Tad's Reading with Occasional Ceramics - Part 2

Books are starred based upon how much I enjoyed them in relationship to others of their type ...I'm not comparing Dune to War and Peace though I loved both of them.

= I can't believe anyone liked this

to = Disliked, ranging from "probably didn't finish unless compelled" to "there might have been some skimming"

to = Neutral, ranging from "I'll probably forget about it in a year" to "it passed an afternoon"

to = Recommended, ranging from "perhaps just to certain readers, or mildly to a general audience" to...well..."I recommend it"

to = Ranging from "Strongly recommended" to "This is going to be one of my best reads this year"

= Sentimental favorites—I really don't judge them by any other criteria so this rating might mean everything or nothing to you

So far this year


The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Divorce Islamic Style by Amara Lakhous
Mister Blue by Jacques Poulin
Volkswagon Blues by Jacques Poulin
Logavina Street: Life and Death in a Sarajevo Neighborhood by Barbara Demick


Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
The Breaking Wave by Nevil Shute
Wild Cat by Jacques Poulin
Three Weeks in December by Audrey Schulman
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Backward Ran Sentences: The Best of Wolcott Gibbs edited by Thomas Vinciguerra
No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree, Jr.
Whiplash River by Lou Berney
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
Comfort Me With Apples: More Adventures at the Table by Ruth Reichl
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman


Breakdown by Sara Paretsky
Six Bad Things by Charlie Huston
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
God's War by Kameron Hurley
Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James
Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History by Florence Williams
The Fallen by Jassy Mackenzie
A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon


Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell
Half Share by Nathan Lowell
The King of Plagues by Jonathan Maberry
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Countesses of Castello by Milena Agus
Robots Have No Tails by Henry Kuttner
Beyond a Boundary by C. L. R. James


Full Share by Nathan Lowell
Tales from Super-Science Fiction edited by Robert Silverberg
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
The Paris Directive by Gerald Jay


Double Share by Nathan Lowell
Farewell: A Mansion in Occupied Istanbul by Ayse Kulin
Line of Vision by David Ellis


Captain's Share by Nathan Lowell

An abbreviated summary of my threads from previous years

2011 Final Four
From the Land of the Moon by Milena Agus
The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing
The Wedding of Zein and other stories by Tayeb Salih
Pied Piper by Nevil Shute

2010 Final Four
Children of the New World by Assia Djebar
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
White Masks by Elias Khoury
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

2009 Final Four
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West

2008 Final Four
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Random Harvest by James Hilton
The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman
Prospero's Cell by Lawrence Durrell

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny

Mystery, 373 pages



I enjoy all of Louise Penny's mysteries but I particularly enjoyed this one simply because of its setting. It was nice to take a small break from the tiny village of Three Pines—the per capita murder capital of Canada *smile*—and focus on the characters of Gamache and Beauvoir. The cloistered world of the Gilbertine monks and their plainchant removed outside distractions and made their bits of introspection seem quite natural.

Ms. Penny's mysteries aren't particularly astonishing as such. In this one it's not hard to figure out who is the murderer, nor to anticipate the "surprise" discovery. What makes them so enjoyable, at least for me, is the air of thoughtfulness and color with which she infuses them. I warm to the characters, even the incidental ones, and care what happens to them. This one had a simple beauty that caught me. Your mileage may vary, of course.

The post-mystery ending disappointed me slightly. It wasn't quite a cliffhanger, but has something of that character. She doesn't need those gimmicks; I'll buy the next book no matter what (as would, I assume, most of her fans) and it tends to irritate more than intrigue. Still, it's small potatoes.

I'm sorry I wasn't able keep up on your last thread, but I will definitely make it a priority now. I see you've been reading more Jacques Poulin. I looked for his books in Vancouver, BC last weekend, but no luck. I have to bite the bullet and buy online since I've enjoyed the three books I've read so much.

#3: I am reading that one now, Tad, and I it feels like (at this point in the book) that a train wreck is on the horizon. I hate that feeling.

