Wit'ch Fire, James Clemens

Wit'ch Fire by James Clemens is a fantasy novel that is played as a translation of a banned book.

Started:  10/4/2011
Completed:  10/19/2011
Recommendation:  Not worth the time
Recommended By:  Amazon offered this book for free on the Kindle
Review:


First of all, I found the use of apostrophe (wit'ch, d'warf, etc) to be annoying.  It might have been tolerable had it separated the traditional stereotype from the races in the novel, but, it doesn't.  A wit'ch is hated and considered to be allied with evil.  A d'warf knows about caves and tunnels and is short and stocky.  An og're has a hard head, speaks slowly, and is ugly.  That leaves the apostrophe...ANNOYING.  The concept of magic acquisition reminded me of a thumb lock in D&D (you had to stick your thumb into a lock to unlock it and it might get cut off, you might get poisoned, or you might unlock the chest) which was an interesting way to go about seeing magic strength, identifying former wizards of various flavors, and making the hand a little more powerful then ever before.  So, that was mildly clever and a good addition to the book.

Without a doubt the evil creatures in the book are pretty inventive, believable within their scope, etc.  There is one set of creatures that lays waste to armies and generally wreaks havoc, but the heroes of this book kill a bunch of them in a series of "lucky" events.  The fact that so much action takes place over such a short period of time and that the characters are constantly tired yet always up for one more enormously draining fight hurts the book seriously.  The typical cat-and-mouse games played by the evil guy against the young hero (sort of a Batman kind of things where just killing him wasn't nearly as good as setting up an elaborate trap from which he always escaped) are rampant and also annoying.  Let's see, I can fly, I put armies to death, I've got poisoned talons, I've got the heroine in my grasp...hmmm...what will I do?  Oh, yeah, play around and give her a chance to escape.  Also, for the most part, any character you haven't seen before is about to die (sort of the Star Trek red shirt guys).

Kudos for the evil creatures.  They are remarkably nasty, incredibly detailed, and have very good single points of failure.  The rest of the book is, well, not worth the read.  I can't imagine that the series is worth the breathtaking struggles where the heroine almost gets caught time and again before she goes postal on the bad guy.  The minor plots all are explicitly minor.  I don't really care if the guy who lived 500 years ever makes good on his error, I don't care why the book was banned or what was so controversial about it, I don't care if the naiad recovers her tree, I don't care if the ogre saves his people, I don't care about the elf looking for his king, and, most of all, I care nothing for the heroine who has her bodice torn early in the book, but never seems to need to cover up (and who is torn by using her magic, but seems to be fine with her friends all but dying around her until she antes up).

The Persuader, Lee Child

The Persuader by Lee Child was a book that I downloaded for my Kindle because it was free.  I realized that I had a ton of these free books and had read very few of them, so I downloaded the Kindle app for my phone and decided to read this one because it was the oldest.

Started: 9/15/2011
Completed: 10/4/2011
Recommendation:  Decent beach book for guys.
Recommended By:  Nobody, free from Amazon
Review:


This book is a pretty quick read.  The broad formula of an action novel is employed.  Guy gets into trouble, but it clever enough, shoots straight enough, or capitalizes on someone else's mistake often enough to get out.  The hero of the novel is the typical gritty ex-something who now employs all his ex-skills to get stuff done that the other ex-guys aren't allowed to use.  He generally gets the girl and somehow maintains the moral high ground despite basically being in the business of killing people.  This is a traditional Western wrapped in a twentieth century skin.  The plot has the occasional surprise, but is almost entirely predictable.  There is sufficient gore to get one to believe the bad guys are, at core, evil.  There are conflicted characters all over the place, but, in the end, everyone who should, does the "right thing."  So this book won't challenge your intellect and the dialog is outright stupid (e.g. "I'm just a guy"), but those are some of the qualities that are fine in a beach read.  The pacing is good and there is an on-going rescue/tension that makes you want to pick the book up and overlook all the stupid stuff.  Maybe this is just a beach read for guys.  If you can't find it for a couple of bucks, it isn't worth the investment and I certainly wouldn't spend my time reading the whole series.

The Swoop, P.G. Wodehouse

The Swoop:  Or, How Clarence Saved England by P. G. Wodehouse is a comedic novel about how a single boy scout is forced to save England when having disbanded the military, England is simultaneously invaded by 9 nations.

