other side of the aisle. I picked it up due to the cliché title, read the first page, noted that it was a bestseller, and made a point to remember it for future reading.

In review, I liked the style it was written in: not too complicated to make the reader confused and require rereading, not too simple that the reader ends up speed-reading through the whole thing and missing sentences. The story runs a little slowly at points, but that is far preferable to the half-put-together mish mash that a lesser author would have been content to publish.

I really think this could be a good and entertaining read for anyone.

(I guess I should note that, contrary to any suspicions resulting from the title, this is a fiction, but not a fantasy.)

Blindsighted

This is a suspense/mystery by Karin Slaughter.

Overall, I'd have to say this is a fairly mediocre book, better than Lisa Unger's works, but not even close to Dan Brown's DaVinci Code. In a list of pros and cons, Blindsighted gains from having strong characters and relationships, but loses ground in the mystery, since it is really impossible for the reader to start guessing at the villian until the protagonist also makes those same guesses.

Personally, I thought this novel should have been written from a first-person perspective. Not only would this strengthen the pros and give an excuse for the cons, but also I think it would make reading the book more comfortable.

So, who should read this? Someone who is bored, doesn't mind a few graphic descriptions of crime, and, for whatever reason, doesn't want to try their luck at picking a random book.

The Host

I know; I know; I'm getting behind.

The Host is Stephanie Meyer's attempt at a novel for a more mature audience than her Twilight series was directed at.

That said, it is not as great a leap as I expected. In terms of style, it is a fairly easy read, and in terms of content, it is perfectly suitable for all ages.

Personally, I think an apt description of the book would be Stephanie Meyer meets Stranger in a Strange Land. If you love the Twilight books, you will probably at least like The Host. If you liked Stranger in a Strange Land, you may find The Host interesting, if perhaps a little gushy.

Beautiful Lies

This, along with its sequel Sliver of Truth, are thrillers by Lisa Unger.

Beautiful Lies is a halfway decent story, and I admit I got caught up in it while reading. However, I suspect if I hadn't I would have found a number of inconsistencies in the plot. Sliver of Truth I enjoyed considerably less. For one, the speaker spends a considerable amount of time addressing the reader directly. For two, the speaker offers up a lot of background information that is completely irrelevant to plot, characterization, or much of anything. And third, the author has an annoying tendency to jump around in the timeline of the story. I try to avoided anything that could possibly be construed as a spoiler in this blog, but since these things very much annoyed me, I am compelled to share what I consider to be a fairly harmless example. At the end of one chapter, we find the speaker finishing up an argument with her boyfriend in New York City. The start of the next chapter finds the speaker in Detroit, whereupon she provides a paragraph explaining why she is a bad driver, something completely irrelevant. A few paragraphs later, she writes to the reader (paraphrasing) "I bet you wonder how I got here." At this point, she begins to elaborate everything that happened between the end of the last chapter and the start of the current one, finally finishing up with where she currently is...again.

I suspect Beautiful Lies is a case of an amateur writer stumbling across a decent story in much the same way a chimpanzee, if put in front of a typewriter, will eventually quote Shakespeare. It is the sort of writing that is suitable for passing a few hours in an airport. However, I would not make a habit of reading books by this author.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

This is the first novel by British author Susanna Clarke.

I can't say I really enjoyed it, but at the same time it wasn't a horrible book. I guess it was just mediocre. If anything, it was far more tedious than it had any right or reason to be.

If you liked Good Omens (by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett) then this book may be something you would enjoy. Personally, I found Good Omens to be a mix between two great storytellers that didn't flatter either one of them. In the same way, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is a hybrid of classic epic fantasy and something much more boring in the fashion of English literature.

Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged is a novel by philosophical writer Ayn Rand. And, it is long.

It is a lot like The Fountainhead; a reader of both will find some very familiar characters, but since Atlas Shrugged is about twice as long, there is also a much larger array of characters allowing readers a more in depth look at Rand's philosophy (Objectivism). Atlas Shrugged also ventures slightly into the genre of science fiction. I found these bits a little distasteful, but they are minor in the overall scope of the work.

