<i>How to Read a Book</i> by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren

The first thing I noticed when I picked this book up to read it was that Charles Van Doren is one of the authors. He was involved in the game show scandals of the 1950's---what the Redford directed movie Quiz Show was based on. Other than that event, I knew he had a reputation as an "intellectual". As such I would expect him to be well read and able to offer a good opinion on the topic.

I was not disappointed. This book offers a structured and directed approach for reading. The author's split reading into four classifications: elementary, inspectional, analytical and syntopical and offers rules for doing each type. The rules start with four questions: what is the book about; what is being said and how; is the book true in whole or part; and what of it? Ther are detailed instructions for determining these answers, which I will leave as an excercise to the reader. Suffice it to say, I generally agree with what is said.

The authors encourage marking up books. I used to do this often, but had gotten away from it in college---probably because reselling books was much in my mind. I am going to start doing that again, as I do find (testing with this particular book) that the act of holding a pen in my hand ready to underline, makes me a more attentive reader.

The authors say that as a reader, one must read actively, asking the questions above for all books, modifying slightly for fiction and other genres and in intensity based on what is to be accomplished by reading the book. Just this is an interesting discussion, as one must know what and why one is reading something before starting. Will I need my pen to mark up pages? Should I retain this for later reference?

One thing they don't discuss is the social aspects of reading. Plenty of time is spent coaching you to come to your own opinion about books---a very important point: an opinion about anything is no good if you didn't arrive at it following considerable thought on your own---but I do not remember any notes about using these opinions to further discussion.

I suspect that many of the directions for discussing books would be the same as "talking" to authors: don't criticize some one until you can say "I understand", don't be contentious , and recognize and observe the difference between knowledge adn personal opinion. Really, be civil in discussions.

This is a book I will reference often as I read.

9/10

<i>The Blind Assassin</i> by Margaret Atwood

This book was suggested by a friend. Since I have read other Atwood (The Handmaid's Tail about 3 years ago and Cat's Eye in high school) and liked them, I was happy to return to her work, especially with a recommendation.

Atwood adeptly weaves together three stories: a book within the book, the memories of the protagonist and the clippings to support these memories. So, as readers we get an interpreted history through the book within the book, a personal history through the memories and an objective history through the clippings. These three aspects establish a rich story.

An additional layer is the sci-fi stories that were incorporated as part of the book within the book (I was reminded of the sci-fi aspects of Cat's Eye). These stories compounded the interpretation, creating caricatures of the main characters: a girl who couldn't talk and a boy who couldn't see. The caricatures were broad brush strokes, reflecting an inability to stand up for one's self and family and one's ability to navigate deftly through life without seeing anything.

I liked Atwood's writing. I especially enjoyed the voice of Iris as an "older" woman looking back on here life and writing to her estranged grand-daughter. The writing about her family's and her own more elegant past was enjoyable and the feeling of distress as that (and her family) slipped away over the years was palpable.

Overall, a very good read.

8/10

<i>Notes Towards the Definition of Culture</i> by T.S. Eliot

Dave and I spent some time discussing this book---indeed, Dave loaned it to me in the first place so we could do just that. We haven't had a final conversation about it since I finished. I have a few thoughts, though, that have been discussed to some extent about the content of this work.

Eliot contends that culture must have a religious base. I, rather flippantly, disagree with that. But, I cannot give an example of a culture where its people are not involved in a religion (i.e. a faith in the supernatural/divine). Even if, in the case of agnostics or atheists, it is only to speak against the 'common' understanding. For an atheist to say there is no god, there must be some cultural understanding to make that meaningful.

Eliot also claims that those who come to a religion through culture are just as entitled to call themselves of that religion as those who come to a religion through faith. I summarized this to Dave as: becoming Catholic for the art (or, in the Seinfeld tradition, Jewish for the jokes). Eliot's point is that the cultural results of religion will tend to reflect the same values as those held by the religion. As such, if you like the cultural aspects, the faith will fit you as well.