Started:  8/15/2011
Completed:  9/14/2011
Recommendation:  Fun story, rather dated, but a good laugh and the audio from libravox is simply fantastic.
Recommended By:  Nobody, I'd always wanted to read a book by Wodehouse.
Review:


This book is largely silly.  The discussions of the diplomats, however are excellent as they embody the ridiculous obtuseness of language used by diplomats in a truly hyperbolic manner.  While the book seems stilted by today's standards, it was a fun book to hear and the time investment is trivial.

The Thirteen Gun Salute, Patrick O'Brian

The Thirteen Gun Salute by Patrick O'Brian is another (#13) in the stories of Captain Jack Aubrey a fictitious British sea captain.  I picked this audio book up from the library to listen to during trips to and from the office

Started:  8/15/2011

Completed: 10/12/2011

Recommendation: Beach book

Recommended By:  Nobody, but I did enjoy one other of O'Brian's novels.

Review:

This book is largely an action novel with a little bit of spice in the characters of the Captain and the Doctor.  Their relationship is explored but as this is such a small part of a much larger series, it is only incrementally addressed.  It was OK as a listen on a trip or something like that, but I wouldn't put the time in for reading, I don't think.  There are lots of "lulls" between the "storms" and so the action is clearly segmented into regular routines. Lots of ropes are left in an untidy mess at the end of the book as the next book is clearly in the offing.

Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri is a lauded collection of short stories.

Started:  9/17/2011
Completed: 9/30/2011
Recommendation: Not even for the bathroom
Recommended by:  The quotation from the back of the book by Amy Tan convinced me to give it a try.
Review: 


So, I had no trouble putting this book down.  Amy Tan and I disagree.  I plugged away at it diligently, though, eschewing most other reading because I was convinced that if I let it sit too long, I would not continue to read it.  The writing was excellent.  Some of the descriptions were outstanding.  The plots pretty much sucked.  There was a lot of character study, but it seemed to me that each story was busy expanding upon the basic character with which the story began.  Some new and interesting details were presented, but, by the end of the story, I didn't feel as though I knew the nature of the person any better, just some more details in a made-up life.  The plots of the stories didn't seem to go anywhere (and they probably weren't supposed to go anywhere) and that is a difficult thing for me to enjoy.

"A Real Darwhan" was a decent social commentary, but it completely lacked punch and was oddly juxtaposed with "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar."  "Sexy" left me wondering if this was just one of many very similar stories about to happen to the same character.  "Interpreter of Maladies" seemed, at best, to be a rueful look at some silly people.  "Mrs. Sen's" was the most interesting story to me but the abrupt ending made the story feel uncompleted to me.  I don't long for happy endings where everything is all tied up, but the character development in this story seemed to move the story along (it felt like a movie instead of a portrait if that analogy makes sense) and just as the story started to gather speed it raced off into a fog.  I felt like the richness of "Mrs. Sen's" was a story that yearned to become a book and was foiled when the author's attention drifted.

The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is a book by an author I enjoy.  It has received more awards and honors then you can shake a stick at (see the labels).  This is a children's novel, but has moderate appeal to adults as well.

Started: 7/30/2011
Completed:  8/10/2011
Recommendation:  Very Good Read
Recommended By:  A neighbor who is a huge Gaiman fan
Review:  This is a good, quick read.  Gaiman, as ever, introduces a series of interesting characters and develops them nicely.  His obsession with death is well explored in this book about a boy growing up in a grave yard tended by ghosts.  The literary device allows him to explore many centuries of life in England and also allows him to explore quirky characters without feeling like he has gone out on a limb.  A good read for any young adult, but it does require a certain willingness to wade through the first few pages of PG rated murder.  As with virtually all children's books these days, the parents are killed in the opening scene.

The Sardonyx Net, Elizabeth A. Lynn

The Sardonyx Net by Elizabeth A. Lynn is a book about science fiction slavery.

Started:  8/11/2011
Completed:  8/21/2011
Recommendation: Not recommended
Recommended By:  I like John Varley's stuff and had read some of Lynn's stuff, so when Varley had the recommendation on the front cover, well, that seemed like recommendation enough.
Review:  The adventures of a sadist slaver.  Ugh.  This book has little, if any redemptive quality.  I had hoped for some sense of the horrors of slavery (there is plenty of that) and how slavery doesn't work.  Instead, this book is a half-hearted effort to both condemn slavery and to demonstrate that it DOES work.  Yuck.  I'm disappointed that Varley gave this book a recommendation.  The scifi components are marginal at best in my opinion.  This could just have easily have happened in the 18th century with very little change to the plot.