Personally, I enjoyed this book a lot. I think it is more melodramatic and 1984ish than The Fountainhead, and if put to a test, I would have to say I enjoyed the story of The Fountainhead more than this novel. However, for those wanting to understand objectivism, this is an essential read. I do not, even in the slightest, regret the huge investment of time spent reading it.

I would say that everyone should read this book. But I say that knowing only an intelligent person would be able to look at the 1069 pages and still consider reading it.

Physiognomy

This is a fantasy book by Jeffrey Ford. It was a spontaneous read. I was walking through the library and saw a book with an interesting cover. I picked it up, saw the blurb at the top telling me the author also wrote the award winning book Physiognomy, so that is the book I read.

It is short, slightly entertaining, a little like Dune with the drugs and sex, but not so bad. Not worth going out of your way to read.

Done and done.

A Clockwork Orange

This is a short novel by Anthony Burgess. It has actually been a while since I read it, just forgot to post about it, I guess.

Anyway, it's basically a gory story about the hopelessness of society and the prevalence of evil. Its main characteristic (for the casual reader) it the absurd vocabulary that, I guess, is supposed to mimic street slang from some era or another. The version I read had a glossary at the back for when I got a little lost.

Anyway, this was another book that was on some list of 1000 must read books. Personally, I didn't enjoy it, but can certainly see why it made that list: by leaving me confused at the end.

This book isn't written for anyone in particular. If you happen to be reading books and come across this one, you'll certainly have an opinion about it, but one way or another, you too will forget about it.

The Celestine Prophecy

The Celestine Prophecy is an adventure by James Redfield.

In reality, it is a self-help book tricked out to look enough like fiction that it will get unsuspecting innocents to read it. (After realizing this, the traditional signs did pop out at me: the blurb on the front cover from an M.D., the subscription form in the back [$30 for a newsletter, $50 for an audio tape.])

That being said, I do think some of the less spectacular claims here could help some people. (People I don't know, but certainly someone.)

If I were to sum up this book, it would simply be: know thyself, know others, and act on it.

If you aren't easily duped into sending money to random people, I won't say that you shouldn't read this book, but maybe it wouldn't be an incredibly painful experience.

Sophie's World

This is a novel by Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder.

It sells itself as a juvenile fiction and a history of philosophy. Now this is an amazing book in one aspect only: it is the first book, since I started reading for fun, that I could not finish. This book is horrible. It is painful to read. I found I would rather fill my time sitting, thinking about how much I did not want to open this book, than reading it.

In terms of philosophy, there is a reason this book is in the fiction section and not the reference section; there is a reason this book was first published in Norwegian before being translated into English. If you want names and dates, this book could help, but you'd save a lot of time using wikipedia instead of this book. For a summary of the philosophies, there can be nothing worse than this book. The author is incredibly biased in what is included and what is not. Even within the philosophies included, I spotted numerous instances of half-truths, misleading information, and some simple lies. For example, at one point the author explains how Christians don't believe that humans have souls. This seemed ridiculous enough to me that I had to check just in case everything I had learned for the past 6 years was wrong, so I wrote to a reverend I know with the passage in question quoted. He replied that Gaarder was flat out wrong. I can't emphasize enough, if you want to learn about philosophy, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!!!

Now, there is a little bit of a story line about a 14 year old girl who secretly meets with a middle-aged man. (Maybe in Norway this is fine?) For the most part this is a boring and pointless attempt to string together long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, longlonglonglonglonglonglonglonglonglonglonglonglonglong.... dialogues about philosophy. In my humble opinion, this plot is superficial, lame, and worthless, but in all fairness, I only read 275 pages before giving up.

So, who should read this novel? No one. It should be avoided at any cost. If someone gives this book to you as a gift, hand it right back. If you happen to come across a pile of these soaking in gasoline in some back alley, do the world a favor and throw a match into the mix. Only an intellectual masochist or a complete idiot would manage to get through this entire book.

Twilight series

This is a 5 book series (I think) by Stephenie Meyer. The first 3 books (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse) have been published and the 4th (Breaking Dawn) is set for release on August 2, 2008.