I find this hard to agree with. While I think people can come to faith by a variety of directions, I also think it is fair to be suspicious of the of those who have conversions based on cultural aspects that can be found in many religions or in society at large (see Jason's entry on Take This Bread). While a group of people who are in the local soup kitchen may share your desire to hep the needy, the conversion to a faith should rest on more than a single commonality, as faith, if one is serious about it, is a more encompassing than the single act to serve soup.

I agree with Eliot on his general view of culture: that cultures are intertwined and depend on each other; that you cannot have a middle-class culture without a lower class culture; when people forget the cost ties between cultures, wars breakout; the ideas of a world culture is meaningless without any counterpart to help define it.

Overall, I liked the book, Eliot sets his argument out reasonably. He keeps it short, which enables understanding. I enjoyed thinking about the ideas he presented.

8/10

<i>Stages to Saturn</i> by Roger E. Bilstein

It took me an extremely long time to read this book---over a year, I believe, with month-long periods where I didn't pick it up at all. It is a very good book, though easy to put down because it is dense and incredibly fact based.

I have read a few books on the US space program. This one was very different from the others. The others tended to concentrate on the human aspects---on the experiences of the astronauts. They were very good books (particularly Riding Rockets, which includes a very sober account of the bureaucracy of the Shuttle program), but this book offered a very different view: that of the technical project management required to get those few people to the moon.

Indeed, sections of this book should be used in project management classes. There are excellent examples of how to decrease overall time spans (the "all-up" test of the first Saturn V) projects and how to integrate external contractors into a project while maintaining communication to home base on critical issues (by assigning a local representative).

I enjoyed most, though, the various engineering solutions to problems encountered during design build and test. I learned about explosive forming and the fundamental operation of the engines with the "new" cryogenic fuels. Unfortunately, due to my protracted reading of this book, my memory is best for the last 200 or so pages versus the first part.

It is a book I will have to go back to at some point. Despite the dense fact-based nature of the topic, Bilstein does a reasonable job giving a story arc to each of the elements of the engines and stages. He is particularly good at including elements of the engineering story where things didn't go as planned and an interesting solution resulted.

It was a tough read, but worth it.

7/10

<i>Blue Mars</i> by Kim Stanley Robinson

...we stand on the brink of a---of a kind of golden age---which will only come to pass when our generation has died. We've worked for it all our lives, and then we have to die before it will come...it's---it's frustrating. I would rather see what happens then. Sometimes I get so curious. About the history we'll never know. The future after our death. And all the rest of it. Do you know what I mean?---Sax

Robinson continued the story of Mars in much the same way as he had in Green Mars. In this story, though, he focuses much more on the relationships between individuals, rather than the relationships between planets (the focus of Green Mars). The relationships on display are those between Michel and Maya, Sax and Ann, Art and Nadia and Nigral and Jackie. While there is still great concern among the characters about the place of Mars in the ever growing government of the solar system (there is even a rotating settlement on Mercury), Robinson puts this aside somewhat to display and examine how each character is dealing with the new order.

I was, again, strongly drawn to Sax. He desired to not accept the disorganization of his brain and the quick decline of his friends and instead applied his own ability and influence to solve the problem. I admire that dedication, loyalty and action greatly. I as a bit confused by his desire to get Ann to understand the "green" side, but once his interest---or past interest---in Ann is presented it made more sense. One can have odd relationships with those who once rebuffed one.

Maya annoyed me. Her shifts of moods were too volatile for my liking. It especially bothered me when those swings were taken in contrast to the manipulation she was capable of---shown most clearly in her interactions with Jackie on the canal trip. She was a very complex person---who I, like Sax, really didn't understand.

Nadia, on the other hand, shined more brightly in this book. I was better able to connect with her desire to build, construct and organize in this book than in Green Mars. I remembered why I liked her: she is a systems thinker and wants things to be set in order. Her relationship with Art made sense. As demonstrated in Red Mars, Nadia tended to end up with men who were friends or close collaborators before they were romantic partners.