>5 alcottacre:: I'm not sure where you are, Stasia, but kinda yeah.......

I'm looking forward to that one. Good to hear you like it. The last one - the nasty family gathered to pay homage to the big marble statue of Dad - didn't work so well for me, pleasant as Gamache was and nice as it was that his wife was there.

It's wise she's let things simmer down in 3 Pines, the property values might go down if word goes out.

#3 I'm reading that one now too! I agree. The mystery is somewhat secondary to the characters and beautiful writing.

Back in the 1970s, the local Rotary Club sponsored a Hmong family into the United States and they lived with us for a while. As a result, I've had this vague curiosity about it but never pursued it until this book caught my eye.



Across the Mekong River by Elaine Russell

Laos, Hmong, 262 pages



Bottom Line: Well-written and informative pseudo-memoir about a family of Hmong refugees.

---

Except for the fact that Elaine Russell is certainly not a Hmong name, and her pictures show her to be very much a strawberry blonde Caucasian, one would think that this was a memoir written primarily by a Laotian young woman. It narrates the experiences of a family that was caught up in the Secret War—the conflict between American- and Communist-backed backed forces in Laos: their escape to a refugee camp in Thailand, and their eventual emigration to the United States. They were members of the Hmong tribes that sided with the United States and then suffered from reprisals when the communist Pathet Lao won.

The subject matter alone makes this a rather interesting story. Despite some quarter million Hmong now living in the U.S., it's a relatively unknown conflict here: Vietnam overshadowed so very much and what attention span was left tended to be grabbed by the atrocities the Khmer Rouge committed in Cambodia.

The primary story teller in Across the Mekong River is Ly Nou, later known as Nou Lee and, finally, Laura Lee. Her struggles to come to terms with her parents are prologue and epilogue to the novel and her story is the thread that ties everything together. However, hers is not the only voice; both her father and mother have chapters told from their perspective.

At first, this round-robin seemed to break the flow and I found myself impatient to hear Nou/Laura speak again. However, by the end of the book, my opinion had changed. Russell's novel has three distinct parts. The first is the flight from Laos. The second is a glimpse into life in the Thai refugee camps. The third, and largest, is the struggle with assimilation once the family reaches this country and the differences that adults and children have with it. Had we only had Nou/Laura's voice, the parents might have come across as two dimensional: hidebound, rigid and unrealistic. However, by letting us see some of the events from their point of view, we can reach a level of...perhaps not agreement...but understanding.

It's for Hmong readers to decide the accuracy of the depictions but, for a non-Hmong reader, the story is interesting and illuminating.

Tad, those lamps were just exquisite! You have a bright future ahead of you, young man. (ok, don't shoot me for that one). Hope the library gets that latest Louise Penny SOON!

Wow. Across the Mekong River sounds fabulous, and a nice follow up to my reading of In the Shadow of the Banyan, a semi-fictionalized autobiography of a young Cambodian girl. I must confess that I was a bit shaky on the takeover by the Khmer Rouge, so it too covered new ground for me.

Great review, as always.

LOL, Lisa, I downloaded In the Shadow of the Banyan last night since my appetite for Indochina wasn't completely sated... :-D

How funny! I hope you enjoy the language and evocative descriptions as much as I did. I reviewed it for Belle in late spring/early summer, but I'm not sure when it will come out.

Devil Said Bang by Richard Kadrey

Urban Fantasy, 416 pages



A little lackluster compared to the the previous three. It's not bad and doesn't turn me off from the series but the formula feel is there: a new, mysterious power to figure out and combat, fights with the usual suspects (Aelita), a bit of broken heart, some humor. The fact that the latter was a little more wooden and forced was the major problem. Average read = average rating.

The Desecrator by Steven Brust

Fantasy Short Story, 20 pages



Pretty "meh!" addition to the Vlad Taltos series. Fills in how Telnan got his sword. Rather forgettable. The most interesting part was the short appearance of Daymar; wish there had been a little more of him.