The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova

The Historian:  A Novel by Elizabeth Kostova is a novel I have seen in the clearance rack in hardback for years.  I finally bought a copy and then stumbled upon this audio version.  I'm listening to the audio version while making trips to and from my in-laws.  Upon starting this book, I really had no idea what it was about.  The blurb on the back was intriguing but not revealing in the least.

Started:  7/28/2011
Completed:  8/11/2011
Recommendation:  Not worth the time
Recommended By: Nobody, I stumbled across this one myself.
Review:  This is a Dracula novel without the horror.  An archaeologists novel without the archaeology.  A mystery novel without the mystery.  I have no idea why someone would read it.  The plot lines are not woven together well insofar as the transitions are wholly predictable and rarely leave one wanting to hear more.  The most compelling figure, in my opinion, is an old lady in Bucharest who doesn't get nearly enough time.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is a book I have enjoyed several times.  I picked up an audio copy to share with my youngest son while we are driving around.  What fun!  No review on this one and I imagine I'll listen to this many times.  This classic is both a fun comedy (imagine being tortured by poetry; no really bad poetry; really, without even bongo drums) and a cool sci-fi romp.  I recommend it unabashedly to even the non-geeks out there.

The Painter of Battles, Arturo Perez-Reverte

The Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte translated by Margaret Sayers Peden is considered a slow and rambling novel.  It is known in Spanish for its effective use of language and that must make it a very challenging thing to translate.  I'm listening to this as an audio book on my commute.

Started:  7/11/2011
Completed: 7/19/2011
Recommendation: Don't do it.  Don't go anywhere near this book.
Recommended By:  I found this book at a Quaker book sale.  The irony was too strong to pass up and the quick quotations on the back didn't hurt.


Review:


This book is slow and very, very repetitive.  The effort to instill horrifying images in your mind as you go through the book is terribly effective.  There are no characters who are ones with which I can in any way associate and the only compelling character unravels at the end and becomes a shadow of someone interesting.  I am tempted to destroy the CDs.

The book is well written and the use of language, at times, engaging.  The subject matter and character development, however, seem more suited to a much shorter medium--perhaps a novelette or long story.  The subject of the awfulness of war does deserve a serious effort, but this Hobbesian look at the human condition obstructs the productive analysis that might have benefited mankind.  The conclusion (and this may or may not be a spoiler depending on how much you like the book, so beware) argues that we are all fated to do evil because mankind is basically evil and subject to an unwritten plan that guides us down the disgusting behavior of war time.  While this could be an interesting line of analysis, the book makes only the most trivial of efforts to support or examine the implications--oddly for a retrospective, the book harps upon the very conditions from within war without much in the way of analysis for how our character flaws lead us to war or how war would ever end (or, even, pause).  SPOILER:  The girlfriend who would have left had she not been allowed to step on a land mine becomes a spokesman for the reader through the book...the reader carries a certain affection for the primary character as the book starts, but realizes that the primary character is simply a caricature of evil writ small...as such not someone with whom one would care to spend time:  Don't waste yours.

Thomas Paine, Craig Nelson

Thomas Paine by Craig Nelson is a biography of Thomas Paine.  I had picked this up many years ago wandering the discount section of a book store.  It seemed appropriate to read it after reading Common Sense. This book received the 2007 Henry Adams prize.

Started: 7/4/2011
Completed: 9/2/2012
Recommendation: You have to really be interested in Paine.  There is a huge amount of interesting information, but it is very dry.
Recommended By:  Nobody.

Words I looked Up:
jeremiad -- a long, mournful complain or lamentation; list of woes
parlous -- full of danger or risk

Review:


Thomas Paine remains a larger than life figure.  Common Sense was central to both the American and the French revolutions.  As an American, I had no idea that Thomas Paine had actually been involved in the French revolution and that he had been imprisoned (all but guillotined) in the process.  I have ready other books that mentioned what happened to his body after death, so I had a sense of how he was oddly revered.  I had a sense, as well, that he was polarizing figure, but no idea that he managed to alienate virtually all his friends given enough time.  I actually read Common Sense last summer, so I had an introduction to both how vindictive his writing could be and how funny it was.  Knowing more about the man and his life helps me to understand how he came to write such an important book and how it took over his life.  The detail in this book is pretty amazing when one considers how much time has passed, but the author seems to have been careful when identifying his sources and offers, on several occasions, conflicting views of similar situations.  This comfort with seeing both the good and bad in events and in the man rings true to me.  I think that some of the historical documents reflect seeing the same event in different ways and, frankly, I think it is fair to expect individuals to have some bias.  It was a good, if slow, read and I'm glad to have read it.

