Books Read in 2009

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lildrgn
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by lildrgn »

I just finished City of Thieves by David Banioff. It's a coming-of-age story of two young men (teens, really) in Russia during World War II. They meet under unique circumstances and then are sent on an even more unique mission. The book is funny (LOL at many times) but not over the top. It is brutal and messy. It is touching and thought-provoking. Most of all, it's the best book I've read this year. Highly recommended.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

Lisey's Story by Stephen King :binky: :binky: :binky:

As is typical with a Stephen King story, much attention is given to character development. Lisey's Story is what happens when you don't really care about any of the characters. The story centers around the widow of a famous writer, with recollections of her past, her relationship and key events in her marriage, and on-going relations with her sisters. It very much felt like a "Made for Lifetime" tale. Lisey just did not lead all that compelling of a life, and there was too much reliving the mundane past through the eyes of an upper middle-aged woman, and not enough oomph in the supernatural part of the tale. Even the suspenseful part where Lisey is stalked and assaulted by an ex-con hired by a university prof to apply pressure on her to give up her husband's remaining papers seems forced...Lisey makes implausible decisions but ultimately drags her assailant to the mysterious world beyond the fairy forest where he is, uh, eaten. And guess what? There's still 15% more of the book left! What remains is a rather drawn out account on how Lisey disassociates herself once and for all from the supernatural place that haunted her husband, as well as throw off the shackles of his memory by giving up his collection of books and papers.

In the afterword, King talks about how the interaction of Lisey and her sisters was loosely modeled from observation of his own wife and her sisters. He didn't need to say so...this was apparent all the way through. But it too often seemed forced...or too often seemed that my lack of interested was due to my not being a middle-aged woman.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by tgb »

Right now I'm reading Just Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. Great stuff.

Next up is The Road to Xanadu. Volume One of Simon Callow's bio of Orson Welles. 600 pages and it only goes up to Citizen Kane.

BTW, it took Callow 10 years to produce Volume Two last year, and that only covers 1941-1948. I suspect I may not live long enough to finish the series.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by silverjon »

tgb wrote:Next up is The Road to Xanadu. Volume One of Simon Callow's bio of Orson Welles. 600 pages and it only goes up to Citizen Kane.

BTW, it took Callow 10 years to produce Volume Two last year, and that only covers 1941-1948. I suspect I may not live long enough to finish the series.
Interesting tactic to use Welles as a work template for his own biography....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Well ... d_projects" target="_blank
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Isgrimnur »

The Liveship Traders Trilogy:
The second series trilogy in this world by Robin Hobb was a decent follow on to the Farseer Trilogy, but I don't think it was quite as good. You have ships with living figureheads, sea serpents, pirates, and political intrigue. There were times that I struggled to keep going and slowed my reading pace, but overall I enjoyed the series.

I'm likely to take a break from Ms. Hobb before tackling the thrid trilogy in the universe, The Tawny Man series, which has a closer tie to the Farseer books.

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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by ydejin »

CSL wrote: 2. The First World War: To Arms, vol 1 by Hew Strachan

This is the first of what is tentatively a three volume Oxford history of the First World War. ...

I would not recommend this volume to anyone but the most interested in First World War history - first because many of the subjects are better described in other texts for the more general reader (The Great War in Africa by Byron Farwell being an apt example for the very large chapter on the African campaigns) and second because it will require some indepth knowledge of the events beforehand. That said if you fit that bill this book is also excessively well done ...

***** out of *****
There's actually a 4-disc DVD series out based on one of Strachan's earlier WW I books. It's available at Amazon and Netflix. I quite enjoyed it and learned a lot (although going in I didn't know that much about WW I, except for a bit about the naval side from reading Catles of Steel).
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Re: Books Read in 2009

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Latest books I've completed so far this year (and date completed):

"The Last Valley" by Martin Windrow 8/5/09 - A history of the First Indochina War, 1946-1954, with a focus on the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. A very, very good book, with lots of maps and extensive notes. The only downer might be that between all the French, Vietnamese and other foreign person and place names it sometimes becomes hard to keep track of things.

"Building The Suez Canal" by S. C. Burchell 7/29/09 - A history of the building of the canal. Doesn't go into any great detail at all, but does have a nice style to the writing. Plenty of excellent illustrations and period photographs.

"Roberts Ridge" by Malcolm MacPherson 7/28/09 - A very detailed retelling of the seventeen hour ordeals of shot down Navy SEAL and US Army Ranger teams during Operation "Anaconda" in Afghanistan. Very much in the style of "Black Hawk Down". Excellent book, very recommended.

“ENIAC” by Scott McCartney 7/26/09 - A history of the first electronic computer and the people involved. The first half concerns the conception, design and building of the first machine. The second half is about the two main inventors and their struggle to maintain their credit for their concept, and then how they went into business trying to sell them. Only the first half is really interesting, the rest dissolves down to discussions of lawsuits and people arguing over who did what.

"Dustoff: The Memoir of an Army Aviator" by Michael J. Novosel 7/24/09 - Exceptional first person tale of a man (wiki link) who entered the Army Air Force in 1940, rose up the ranks as a bomber pilot (but flew pretty much everything), retired, then re-entered the military early in the Vietnam War. Unwilling to return to the Air Force as a desk-bound colonel, he joined the Army as a warrant officer and ended up flying dustoff missions (combat medical evacuations) during two tours. And even after that there was a lot of interesting things he did. A story so amazing that no Hollywood writer would even consider it, yet it's all true. Very highly recommended.

"What Hath God Wrought" by Daniel Walker Howe 7/23/09 - Part of the Oxford History of the United States, covering 1815 to 1848. Very well done, considering not only the time covered but also the wide variety of subjects. Enough detail in each subject area to be interesting without bogging down in too much analysis or anecdotes.

"Death Ground" by Daniel P. Bolger 7/20/09 - A series of chapters covering various infantry-types in the modern US military, highlighting them by describing actions in which they were involved. For instance, parachutists in Panama in 1989, Rangers in Mogadishu in 1994, etc. Each chapter ends with a discussion of the unit structure and composition, which since publication in 2003 is probably out of date, but the stories are interesting.

"The Bullet Catchers" by Tony Geraghty 7/10/09 - Geraghty, a journalist, has written about the British SAS, mercenaries in ancient and modern times, and the British fight against the IRA in Northern Ireland. In this book he relates the history of bodyguards and other security types, from early in Queen Victoria's reign till 1989, the year of publication of the book. Very opinionated and somewhat reactive in his views, never the less a good deal of the book is entertaining and a lot is eye-opening regarding assassins, targets and the poor blokes in-between.

Link to my complete 2009 list below.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

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**** The Complete Sherlock Holmes Vol 1 - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Very entertaining, but you have to enjoy short stories. There's little to no character development (apart from watching Holmes and Watson) and there's little to no chance to figure out most of the crimes. But entertaining nonetheless. I'll certainly seek out volume 2.