Call me a little girl, but I really enjoyed reading these books. For no specific reason, they made me happy.

Other than that, they are sweet and enjoyable books targeted at teenage girls.

Anthem

This is a very short book by Ayn Rand.

Basically, it is the extremely abridged version of The Fountainhead with a 1984ish spin, and a much reduced understanding of the philosophy. If I thought cruelly of the author, I would say the only purpose of this book is to force high school English classes to read it. In my humble opinion, that is all it is good for.

If you are locked in a padded cell with nothing but this book and about an hour of time to waste, sure you can read it. Otherwise, don't waste your time; just pick up The Fountainhead and put some effort into understanding.

The Fountainhead

The Fountainhead is a fairly long novel by Ayn Rand.

Apparently I'm not the only person who has read it, and everyone I have talked to has loved it. In this, I have to agree with them.

The Fountainhead is an extremely powerful and philosophical novel (after writing Atlas Shrugged, Rand stopped writing fiction entirely to just do philosophical writing.) It is not exactly world crashing like House of Leaves was, but it will certainly make you rethink how you are living your life.

Personally, it scared me. I found I often had to set it down just to think about what it was saying and then get the courage to pick it back up again. I do have one complaint though: near the end it got a little preachy with a lot of dialogue that serves no other purpose than to explain in words what the rest of the book explained through characters. I suspect this is just for the imbeciles who would seek to read it, but whatever.

This is a book for those who have an appreciation for books, and art in general, in the respect that they are an extension of life. It is a book for the people of bold character, who would challenge the world, and in doing so make it better.

Weaveworld

This is a novel by Clive Barker.

My first opinion of it, after having read about 100 pages, was that it was Neverwhere, only worse (because obviously no one can match Neil Gaiman's style.) And, I stand by that judgment as it regards the first 100 pages. However, the story manages to diverge in the following 500 or so pages and really becomes a world that the reader can get lost in.

So, if you like the plot of Neverwhere, I recommend Weaveworld as a good read.

The Quiet American

This is a novel by Graham Greene. If I had to compare it to something else I've read, I'd say this come closest to Catch-22 in tone, though with more seriousness. In fact, this is probably the most philosophical book I've read that is not actually a book about philosophy

This book is about human frailty with respect to the human dilemma. It emphasizes the idea that things can not be described in terms of good or evil. Therefore, no action can be taken in the name of "good," and thus people can not be described as innocent or guilty. Obviously the book puts it much much much more eloquently than I did it just there, but I believe that is what it boils down to.

The story itself is fairly interesting. There are some time-shifts that have the potential to confuse the reader if you are just trying to skim through the book, but otherwise shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, I recommend this book.

The Mirror Men

UPDATE: Still waiting for updates.



This is a novel-in-progress by Grace Eyre. Although it probably goes without saying to those who know the author, this is a work of genius.

Personally, I'd say it is so far and oddball cross between Dan Brown (author of The DaVinci Code) and Neil Gaiman (the best author in the world.) But, that is not to say it is unoriginal. Every moment is unpredictable, and every word is artfully chosen.

Now, it may be too early in the game to call out faults with The Mirror Men, but I'm a jerk, so I will anyways. There are a few holes, but I am eager to ascribe those to me not seeing the whole picture as the novel is still incomplete. Rather, the main problem I see so far is a division between character characters and plot characters. What I mean is, there are some characters whom it is obvious that the author loves, and then there are characters who are solely there to fill a void in the story and make events move along. It just seems the author doesn't really care about these plot characters, which means I don't care about the plot characters, and the whole story ends up suffering.

Regardless, I love this story so far and eagerly await updates. I highly suggest everyone spam Grace for permission to read The Mirror Men.

Eragon and Eldest

These are the first two books of the Inheritance trilogy by Christopher Paolini. The final addition to this trilogy is set for release on September 20, 2008 at 12:01 am.