Quakertown, Lee Martin

Quakertown by Lee Martin is a novel about racial issues in 1920s Texas.  It is loosely based on a real story.  Lee Martin did not receive any awards for this book, but has received several both before and afterwards.

Started:  7/1/2011

Completed: 7/5/2011

Recommendation: Very well written, but very sad

Recommended By:  I saw this book on the shelves of Vertigo as it closed.  It just called to me.  I'm a tad put off as some friends borrowed it and said it was quite sad.

Words I Looked Up:

chifforobe -- a combination of a wardrobe and a chest of drawers.

Review:

This is a poignant heart-rending story of racial discord in 1920s Texas.  The perspective of the story shifts almost constantly from character to character and the seamless, but distinct transitions are a testament to the author's ability to create characters that are both believable and have their own voices.  The sadness that punctuates the lives throughout this story is difficult every step of the way.  The characters seem to be defined by their hard times, although there are a few good times that manage to help elucidate the nature of a character or two.  The interaction of the main characters is frequent and occasionally surprising:  From children's games to hidden meetings in a theater to murder each interaction is starkly distinct from the surrounding background and the author uses these vignettes to move the plot line forward.  I enjoyed the book despite the sadness and found the book well worth the read.

The Life of Johnny Reb and The Life of Billy Yank, Bell Irvin Wiley

The Life of Johnny Reb and The Life of Billy Yank by Bell Irvin Wiley is a collection of short descriptions drawn from soldier's letters during the Civil War.

Started:  6/20/2011
Completed:
Recommendation:
Recommended By:  I saw this at a yard sale and thought that it would make for good bathroom reading since the sections were short.
Words I looked up:

embrute -- To degrade or sink to the levels of a brute.
fillip -- Something that acts as a stimulus or boost to an activity.
purlieu -- The area near or surrounding a place
tippling -- Drinking alcohol, especially habitually
vitiating -- Spoil or impair the efficiency of

Review:


I will write one when I'm done.

Moonwalking with Einstein, Joshua Foer

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer is a book about a journalist's adventure into becoming a world-class mnemonist.  I picked this up as an audio book.  I've listened to other audio books before, but this is the first I've added to this blog.  I decided that audio books should be recorded here as well.  Oddly, I started this blog to help me remember which books I'd read and when I'd read them...

Started:  5/23/2011
Completed: 7/24/2011
Recommendation: Strong recommendation to everyone.
Recommended by:  I saw this as an audio book in the library and I thought it would be a good thing to hear as I commuted to and from work.
Review:


This book reminds us why memory is valuable.  Not so much that memory is necessary in today's world, but that it has value.  The experiences of the author and his examination of memory are mildly inspiring, but his recounting of why memory has been important throughout history is without parallel in value.  I'd also throw out that learning how to memorize certainly has its place in our society and I like very much that I've learned some of the techniques just from reading this book.

The Adept, Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris

The Adept by Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris is a book that I picked up at a library book sale (I picked up several in the series).  I know Kurtz from the Deryni series which I enjoyed during my high school years.  The fact that several books in the series were published suggested to me that the books were well received.

Started: 6/5/2011
Completed: 7/1/2011
Recommendation: Probably not worth the read
Recommended By:  Nobody, just saw this series at a library book sale.
Words I looked up:


aspergillum -- a brush or instrument for sprinkling holy water
fortalice -- a small fort
garret -- a small, wretched attic
nacreous -- lustrous, pearly
Sephiroth -- a manifestation of God.
shrift -- an act of confession.  In this case, I think the word was misused as it related to removing or putting on clothing.
temenos -- a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain.
widdershins -- in a direction opposite the movement of the sun; counter-clockwise.


Review:


I'd like to point out that this book ends at Loch Ness.  That should be enough.  I'm likely to read the remainder of the series and it isn't that this book is without value, but, geez.  The list of cliches is long and annoying.

The City of Falling Angels, John Berendt

The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt is the story of the loss of the Fenice theater to a huge fire in Venice, Italy.

Started:  February 7, 2011
Completed: October 27, 2012
Recommendation: Not recommended
Recommended By:  I found this in the office book exchange while I was waiting for coffee to brew.  The title intrigued me and my mother and sister had read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and raved about how good it was.  I figured I'd give it a try and just leave it at work to fill the spare moments while I was waiting for a meeting to start or coffee to brew.

