Books and Reading, v. 2013
Continued from v. 2012.
Date: June 16, 2013
Categories: Fiction, poetry, and fanfiction, Things We like
Thursday, 28 March 2024
Life, the universe, pies, hot-pink bunnies, world domination, and everything
Continued from v. 2012.
Date: June 16, 2013
Categories: Fiction, poetry, and fanfiction, Things We like
Ooh, 1st post? I just finished Franny & Zooey, by J.D. Salinger. It was pretty good.
J. D. Salinger? He wrote Catcher in the Rye, right? I’ve never even heard of any of his other books.
Have you read CitR? Most people I know who’ve read it either love or hate it. I don’t, though; I thought it was pretty funny at times and interesting as a psychological study but got tiring after a while.
In other news, my mom just found an old book with a beautiful cover called The Book of Earth. Apparently, it’s the second in a trilogy of epic poems by Alfred Noyes (author of “The Highwayman”) about the history of science! I loved The Highwayman, so I’m pretty excited; I’d like to start at the beginning of the trilogy, though.
I actually did not know that he also wrote Catcher in the Rye. Interesting.
I read Cory Doctorow’s Homeland a couple weeks ago and enjoyed it more than I expected. It did feel like a lot of it was self-indulgent on Doctorow’s part, (see: the beginning few chapters. When the EFF was brought up I was almost hoping that it would all turn out to be self-insert fanfiction….), but overall it was surprisingly decent, considering I still haven’t finished Rapture of the Nerds (I probably could finish it, just that my tastes lately have been leaning towards light and easy works.)
Speaking of Rapture of the Nerds, I picked up a copy of Stross’ Rule 34 because it cost a quarter at the library book sale, and I am planning on reading it at some point soon. It’ll be my first plain Stross, and I kind of wish they’d had Accelerando at the sale instead because that probably would’ve been a better starting point.
I’m also excited to read the Mage Winds trilogy (is that what it’s called, the titles all start with “Winds of”) by Mercedes Lackey. I picked them up because a complete set was at the library sale, but it turns out they’re about Elspeth, who was a character in both the Talia novels (the ones that start with “arrow’s”) and apparently Kerowyn is at least mentioned on the back cover of one (she’s the lead in my favorite so far, By The Sword)… I’m tempted to pick one up now and start reading, but I’m not sure about carrying them around when I’m traveling this weekend, and I don’t want to get one third of the way into the trilogy and then stop for weeks.
I wish I spoke Classical Chinese. The Dao De Jing is probably confusing enough without all this business about translations. I found a site that has each line in a lot of different English translations side by side, and it works, basically–find the common threads and see how something is usually translated–but that shouldn’t be necessary, and it is, because one version will say one thing and the other will say the exact opposite sometimes.
You’d think that one on a university website would probably be pretty good, but the first one I found talked about used the words “electrons” and galaxies,” and the second was just so clumsily written it was ridiculous.
Judging by the compare and contrast method, the Lin Yutan one seems to be pretty consistent with the others and pretty clearly written, and I’ve read that it’s really, really well-annotated (the first half is just the text, and the second half is the text with the original Classical Chinese, comments from the translator, and related quotations from other Daoist texts, which all sounds really cool), and it was really cheap, so I went ahead and ordered it. But this is just getting annoying.
Finished Rule 34 and really enjoyed it, but not sure I would recommend it here. I want to go read something else by Stross, but there are so many books just staring at me and I can’t go buy another until I’ve read the ones that I have. Maybe I’ll take advantage of the long weekend and start Winds of Fate…
I’ll have to read it! I like most of Stross’s work, though he sometimes seems too energetic for his own good.
Do you have any recommendations for which Stross to pick up next?
I didn’t think he was too energetic, although I read the book in pieces on the train for the first third, so maybe it’s more so when reading all at once. I’d have to think about it, though, the ending was a little hectic.
Also, I wasn’t sure about recommending it here because/am going to warn you — there’s repeated occurrences of profane language that I would find unacceptable* in most situations, and there are definitely some adult themes/concepts. I don’t hesitate to recommend because it’s not an enjoyable book, it’s just that if I were younger than late high school aged, I would have been unable to finish it due to confusion and disgust.
*by unacceptable I mean: I’m not opposed to profanity when it has a reason, EXCEPT when it’s words that are negative towards women/used to insult because they refer to women. In Stross’ case, I believe he was using the words he did because he believes that Scottish people say those words a lot (and for all I know, he’s right), not because he thinks/has internalized women are lesser — I was actually somewhat impressed that there was a gay female character who wasn’t mentioned as being gay on the back cover (I have pretty low standards if that will impress me, but not without reason.)
Interesting that you bring up the gay female character in Rule 34. Stross wrote on the subject: “Yes, all the main protagonists in the book are LGBT, or are somewhere on the Kinsey scale other than a 1, with the exception of the Toymaker. Yes, I was trying to make a point… “Rule 34″ is written from a perspective of queer normativity rather than closeted invisibility.” I’d link to the blog post, but like the book (and most of his work) it contains a fairly large amount of profanity.