From reading the cover of Eldest, I learned that Paolini started writing the series when he was just 15 years old. I can tell you that it shows. Personally, while reading Eragon, I found the lack of variety in sentence structure a little annoying. However, in Eldest, it is apparent that Paolini matured a lot as a writer, though the novel is still far from being a difficult read.

As far as plot goes, this is a fairly enjoyable story. Critics have suggested that it borrows too much from other fantasy and science fiction, but in my own experience, this can be said of pretty much any piece of literature. If you read enough, you see similarities. But enough with critics, I found most of the story surprising and enjoyable.

In terms of literary depth, I'm going to be a jerk and say it is at a level even below Harry Potter (which itself is close to zero.) A person could claim themes about the importance of friendship and loyalty, but really there is nothing here greater than what can be found in a newspaper article. The popularity of this series is a result purely of it being a fun and easy read.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

This is an odd (and recent) novel by Mark Haddon. I picked it up because I was looking through the shelves at a used book store and remembered seeing the title on a list of 1000 "must read" books. What makes it unique is it is "written," I'm guessing, by an autistic savant. I have to guess, because a specific problem is never actually mentioned, and my knowledge of mental defects is rather limited.

Anyway, I think the main goal of this book is to give the readers a sense of perspective. Other than that, it has sub-themes of love, patience, self-reliance, accomplishment, and basically all the trash that lesser novels (that don't make lists) have.

I can only say that this is not an enjoyable read. Nor is it a book that is going to blow your mind. A person can quite easily go through this book, hate it, and not realize that it has anything important to say. Personally, when I got to the end, I spent quite a while trying to figure out what the heck I was supposed to have learned from this before I came up with the idea of "perspective." This is probably why the book store I visited had over a dozen copies of this book that were "used" but practically brand new.

Anyway, if you pick this up, don't be ashamed to chuck it out the window when you are done. If you spend some time thinking about it and come up with some new revelation that is better than "perspective," please let me know.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

This is a bestseller by author Christopher Moore.

I must say, when I picked it up, I expected something that would be making fun of the Gospels, probably would get a lot of things wrong, and basically sacrifice a lot for the sake of a good joke.

I was wrong.

The author did some very extensive research into the Gospels, talked with researchers, even traveled to Jerusalem. There are some historical inaccuracies, which are discussed in the afterword, but in terms of contradicting the Gospel, there are no such occurrences; admittedly not everything that is in the Gospels is mentioned, but that is really just to keep the book from being too long. All in all, I actually learned a lot from reading this book.

Anyway, to the story. As you can tell by the title, it is about the life of Jesus Christ and told by the Levi called Biff. Biff meets up with Jesus when they are about 7 years old, and the story continues from there until Jesus's crucifixion. The many years of Christ's life that are not mentioned in the Gospels are thus filled in with the author's guess at what happened.

Obviously, if the readers of this book were as detached as they are from the Gospels, it would have never made a bestseller list. (It probably wouldn't have even been published.) But the humor (this book is hilarious,) the sadness, and everything comes from the perspective of Biff. What I have come to understand from reading this book is that the Gospels were not written by friends of Jesus, people who Loved him, but rather people who believed in him and loved his word. Biff, however, is someone who doesn't necessarily understand anything Jesus preaches, but Loves him as a friend. I think, even if this book is inaccurate, understanding that limitation in terms of the Bible can really bring a better understanding to a christian's faith.

I really recommend this book to any non-hillbilly-half-retarded-semi-open-minded christian, anybody who wants to learn a little about christianity, but doesn't want to ask some insane creep who will take it as a sign from God that they need to convert this person, or anyone who just wants to read a good and funny book.

The Lambs of London

This is a recent (2006) novel by Peter Ackroyd. It is a historical fiction set in Industrial Age England.

All in all, I can't say I got a whole lot from reading this book. But, that is not to say there is nothing there. I suspect this is the type of book that would make for excellent discussion in a book club or just between friends.

From what I can understand, this is an existential book. It is essentially about living, but it is not going to give the reader any advice as to how to live.

So, out of purely selfish motives, I recommend everyone read this book. It may not provoke a huge revelation or change your life, but it may just inspire an intelligent conversation.