Words I looked up:


exigent -- pressing or demanding

Review:


This book ends up being more of an adventure through Venice then just about the Fenice.  It feels to me that the Fenice story was just a short story and the author went to great pains to explore other avenues related to his tracking down the Fenice story in order to make this a book.  This is, in part, a mystery...why did the Fenice burn down?  There is a resolution to this mystery, but it seems as though the author is very much an observer.  Not a fly on the wall, but someone who recounts interview after interview without an ability to fill in most of the gaps between interviews.  It is as though we have a series of newspaper stories about an event intermingled with an autobiographical journey through Venice.  To me, it is an odd mix.

I did find out some fascinating things about Venice--things that should be obvious, I guess, but things I hadn't considered.  There are times when the canals stink and the tides cause the experience of traffic going by outside your window to be very different (the traffic can be well below you, or literally in your window!).  There are no cars, so everyone walks.  The walking causes people to interact highly and the nature of neighborhoods to be distinctly different from most other cities.  It is generally quieter without the background drone of cars moving about.  The walking is also hard on seniors making it necessary for neighbors to help out and knitting together the community a bit more.  The lack of cars also makes construction difficult as huge volumes of materials have to come by the boatload through the relatively thin canals.  Also, fires are put out using canal water (salty and sometimes muddy).

It is difficult for me to recommend this book to anyone else.  The pace was slow in both my reading and the book.  The drama that is present isn't really about the Fenice, but largely about things only slightly related.  In the end, it just wasn't that interesting and the prose was not compelling.

Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is a book I picked up when Vertigo was closing.  I really enjoyed American Gods and Anansi Boys.  I saw this book before I had read Anansi Boys, but it caught my eye because of the advertising for American Gods that was on the cover.  I choose to read this book now with a little trepidation, because I have since learned that Gaiman started out writing horror and that is not a subject matter I particularly enjoy.

Started: June 4, 2011
Completed: June 4, 2011
Recommendation: Highly recommended
Recommended By:  I saw this on the shelves as Vertigo was closing.

Review:


Yeah, I read this book in one day.  Start to finish.  That was not the plan.  I had a lot to do.  The stars aligned, however, and I got time to read combined with a book that made turning the page not just a way to move the story forward but a hungry demand.  There is no "good place to stop" in this book.  The writing is engrossing, the plot and sub-plots are clever, the characters are compelling, and the author's ability to engross the reader is engaging.  As I sat in the dead of night with my book light illuminating the final pages, I experienced the deliciousness of the stolen moments from my childhood when a book drew me under the covers with a flashlight.  So, I liked it.

Who should read it?  Well, those who like a clever turn of phrase, "There were four ways for the astute observer to tell them apart [4 very distinct descriptions are given]....in addition, they looked nothing alike," will likely walk away from this book satisfied that the author has leveraged his craft.  Those who would like to believe that there is no such thing as a chance encounter or a sound in the night that is not caused by some unseen and potentially malicious "thing" that could only be properly removed from the world by deft knife work will not go unsatisfied.  A geek, nerd, klutz,  or other everyday person who knows in his heart that under the right circumstances, with just a little persuasion from an indifferent universe and a troop of friends who really want to help each other any obstacle can be overcome by reaching deep down inside themselves to become something they truly are not will find in this story a parallel.  Yes, Dungeons and Dragons fans, here is the "real life" nitty gritty embodiment of your obsession without the need to go to magic or creatures that live so far from reality that one might look back to find the bridge to the real world obscured by rolling hills.

The hero of this story is so nondescript that you never find out what he looks like.  The few descriptions that appear are so distorted by circumstance as to represent the situation more than the individual.  You know that he doesn't think much of himself and the world around him agrees.  He is not very good at living and his only outspoken trait is a mild compunction for those who are homeless.  This sole characteristic, however, drives the story forward and his own ineptitude--his willingness to be swept along by events rather then to craft a life of his own--draws him via one swirling eddy into a new world where he learns to live his life because death is around every corner and drifting is tantamount to suicide.  It is a delicious joy to see this person who struggles to exist become Someone.

There is a certain sickness to readers who become engrossed in this type of story.  It is a sadness about one's own sense of one's self, one's life, and the hope that if things were just "different" one might shine.  The characters in this book, for the most part, do not understand one another, are not compassionate towards each other, and betray one another with a nonchalance that is oddly breathtaking.  The small, fleeting moments when one character reaches out to another directly (the poor comfort offered Door as she returns to her home where her family has been murdered and Richard's compassion for the rat-speaker--examples that don't ruin the story) are sufficient to humanize an inhumane environment.  The social ineptitude of the cast of characters on all levels reflects the social skills of the engrossed reader and imply that the failings of the reader himself may, in some odd way, be an advantage.

