Thursday, August 26, 2004
Dust and dirt ending August
Finished two really good books:
Skeletons on the Zahara, by Dean King
Live Bait, P.J. Tracy
Am also currently listening to Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, written and read by Al Franken. Fantastic, infuriating, funny.
Next up, in no particular order, my latest library haul:
Sineater, Elizabeth Massie. I've been meaning to get to this for years.
Mortal Love, Elizabeth Hand. I've been a fan of hers for years.
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris.
When You Ride Alone You Ride with bin Laden, Bill Maher.
Against All Enemies, Richard A. Clarke, on CD. Eric has this now.
So when will I get to these borrowed books?
Blood Rites: Book Six of the Dresden Files, Jim Butcher
The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason.
I never finished The Second Assistant. I let Eric tell me the end . . .
Skeletons on the Zahara, by Dean King
Live Bait, P.J. Tracy
Am also currently listening to Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, written and read by Al Franken. Fantastic, infuriating, funny.
Next up, in no particular order, my latest library haul:
Sineater, Elizabeth Massie. I've been meaning to get to this for years.
Mortal Love, Elizabeth Hand. I've been a fan of hers for years.
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris.
When You Ride Alone You Ride with bin Laden, Bill Maher.
Against All Enemies, Richard A. Clarke, on CD. Eric has this now.
So when will I get to these borrowed books?
Blood Rites: Book Six of the Dresden Files, Jim Butcher
The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason.
I never finished The Second Assistant. I let Eric tell me the end . . .
Monday, August 09, 2004
All smoke and no sizzle
Just finished reading Brimstone, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's latest mystery starring FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast. What a disappointment. At their best, Preston and Child's Pendergast novels (starting with "The Relic," including "The Cabinet of Curiosities") evoke a kind of X Files creepiness, mixing the mundane with a hint of the unknown in a very realistic manner, which of course is the best way to create chills: set something very strange in a very real world.
This one started out well, but as it went on, there were too many cliches, including at least numbers 4, 6, variations of 7 and 16, 13, 36, 40, and 64 from The Evil Overlord List. And the evil, including a promising subplot that ended awkwardly and abruptly, turned out to be depressingly earthly and almost ludicrous.
Their next book might be more interesting, as it will focus, it seems, on Pendergast. But it appears it will be based on the distressingly worn-out ultimate "evil vs. good" battle. Reminds me of the time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Giles said urgently, "It's the end of the world," and Buffy, Willow, and Xander replied, "Again?"
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This one started out well, but as it went on, there were too many cliches, including at least numbers 4, 6, variations of 7 and 16, 13, 36, 40, and 64 from The Evil Overlord List. And the evil, including a promising subplot that ended awkwardly and abruptly, turned out to be depressingly earthly and almost ludicrous.
Their next book might be more interesting, as it will focus, it seems, on Pendergast. But it appears it will be based on the distressingly worn-out ultimate "evil vs. good" battle. Reminds me of the time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Giles said urgently, "It's the end of the world," and Buffy, Willow, and Xander replied, "Again?"
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Wednesday, August 04, 2004
August Books
R is for Ricochet, Sue Grafton. Another wonderful chapter in Kinsey Millhone's life that goes down as smoothly and satisfyingly as comfort food. One question, though: When the HELL is Kinsey going to get a friggin' CELL phone??? She's a P.I. and is always on the move. It's at least 1986 or 1987 now, alphabetically. According to Selling the Cell Phone, "By 1987, cellular telephone subscribers exceeded one million and the airways were crowded." Get with it, girl!! And a great quote:
Am reading:
Brimstone, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Wahoo! Another creepy mystery/thriller starring not-quite-human FBI Special Agent Pendergast.
Next up:
Must finish The Second Assistant, Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare, which I lent to Eric.
Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi. Am afraid this is going to lose its place on the list because, besides Brimstone, I got the following books in from the library . . .
The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason.
Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival, Dean King.
Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, Richard Hofstadter, After I quoted this book in an e-mail discussion about bias against smart people, I thought I'd at least try to skim through the actual book.
I could see where owning a cat would render a grownup completely goofy in time."
Am reading:
Brimstone, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Wahoo! Another creepy mystery/thriller starring not-quite-human FBI Special Agent Pendergast.
Next up:
Must finish The Second Assistant, Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare, which I lent to Eric.
Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi. Am afraid this is going to lose its place on the list because, besides Brimstone, I got the following books in from the library . . .
The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason.
Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival, Dean King.
Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, Richard Hofstadter, After I quoted this book in an e-mail discussion about bias against smart people, I thought I'd at least try to skim through the actual book.