**** Sea of Swords - R. A. Salvator

Been a long time since I've followed Drizzt and only picked this up because I went and left all my books at home before going on vacation. I know that Salvator has his critics, but he's good for light reading and I had no problem reading it nearly straight through.


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Re: Books Read in 2009

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Finished The Last Detective by Robert Crais. Now reading Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

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Just finished Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst. Now reading Collision by Jeff Abbott.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

The Mental Floss History of the World :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Mental Floss is a series of books (and I think magazines?) that provide executive summary - like distillations of otherwise heady topics. The description of this book on eMusic suggested it might be a little more humor-infused than it was (I was hoping for a lot of funny anecdotes). But it really did summarize the history of the world, hitting up on all of the major talking points. Scattered throughout are
anecdotes and factoids, statics that are sometimes surprising, but they sometimes restate folk stories as fact when such things have been discredited otherwise. It was largely a waste of time since there was little for me to learn, but since I did the audiobook, it was time that would have been wasted otherwise.

Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory :binky: :binky: :binky:
Malory was a medieval author who wrote the first recorded account of the largely mythical King Arthur. It is largely an account of the 100 knights of the round table (or "table round"). Unfortunately, these stories are rarely interesting (except maybe for graphic descriptions of quality kills) and it really gets tedious. The stories we commonly associate with King Arthur have their seeds here, but are fleshed out derivatives, it's hard to see the story we're all familiar with. Perhaps Malory was a minstrel and these tales made for good song, but for read, they are dull, dull, dull.

Blasphemy by Douglas Preston :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:
A techno-thriller in the Michael Creighton vein, Blasphemy combines science (a particle accelerator designed to be larger than CERN) with political asshattery and religious nutjobbery. Built with a price tag of $40 billion, the purpose of the accelerator is to research particles that haven't existed since the big bang. However, software glitches prevent it from going on-line, and the DOE sends a former CIA agent and scientist to investigate. Meanwhile, the Navajo tribal counsel fires their lobbyist, content that the project is complete and nothing will interfere with the stream of government rent checks for using their land. The lobbyist warns that the project is still under heavy pressure from groups who think it is a sink hole and wish to stop funding it all together, but he cannot get them to keep him on retainer. A discredited televangelist on the verge of cancellation declares that the project is trying to disprove Genesis and is a direct affront to god, and all of the nutjobs start coming out of the woodwork, sending email to Washington in unprecedented numbers. Then a local preacher on the Navajo reservation falls under the spell, goes to accelerator to voice concerns and get information, and is dismissed by the lead scientist as a "germ" and ejected from the premises. When the televangelist refers to the information he gathered on his increasingly popular broadcast, the preacher takes it upon himself to declare a holy war against the accelerator (and the scientist, who he dubs the Antichrist). His email campaign goes viral, and soon a veritable army assembles outside the gates of the compound. Meanwhile, when the accelerator is powered to near 100%, it begins to talk to the scientists. First dismissed as a hack that needed rooting out, it claims that it is god. After an extended conversation, the mostly Atheistic group of scientists actually start to believe that maybe it is.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Zarathud »

Finished the Night Angels Trilogy by Brent Weeks. Great, light fantasy with characters that sometimes do stupid shit not for a plot twist, but becasue that's how people sometimes react.

Currently reading Kevin J. Anderson's Terra Incognita #1 - The Edge of the World. So far it seems like a different take on the themes in Michael Stackpole's Age of Discovery series.

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"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein
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“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” - John Stuart Mill, Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St Andrews, 2/1/1867
“It is the impractical things in this tumultuous hell-scape of a world that matter most. A book, a name, chicken soup. They help us remember that, even in our darkest hour, life is still to be savored.” - Poe, Altered Carbon
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

This book is the first of a trilogy based on the legendary Arthur. The bastard son of High King Uther Pendragon, Arthur himself is not consider of royal lineage (although he does bear the title Lord) and is sworn protector of Uther's heir, the infant King Mordred.

Like Cornwell's Saxon chronicles, The Winter King is told as a memoir by a fictional character who manages to be in all the important places at the right time. In this series, the narrator is an aged monk named Derfel, once the warlord Lord Derfel Cadarn, a disciple of Merlin and a member of the Mithraic cult of warriors. How Derfel makes the whole-hearted switch to Christianity is not covered in this book.

The story introduces a few characters familiar to those acquainted with the Arthurian legends. I already mentioned Uther, in this story the aged (and quickly late) High King who lost one son named Mordred in battle, and sired another about a year before his death. The infant King Mordred is a deformed child with a club foot, and there is much grumbling that such a creature not be allowed to live. Morgan, Arthur's sister, had her face maimed and perpetually wears a golden mask. She is a disciple of Merlin, who is lord over a kingdom of misfits. Derfel himself is of Saxon origin and was left for dead by a druid in a ceremony commemorating a victory. Nimue (who, in Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, fills in as the Lady of the Lake when the lady is killed), is Derfel's age, and becomes Merlin's mistress as well as apprentice. King Ban of Benoic loses his kingdom and his life to a Frankish invasion, but his sons Lancelot and Gallahad escape. Gallahad and Derfel are inseparable companions; Gallahad the epitome of a chivalrous knight. Lancelot is a douche of the first order, claiming great feats of heroism while never actually risking his skin. Guinevere, aka "The Whore of Henis Wyren," is Arthur's wife. Arthur's inability to keep it in his pants led to him eschewing a political marriage that would have bought peace among the British tribes (mostly in what is now Wales), allowing them to focus on the encroaching Saxons. As a result of the affront, the kingdoms of Britain polarize to Arthur or his enemy, the King of Powys. Much of the book covers the course of this war.

While Cornwell spins a good amount of his own fiction, the setting itself is historically quite plausible. The druids use symbolism and other tricks to rattle the nerves of the believers, but there is no true magic here, nor mystical intervention by the gods. In an amusing twist, Derfel is actually recording this tale as he describes it to a princess many years later. The legends that we are most familiar with are actually believed to have been fact by this princess, errors which Derfel periodically breaks from his narrative to explain to his anxious listener.

The climatic battle becomes a draw, mostly because it's never completed thanks to the timely intervention of Merlin and a band of Irish mercenaries that unexpectedly join with Arthur. The King of Powys is killed in battle, and his son, much like Arthur. desires peace among Britons.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by jztemple2 »

Latest I've read since my last update a few posts up. Links are to LibraryThing entries for the books:

"What If? Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been" edited by Robert Cowley - Gave up on this after a few of it's essays. A mixed bag of styles and content. The hoped for intriguing possibilities are overwhelmed by a lot of repetitive preambles, examinations and ruminations. Not recommended.