You Suck: A Love Story

This is a book by Christopher Moore (also author of A Dirty Job.)

It is written half in 3rd person, half as a diary of one of the characters. Honestly, this second part got on my nerves a little bit. Maybe there is someone out there who can appreciate this, but I can't really recommend this book to anyone I know.

Clearly not Moore's best work.

Storm Front

This is the first of a series of books collectively known as the Dresden Files authored by Jim Butcher. It is a bizarre combination of a wizard living in a very realistic Chicago and trying to make a living as a pseudo-detective.

I really enjoyed it. The book is not at all intended to be taken seriously. I find its comedy is much along the lines of The Gun Seller, if you have read that book, written by Hugh Laurie (from the TV show House.)

My bet is, if you enjoy House and you liked Harry Potter, Storm Front is just what you need for a good and easy read.

Dune

This is a six book science fiction series by Frank Herbert. According to the blurb on the cover, this is the second best selling sci-fi/fantasy series in history, after Lord of the Rings. I'm sure this is either out of date or not including Harry Potter, but whatever.

These books are lame. They are the soap opera of the science fiction world. So much "culture" is just made up on the fly and then forever forgotten that it is really just a cop out for what is normally filled by creative writing. If the author needs this person to attack that person, suddenly there are 3 deadly insults that are known throughout the culture but are just being mentioned now and will never be mentioned again. This other person is supposed to become a god, so have him put on his shoes correctly and say it fulfills a prophecy even though no such prophecy, or even religion, has been explained to the reader. It is with this sort of stuff that the author fails to give his readers anything to think about.

I am sure any intelligent reader will find this series more annoying than enjoyable. I tend to get caught up in books far more than the average reader, but with Dune I was constantly finding myself asking, "What the hell? Where did that come from?"

In short, this series is nothing more than the perverse ramblings of someone who had way too much free time.

The Great Divorce

This is another of C.S. Lewis's short books about Christianity. I'd say it is interesting if you are a Christian or just want to understand it a little better. Otherwise, though it is in the form of a narrative story, it won't be very interesting.

Regardless, I enjoyed it.

War and Peace

This is a Russian novel by Leo Tolstoy. The version I read was translated by Constance Garnett. Contrary to all my expectations, this was a very enjoyable read.

For such a long novel, it has very few faults. First is that it is LONG, so it is going to take quite a while to read. Second, it has a ton of characters, each with a first name, last name, nickname, title, etc, and it can be difficult to keep track of them all and their relations to each other. Third, Tolstoy occasionally lapses into his (I think insane) philosophy about history. This is most evident in part two of the epilogue (the last 40 pages of the book) where there is no more plot development, only a rant on Tolstoy's philosophy ranging from how bad writers of history are to claiming that man doesn't exist.

The greatness of War and Peace lies in the fact that it is not just one story, but many story lines woven together to illustrate almost the entirety of the human condition. The novel's enjoyability lies in how the reader can understand and relate to all the characters.

If it weren't such a long novel, I would be reading it again. Instead I think I will put that off for a while.

MirrorMask

Ok, I'm cheating here. This is actually a movie, but since the main script writers are Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman (who is just super cool) I'm including it here.

The star of this film is the computer effects. They are utterly spectacular and artistic. The story comes a close second; it is simple and enjoyable.

MirrorMask is also a book (that I haven't read,) which was published after the movie came out and showcases much of the art from the movie.

The Belgariad

This is a five-book fantasy series by David Eddings. If you don't like fantasy, you won't like any of these. If you do like fantasy, the first book is the worst, so if you manage to get through it, you might as well read the other four books.

It wasn't entirely original, there were moments I found myself recollecting scenes and ideas from Lord of the Rings that are copied in this series. But overall, I found it a decent and enjoyable series, and an easy read.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Finished it.

Great book.

Do I really have to tell you that?

Storm Front

This book I actually picked up by accident looking for a different book by the same title but different author. (Virginia Anderson wrote the book I ended up reading.)