In Green Mars Robinson only gave each character a single section. Here a few of the characters spoke twice. I found this very helpful, as the stories weren't as intertwined in this book---plus I really enjoyed reading from Sax's point of view twice.

The ending was good. Life continued. All who remained had meaning. One can't ask for much more than that. Overall, a good conclusion to the trilogy.

9/10

<i>The Country of the Pointed Firs</i> by Sarah Orne Jewett

I have read this short book before---some time in high school before I was keeping book notes. I didn't, though recall any of the story, just that it had included wonderful descriptions of the Maine coast, which reminded me distinctly of Winter Harbor. This time through, I took better note of the story (and was reading it while within Downeast, Maine, which helped cement it further to my brain).

The problem I often have with short books (and often short stories for that matter) is that the characters are restricted to a single scene or tale. In this case I would have liked to see Captain Littlepage further developed in other stories, as well as William (Mrs. Todd's Brother). I am left wanting more, which is my no means a bad thing, as it was that feeling that led me back to the book after a number of years.

Jewett, with each of the stories of a summer in Dunnet, ME, sketches a different aspect of coastal New England life in a manner that is not strongly romantic nor sentimental. She instead describes the coast in a manner where the reader gains a subliminal understanding of the isolation and hardship, but also the friendship and trust that a small, poor community has for itself. Being able to successful bring forth those aspects is an achievement in itself.

<i>Green Mars</i> by Kim Stanley Robinson

After reading the rather lousy sci-fi of The Puppet Masters, this book was a welcome change. Looking back on my notes at what I liked about Red Mars (the first book in this sci-fi trilogy that I read about 2 years ago), I liked similar aspects of this book. I had forgotten all of the characters---only faint scenes remained (much like the first 100's memories---I can sympathize in that regard). The characters came back as their stories were told.

I completely fell back in with Sax as one of my favorites---predictable, as he is the "pure science" character. I sympathized with his attempts at slight personality modification, so he could better integrate with society---i.e. hide in plain sight, not drawing attention to the fact that he was indeed *the* Sax Russell. It turns out, though, that he can't hide his scientific introverted self and inclinations for too long.

I had more trouble connecting with Nadia this time around. She was so well communicated in the first book and I had really identified with her (a female engineer who just wanted to be working on useful projects), but I couldn't find that same connection in this book. It may have been because the section of the book in her voice was so near the end of the book.

I liked how Robinson split the story telling task up between the various characters (each character had a collection of sequential chapters where were from their perspective) and didn't bounce around between perspectives in each chapter as some authors do. Though it does mean that the reader only sees one perspective of each scene, it gives a more coherent narrative and a stronger voice to each character. Additionally, it would have been exceedingly difficult to write such a planet encompassing story from only a single perspective---many of the varying view points would have been lost.

The question of what happens to the power structure when we colonize other planets is a compelling question. Robinson answered it with something akin to the American Revolution, where distance trumped force. It like that, as it seems a likely outcome when colonists are there fore more than just extracting riches, and generations have grown without stiff, defined authority from the mother planet/country.

Robinson's writing is clear, descriptive and scientifically reasonable. I had trouble with some of the words he coined, but was able to gather the gist through context. Also, the geography of Mars and the settlements was very difficult to follow at times. In those regards, a map and glossary would have been helpful. Other than that, I enjoyed the book emensely.

9/10

<i>The Puppet Masters</i> by Robert A. Heinlein

I can't remember where I picked up this book, but I had reasonably enjoyed Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land---at least the sci-fi aspects---so I figured this might be a good read. Overall, it was alright, though rather pulpy. I was a bit annoyed with the main character: he was really rooted---values-wise---in the era the book was written (the early 1950s), though they did have a very capable female agent (who, of course, ended up marrying the main character).