"The Fields of Bamboo" by SLA Marshall - Although Marshall's veracity as a military historian has been called into question, he does know how to tell an interesting story. This book covers three related operations in Vietnam. The story telling is down at the grunt level. He does criticize some of the command decisions, but doesn't wield an axe about it. The narrative is detailed about what was happening down at the level of the individuals, but he does tie back to the overall management of the operations as well. He has an eye for the ground as well (he surveyed the battle sites only days after) and thankfully stays away from a lot of contrived conversations.

“Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America” by Eric Jay Dolin - A very good book, covering from the very start in the early seventeenth century when beached whales were the attraction, through the golden age in the mid-1800s and up through the early twentieth century. Anecdotes, analysis and good narrative.

"Terry Jones' Medieval Lives" by Terry Jones & Alan Ereira - This book was released to accompany the BBC series, although the book is more than just the transcript of the series. Nothing too heavy, just some interesting tidbits and some revisionist looks at medieval times in England. Not many laughs either, but that really doesn't detract from the book.

"The Making of an African Legend: The Biafra Story" by Frederick Forsyth - This book was written during the Nigerian Civil War in the later 1960s, although Forsyth (who is very sympathetic to the Biafran cause) makes no bones about how it was really a case of the Biafrans being forced to attempt to be independent and then be invaded by the other tribes that composed Nigeria. The book is mostly composed of discussions of the political and other events that led up to the war, and the shameful behavior of Britain and other nations in their failure to prevent the resulting genocide. The book is rather hard to read as Forsyth is not trying to entertain, but to inform. Not recommended unless you need to get more information on this conflict.

"San Francisco's Cable Cars" by Joyce Jansen - A rather lightweight book that really more about the birth and growth of San Francisco than about the cable cars. Still, there's a goodly amount of info and lots of photos. Recommended if you have an interest in the subject.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by lildrgn »

Finished Collision by Jeff Abbott. Onto The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer by Philip Carlo.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

jztemple2 wrote:
"Terry Jones' Medieval Lives" by Terry Jones & Alan Ereira - This book was released to accompany the BBC series, although the book is more than just the transcript of the series. Nothing too heavy, just some interesting tidbits and some revisionist looks at medieval times in England. Not many laughs either, but that really doesn't detract from the book.
I really liked the TV series (I have it on DVD). I'll have to check this out sometime, I've been a fan of Terry Jones' documentary stuff for a while, but I thought this series was exceptionally well done.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

The Sea-Witch by Maturin Murray Ballou :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Maturin Murray Ballou was a 19th century writer and publisher. The Sea-Witch is a story of love, intrigue and betrayal set among the happy, romantic slave coast of Africa. Two brothers raised in an English estate go in two very separate routes when their father falls into financial hardship and the estate is encumbered. The older brother, raised with the expectation of inheritance, naturally grows up to be an uncaring, evil S.O.B. His brother is the exact opposite, friendly,charismatic, and empathetic. The scene that sums up their relationship is from some of the background info Ballou interjects into the story from time to time: older bro is enjoying a day at the pond drowning puppies while younger brother saves the pooch and as a reward gets a beatdown from not only his brother, but from his dad, for daring to spoil his brother's fun.

Naturally, then, the evil older brother rises to captain of a ship in the Royal Navy, while little bro is contracted to run a clipper from the slave coast of Africa to Cuba filled with human cargo. Changing his name, Captain Ratlin is what you would expect Johnny Depp to be if the POTC movies focused on slave trade rather than piracy. Meanwhile, an East India Company ship founders in a storm heading back to England, a mother and daughter are saved by the dashing Captain Ratlin who takes them to Sierra Leone, where they would be able to find passage back to England. The captain and the daughter fall for each other, meanwhile, the port master's daughter, who was harboring a thing for Ratlin, goes psycho, first blowing up the Sea-Witch (he wasn't among those on-board at the time), and arranging for him to get arrested by a Royal Naval officer, who turns out, naturally, to be the older brother.

And they lived happily ever after. Oh, there's a few more intrigues, murders, and other drama, but I don't want to tell the whole story!

Alexander the Great and His Time by Agnes Savill :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

I've tried in vain to find out exactly when this book was written: Google has been unable to turn up a bio on the author. The earliest copyright date I could find was 1990, but the latest date Savill mentions in her discussion of source material goes no later than the late 1940's.

Alexander the Great and His Time can be broken down into three distinctive parts. The first, comprising slightly more than half the book, is the actual story of the career of Alexander the Great and the Diadochi Wars that followed his death. The second is an analysis of the source material: primary sources dating back to the campaign itself (by Ptolemy and Aristobulus), to those writing in the centuries after (Plutarch, Polybius, etc.) to those writing up to modern times, such as Lt.-Col. Dodge and Sir William Tarn. The third portion of the book is a look at the role of religion and philosophy as well as surrounding political events that influenced the education and subsequent actions of Alexander. One train of thought talked about how the infamous Alcibiades was a student of Socrates (and they fought together in the army). Alcibiades, who was naturally inclined towards deception and always had ulterior motives, hated that Socrates preached against such duplicity. The story was related through Plato to his famous student Aristotle, who then tutored Alexander. Alexander embodied Socrates noble teaching in a manner no other conqueror before or since has done.

Savill clearly idolizes her subject, when sources conflict regarding questionable actions on Alexander's part (such as the execution of Parmenion and Craterus, or his killing Cleitus in a fit of rage), Savill is quick to echo the more apologetic accounts of these events and dismiss the more critical. Certainly, some of the critical accounts were given by those known to actively attempt to discredit Alexander after his death, and others are by secondary sources reporting the story as they know it sometimes hundreds of years later. Savill does make a case for and justifies her position well; I am familiar with some (but not all) of her sources, and her evaluation of source material those I've read is largely accurate.

I found the analysis of the source material to be the most compelling part of the book. I am well familiar with the life and campaigns of Alexander, that part of the book resembled a Cliff-Notes version of the expansive volume written by Lt. Col. Dodge in the late 19th century. Similarly, the "connections" part talking about philosophy, politics and religion are covered more deeply elsewhere, but they do provide some helpful context for anyone who has not studied the subject previously.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

Where the Wild Things Were by William Stolzenberg :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Where the Wild Things Were is a look at the role of the top predator in ecological systems and studies of the effects upon their removal. Stolzenburg is a science journalist who became passionate regarding the topic of the book after attending a series of lectures and presentations at 2000 annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology. He begins the book stating up front his bias: he is clearly a proponent of he research and theories of those whose work he showcases in this book. Stolzenburg's writing style is clear and concise, his examples well chosen to make his case. For a lay person with some interest in ecological preservation, it all seems so correct. There is, however, considerable opposition and Stolzenburg is either dismissive of motives (rightly so perhaps when industry and politics are involved), or scarcely acknowledges it at all. As such, the book is more a work of advocacy and propaganda (not in a bad way) and not a piece of objective journalism. Since Stolzenburg makes no pretense to the latter, we shall look and see how successfully the book achieves it's goal.