Anyway, Storm Front is a suspense/mystery type of book. It can sort of be suspenseful if you accept without question the utterly bizarre behavior of the characters, otherwise it is just sort of lame. The mystery part of it is a complete failure. It seems to me the author got to the climax of the book where the murderer had to be revealed without any sort of plan, and so she just picked the least likely person and tried to tie it all together (and failed to) afterwards.

This book is really not worth anyone's time.

A Dirty Job

After spending most of the summer reading children's novels (Harry Potter, Coraline, Discworld) this was a nice reminder of adult literature.

As a fan of the darker side of humor, I found this book absurdly hilarious. I am quite assured there is no deeper moral message, no themes that have to be analyzed, nothing that would make me re-evaluate my life, but rather this book was just written to be funny.

You will probably find future posts concerning other books by Christopher Moore.

Fragile Things

As far as I can tell, this is the Neil Gaiman's second and most recent compilation of short stories. Personally, I didn't like it as much as Smoke and Mirrors, but it has a few high points. Fairy Reel is a good poem, Bitter Grounds is a story I felt I related to all too much (particularly the first paragraph.) But, probably the best story in this compilation is the last one, The Monarch of the Glen.

This last story continues with the character Shadow out of Gaiman's novel American Gods, which allowed the character depth that usually can't be achieved due to the limitations of short stories being short.

Coraline

This is a children's novel by Neil Gaiman. I only read it because I think it was the last of his novels that I hadn't read.

If Stardust was a version of Tom Jones, then Coraline is a version of Alice in Wonderland. It is very creative and eerie, staying with Gaiman's usual style, but is, of course, rather restricted by being a novel for children.

Overall, a good read if you have a spare afternoon and don't want a challenge.

Discworld

This is a series by British author Terry Pratchett. Currently there are 36 books in it and as of yet I have only read five of them, but I think that is good enough to write a review.

These are the best books for light reading I have yet come across. They are easy to read (this last one was about 240 pages and took about 3 days to read,) and very enjoyable (I find myself laughing out loud quite often while reading them.)

I would recommend them for two types of people: the vigorous reader who, tired of powerful, life-altering books, wants something fun to read, and the not-so-vigorous reader who is actually quite lazy in every aspect of life and needs something to do while procrastinating harder work.

East of Eden

I have heard this book called the great american novel, and I would have to agree.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Not that interesting. I was a little disappointed because I had heard that it was a good, even weird, book from a couple of different people. I suspect now that these people haven't read many books.

I think most everyone in our culture knows what The Picture of Dorian Gray is about and how it ends, and I can comfortably say that you aren't missing much by just having the basic idea and not ever reading the actual work. Though, if for some bizarre reason you are not familiar with the story, go read it for no other reason than that it is an icon of classic literature.

(I did have a little question about it though for anyone who has studied it: Who is Lord Henry Wotton? Does he believe what he says? Is he as careless as he alludes? The author seemed to avoid giving any real details about him other than describing him as young at the start of the book then as aged at the end of the book. The rest we learn about him is through his dialogue (which never focuses on him) and through second hand opinions of other characters.)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

This book ended up being very personal to me. I considered not posting about it here because of that, but it seemed that would be against the moral of the book. So here it goes:

After running the reader through practically every taboo situation associated with high school life (this book is found in the young adult section of the library) in the first part, it settles down into a deeper look into the the life of Charlie. It is like Catcher in the Rye in that it is very touching and very personal, though I am not sure every person in the world can relate to Charlie like they can probably relate to the Catcher (I forget his name,) but that doesn't change what it meant to me. I tried to start reading the next book I have, but couldn't manage it. I walked up and down the hallway for 3 hours thinking. Then I took the bus to the mall, apparently it closes at nine and I was there at 10, so I walked around the mall instead of through it.

I don't really know. I half am glad my life wasn't like Charlie's, I half think my life was like Charlie's, and I half wish my life was like Charlie's. I know that adds up to more than one, but I figure I am just that cool.

Love always,

The Once and Future King

This is one of the tellings of King Arthur and the Round Table if you couldn't tell from the title. It is divided into 4 books (Sword in the Stone, The Queen of Air and Darkness, The Ill-Made Knight, and The Candle in the Wind) and covers the entirety of Arthur's life.