In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner

Cambodia, Khmer Rouge, 567 pages



Bottom Line: Beautiful and heartbreaking story of the Khmer Rouge reign of terror.

---

They say write what you know. In the Shadow of the Banyan is a fictionalized account of Vaddey Ratner's own childhood experiences during the period when the Khmer Rouge seized control of Cambodia and destroyed the existing social structure, murdering perhaps as many as a couple of million people in the process. Fictionalized, but only thinly. As she says in an interview, "There's not an ordeal she faces that I myself didn't confront...where [we] diverge is in the minor details—the size of our family, the number of towns and villages we were sent to..."

What made this work distinctive for me was the voice of Raami, the seven year old narrator. Ratner stayed relatively true (there was just a touch of precociousness) to Raami's perspective and this made the story something altogether different than just a survivor's tale: the events were not politicized; the angers were reactions to immediate events rather than abstractions of injustice; the horrors were not fully comprehended and, so, not fully rendered. Most of all, Ratner/Raami managed to convey a sense of hopefulness and even beauty in places where a more adult voice might, perhaps, have held only despair.

It made the book both more palatable and, at the same time, more heartbreakingly awful. The adult reader can see beyond the childlike perspective and realize the truth of what is actually happening.

It's a wonderful book, albeit a grim topic, and definitely recommended.

Will definitely be picking up In the Shadow of the Banyan. Thanks for the review.

Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed In the Shadow of the Banyan! I reviewed it for Belle, but since the last issue didn't come out, it hasn't been available, yet I haven't been able to post my review in LT. Suffice it to say I loved it too.

>18 labfs39:: I reviewed it for Belle, but since the last issue didn't come out

I'm wondering if Belle might not be defunct. :-(

I'm wondering if Belle might not be defunct. :-(

Lois posted this message on Belle's Facebook page earlier this month:

"Apologies to our devoted readers. Circumstances unexpected (and all-consuming) have seriously interrupted our publication schedule and we hope very much to have everything back on schedule later this month with our usual great reviews, articles, excerpts and new book announcements. Thanks for hanging with us!"

#9: Have you read Anne Fadiman's excellent The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Tad? If not, I recommend the book.

>21 alcottacre: I second Stasia's recommendation of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. I read it several years ago, and I want to read it again next year.

>21 alcottacre: & 22: Hmmm, not sure how I'd react to that one. Some years ago a child died in town because of refusal on the parents' part to use modern medicine. It made me very angry.

I just found out that the owner of the pottery studio I go to has decided to move to Sedona. She's already bought a house down there and is just waiting for her house here to sell. I'm happy for her but she's become a friend and I'll miss her. Plus, I don't think there's another open studio in this area. Julie and I could put a kiln in our basement but we'd lack the "teacher" aspect of things. *sigh* It was a great source of relaxation.

I started trying a couple of pieces inspired by the petroglyphs up in Canada (there's one on the next island over from our cabin). The first, a serving bowl, came out of the kiln this week. Not quite right...I used too much of the white clay and not enough of the gray, but I rather like my "frog bowl". :-D

It's perfect because we just cracked a big bowl we used for holding fruit!

Oh Tad, that is truly spectacular. Truly. Do you really need a teacher?

>25 sibylline:: Thanks, Lucy.

I am sorry to hear you'll be losing a friend and guide in the ceramics adventure, but as Lucy says, it doesn't look as if you need a teacher. That bowl is spectacular. If there is no other kiln nearby you really must get one set up in your basement so you can carry on.

>27 gennyt:: Thanks, Genny. You and Lucy are being very kind. Julie and I were talking over some Guinnesses in the local watering hole last night. We'd have to do a lot of work to the basement but it may be worth it. We have an older house (by U.S. standards *smile*) and the basement isn't really wired or even sealed, just field stone set into earth. We'd have to wire it and figure out some form of heat for the winter.