Where the Wild Things Were is a summary collection of research dating back to the early 20th century. It looks at the role of the top predator in a given ecosystem: from coastal tidal pools in Oregon to kelp forests in the Aleutian Islands to isolated habitats created by urban sprawl or islands created by damming rivers. Much like the TV show Connections, a chain of events are constructed that describe how a particular habitat went from it's original to it's current state and in some cases projecting consequences if left unchecked.

The most involved of these examples nominally takes place in the Aleutian Islands. 18th century fur trappers nearly hunted the sea otter to extinction, but under government protection, it managed one of the more spectacular come-backs in natural history. Researchers noticed that the islands where they otter was found were surrounded in lush kelp forests, teeming with life, including one of the otter's favorite foods, the sea urchin. In islands lacking otter colonies, the seascape was a barren one, overrun by massive sea urchins whose appetite for kelp clear-cut the forest and left little attraction for other sea critters. Then in the mid-90's, a pod of killer whales was seen to be uncharacteristically pursuing an otter. Otter populations seemed to be declining, and a census confirmed than in 6 years, more than 40,000 were now missing. It wasn't disease, there was no piles of otter carcasses to be found. They simply vanished. The researchers found it hard to believe a few hundred whales could account for such a massive slaughter, but an analysis of a killer whale's caloric requirements indicated the carnage could have been explained by the appetite of less than 4 whales! Killer whales had also begun decimating seal populations along the coast, and the current blame is put on heavy whaling pressure that has severely diminished killer whale's preferred prey: gray, blue, fin and sperm whales. So fewer of the massive cetaceans leads to a bleak sea floor covered in spiny urchins.

Stolzenburg provides similar examples to support the roles of wolves in Yellowstone and lions in Zion. Biodiversity begins to fail once the top predator has been removed: secondary predators like raccoons and coyotes run unchecked, in turn putting heavy pressure on their victims (bird eggs, smaller rodents, etc.) Former prey species run amok, creating their own disaster. Deer and elk populations have exploded, and forests are becoming doomed as every sapling is stripped bare or cut to the ground by the hungry herbivores. In areas where the top predator has been repatriated, the effects begin to reverse themselves rapidly.

Stolzenburg also pleads the case of the "rewilders," a group of scientists who don't want to merely turn the ecological clocks back a few hundred years, but tens thousands of years, recreating a late-Pleistocene ecology where elephants and giant cats again roam the American plains. While bringing back actual extinct animals is still science-fiction fare, living analogs could serve in it's stead. The rewilding plan would use animals from zoos (rather than plunder their current homelands) and provide additional hope that some megafauna species can continue to survive. Such an experiment sounds fascinating, but needs to be handled with care. Many instances of introduced species causes more problems than it solves. However, as our knowledge of ecosystems improves, it becomes more plausible to do so safely and effectively.

Ultimately, the biggest challenge is overcoming fear. Most Americans would support these efforts, as long as these dangerous predators aren't being placed in their backyard. But as those backyards continue to encroach on animal territories, conflicts are unavoidable. Some animals become urbanized pests. Others, like cougars, are perceived to be a threat and are routinely killed even though there is no evidence to support they are a particular threat to humans (far more humans are killed by domestic dogs every year than have ever been known to die at the paws of a mountain lion).

Stolzenburg makes a great case for protecting the role of top predators in any given ecosystem. I think I would still like to hear more of alternative theories and solutions, provided they aren't the product of corporate spin doctoring or tainted by political convenience. The message that the decline of biodiversity could leave us on bleak, often barren landscape if the status-quo is allowed to go unchecked is worthy of serious consideration.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by silverjon »

I finished A Confederacy of Dunces yesterday, picked up because the book kept "haunting" me with recommendations and references. Blegh. I realize the characters are all supposed to be stupid and unpleasant, and I don't subscribe to any particular delusion that all literature should revolve around the likable... but this was downright grueling. I cringed every time I had to struggle through pages of Ignatius' ramblings. The plotline with Talc didn't go anywhere, but numerous other subplots became obvious deus ex machinas all tidily wrapped up by the end. Some of the descriptions were vivid, but became tedious through repetition after repetition after repetition... how many fucking times do you need to say Ignatius has blue-and-yellow eyes, and if you're trying to make some clever statement about his jaundiced viewpoint... can you be less annoying about it?

One thing that struck me was that this book only saw print because of the lobbying of the author's mother, having found a smeared carbon left behind after her... ahem... misunderstood genius of a son killed himself. In light of the relationships of the fictional Reilly family, I thought it was interesting.

The 6 volumes of Akira were easier to get though, with characters who were better company.
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To be fair, adolescent power fantasy tripe is way easier to write than absurd existential horror, and every community has got to start somewhere... right?

Unless one loses a precious thing, he will never know its true value. A little light finally scratches the darkness; it lets the exhausted one face his shattered dream and realize his path cannot be walked. Can man live happily without embracing his wounded heart?
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by tgb »

I just started Matthew Pearl's The Poe Shadow, about a young Baltimore attorney's attempts to unravel the mystery behind EAP's final days.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by jztemple2 »

Latest update to my books read in 2009, with date completed listed.

"Other Powers: The Age of Suffrage, Spiritualism, and the Scandalous Victoria Woodhull" by Barbara Goldsmith 9/4/09 - I read about a hundred pages of this but finally gave up. It was moderately interesting in parts but mostly a dull read. Not recommended unless you are really interested in the subject.

"War In The Streets: The Story of Urban Combat from Calais to Khafji" by Colonel Michael Dewar 9/3/09 - The first half of the book was an overview of urban combat, too brief to be really interesting or illuminating. The rest was pretty good, discussions of techniques and hardware and policies. Recommended if you have an interest in this area.

"Seize The Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time" by David Prerau 9/1/09 - A nice general history of the DST. Actually there's a lot more to it than you might expect. Well written and recommended as a easy to read and entertaining history.

"Combat Swimmer: Memoirs of a Navy SEAL" by Robert A. Gormley 8/31/09 - Gormley joined up in the early sixties and his experiences range from Vietnam to Grenada. A pretty good read, although towards the end he does philosophize a bit and some people might find it less than interesting.

"How Steam Locomotives Really Work'' by P. W. B. Semmens and A. J. Goldfinch 8/28/09 - Truth in advertising! Over the course of several hundred pages the authors do tell you in great detail how steam locomotives work, from the reasons behind the designs of the firebox to the different ways to brake a train. Surprisingly readable, but recommended more for steam enthusiasts.