There may not be anything technically wrong with it, but it took me a long time to read and I did not enjoy it much. I suspect this is just a case of the author failing to engage the reader.

The plot is good. It is King Arthur, of course the plot is good. But, there is far too much description. For example, one chapter starts with Lancelot and Guenever sitting by a window and the entirety of the chapter goes on to tell what they didn't see (thieves being hung for stealing amounts worth as much as a shilling, which could have been done in the old days, which really wasn't so bad because a shilling in those days was worth two geese or ninety loaves of bread) and what the could have seen (maidens riding through the forest, which couldn't have happened in the old days for fear of being attacked, and was now possible because all the roads were cleared on either side a distances that exceeded the length of a bowshot.) This stuff may even seem humorous were it not for the fact that twenty continuous pages were filled with little tidbits like this which did not at all build the plot. By the end of the novel I was just skimming over this stuff.

If you are the type of reader who can find this description enjoyable, then you will probably love this book.

The Remains of the Day

Another great book. I enjoyed watching the protagonist evolve...though he didn't really I guess, just the reader's knowledge of him grows. I think the amount you enjoy this is dependent on the type of person you are more so than some of the other books I have read.


Anyway...
The obvious themes are to not let duty become too important to you and it is never too late to change...but I can't help feel there is something I am missing with this book.

House of Leaves

If you listened in your history class, you probably know that Lincoln was not the primary speaker that day in Gettysburg. Rather it was Edward Everett who delivered a two hour speech. It is said that after the day was over, Everett went up to Lincoln and told him that he said better in 3 minutes what Everett had spent hours trying to enumerate.

I think this is the greatest book I've yet read. I think it is more powerful and more insightful than the Bible. And, I think I will have to read it many more times to come to an understanding with it.


This is NOT a book you should read for fun.

Stardust

Okay, so I read this one a while ago and just noticed that I hadn't posted anything about it. I admit there are some books I don't post about either because there is nothing to say about them (as is the case with some book I can't remember) or because they are too hard to write about (as is the case with American Gods by Neil Gaiman.) But this fits neither of those...so here is my summary:

This book is just like A History of Tom Jones except 5 times shorter (which is a good thing) and with a touch of fantasy added in. Personally, I liked it a lot, though if you do decide to read it, try to find the unillustrated version because the pictures suck.

The Giver

This is one of those books I should have read much earlier in life but never got around to. It's only drawback is that it is juvenile fiction. The message is good, it can teach you something, but it just doesn't achieve the depth that some more adult books can.

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls

Another Robert Heinlein book, I liked it better than Stranger in a Strange Land, but was still unsatisfied with the ending, though Heinlein can, at least this time, justify the ending.

Catch-22

Great book, but not a good book.

It isn't good because I didn't really like it.

It is great because it taught me something about myself.

The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is an ironic sort of book.

Ironic not in anything it says, but in its very purpose.

Basically, it is one of those old-fashioned stories that actually attempts to impart on the reader a lesson. This particular lesson is one about how we should live our individual lives. The problem is, and Coelho points this out in the book, one can not learn how to live from a book or from another person, they have to figure it out for themselves.

What comes of this (and I like to think that I have figured out a little bit of what life is about) is that a few people will read it and think, "Well...yeah..." but the vast majority of people will completely misunderstand it, as demonstrated by the blurbs in the first pages of the book.

So what is the role of the book if it either isn't telling its readers anything new, or isn't telling its readers anything at all? I think the book is playing the same role as the king does (a character in the book,) it is trying to affirm that we are on the right path and will help us along when we most doubt ourselves.

Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke and Mirrors is a collection of short stories/poems by Neil Gaiman. Aptly titled, each of the stories is a small glimpse into human life. Each story is a lie that shows us a little bit of truth. And, each is gloomy.

This is not a good book for one contemplating suicide, but otherwise is a must read. The longest story being only 31 pages, you can read them over a period of months if you so desire. Notable mentions are Mouse and Murder Mysteries. Personally I also enjoyed the last story, Snow, Glass, Apples. It reminds me of those old English class assignments where we would have to do much the same thing, but obviously Gaiman is much better at it than any of us ever were.