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My favorite Stross work is probably the novella “Missile Gap,” an alternate history of the Cold War (well, not exactly an alternate history, but to explain why would be to spoil it). It has entomology, politics, vast and terrible alien intelligences, and a compelling cast of characters including a fictionalized Carl Sagan and Yuri Gagarin. (Paging KaiYves…) I don’t think it’s published as a standalone, but you can find it in short story collections (like Stross’s own Wireless, which I own).
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I have also read Accelerando, which confused me even on the second read (but was fascinating nonetheless, very representative of who Stross is as an author), and his Laundry Files series.
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I think you might like the Laundry Files. They’re this bizarre blend of Lovecraftian horror, British spy fiction, and tech support humor. Central conceits: magic is just complex alien mathematics, computers are machines for doing many mathematical calculations very quickly, the government doesn’t want the average spod to be able to summon Yog-Sothoth with fractal generating software… Enter the Laundry, a government organization staffed with long-suffering computer geeks, incompetent middle managers, and ancient not-quite human sorcerers. You’re in computer science, right? If so, you might get more of the jokes than I did.
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Another novel of his I’ve read was Iron Sunrise, but it’s early stuff, more conventional space opera, not as mind-bending or weird as his mature work.
I need to check out Rule 34 soon, though. I hope some of this is helpful!
Thanks for the recommendations! Since I have a fairly large backlog of confusing-but-interesting novels to read (I’m looking at you, Gravity’s Rainbow, and you, the Baroque Cycle, etc), Accelerando may have to wait. Your description of the Laundry Files sounds really interesting and fun though! I am in computer science, and have firsthand experience with tech support, so I’m especially intrigued. I’ll have to see whether it’s easier to find a short story collection or the first Laundry Files book.
also, re: LGBT, I’ll look up the blog post, it sounds like my kind of blog post.
Just looked that up, “Missile Gap” sounds fascinating, and I’d like to read the Laundry series, too, if I could find it.
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In a Catelyn chapter in the middle of A Game of Thrones…
“Sometimes she felt as if her heart had turned to stone.”
GRRM!!!! *shakes fist*
But seriously why is he so good at the foreshadowing. There are so many little mentions of stuff that’ll show up much later.
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I think the final confrontation between Jaime, Brienne, and Catelyn is the part of Winds of Winter I look forward to the most.
My knowledge of the story in general is really rusty right now, especially of events that occur after where the show is right now. I’ve completely forgotten what happens to Brienne. I gotta read the series before I get back to school because my show-watching friends are reading for the first time this summer–I want to be able to discuss with them!
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Catelyn chapter in A Clash of Kings…
The face of a drowned woman, Catelyn thought. Can you drown in grief?
GRRM!!!!!!! *shakes fist more*
I can’t deal with this much foreshadowing. I’m done reading for today.
Also makes me think of how much blatant stuff I’m missing for events that haven’t happened yet. The one possible future reveal that comes to mind is maybe the “false Targaryen” which would be Aegon.
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And of course R+L=J, if that’s true, seeing as there is little to no evidence/foreshadowing outside of A Game of Thrones.
We’re gonna be doing a lot of this all through the next book.
Almost a decade later, I still don’t fully understand “Chasing Vermeer”. I did enjoy reading it again, it’s well-written and has a lot of interesting ideas, but I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a deliberate subversion of the way mystery readers are inherently suspicious of coincidences or just an attempt at combining the two kinds of books with “mystery” on the cover that an 11-year-old is familiar with (the “who killed Bob” kind and the “does Bigfoot exist” kind, or in this case “who stole the painting and where is it” and “are dreams and hunches clairvoyance or just happenstance”) that doesn’t quite succeed in the mixture.
The reason I think it might be a deliberate subversion is because the villain *seems* to share the same “Fortean” ethic that the heroes do with his “I’ve uncovered a secret about Vermeer’s paintings, forget what the experts tell you, forget what you’ve learned in school, investigate for yourselves!” message and the fad/mini-social-movement it inspires, but he’s actually just a thieving dirtbag who stole the painting for money and the “Vermeer’s secret” thing was just a smokescreen.
In other words, the mystery was actually totally conventional, and the intellectual and philosophical diversions were just misdirection to confuse people about the actual facts of the crime.
I really need to read those books again. It’s weird, I remember reading them when I was younger than the protagonists.
And now I see some of the quotes from the villain’s manifesto used in hipster quote-art else-Internet, and while I normally love quote-art done well, I’m just like “Okay, so you DO know that’s a quote from the bad guy and that it’s not something he actually believes, he’s just trying to sound noble and intellectual to gain sympathy and throw people off the real facts of the case, right?”