I'm actually in denial...hoping someone else takes over the studio and keeps it open!

That's my favorite place - denial. I've spent some of my best days there.

River of Gods by Ian McDonald

Artificial Intelligence, Science Fiction, 599 pages



Bottom Line: Well-written, fast-paced, exciting for the most part…but I thought his The Dervish House was better.

---

There's little doubt in my mind that McDonald is going to go down as one of the big names in science fiction of this era: his ideas are exciting, his settings are fresh and new, the writing is generally excellent. This is the second of his books that I've read and, while I rank this one behind The Dervish House, I didn't feel that way through 90% of the story.

This book starts deceptively slowly. The plot—told in a round-robin format by eight characters who are initially unrelated—has a lot of surface area to get moving. I don't recommend that you start this book if your reading is limited to small chunks of time here and there; there is simply too much to keep track of. Slowly, however, does not mean boringly. Right from the start we have several threads that intrigue and capture the imagination. And that's not even counting the exotic setting of mid-21st century India, the software capital of the planet, to keep you entertained.

By the middle of the book, the separate rivulets of plot have started to merge and the excitement rises. Even guessing some of the plot hooks made no difference; I still found the book hard to put aside.

The ending was the weakest part of the story. I'm not saying it's bad; I still recommend this book. However, without going into spoilers, some of the major players in the book were just a little too absent. I'd like to have seen more of them. As for the eight major characters plus a semi-major one (who didn't get her own chapters), there was some sense that the puppet strings just got cut without a proper wind down. I particularly objected to what seemed an unwarranted death among them. It was much the same feeling as I had at the end of Collins' Mockingjay: a sense that the author said, "Hmmm, I guess it's not realistic that nobody important dies, so…," rather than death that means something to the story.

Still, small quibbles. Good book. I will read more of his work.

I wrote EXACTLY the same thing about that death. It was just mean. And I agree that it kind of, uh, implodes at the end, not quite satisfactorily. The end of The Dervish House was so perfect. I wonder too, if that death really was more than just a misstep. Indicative of some loss of control at the end. Great review Tad.

Hi Lucy, thanks. You think the story just got away from him, then?

Or he got bored? I do think he made an almost fatal error in judgement - and that the end was unwieldy, sort of like - 'if I make the envelope big enough maybe I can fit it all in' - it hardly matters in a way since the journey was so fine.

It's too hard to write about this without spoilers, so...

* * * * * SPOILER ALERT * * * * *
,
,
,
,
,
The thing is, I think he had the setup in fine shape if he had reached for it. He could have kept Aj alive (kill Nandha or Khan if you must kill someone else), done some kind of interaction between the aeais and the humans so that the reader sees who they are, left Aj as this in-between relic...remember how much he harped upon the fact that the aeais could only move by replicating, so leave a small copy behind in Aj?

I just felt like everything got dropped:

* the encryption code goes overboard with Shiv, so cut that whole story off with no real ending;
* Nandha's reaches his goal of keeping the city "safe" but, since Parvati's story just fades away, his kind of does, too;
* Khan's and Tal's story ends without any epiphany about the nute/male thing or even redemption for Khan;
* Lull just kinds of walks off...we don't even know what he's thinking;
* Vishram's story is still hanging as far as I'm concerned...he just kind of disappeared after the universe got created;
* I must have missed what happened to Najia because I don't remember her at the end;

Only Lisa seemed to reach any real ending to a story.

But, most of all, I miss the fact that we never really met the aeais other than Najia's interaction...but there the aeia was being so "fake" that you got no sense of who it was.

In the end, however, I guess I agree that the journey was fine so the book is recommended. Could have been a total classic, though, imo. I did so love the "we're their creation myth" paired with the blatant hint that they are ours.

24: Love the frogs! Sorry you're losing the friend / teacher. Have you gotten to know other people at the studio?

I haven't read any Ian McDonald. Sounds like the Dervish House is the best place to begin?

