Wednesday, September 08, 2004
September slowing down
Updated August 2005
I had been wanting to read Sineater by Elizabeth Massie for some time, so it was a big letdown to find it not worth the wait. This had, first of all, too many animal deaths, which by this time is such a cliche people ought to stop using it. It's like the expendable ensign (aka "The Red Shirt") on Star Trek; you know that person/pet's gonna die. It was also anticlimactic, and suffered from "The Village" Syndrome.
As for Elizabeth Hand's Mortal Love (see below), I had to return it. Too many books, starting to not be enough time. I'll have to catch up with it later.
Also read
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris. Another whimsical, poignant, and funny collection of autobiobraphical essays. Sedaris captures ephemeral moments and moods beautifully--here, in "Put a Lid on It," he talks about one of his sister Tiffany's pieces of art:
Against All Enemies, Richard A. Clarke, on CD. Who would think that Clarke could make the intrigue, deception and vitriol surrounding his revelations about the failure of US intelligence, and the Bush administration in particular, to face the reality of terrorism sound so, well, boring? Unfinished.
Featured books
I had been wanting to read Sineater by Elizabeth Massie for some time, so it was a big letdown to find it not worth the wait. This had, first of all, too many animal deaths, which by this time is such a cliche people ought to stop using it. It's like the expendable ensign (aka "The Red Shirt") on Star Trek; you know that person/pet's gonna die. It was also anticlimactic, and suffered from "The Village" Syndrome.
As for Elizabeth Hand's Mortal Love (see below), I had to return it. Too many books, starting to not be enough time. I'll have to catch up with it later.
Also read
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris. Another whimsical, poignant, and funny collection of autobiobraphical essays. Sedaris captures ephemeral moments and moods beautifully--here, in "Put a Lid on It," he talks about one of his sister Tiffany's pieces of art:
[Her] latest [mosaic] project is the size of a bath mat and features the remains of a Hummell figurine, the once cherubic face now reeling in a vortex of shattered coffee mugs. Like the elaborate gingerbread houses she made during her baking days, Tiffany’s mosaics reflect the loopy energy of someone who will simply die if she doesn’t express herself. It’s a rare quality, and because it requires an absolute lack of self-consciousness, she is unable to see it.When You Ride Alone You Ride with bin Laden, Bill Maher. Very acerbic, thought-provoking essays from the master of Real Time.
Against All Enemies, Richard A. Clarke, on CD. Who would think that Clarke could make the intrigue, deception and vitriol surrounding his revelations about the failure of US intelligence, and the Bush administration in particular, to face the reality of terrorism sound so, well, boring? Unfinished.
Featured books
# posted by karen : 1:16 PM