Stranger in a Strange Land

I'll tell you, this one was a slow read to start. It is a lot of talking and not much action, but that suits it. The book is an exploration of human culture, highly philosophical and highly critical of many "truths" people have come to take for granted. If I had stopped reading 15 pages before the book actually ended, I would have been able to tell you that this was one of the best books ever written to attempt such a grand task. At some point, I am not really certain when, the reader can begin to see the plot building up, building up to the inevitable end. You see it coming, but you have to keep reading to see it come into its fullness...

Then, in those last 15 pages, the author seemingly gives up, throws the reader this load of crap that doesn't at all match up with what he was continually driving at, and the reader is left half empty. Probably I will have to read it again, just see if I can somehow resolve what Heinlein did, but right now I have other books to read.

Neverwhere

After Snow Crash, I was sort of stumped for a while on what to read. A while being about two days. I checked an internet Q&A and found where someone had asked for book recommendations. Sure enough there was recommended Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Of course, it wasn't actually in the library, so I looked up some books that the authors had written separately, and Neverwhere was the first I read.

Wow.

This book is genius. The author managed to find the line between reality and fantasy, and somehow blur it.

It is a fairly short easy read. It is another character development story. At the same time, but plot is amazing and original.

Highly recommended.

Snow Crash

This was a follow-up recommended to be by the same person who recommended Neuromancer. As such, I came into it with high hopes. After all, even the cover compared it to Neuromancer.

This book is crap.

I never actually thought I would say this about anything, but this book just steps out of the bounds of believability. From what I can tell, it attempts to combine a Neuromancer genre (cyberpunk) with a DaVinci Code type plot. I don't know if it is possible for such things to mix, but this book doesn't manage it.

Throughout there is a lack of literary content, but an obvious attempt at it, which mainly just gives it a cheap imitation feeling.

Neuromancer

This one was recommended to me by a friend as "just another book". I read it all the way through as "just another book," got to the last page, thought "what the hell just happened?" and had to immediately start reading it again with a much more critical eye.

This book, according to Wikipedia, belongs to the cyberpunk genre. In my own words, it is half science fiction, half post-apocalyptic. If you read it as "just another book," and don't enjoy this style, you will find absolutely nothing to enjoy about the book.

However, this is not just another book. Neuromancer is a presentation of a philosophy. The author uses strong symbolism throughout, strong themes, weak but extremely focused characterization to present his ideas that caught me completely by surprise the first time I read it.

If you read it as just another book, it ends well enough. But as I managed to grasp the theme, it turned out to be a very sad book. Completely not what I expected.

Deathgate Series

This is a series of seven books that I started reading sort of by accident. It is by no means high literature.

Based in a fantasy world, each book covers one step of the journey of the protagonist. While each book is not really stand alone, (you really should read them in order,) each one manages to have an introduction, separate story, and satisfactory conclusion.

Unfortunately, the first book is probably the worst of the series. Because the reader is starting with no knowledge of the world the author intends to develop, the author is very limited in terms of what can be done with the plot. Once past the first book, the author can use a lot more freedom and the books become that much more fun and interesting to read.

But don't go looking to these for anything meaningful. They are fun and interesting, I in particular became attached to the characters, but the setting and the plot are just as fun for whatever type of reader you are.

Pride and Prejudice

I have to start with this one because it is what really started me on reading. Freshman year of high school I was assigned to read this book and never did. Years later in college, I forget what made me do it, I went to the library, checked out this book, read it cover to cover twice. And, enjoyed it.

As literary significance, this novel isn't much more than a popular book. There is no deep meaning, no hidden agenda; it is nothing more than the development of characters. In that, it is better than any other book I've yet to read.

Obviously, this book is not for everyone: there are plenty of people who look for something else in what they read, dramatic plots, deep moral themes, alliteration and rhyming. For myself, people have always been interesting for just being people. This book, through its elaborate development gives to the reader an understanding of the characters, and perhaps a little insight into themselves.