So, if you read this book and like it then you are sick.  Your sickness does not coat your life with a stench that well-meaning people cannot help but avoid.  It does, however, leave you on the fringes of society looking in and aching for the teeming acceptance that the others seem to enjoy.  This book also suggests that the acceptance is as illusory as Springsteen's "Glory Days" and the way to feed your hunger is to go live your life rather then stare from the backwaters.  In this way, this book is a self-help tome for those who have this sickness.  The question is, do you have to pick up a bleeding woman from the street to go find your life?

46 Pages, Scott Liell

46 Pages:  Thomas Paine, Common Sense, and the Turning Point to American Independence by Scott Liell contains the entire text of the Common Sense and includes commentary to help explain it.  Concise and well-written, Liell's commentary is said to be a "must have."  My wife and I both have an interest in this book, so she reads it to me while we are driving on long trips.

Started: 4/18/2011
Completed: 6/2011
Recommendation: Strongly Recommended
Recommended by:  I saw this book at Vertigo when it closed and it called out to me.  Common Sense is something I've always felt I should read.  This book was also selected by the family for a book discussion this summer.
Words I looked up:


encomium -- A speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly.
jesuitically -- basically means "like a Jesuit," but that isn't helpful.  Describing someone as a Jesuit (who is not a Jesuit) is to say that person is "given to subtle casuistry."  Casuistry is excessively subtle reasoning intended to rationalize or mislead.
papistical -- of or relating to or supporting Roman Catholicism

Review:  Common Sense is funny and Liell helps give the context necessary to understand the humor.  The back story of Thomas Paine is interesting as well.  This is a fantastic discussion of one of the most important books in the American Revolution.  Just wonderful.

Memoirs of Pontius Pilate, James R. Mills

Memoirs of Pontius Pilate by James R. Mills is a novelization of Ponitus Pilate's thoughts on Jesus of Nazereth written by a politician.


Started: 4/16/2011
Completed: 4/17/2011
Recommendation: eh, unlikely to be worth your time unless you haven't read the Gospels
Recommended by:  An extended family vacation led to the creation of a book discussion group and this was the #3 book voted upon by family members for us all to read.
Words I looked up:


obstreperous -- resisting control or constraint in a difficult manner; unruly


Review:  Well, sadly this book was annoying.  It was supposed to be a politician's view of Pilate's perspective. Instead, Pilate plays idiot savant to Mills recounting of the Gospels.  There were  a couple of errors that really rubbed me the wrong way and one blatant effort to forward the author's own political position.  This book didn't feel like a novelization of Pilate's Memoirs, it felt more like a novelization written in the hollow voice of a flawed character that was neither investigated nor developed.  One might have expected something about Pilate's childhood, but you hear about Jesus' childhood.  One might have expected a ton of issues that had nothing to do with Jesus of Nazareth, yet the entirety of the book revolved around the dubious "questioning" position of Pilate who, by turns, disregards and upholds the beliefs of both Jews and Christians.


One shocking thing is that the author used Pilate's wife as a plot foil, but failed to address her death at all; a topic that was clearly of very high importance to the Pilate developed by the author.  IMNSHO, this book was poorly written.  I have no understanding at all how it made it onto the top 100 list of historical novels forget #2.  The only list this would make for me is "Approachable Restatings of the Bible."  I'd care to add that while this book might make such a list, it would be so completely buried by virtually every other book on that list as to be unfindable.  Ugh.

The Feud, Thomas Berger

The Feud by Thomas Berger is a comedy written by the same man who gave us "Little Big Man."  This book looks at two feuding towns in 1930s America.  This book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Started:  4/14/2011
Completed:  4/28/2011
Recommendation:  It is difficult to recommend this book.  It isn't fun.  It is close to truth.  Close to painful truth.
Recommended By:  An extended family vacation led to the creation of a book discussion group and this was the #1 book voted upon by family members for us all to read.
Review: So what to say about this book?  This is the mountain out of a mole hill writ hick.  So a minor disagreement and a line of constantly topping intolerance leads to a modern comedy of errors.  The middle of the book is a mild twist in so far as simple character flaws start becoming serious downfalls.  Characters start taking a beating...individuals start falling apart in every way imaginable.  Some new characters who, themselves, represent the fulfillment of poor decisions appear, splatter, and slip from the pages.