"Submarine Design and Development" by Norman Friedman 8/27/09 - This book is from 1984, so it doesn't have the latest info on subs of course. The book does trace the development of subs from the beginning and does so in much technical detail. Chapters cover esoteric subjects such buoyancy and noise reduction. Not a casual read by any means, but it does provide the reader with an excellent introduction (and more) to submarines.

"The Gold Ring" by Kennth D. Ackerman 8/23/09 - The author of "Dark Horse" explores the background and history of the attempt by Jim Fisk and Jay Gould to corner the gold market in 1869, precipitating a major financial crash and many scandals in the remainder of the Grant administration. It's a easy, entertaining read and the equal to "Dark Horse".

"Israeli Special Forces" (The Power Series) by Samuel M. Katz 8/18/09 - A standard entry in the Power Series. Katz does a credible job of detailing these forces, although he's a bit over the top in his praise.

"Benetton - Formula 1 Racing Team" - Alan Henry 8/18/09 - A disappointing history of the Benetton team, too much of an overview of the early history, and then too many interviews and non-pertinent details.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Book 2 in the Arthur saga. Here we see the true stripes of Lancelot, the King without a kingdom who presumes to be Arthur's friend in spite of evidence to his true nature. Lord Derfel Cardarn, one of Arthur's "made men" is narrating this memoir, and from their first meeting, he had never liked Lancelot, whom he brands as a coward.

Several other "Arthurian" tales cross paths in this book. Merlin's quest for a druidic cauldron of great power starts off the book. The fateful story of the doomed lovers Tristan and Iseult is told as well, in this case Arthur's commitment to justice at the expense of an old ally drives a temporary wedge between himself and Derfel. The real source of evil in this book is the Christian church, or, more precisely, it's scheming bishop who contrives to send Arthur and Derfel on a trivial errand that ends in ambush (the only corpses from the encounter being fanatical Christian ones) and then while they were presumably being killed, Mordred, Arthur's' nephew and now King, is attacked while hunting and also presumed dead. Meanwhile, the duplicitous Lancelot, who earlier averted a Saxon civil war that would have helped the Britons, seized power while his Saxon friend launched an attack on Arthur's frontier forces. When it becomes apparent Arthur is indeed not dead, Lancelot summons him under the threat that something unfortunate will happen to Guinevere and Arthur's son. Arthur, under the guise of a peace mission to gain the support of the other Saxon lord, instead circles back to capture his wife and son. Lancelot isn't the only snake, however, and Guinevere is found in a compromising position with one of Lancelot's druids during a religious ceremony dedicated to Isis and Osiris (during which they all hailed Lancelot as king).

The story ends with the cauldron again recovered (the cauldron and other treasures were stolen and given to Guinevere), Lancelot fleeting with his tail between his cowardly legs, the Saxons turned away at the border, except for possessing some of what used to be Lancelot's kingdom, and Guinevere in chains. Arthur is supremely pissed...he won't usurp the throne from Mordred, but has decreed that Britain would be ruled by council and Mordred king in name only. Derfel nominates Arthur to be Emperor (king of kings); this time Arthur does not dismiss it, but neither does he embrace the title. The army and most of the lords have long wanted Arthur to declare as king, they are happy now, although the riotous Christian's are seething under the prospect of tyranny under the "Enemy of God."
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

2666: A Novel by Roberto Bolano :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Roberto Bolano was a Chilean writer and poet known for his short stories. So why is his posthumously-published novel a whopping 900 pages?

For starters, it was his intent that the 5 sections of 2666 be published as 5 individual novels. The publisher and Bolano's heirs decided a single, massive volume was appropriate. Bolano was thought to be "within a few months" of completing the book when he died, apparently the book was released with minor editing and no substantial content added.

A favorite plot device of Hollywood is to have a handful of disconnected story lines all intersect at a common point or theme. Ostensibly, this is what 2666 sets out to do. However, rather than come together at a pivotal moment, each of the 5 stories are rather discrete; characters and events from other stories intersect almost incidentally.

The first story deals with 4 college professors who fancy themselves experts on an elusive German author, Beno Archimboldi. The 4 wind up stalking him all the way to Mexico, to the border town Santa Teresa (a fictional Cuidad Juarez). They meet with his elderly German publisher, and in Mexico meet with a fellow intellectual. The story of the four is essentially a love rectangle, although the characters themselves seem like they could have been at home in a Fitzgerald or Hemingway novel. The second part follows the Mexican intellectual Amalfitano, a native of Spain who lives with his daughter. His wife went off with an European poet, despite rumors he was gay. Their story had a tragic end as the poet, a friend, and the wife all contract AIDS. She comes back to Santa Teresa to see her daughter at the end. The third story involves a journalist for an African-American newspaper. When the magazine's boxing editor is murdered in Chicago, he is asked to go to Santa Teresa and cover a highly anticipated fight. The journalist falls for Amalfitano's daughter, but is also dragged into the horror of young women disappearing and turning up dead in massive numbers -- a local problem suggested in the first two sections. His editor refuses to allow him to cover the story, citing lack of an African-American angle (in slightly cruder terms). The fourth, and longest part of the book enumerates several years worth of deaths, the investigation, and toll it takes on the police investigating the crimes. The final part is the story of Archimboldi himself. A German soldier in World War II, he becomes a writer after the war. He finds a publisher who takes to his work, which is never hugely successful but eventually becomes critically acclaimed enough so he is nominated several times for a Nobel Prize. After his wife dies young from heart disease, he goes underground -- nobody ever really sees him, and the only person to maintain contact is his publisher --- the wife of the late publisher who first bought his work. Before Archimboldi's story ends, we are bought up to speed on his sister, whom he hadn't seen since before the war. Each of the previous stories had mentioned a German being held in prison for committing the murders -- never mind the fact that the murders continued apace even after his incarceration. The German wound up being the nephew of Archimboldi -- his sister happens to read a novel of his on the plane to Mexico and realizes this author must be her long-lost brother, Hans Reiter. She contacts the publisher, who sympathetically passes this information to the author. So he does indeed go to Santa Teresa to visit his sister, and all of the parts click into place. Not intersections as much as tangents.

I think 5 separate books would have been a good idea and allowed more focus on just the characters in the story without speculating how it relates. Bolano has a tendency to drift off at times, dwelling too long on threads that go nowhere. Perhaps in smaller bites, these threads would seem less indulgent and may appear more relevant to the story. Maybe something was lost in the translation -- but at times the story seems to be narrated by someone slightly senile, but Bolano was only 50 when he died.

Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

The last of Cornwell's Arthur trilogy, Excalibur features epic battles, the death of nearly all protagonists (save the narrator of the story, our now-pious monk Derfel), and..well, magic. In the first two books, Cornwell was careful to maintain plausible denialability when it comes to Druidical magic, exemplified in the person of Merlin. In Excalibur, however, he gives in to temptation -- there are more than a few situations where Druidical magic (and the subsequent nullification through other magic) is just too cause-and-effect to be explainable in mundane terms (no matter how badly Arthur wants to not believe). The story ends with a wounded Arthur, fresh off his single-combat victory with his former charge, King Mordred, sailing off through the "mists of Avalon" never to be seen again.