The plot was similar to countless invasion stories, where a virus kills the aliens in the end. I did like the "puppet master" aspect where the "slugs" were controlling the bodies and minds of the humans. It was different than some of the other mind control methods I have read and seen. The funny part of that was the "masters" didn't know how to run the humans. It reminded me of how the Sims need to be taken to the bathroom, put to bed and made to eat.

Heinlein's writing was nothing to speak of. It reminded me of detective novels that I have read from the same time period, with a nonchalant though-guy attitude. It was a bit annoying at times, but moved the story along quickly.

6/10

<i>Notes of a Native Son</i> by James Baldwin

One significant omission in my knowledge of American history that I realized upon reading this collection of essays is the state of race relations from Reconstruction through to the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s. I will put that omission up to the focus of US high school history on wars and any of my own teacher's focus on their youth and young adulthood in the 60s and 70s---and, frankly, my own acceptance of this gap.

Baldwin groups his 10 essays into three parts. The first deals with literature, movies and black America's place within each. Included in this section is an excellent assessment of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Baldwin notes that it is a protest novel and, as such, cannot be considered in a any way to be a well written work of fiction.

The second group are about Baldwin's experiences (and those of his family) as a black man (Negro, in his time period) in America. One story he tells in this section is about his brother's experience campaigning for the progressive party in the South. His family is from Harlem and the reason his brother went with the campaign in the first place was to sing, but he was more-or-less forced to campaign. This episode highlighted what Baldwin described as a complete lack of interested from any black American in the politics of the time, since promises made to them were never kept and they knew they never would be.

Also in this second group is an excellent essay about his father's death. In particular, a scene that sticks with me is Baldwin being led up to see his father's body in the casket by a well-meaning church member. He had little desire to see the body in the first place and no desire to do so with a non-family member. This essay also described some riots in Harlem that occurred the day after his father's death. It is funny, as I think to myself now, of course there were riots and other demonstrations of poor race relations, otherwise the movement of the 60s would never have happened. I, though, never even thought enough about it to wonder about the origins.

The final group, and the group I liked the best as a whole, were about Baldwin's stay in Europe. Much of it---and particularly his description of his stay in a French prison---reminded me of Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London. I particularly liked the descriptions of the difference of being black in the US vs. in Europe. The baggage is different between being a colonial citizen and the descendant of a slave. Also, the idea of not being able to trace one's ancestry back beyond a bill of sale is one of the more thought provoking ideas about what it means to be black in America that I've heard (today, of course, with DNA they are able to find out what part of Africa the ancestors of modern American blacks came from---but that means little when you can't follow the direct family tree back there).

I enjoyed Baldwin's writing and will look for some of his other works. His prose is strong, clear, engaging and intelligent.

8/10

<i>45 Things You Do that Drive your Boss Crazy and How to Avoid Them </i> by Anita Bruzzese

This book was recommended by a career blog for 20-somethings. After my own recent experience of not really understanding what bosses generally want out of employees, I thought it might be a useful read. I was correct. On the same trip to the library, I also picked up Work 101 by Elizabeth Freedman (Ms. Freedman found it necessary to include MBA after her name, which gives a sense of the intended audience for this book).

Work 101 was recommended by the same blog. It focuses almost exclusively on how to behave in the super-corporate setting of trading companies, ad-firms and other places where an MBA is the currency. As a result the advice is all given in this context and it is hard to suss out the information that is relevant to me in my engineering-centric world.

45 Things, on the other hand, looks more fundamentally at problems that occur when people are in subordinate relationships. Most of the recommendations are common sense---use correct spelling in your emails, don't lie, don't argue about politics or religion at work---but are good to be reminded of. Others were suggestions that weren't obvious to myself---watch who you hang out with at work, as bad attitudes can easily rub off, how to stand up to bullies---but make sense now that I've read them.

Overall, what I learned was:

• Be consistent.
  
• Don't be too weird.
  
• Be respectful all the time.
  
• Think for yourself.
  
• Be nice.
  