The book does not end with a belly laugh, a chuckle, or even a wry grin.  It is as harsh, greasy, and oddly, stale and sweet as the crumbs in the bottom of an empty bag of donuts.  Like the bag is empty, sadly the story is as well.  While you've learned about these people and, in some ways, started to sympathize with them, in virtually every case they are repugnant at a base level.  I didn't come away from this book wondering what happened to them or with any desire to hear more of their sordid lives.  I had a very hard time laughing at the ridiculous behavior after the consequences turned so dire.  Perhaps that is a good thing.

The Feud is edgy.  Not the way "edgy" is viewed today.  It is not raunchy.  It is not foul.  The Feud looks at people as they horribly are.  It unashamedly offers up the devastating consequences of our own flaws drawn out upon the stage of destitute poverty,  The consequences of small flaws--big sins--are even worse when put under the vise of financial stress.

I'm not convinced you learn anything by reading this book.  It is mildly entertaining and unabashedly forthright, but it uses the comedic tool of drawing everything to extremes--the sheriffs don't disagree, they actively wish to hurt one another; the sex abusers aren't ashamed of themselves; the self-interest knows no bounds; and the doormats stand before cavernous spaces.  Since everything is so extreme it is impossible to view the book in anything but the harsh black and white light that bursts from caricature.  It feels like the humor can only be enjoyed by those how titter uncontrollably as the three year old throws a baseball into his father's scrotum.  The humor seems painfully reminiscent of a Peeping Tom's look at squalid indignity.

Of course, the worst part is that I'm writing this two days after the rest of the review.  Maybe the quality of this book shows in that I'm still stewing about it.  Maybe I felt like a Peeping Tom because the author had taken the trouble of making these comically distorted characters seem real.  I'm still mad at some for their behavior, sorry about the sad situation for others, and worried for the poor decisions that characterized them all.  No, I don't want to read more about them, I'd just as soon forget them.  But somewhere, somehow, the author has managed to make them "real" enough to have woven themselves into my thoughts occasionally bumping against real people with real problems.  And that, my dear reader, may be why this book was nominated for a Pulitzer.  Still and all, it is annoying.

The Most Human Human, Brian Christian

The Most Human Human by Brian Christian is a look at a classical test, the Turing Test, from the human side.  Plenty has been written about the computer side of the Turing Test, but this is a new book that addresses the uniquely human side.

Started:  3/23/2011
Completed: 6/19/2011
Recommendation: Recommended for programmers.  It is amazing how humbling it can be to "look" from the other side.
Recommended By:  I saw the author speak on John Stewart
Words I looked up:


anaphora -- repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect 
asterism -- a group of three asterisks shaped into a triangle that are used in typography to denote subchapters in a book.
hegemony -- gaining control through consensus, not force.
ineffable -- too great or extreme to be described in words
pilcrow -- a typographic mark typically used to denote a paragraph, "¶"
palimpsest -- a manuscript page from a scroll or book from which the text has been scraped and which can be used again.
polysyndeton -- repetition of conjunctions in close succession
sanguine -- cheerfully optimisitc
stevedore -- a dock worker
trenchant -- vigorously effective and articulate
voided lozenge -- A symbol in heraldry (also called a "mascle") that is a diamond within a diamond.

Review:  


When a journalist looks at computer interfaces, there is something to learn.  Having read this book in concert with listening to Moonwalking with Einstein it is interesting to me that these two books which each try to reach into the essence of humanity from different angles share so much in common.  Neither is a repeat of the other, but the overlaps are significant.  There is more to human interaction then simple communication--there is a certain degree of binding that occurs when two people talk well and it cannot be approximated well by computers who are simply mimicking what has been put into them (albeit quite well).  At the same time, the vast store of sheer information stored by computers can be approximated through the human mind with a little effort and that allows for a structure in which to hold not only a good discussion but even more information.

At some points, Brian Christian suggests that the novelty of a good conversation lies in its surprise and Joshua Fore suggests that one of the most engaging uses of memory is being able to create novel links between seemingly disparate sources.  It seems to me (making a novel link :) ) that effective use of memory facilitates good conversation.  Brian Christian talks about leaving footholds for conversation by leaving many open-ended references and Joshua Fore points out that having established memory points lets us view information within a context that takes us beyond rote knowledge or parlor tricks into a deeper understanding of the world around us.  It may just be me, but it seems like these two different books (both by journalists about competitions) are particularly in tune with one-another and should be read together for maximum gain.