The series is a fine composition using characters from the Arthurian legend combined with historical events and places at the time (~500 CE). Cornwell certainly did his research, although most historians on the subject consider Arthur's existence to be speculative at best. Bernard Cornwell is the finest historical novelist of our time, and this series is another tribute to his skill and story-telling. And unlike the Sharpe stories, it's over, done, ended....there won't be 20 more books to come. Now when is that next Saxon Chronicles book going to come out?
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Matrix »

Russian book about dating - Men like cats , women like cats (this is my rough translation, this book is not published in english) - Does great job of looking into mind set of russian women from womens prospective. It is basically manipulation manual for a woman, much better and deeper then any english dating book i read, "the rules" is poor awkward step child compared to this one. I feel bad for men who date Russian women, which usually are Russian man. It even had me thrown into shock just by how well they know psychology. Basic idea, milk the guy for all he is worth, you don't need to work he will buy you all you need, this is normal, start fights and then manipulate him to concede. While i have clear idea why she explains it, i never realized Russian woman already had it down to science. There is big difference between women being emotional, which is normal, and manipulating attraction with full understanding what that attraction is. I have yet to see anyone but russian women to use it to such high degree and across all social lines.

Made to stick - economy and business explained in interesting way and with a lot of examples of application.

The Halo Effect - About how a lot of conclusions we make in business just plain wrong.

Fiasco - 1990s derivities creation and financial crissis.

Another Russian book which truly mind blowing and deals with social dynamics and sociology.

Trilogy of Night Angel - Awesome 3 books about assassins

Predictably Irrational - How decisions we make are based on our emotion. Economics book that based on learning about emotion.

Russian book about advertising "generation P' - 1990s russian mafia fiction, though interesting glance at what was happening in 1990s.

I forget the rest, reading right now Freakonomics - economics for none economists and Musahi - samurai book
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

Moonlight in Odessa by Janet Skesklien Charles :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Moonlight in Odessa is a story about the Ukrainian mail-order bride business. How could I pass it up? My rating is a half-point higher based on subject matter alone.

Daria is an engineering graduate looking for work in the economically-depressed city of Odessa. She lands a job as a secretary to the director of a shipping company -- the job pays quite a bit higher than the average salary, but still makes no use of her studies. Not jokingly, the director suggests that sleeping with him is one of the "benefits" of the job, and Daria immediately begins employing delaying tactics. The description of Daria reminds me of a Ukrainian woman I met at a trade show once -- stunningly beautiful, until she flashed a smile that showed her rotting, crooked teeth. David, Daria's boss, decides she must address this immediately, and pays for a dentist to pull out all of her teeth and replace them with set of dentures. When Daria finally starts running out of excuses to avoid David, he arranges for him to meet a friend of hers, Olga. Olga immediately digs her claws into "sugar daddy" and conspires to rid herself of Daria, who she now perceives as a threat. Meanwhile, Daria takes a part-time job with match-making firm, and begins to help the owner organize and put on "socials" where Westerners pay $3,000 to be introduced to a group of 200 Ukrainian women. Ostensibly, the women are looking to get out of the Ukraine and the men, mostly much older, are looking for trophy wives. Daria, meanwhile, is being pursued by the local mobster. When she finally gives into him, he inexplicably disappears. A distraught Daria is advised to try one of the men who signed up through a new Internet dating program they developed. Her correspondence with Tristan leads her to believe that an idyllic future awaits her in beautiful San Francisco with a loving, caring school teacher who wants nothing more than a wife and babies to make his life complete.

Of course, Tristan isn't what he presented himself to be.

I think Charles mostly got it right in this book. The only glaring error was her quoting the hook line used to attract Westerners, claiming that war and poverty left the region lacking in males and resulting in hordes of desperate women. This has been proven false...male/female ratio is no better in the Ukraine than anywhere else in the world. What is true is the belief that riches await them in America, as well as the utter pragmatism involved in the decision to pursue such a life style at the expense of giving up all they have or know. In Daria's case, she gave up a rather good career she made for herself and her grandmother, her grandmother who raised her, and a mobster who truly loved her and excited her. But she gave up more than that...when she got her, she discovered she had given up total control of her life. She was here at the sufferance of someone who she grew to dislike more by the day, and he kept her squashed under his own insecure thumb. What follows is an emotional roller coaster.

I've had the pleasure to meet a number of women who gave up all much like Daria did (no, I was not responsible for their being here), and almost every one of them would identify with Daria. For many, the dream they came here to pursue is within sight, but just out of reach. The story works out for Daria in the end, but it's sad to think how many of them wind up in a prison of their own doing and are not able to bring themselves to escape.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by jztemple2 »

Latest books read:

"Triangle: The Fire That Changed America" by David Von Drehle 9/22/09 - The Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in 1911 killed 146, mostly women, in a horrible and very highly public fire. Yet the book is far more than this, it tells the story of the Eastern European immigrants who found themselves forced to work for little pay in difficult conditions. It also relates the tale of New York politics as it dealt with the influx of foreigners who were first regarded as outsiders but soon became a crucial part of the Tammany Hall voter base. It also follows the post-fire investigations, the trial of the owners, and the eventual flood of legislation that eventually changed the world of American labor.

"Tan Phu: Special Forces Team A-23 in Combat" by Leigh Wade 9/20/09 - Yet another Vietnam memoir, somewhat unique in that it's focused on Wade's first tour in Vietnam in 1963, well before the major involvement of US troops. As a personal memoir it's rather run of the mill, but as a combat history it's rather interesting.

"Rum: A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776" by Ian Williams 9/16/09 - Williams provides an interesting take on the genre highlighted by books like "Salt" from Mark Kulansky. We learn not only the history of the origin of rum and it's place in world trade and the development of the Caribbean colonies, but how rum played a major role in the American Independence movement. Interesting, provocative and wonderful story telling.

"The Battle For Saigon: Tet 1968" by Keith William Nolan 9/15/09 - Nolan has written a number of histories of battles in Vietnam and this is one of the best. Nolan relates the battles at the level of individuals, full of action, but ties the individual fights together into an interesting narrative.

"Out in the Midday Sun" by Kate Caffrey 9/14/09 - A superb history of the fall of Singapore. A truly outstanding book. The first half deals with the events leading up to the fall of Singapore. The second half covers what happened to the surrendered Allied troops, their work on the railway through Siam to Burma, and their eventual release at the end of the war. Instead of being a depressing story of the prisoner's lives, a good deal of it was about how they adapted, survived and even thrived in some truly horrendous conditions. One fascinating chapter deals with language; how prisoners and captors adapted to each other's language and customs. Another discusses how the prisoners kept active by reading, playing music, learning, and many surprising activities.