>35 qebo:: Katherine, we've gotten to know most of the folks who come on "our" night. We have them over for a party here and there but we haven't become regular friends in the sense of getting together often. Everyone is fairly distraught at the situation, hoping that someone will buy the studio intact. We've even talked about co-opting it amongst ourselves. The problem is that none of the more experienced people feel they have the time to act as teachers on a regular basis. I feel this pressure now to get a lot of pottery pieces started—there's this sense that time is running out.

>36 gennyt:: Genny, I think that's a good place. The Dervish House is certainly good and it's completely stand-alone.

I also think The Dervish House is a good place for non-sf readers to dabble a toe in it - it's just the near future and so well realized.

All exactly right Tad. Now I want to go running back to my copy to see what DID happen to Najia. It doesn't seem to be bubbling up naturally.

I'll put that one on the mental wishlist...

Well you've tempted me to read the McDonald books, Tad. And I do like your frog bowl. I know exactly what you mean about losing your instructor. My original--actually, one and only--pottery instructor stopped teaching and went into hiatus for a while (personal problems). He was a highly rated Canadian potter, who had shown in the Art Gallery in Ottawa, etc., so that was a real loss to our community and spelled the end of my short-lived potting career.

The Thursday Night Men by Tonino Benacquista, translated from the French by Alison Anderson

Men and Women, 242 pages



Bottom Line: Another enjoyable read from Europa Editions—light, amusing, occasionally insightful.

---

Men getting together to talk about their problems with women…do we really want to go there? Actually, yes. My opinion right up front is that this story is amusing and lively and occasionally strikes a note of insight that rings quite true.

Every Thursday night, a quiet meeting of a hundred or so men is held amongst long-time regulars and those to whom someone whispered, "You might find this helpful." The rules of the meeting are quite simple: one time, and one time only, you may stand up and tell your story in whatever detail and fashion you choose. It's not a counseling session; no one in the audience may respond or even ask questions. Three of the newer participants decide that, rather than go home afterwards, they will go out together and let the other two—and the reader—more fully into their tales.

It's very much a story about men. The women in the story exist as roles rather than people: the lover who has moved on, the kind-hearted prostitute, the straying wife, the mysterious woman who won't reveal anything but her name, the glamorous-but-shallow supermodel. It might be tempting to call them stereotypes but I think it's more accurate in this case to call them symbols since much of this novel is clearly symbolic. They exist to give the men life choices to explore rather than to breathe on their own.

With this general theme and setup, you might fear a great deal of misogyny in the story, but it isn't there. I found it easy to like most of the women Benacquista has created, despite their two-dimensional nature, and even the lone exception evoked sadness rather than dislike. As for the male characters, with few exceptions they like women; they are simply struggling in some way in their relationships with them.

The problem with this book is that some people are going to expect it to be something that it doesn't try to be. It would be wrong, I believe, to consider this as an assessment of inter-gender reality, saying that men and women will not communicate directly. It would also be wrong to consider this as a blanket summation of men's attitudes toward women. Nothing in Benacquista's writing gives me the impression that he meant to do either. Instead, I felt he was saying to the reader, "Here are some questions men ask in their lives. What do you, the reader, think?"

I hesitated to say this because of the negative connotations but, with its focus on themes of modern masculine experience, in some ways this is the male equivalent of chick lit, but the general class of chick lit about which Sara Nelson said in Publishers Weekly, "[is becoming a] little more accomplished and grown-up and literary than what that term used to mean." However, if you focus on that kind of qualifier rather than on any prejudice about the genre, you open yourself up to a pleasant and, occasionally, resonant read. Is this a book that will appeal more to men than to women? I haven't any idea, but it worked for me.

I'm going to put this on the spousal xmas WL.

I'll be interested in hearing his reaction, Lucy. For the most part, it was just a pleasant read for me. However, there were two moments where a sense of...I don't know...recognition...dinged inside me and had me saying, "Exactly!"