To the heart of being the most human human, Mr. Christian found it anti-climactic as one might expect.  Being acknowledged for what one is is rarely as interesting as becoming something more then one is.  The journey, however, that brought him to that point is well worth the read and is a good overview into the shortcomings of a "heartless" interaction that characterizes current AI systems that purport to interface with us.  As companies have developed increasingly complicated systems to try to address anticipated customer needs, the flexibility and creativity of a real human being has never been more in evidence.  These elaborate efforts are fairly good at handling simple items (phone trees work reasonably well for movie theaters until the theaters forget that the phone tree is intended to drive people to the movies and start inserting advertising that is far less effective), but if you have ever tried to call a bank and do something relatively unusual (like stop payment on a check) the phone tree feels impenetrable as it both fails to handle the need and obscures the process for getting to a real human (which is where the phone tree ends up if one happens to find the right path).

As a programmer, the intuition and research that Mr. Christian offers in his book is important and something to be considered in developing a system that interacts with people.  I think that one thing programmers largely have in common is an inability to interact well themselves and so it is no surprise that the applications generated by this social inept group should themselves be socially inept.  Some of the information offered by Mr. Christian may help programmers become more socially skilled and, by extension, facilitate the growth of socially skilled applications.  Physician, heal thyself.

Bridge of Birds, Barry Hughart

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart is written in the style of ancient Chinese literature.  It is an imaginary story that takes place in an imaginary China circa 600.  I've had this book on my reading list for 15 years and finally got a copy.

Started:  3/26/2011
Completed: 4/4/2011
Recommendation: EXCELLENT, fun, read!
Recommended By:  I think I read about this book in the Washington Post Book Review
Words I looked up:


bonze -- a Buddhist priest in Japan

Review:  What a fun book!  From references like a story that one of the characters gives of his life that beings with:  "It was a dark and stormy night..."  There is clear humor and there is subtle humor and there is the humor that you get three pages later.  This is the kind of book where you have to share a passage with someone else!  If you read only one book in 15 years, this would not be it, but if you need a good beach read or you want an exciting chuckle (it is an adventure novel) then run out to a used book store (it is out of print) and grab a copy.  You will not regret it.

Empire of Liberty, Gordon S. Wood

Empire of Liberty by Gordon S. Wood is the second in the series The Oxford History of the United States which, oddly, seems to be a very good place to get the history of the US.  I'm reading this book to try and get some material together to teach history to my 5th grade son.

Started: 2/13/2010
Completed:
Recommendation:
Recommended By: A Major at the Pentagon who got to talking with my wife while I took my son on a tour of the Pentagon.
Words I Looked Up:


ancien -- a system or mode no longer prevailing
entablature -- a horizontal, continuous lintel on a classical building supported by columns or a wall, comprising the architrave, frieze, and cornice
labile -- unstable, quick and ready to change
mezzotinto -- a form of intaglio etching in which a metal plate is roughened and then smoothed to bring out an image.(It seems that this word was used to mean fine engraving with a delicate touch.  In the book it was contrasted with an elephant.)
peripatetic -- travelling from place to place, especially working or based in various places for short periods
trenchant -- having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect
tympanum -- a vertical recessed triangular space forming the center of a pediment, typically decorated




Review:  Will write one when I'm done.

Jupiter, Ben Bova

Jupiter by Ben Bova is a book written in a series called "The Grand Tour" which has a book for each planet (and some asteroids).  I like the way that Ben Bova takes some science and mixes it with some "extensions" to come up with a really interesting twists for his novels.  By "twists" I mean moral dilemmas, not surprise endings.

Started: 1/19/2011
Completed: 1/27/2011
Recommendation: Gotta be a hard core SF fan to enjoy it
Recommended By: Nobody, I like Ben Bova's stuff and saw this at a yard sale


Review:


This is a book for the hardcore SF reader.  Lots of stuff is assumed, plasma drives, AI, nanotechnology, etc.  If these terms aren't familiar to you, well, the book uses them but doesn't explain them.  There are also several instances of wild hand waving that will frustrate anyone with a science background (aerodynamics seem to be largely ignored though frequently referenced, "scoop ships" get many references but seem to defy any sort of description, and while it is possible to reline with ceramic a running engine nozzle, there is virtually no form of healthcare for the crew anywhere).  The topics evaluated are very broad (if Radar from M*A*S*H was on a space station around Jupiter, what would he do?)  and range from the ethical to religious and off to scientific rather seamlessly.  Some of the science can be jarring (walls for video, but floors that display images are unusual) but the parts that are clearly speculative are treated that way in the novel and the questions that any one of us might ask are briefly addressed (what would it "feel" like if neurons were connected directly to feedback from an engine that was giving out?).  In general, I liked the book.  It was a compelling read, had simple and easy to understand characters.  It is basically a beach book and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.