I'd definitely recommend 45 Things for anyone who, like myself, doesn't always "get" a lot of human interaction stuff, but can learn to. Work 101 is best left for those looking to climb the corporate ladder.

<i>The Bonfire of the Vanities</i> by Tom Wolfe

I had trouble believing this book was set in the 1980s for about the first 300 pages. Wolfe's descriptions and people seemed out of the 1950s or 60s. It wasn't until a character was said to have AIDS that it really became clear to me. From then on I was able to place the story in the correct temporal context.

I struggled a bit with the outcome of the story. Despite the NYC that Wolfe was trying to show where the old-boys-club is breaking down, I have a significant amount of trouble believing that its true. Wolfe painted money---or having money---as being fundamentally useless if your crime takes place in the Bronx, but I would think, even in such a case as described in this book that money would be able to get the individual out of trouble. It may not be legal, it may be underhanded, but it seems more likely for an anonymous rich man (not Paris Hilton) to buy his way out.

I was frustrated by Sherman's lack of a backbone in doing the right thing: going to the cops when it first happened. Wolfe had to put "the other woman" in the car with him, or else Sherman *would have* gone to the cops, as he was one who believed in and respected authority. I was still, though, frustrated with the guilt that he felt, but I guess the situation was intended to show: although Sherman was a bear with bonds he couldn't stand up to himself otherwise.

At the end Sherman is able to break through that barrier, but it seems a bit inauthentic to me: I can't believe demonstrators would be allowed in the courtroom. That may have a modern bias based on the current security checkpoints. Aside from that, the judge and the jury are intended to decide based on the facts, not on the emotion of the crowd.

Wolfe's writing in some respects remind me of Charles Dickens. Excessive detail that makes you wonder if he is getting paid by the word. Wolfe also uses his metaphors over and over again so you understand *quite clearly* that the Bronx courthouse is an island fortress. He does carry the reader along on a brisk ride, and I was able to stay reasonably engaged with the characters throughout the book.

The only other books of Wolfe's I've read are non-fiction. Looking back, I rated both of those---The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and Hooking Up---well and have memories of liking each. Based on that, I would have to say that I like Wolfe's non-fiction better than his fiction.

5/10

<i>Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things</i> by William McDonough and Michael Braungart

I like the material of this book---both the content and the material the pages were made of. The entire book is made of PET. As Dave said, you can read it in the tub. I never took advantage of that property.

The book is made out of PET to demonstrate a new idea in design (the design of everything---products, houses, cars, rugs, etc.) where the item when "used up" is not "thrown away" or downcycled (the authors' replacement term for recycling since most products that are recycled do not become products of the same quality of the original since the materials being recycled degrade on each cycle), but is instead completely reused in the same product it appeared in originally. Or the material becomes a "technical nutrient"---a material that took a lot of time and energy to extract originally and therefor is valuable if it can be maintained. With most current materials this is not possible due to chemicals used in processing. It turns out not to be very good for one to wear a shirt made out of old plastic bottles due to the chemicals used in bottle making---they were never intended to be worn against the skin.

The authors propose that designers consider this as they come up with product and choose materials and processes that are appropriate for long-term reuse. I like this idea, but I see it as very difficult to actually change, as even when pilot tests are run in large companies and prove these ideas out, the inertia of the management chain makes it very disheartening to think about.

The book is well written and easy to read. I like the brightness of the PET pages as well. The biggest fault I see with the book is that it doesn't give much of a call to action. Nothing really tells me what I can do as a consumer to improve the situation.

7/10

<i>The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts</i> by Maxine Hong Kingston

This book was again recommended by Slate.com. It was given as an example of a memoir where fantasy and history are mixed to better convey the memories. Kingston does this by seeing herself, for a portion of the book, as Mu Lan, the female Chinese warrior, avenging the deaths in her village. One of the interesting aspects of the book, demonstrated by this, is the tie to the old world of China through her parent's stories and beliefs. Her parents do not think of the US as their home: home is China, even for all the children (all of them born in the US). It isn't until the communists completely change the lives of the villagers in China that the parents gave up on returning and bought chairs to replace the fruit crates in the kitchen.