"Cutthroats: The Adventures of a Sherman Tank Driver In The Pacific" by Robert C. Dick 9/10/09 - Written a half century after the events, this narrative covers Dick's service from before Pearl Harbor to his discharge in San Francisco, including the only actions he actually saw in Leyte and Okinawa. Fairly standard stuff, but he's a good writer and tells an interesting story. One thing that always annoys me a bit is how a half-century after events he manages to recreate pages after pages of detailed conversations, but that's pretty standard in most non-fiction nowadays.

"Delta: The History of an Airline" by W. David Lewis and Wesley Phillips Newton 9/10/09 - A rather standard (and admittedly dull) airline history.

"Dusty Warriors" by Richard Holmes 9/8/09 - Noted military author Holmes serves as historian and journalist as he relates the experience of the Princess of Wale's Royal Regiment tour in Iraq for six month of 2006. Related through interviews, narration and his personal experiences in-country (he is a colonel of the regiment), Holmes does a splendid job of telling what it was like for the soldiers before, during and after their tour. The British experience in Iraq is surprisingly different than what you might read in American memoirs.
My father said that anything is interesting if you bother to read about it - Michael C. Harrold
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

An un-named, poor South American country plots to improve their fortune by hosting a birthday party for a prominent Japanese businessman featuring a performance by his favorite soprano. The party is attended by diplomats, politicians, and even some curious representatives from Russia who wriggled an invite by suggesting they too might be interested in setting up manufacturing in this country. The president of the country is typically adamant about keeping his nights free...in reality, he is addicted to a soap opera and doesn't like anything to interfere with his TV viewing. He agrees to attend this gala, but then backs out at the last second.

The terrorists didn't get the memo.

The mansion where the party is taken place is overwhelmed with a paramilitary group pouring in through the windows and duct work, immediately seizing control. Their goal was to snatch the president and be gone within minutes, holding him ransom until political prisoners have been released. The search for El Presidente is fruitless, though, and the terrorists are unable to decide how they will make use of the altered circumstance. Soon, it becomes a moot point when the mansion is surrounded by police and a long siege ensues.

Bel Canto is the story of several principle characters caught in the nearly 5 month ordeal. Love stories break out not only among the captives, but between a captive and a young lady that is one of two women among the terrorists. Meanwhile, another of the young terrorists is discovered to have an incredible singing voice, and the soprano begins teaching him proper singing techniques. The translator, the only person able to communicate with everyone in the mansion, falls for one of the young women terrorists and endeavors to teach her reading and writing. It's a case of everyone making the best of a bad situation, there is very little malice between hostages and captors.

Patchett's prose is somewhat on the flowery side, her terrorists could never be convincingly terrifying. That's not to say it was lacking violence...it was hinted early that everything would end badly for many of the characters (and all of the terrorists). Pratchett then built them up so the reader felt somewhat sympathetic toward them, and then with relish, throws in an ending worthy of Korean cinema.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

Immoral by Brian Freeman :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Jonathon Stride is a homicide detective in beautiful but cold Duluth, Minnesota. Already nagged by one unsolved disappearance of a teenage girl, he is driven to solve the disappearance of another, the step-daughter of a prominent local banking exec. Soon the banking exec comes under suspicion when clues all start pointing to him...but there is no body, and something is not quite right...

Freeman entertains us with a convoluted story of suspects, alibis, and dead ends. In the course of events, some suspects die, others are exonerated much too quickly and come back to bite the detective in the ass. Most of the principle character in the story operate in mixed couples....and the sexual tension leads to much sleeping around, more than is really plausible or necessary for the story. Of course, that just adds to the complications...

The ending was a surprise, always good for such novels. A minor, yet creepy character on the periphery would have seemed to be the "surprise" culprit, but in the end he was perhaps the only non-involved character in the entire story. Many of the characters in the story are, well, Immoral, and I wouldn't exclude Detective Stride from that group. But hey, he winds up hooking up with another detective, this one from a much more interesting 'burg (Las Vegas), and in the end moves there, just in time for the sequel,which is next up on my reading list.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Book 2 in Frank Herbert's series, Dune Messiah follows a deified Paul Atredies through an inescapable path of events divined through his prescience. The story picks up after the jihad that followed his overthrow of the Corrino Emperor at the end of Dune. Some 65 billion people died in the wars, and numerous planets were sterilized. An amusing exchange compares this with the modest achievements of Genghis Khan and Adolf Hitler back on old Earth. Throughout the story, Paul is a pitiable character, he knows the unpleasant fate to come, but cannot change it. Other characters play their part, according to script. But the script runs its course...at the end, he no longer knows with certainty what is to come. The book ends with Paul wandering off into the desert, where he is destined to become the next Elvis -- seen everywhere although every knows he must be dead.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by ska5fe »

"A Drifting Life" by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
This is an autobiography about the "grandfather of Japanese alternative comics", written in the style of a graphic novel. Highly recommended if you're interested in the cultural history of Japan in the 50s, particularly as it relates to comics. The translation is pretty good, I only noticed a couple points of awkwardness. Apparently it took him about 10 years to make this, and the care and attention to detail shows.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by silverjon »

This is in my pile of library books right now. I might get to it next week.

The best graphic novel I've read lately is Tricked by Alex Robinson... excellent plotting, dialogue, and characterization. I've also been enjoying some stuff by Joann Sfar (Vampire Loves and the Rabbi's Cat books).
wot?

To be fair, adolescent power fantasy tripe is way easier to write than absurd existential horror, and every community has got to start somewhere... right?

Unless one loses a precious thing, he will never know its true value. A little light finally scratches the darkness; it lets the exhausted one face his shattered dream and realize his path cannot be walked. Can man live happily without embracing his wounded heart?
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by ska5fe »

silverjon wrote:
This is in my pile of library books right now. I might get to it next week.

The best graphic novel I've read lately is Tricked by Alex Robinson... excellent plotting, dialogue, and characterization. I've also been enjoying some stuff by Joann Sfar (Vampire Loves and the Rabbi's Cat books).
Thanks for the suggestion of Tricked. I've added it to my list of stuff to read.

A Drifting Life is a surprisingly quick read despite how thick it is; I finished it in under a week.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by lildrgn »

Just finished The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith. Loved it. A worthy follow up to Child 44.
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by silverjon »

ska5fe wrote:
silverjon wrote:The best graphic novel I've read lately is Tricked by Alex Robinson... excellent plotting, dialogue, and characterization.
Thanks for the suggestion of Tricked. I've added it to my list of stuff to read.
I just finished an earlier Robinson work, Box Office Poison, which was also really good, more sprawling and episodic than Tricked, but with the same kind of attention to the little things that make a big difference in the quality of the writing. If Charles Dickens had been working in the medium of comics, he might have produced stories like these. I'm very impressed.
wot?