Has anyone here read “Gödel, Escher, Bach”? I’m looking for a birthday present for a friend who usually doesn’t read much besides math and physics textbooks, but is interested in computer science and music as well. I’ve heard a lot of hype about the book, I just haven’t had time to read it myself. How is it?
I’ve read the first half three or four times (and then each time I had to give the book back or fly somewhere or etc) and it’s good but dense. Really well written, though.
I haven’t read Gödel, Escher, Bach since middle or high school but I recall it being like the kind of thing you’re looking for. I’ve been meaning to reread it but haven’t had the chance. I think I was too young to appreciate it last time.
I just read Gödel Escher Bach over winter break! It is definitely dense, but the perfect gift for someone interested in computer science and music.
I would caution that some of the parallels that Hofstader (the author) draws to music were a little more superficial than I had hoped for (I’m a music theory major, though, so that is to be expected) — still, the examples are cool, and he’s done his research. The crux of the book is how consciousness relates to what Hofstader calls “strange loops” (see: wikipedia).
Overall, it’s a really fun read – the structure alternates between chapters (dense, math-y, idea-filled) and dialogues between Achilles, the Tortoise (both pulled from a Lewis Carroll dialogue, “What the Tortoise Said to Achilles”, which appears early in the book), and other characters. The dialogues illustrate the ideas from the chapters, and make the 700+ pages easier to get through.
Also if your friend likes math, there is definitely math in GEB! The computer science connections mainly surface in part II, and seemed dated to me (as it was written in the 70s).
I’m about three fourths of the way through Good Omens. With this much brilliance and wit, I’m surprised the thing doesn’t explode when I open the cover.
Just finished reading a book called DragonSpell, which is YA fantasy, and I’d never really heard of it, but I thought I’d give it a try anyway.
I actually enjoyed it fairly well. It’s not fantastic, but it was good enough.
Except the part where it just stopped all the action to have a chapter of religious preaching which was totally Christianity by another name. And then there continued to be a religious undertone to the rest of the book. I wasn’t crazy about that bit.
On the upside: no romance subplot.
So I have now read all of the A Song of Ice and Fire books. I read the last four in one week, back to back, as part of one big online file. It really felt more like one long never-ending book than four separate ones. And then I went reading up on all the theories for the next book, and previous discussions held here on MB about them.
I want to reread, but not online. Also to talk about them with someone.
SPOILERS BELOW
So basically all I actively want in the next book are happy Stark family reunions. Needless to say this is probably one of the least likely things to happen. I fear for every single one that’s still (probably)(mostly) alive.
Also, R+L=J is a theory that I never would have come up with on my own. Benjen=Coldhands, yeah, I did. Sandor Clegane being alive or Alleras’s identity I think I could have worked out if I hadn’t speed-read the books without rereading them.
I’m still trying to work out what I think/want to happen in the next book. Eh. I have time. ADWD came out only three years ago.
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I’ve never seen Alleras=Sarella before you mentioned it and it makes complete and total sense.
R+L=J is practically a given, though apparently we’re going to have to wait for the seventh book to meet Howland Reed, so…
What’s the Sandor being alive theory?
I don’t think Benjen=Coldhands. Benjen=Daario, though… jkjk
I’m flabbergasted you read four books in a week. How is that possible?! I was reading one book a week my first time around, and that was in the summer when I had nothing to do!
I’m 200 pages from being done with ADWD again. It was fun knowing a bit more about what was going on this time. I’ve been reading since the start of last summer.
I also just finished a Jon chapter and realized that the singer guy at Winterfell in the Theon chapters was Mance Rayder… Did not make that connection the first time. Thought he was some random guy.
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Howland Reed is on the list of “People Who Know So Much They Will Never Be Narrators”, along with Littlefinger and Varys. I want to meet him so very bad.
The Sandor is alive theory: So if you read Brienne’s chapter where she travels by Saltpans and goes to that one island and talks to the Brother there, if you pay close attention to his wording when he talks about Sandor Clegane’s death, you notice that he never actually says “Sandor Clegane is dead”. He says things like (paraphrasing here), “The Hound is dead,” and “Sandor Clegane will not trouble any more people”. This comes in the middle of him telling his own story of how he came to the island and found peace and religion there. And outside, there’s a gravedigger who could fit Clegane’s description–Brienne doesn’t get a look at his face, and he limps while Clegane was wounded in the leg last we saw. Aand people took all these little details and decided that it hinted that he was alive. I think it’s a pretty good case!
I’m a fast reader, I guess? I started reading on a weekend, and anything is possible when you are willing to stay up till four in the morning or all night and forsake homework. And read them in between classes. I wish I could claim that it was a snow week when I read it, because then I would have an excuse as to where I got all that time, but no. That was how I read Homestuck in a week too. Like I mentioned, I do feel like I missed out on some of the finer details though.
I only realized Abel was Mance when the spearwives started staging their escape. And then I realized Abel is an anagram of Bael.