Related to that, was the use of the term "ghost" for any Americans. I know in Hong Kong the term "gweilo" is used (derogatorily) for whites and means "ghost". It seems on the west coast in Chinatown, it was used to refer to all things American: black, white, otherwise. Anything not Chinese.

The two cultures colliding in Kingston's head appeared difficult for her to reconcile. She had the history, culture and stories of China as strongly in her life as if she was in China, including the attitudes toward women (girls are worth nothing; men can have multiple wives). She was, though, interacting in the American world with "ghost teachers" and pleasing them with the work she was able to do.

Kingston's writing is strong, vivid and precise. I felt her angst and shame as I read. I enjoyed the stories about her mother's life: about becoming a doctor in China; about forcing her sister to see her (her mother's sister's) estranged husband; about her reaction to retirement and an empty house (working in the California fields as a day laborer picking tomatoes). Her mother is a strong woman, even pushing to the front of a memoir about childhood.

8/10

<i>Unreliable Memories</i> by Clive James

I am struck by how many personal histories of current British personalities include intensely remembered tales of mutual masturbation. at ages of about 6 to 10. Stephen Fry has such a mention in his autobiography. And Clive James, though really Australian, includes one here. I can swear I've read others, as well.

I hadn't heard of Clive James until recently when some essays and interviews by him began appearing on Slate.com. The recommendation for his memoirs also came from Slate.

The book covers James's boyhood, adolescence and young adulthood in Australia. I am reminded again, as I was when I read Bryson's In a Sunburned Country that it is purely by good luck that anyone survives in Australia. There are so many things that can kill you. James tells stories of his near misses, paranoid moments and petrified situations. Many of them, though, seem to be brought on by his own actions, inattentiveness or negligence.

James is a funny and engaging writer. He writes regrettably about his callous actions toward his motion, using his writing as a therapy for laying bare the insolence of his past. (I have a feeling that many writers use memoirs to do just this.) He is almost exasperated at his own past actions---seeing clearly his mis-steps and mistakes with the clarity of hindsight. Though he regrets some of his past, he has resigned himself to accept it---though not fully---placing blame on the circumstances rather than people (except for a few bad teachers).

The stories that make up the book are great. I particularly liked his tale of tunneling up the backyard ("Little kids ruin everything") and those from his stint in the National Service. He tells the stories with humor and comments on how these experiences still influence him today.

James spent much of his young life doing little but angering his mother. This work, in part, seems to try to make amends for that by bringing meaning to his own past; making it clearer for himself, while providing excellent stories for us to enjoy. Highly recommended.

10/10

<i>Katahdin: An Historic Journey</i> by John W. Neff

I purchased this book for my dad as a birthday gift. He read much of it while he was sitting on the edge of a lake in Maine. I read much of it while sitting on a bus between Providence and Pawtucket, RI. He enjoyed it, but thought it was a bit repetitive. I have similar feelings.

Neff collected and organized all the stories and histories he could find about Mount Katahdin. This starts with Native American stories and tales of the first explorers to the region. One of the more interesting things to note about this point in Katahdin's history is that the first recorded ascent of the mountain wasn't until 1804. As a comparison, Mount Washington in New Hampshire had its first recorded climb in 1642.

Neff continues from there, including the logging history, the background of every camp trail and road in the area, as well as a summary of the drive of Gov. Baxter to create a park around the mountain for everyone in the state to enjoy (he purchased much of the land with his own money then gave it to the state). He glosses over the holdouts to Baxter's purchases of land (my dad said he can now see why some Mainers aren't too keen on Baxter), choosing instead to show Baxter as an unerring (probably not) and deeply committed (very true) protector of Maine's north woods.