To be fair, adolescent power fantasy tripe is way easier to write than absurd existential horror, and every community has got to start somewhere... right?

Unless one loses a precious thing, he will never know its true value. A little light finally scratches the darkness; it lets the exhausted one face his shattered dream and realize his path cannot be walked. Can man live happily without embracing his wounded heart?
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Bad Demographic »

Read:
The Rats, the Bats and the Ugly by Eric Flint
The Great Taos Bank Robbery and Other True Stories of the Southwest by Tony Hillerman
Nothing to Lose by Lee Child
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

The first is the sequel to Rats, Bats and Vats, a light science fiction by Eric Flint. It wasn't too bad, but I won't run around recommending it.
Lee Child's Nothing to Lose surprised me. I've really enjoyed all the other Jack Reacher books I've read and read them all very quickly. This one dragged. It had many of the "Jack Reacher" moments that I enjoy, like tactics that I wish I'd thought of when I was RPG-ing, but somehow this book just didn't engage me.
The Tao of Pooh reminded me that I don't enjoy reading about philosophy, although it was nice reading snippets of the Winnie the Pooh stories again. Maybe it's a good intro to Taoism, but somebody who understands Chinese philosophies would have to make that call. I sure can't.

The Great Taos Bank Robbery is a collection of essays that Tony Hillerman wrote, mostly before he became a successful mystery writer. Some of the essays are very short, only one seemed overly long, and nearly all of them are full of the kinds of characters we're used to seeing in his novels - only these are/were real people. New Mexico through Hillerman's eyes is a fascinating place.
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire

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Jeff V
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

Stripped by Brian Freeman :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Book 2 in Freeman's detective saga featuring Minnesota native Jonathan Stride. His big case in the last book, Immoral, was solved with the help of a Las Vegas detective who falls into his life just as his rebound marriage hits the skids. Now Stride is in Vegas, low-man on the totem pole, but ends up on a case that rocks the most powerful men in the city and state. A serial killer is on the loose, and clues point back to the murder of a popular show girl 40 years earlier. While the clues speak volumes, those who were involved 40 years earlier aren't exactly inclined to talk, handicapping the investigation all the more.

Freeman drums up a strong cast of characters including a heavy-handed mogul, his lesbian daughter, his monster of an enforcer, a Hollywood prodigy living in exile, and even some former dancers who are now grandmothers. Just as you think you know how things are going to pan out, there's a twist, more clever but less shocking than the ending of Immoral. It seems the venue is going back to Minnesota for book 3 in the series.
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Jeff V
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

It's Called Work for a Reason! by Larry Winget :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

Larry Winget is a self-described "Irritational Speaker" and host of A&E's reality show, Big Spender. He talks a lot about what we already know (or at least suspect), with all of the manners of a marine drill sergeant. The book, as is his seminars, is meant to be a kick-in-the-ass to light a fire under anyone whose life isn't panning out to be all it could be. And that demographic probably describes most of us.

The book is geared toward a general audience, although some chapters are rather specific towards management. Larry is a big fan of firing...a revolving door is an essential feature of his office space. He maintains that the bottom 20% of performers in any organization should be fired...and once that's done, another group will now be the bottom 20% and they need to be fired too. And so on. Larry is a natural salesman, and much of this book would be useful to those in customer service roles (regardless of whether the customer is external or internal). He call BS on the concept of teamwork, maintaining that the top performers should not be compelled to dilute their effort propping up lesser team members. He clearly doesn't like trade unions or the absurdity of many civil judgments regarding anything from employee dismissal to sexual harassment charges stemming from a genuine complement. While he stops short of advising that a manager show wanton disregard for such things (not to mention ignoring company policy to the contrary), he does add that often a good lawyer is still cheaper than a bad employee.

Most of the book was right, and certainly parts of it applied to myself. It's also the sort of thing I might want my employees to listen to...he explains the concept of achieving results and serving the customer way better than I can, although I've always been an advocate of the same.
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Jeff V
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Jeff V »

Doubleback by Libby Fischer Hellmann :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:

I have to admit to a bit of bias in this book. Hellmann is a Chicago-area writer and much of this novel takes place in the North Shore suburbs, an area I am very familiar with. Not only was the local flavor pegged perfectly, but the personal connection made it a little more vibrant than it might otherwise have been.

Doubleback is a crime thriller featuring private detective Georgia Davis and her sometimes-partner, film maker Ellie Foreman. A kidnapping breaks all of the rules when the kid is suddenly released, but then things get weird when the mother dies in a car accident the day after her boss dies the same way. The police, it seems, are content to declare them both coincidental accidents, a sign that someone powerful might be behind it. In the course of investigation,the scene moves to central Illinois, then down to a small Arizona border town as the body count continues to rise.

The book itself is a page-turner, easy to read with interesting, if not likable, characters. Stylistically, one thing struck me odd...the chapters featuring Ellie Foreman (maybe about 1/3 of them) are written in first-person, while those featuring Georgia Davis are written in third person. This led to a few confusing transitions, and some chapters intentionally ended with a cliff-hanger. Foreman and Davis have appeared in Hellmann's other books (Foreman many additional novels still). My biggest complaint with this book is that Foreman and Davis are too successful, even when going out on a limb. They never fail to get the critical information they need just at the right time. It's hard to believe that the secondary characters could all be so pliable...in one case, the manager of a luxury car dealer willingly coughs up a list of names of all owners of a particular brand with little plausible prodding. All in all, I liked the story, but the story-telling devices used at times seemed forced and repetitive. Still, in was enjoyable enough that I'll give other novels in the series a try when time permits. This book was pretty well self-contained, I didn't find not reading the prior novels to be an obstacle at all, which is another positive.
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iloveplywood
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by iloveplywood »

Isgrimnur wrote:The Liveship Traders Trilogy:
The second series trilogy in this world by Robin Hobb was a decent follow on to the Farseer Trilogy, but I don't think it was quite as good. You have ships with living figureheads, sea serpents, pirates, and political intrigue. There were times that I struggled to keep going and slowed my reading pace, but overall I enjoyed the series.

I'm likely to take a break from Ms. Hobb before tackling the thrid trilogy in the universe, The Tawny Man series, which has a closer tie to the Farseer books.

:binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky: :binky:
You probably know this, but The Tawny Man series is actually a direct continuation of the Farseer books, same first person perspective narrative. I highly recommend them if you enjoyed the Farseer trilogy.
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Isgrimnur
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Re: Books Read in 2009

Post by Isgrimnur »

They're on my list to continue, but I needed a break from the fantasy. Right now I'm reading Neil Armstrong's bio and A History of the Jews. When I get back in a fantasy mood, that's probably where I'm going to start... unless Martin finally announces a release date between now and then.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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