Neff does tend to repeat stories, mostly as a result of the way the book is split into sections and chapters; including history, campsites, trails and "inspiration." Thoreau's trips to Katahdin, for instance, are described at least twice: once in the history and once in "inspiration." The writing also reflected that Neff was gathering stories form all corners of the state: it tended to be choppy and a bit rambling.

All in all, I think this book would be a good companion for travel through the Katahdin area and better as a book where portions are read here and there rather than as a single narrative all the way through.

6/10

<i>Happiness</i> by Matthieu Ricard

The recommendation for this author came from my advisor. This book was much different than the other book on Zen Buddhism I have read: Watt's The Way of Zen. Watt covers more context and background for Zen Buddhism, where Ricard covers more of the application. Ricard includes exercises for improving one's thoughts and actions in context with the world. The exercises are good, but I would have to own the book (I got it from the library) so I could use it as a reference while practicing them.

Ricard focuses much of the text on compassion and using feelings of compassion to overcome negative emotions and generate true happiness for one's self.Partnered with that, is looking at negative emotions (anger, fear, jealousy, etc.) when they enter your mind as a way to break them apart. I've been trying the second and have found it to be some help as a way to stay focused on problems rather than people's attitudes/ignorance.

I would have liked for Ricard to have discussed further how to deal with more complicated judgements about producing happiness in others and showing compassion. For example, does engaging in aspects of modern society (marketing for example) increase happiness in the world? Also, I would have liked to see how one can resolve such actions with more compassionate goals or desires in life.

Otherwise, the book is well written. Ricard mixes in appropriate stories to demonstrate points that he is making. He also cites a number of modern psychological and brain imaging studies that support his statements and recommendations. Buddhism appears to have practices that are difficult to describe in text in a meaningful manner. Ricard, though, does well by adding the exercises to help the reader understand how the principles he describes can be used.

If you want to learn the context, history and tradition of Buddhism, pick up Watt's The Way of Zen (I may have an e-copy around if you are interested). If you are looking for more practical application and the relevance to today's society, read this book.

7/10

<i>The Diamond Age</i> by Neal Stephenson

I really liked this book. I really disliked the ending. It reminded me of the ending of Fahrenheit 451---sort of the idea that nothing bad can end up coming of this. All will be well because we deem it so. Frankly, though, I am not sure what type of ending I would have preferred. Maybe tragedy---with Nell dying or sacrificing herself---like 100 Years of Solitude or Stranger in a Strange Land. Maybe it would have been better to know the end from the beginning, like with Vonnegut or The Virgin Suicides.

The Primer was an awesome imaginary creation. Its ability to teach, learn, incorporate and adjust was very, very cool. This is what computers should be doing. It was too bad, in some regards, that there needed to be a human doing the work behind the scenes. But the consistency of the human seemed to make the difference, giving Nell the ability to stick with the Primer and learn more than the other girls.

The mix of Victorian and SciFi elements is always a fun juxtaposition for my mind. It think instantly of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and The Wild, Wild West (the TV show, not the movie with Will Smith). With all of these, and especially here, the mix of elegance with technology is very appealing to me. The Victorian imagery (not necessarily its rigidity) with its detail and elegance seems to be the perfect visualization of complex thoughts that are intricately and beautifully put together. It could be argued, though that the Victorians provided a complicated exterior when one wasn't needed (form not following function), but it provided an aesthetic of thought, which today could be, maybe best represented by a circuit board.

Overall, the writing was strong and the characters were well established. I, of course, liked the engineer (but not how he and his group treated women: their place was in the home). The ending, though, was hurried. I liked the tale told by the Primer and was often looking to get back to it when I was reading about the real world. I loved watching Nell learn. This is well recommended.

8/10

<i>American Gods</i> by Neil Gaiman

I liked the plot (well, except for the end) and the ideas, but the writing was horrible. Gaiman is the complete opposite of Vonnegut in style---he described in detail the character's apperaence, mind-set and actions. He provides details for the most mundane activities that a few words could easily convey. I felt myself wanting to pick up a pen and start editing the paragraphs. I did rewrite a few sentences in my head.

I was considering that Gaiman provided the detail to slow the reader down or to draw a distinction between Shadow's life and those of the gods. There is, though, much better methods for slowing down a story rather than giving intrecate stage directions. He also described the actions of the gods and their details in a simliar manner as he did those of Shadow's.

I did like the interludes---sort of background stories of the gods---that Gaiman added. Those were much crisper and better constructed in terms of detail than the rest of the rest of the book. I would have liked to read more of them.

The story, though, was good. I like the idea of gods floating around in modern times, trying, much like the rest of us, to find a place to fit in an always changing world. I had trouble, though, identifying many of the characters mythology. Gaiman was drawing from so many traditions, it was hard to keep track. I guess that is partly the point---that so many gods were brought to the US, that it is hard to keep track of them.

Overall, reasonably paced, poorly written, but a good story. Maybe a good book for a long plane flight where you can do little more than sit and read.

4/10

<i>Galapagos</i> by Kurt Vonnegut

I think this book typifies what I like about Vonnegut beyond his cynical nature. It took me reading part of a Wikipedia entry (warning, spoilers) on this book to realize that the big things that get me---why I keep coming back to his books---are his non-linear plots which tend to imply events rather than state them directly and his character descriptions, which are mostly done through the actions of the characters themselves rather than through formal descriptions. I guess I like to have room for my imagination to fill in the details of both the plot and character descriptions. I feel more invested in the book this way.

In this book, the narrator is a ghost explaining how the human race ends and, more importantly, how it is saved by a group shipwrecked on the Galapagos Islands. The ghost follows the group and their descendants for 1,000,000 years (not much of the middle is described, more the before and the after). The humans end up evolving much like their animal counterparts on the Galapagos, to a stasis point. Humans no longer have big brains. They live only to eat fish and lay in the sun and procreate. They still laugh when some one farts.

Definitely Vonnegut is questioning our modern society (the main portion of the book is set around 1986), showing us that so much of it is there merely to occupy our big brains, which have little to do since we are regularly safe from danger, hunger and cold. The resulting humanoids are safe, full and warm as well, but have lost what we consider a fundamental human quality: curiosity. The curious ones get eaten by sharks. They have reached a point where evolution stops (much like with the animals currently on the Galapagos), maybe similar to our current time with our big brains. But, the humanoids of Vonnegut's future have no charge to make things better. They have become a perfect fit for their geographic location. They are in their heaven and could imagine nothing further.

9/10

<i>The General and His Labyrinth</i> by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This is a historical novel set in 1830 in South America as the Spanish are being ousted and the countries we currently know are being formed. Marquez handles the material well, balancing the historical fact with extrapolation of the characters' thoughts and actions. I didn't get the feeling that any part was patently untrue---his interpretation of the events were quite believable. In both the balancing and believability, I think Marques comes quite close to matching Shaara in The Killer Angles---one of the best pieces of historical fiction I have read.

Marquez's style here was as engaging as in 100 Years of Solitude, despite the historical setting. I like how the General was portrayed: as a man dedicated to an ideal even through sickness and lack of support. Most of the supporting characters---other than Jose Palacios and Manuela---tended to blend into each other and I was often forgetting who was who.

One of the best aspects of this book was the descriptions of the countryside and people. The General is moving about northern South America for much of the book and it is interesting how the reaction to him changes as he travels and how the description of the countryside tends to mirror those reactions: poor reactions in a swamp area, great reactions in the mountains. I really got a sense of the variety of political and environmental landscapes that existed during that time.

I was loaned this book by my thesis advisor. I'm not quite sure if he was trying to say anything with it. The General's labyrinth is his life's work: freeing and uniting all of South America. It seemed that as hard as he tried he was not able to find the way through to the ending he wanted. I hope my advisor isn't trying to say the same about my research---this method, though, seems a bit too subtle for him.