It's funny how coincidences happen. I was talking to someone about foreign films we liked and she mentioned "The Beat My Heart Skipped." Then I get to the author's bio on this book and find that he wrote the screenplay for it. Now I want to see it! *smile* Unfortunately, it's not on NetFlix.

Well that's too bad. We could both put it on a 'want to see when you get it' list - amazingly it must kick on when enough people do that - most movies I've put on my waiting list turn up sooner or later.

This one looks interesting for Christmas lists...oh wait, Lucy just said that. Well, there you go.

Catching up, Tad. I liked *RoG* better than you and Lucy, I think, because I didn't mind not having things wrapped up in the end. I guess I am forgiving because so much in life doesn't play all the way out......dunno. I certainly agree that *DH* is the better book.
Have you read The Polish Boxer yet? Twice? Three times? I'm finding it amazing, and I don't even mind its episodic nature.
I think your frog bowl is fabulous, and I love all the white. I'm sorry that you're losing your teacher. It would be great if your group were able to keep the place going. If you say you need a teacher, I'll believe you. Otherwise, it looks to me like you know what you're doing.

Dick Francis' Gamble by Felix Francis

Mystery, 448 pages



Ho hum. Dick Francis + Awkward Writing Style = Felix Francis.

It was just too labored. The obvious got stated a lot. The pontification was rampant. The "subtle" clues whacked you upside the head like a brick. The dialog sounded stilted. I never warmed to the character the way I did to the likes of Francis père's Sid Halley or Kit Fielding.

I also have to say that I react somewhat poorly to books whose cover is of the format:

FAMOUS AUTHOR's Book Title by Not So Famous Author

I understand that Mr. Francis, Sr. (allegedly) helps with these books. However, it just smacks too much of trying to cash in on an asset whose time has passed. It might as well say, "Cheap Knockoff."

>46 LizzieD:: I'm partway through The Polish Boxer, Peggy, and really liking it.

Thanks for the comments on the bowl.

Just for fun, another of my favorite photographs. This one by the Hungarian photographer, Paul Almasy.

47: Mr. Francis, Sr. is dead. I picked that one up from the grocery store and as I said on my thread I would've ditched it midway through but it was quick and adds to the count.

49: What a wonderful photo!

The Polish Boxer by Eduardo Halfon, translated from the Spanish by Daniel Hahn, Ollie Brock, Lisa Dillman, Thomas Bunstead & Anne McLean



Bottom Line: Fabulous!

---

I found this a marvelous read.

Halfon took a short story he had written about his grandfather's tattoo from Auschwitz and tied it together with other stories to fashion a novel. So often, short stories become awkward when they are expanded into books. They sit like lumps amidst ill-fitting connective tissue, their origins obvious. That is not the case here. Halfon has used the interrupted nature as the fundamental fabric of the novel, telling it through a set of chapters that are highly episodic yet, somehow, coherent around questions of identity, legacy and reality.

This is a story where the journey, not the destination, is what is in focus. In fact, we never reach the various conclusions to the story lines. The true history of his grandfather's Auschwitz tattoo; the fate of the pianist, Milan Rakić; the future the poet Juan Kalel learned from the fortune teller; all remain obscure like things seen through the clouds of cigarette smoke that pervade the story. We don't even know if Eduardo Halfon, the character, is Eduardo Halfon, the author…is this memoir or fiction? Halfon seems to be telling us that life is full of gaps and holes, that continuity of narrative isn't real, and that fiction, both written and what we tell ourselves, is what we use to weave it together into a unified structure.

And the language is gorgeous. Since Halfon is, himself, fluent in English, we must assume he ensured that his translators captured what he meant to say. The result is beautifully evocative and absorbing.

>50 qebo:: I didn't know he had died, Katherine. I guess I'll be content to re-read some of my favorites of his books occasionally and leave Mr. Felix alone.

Great review of The Polish Boxer, it's now on my tbr list.
Love the photo in #49 too.

Just thumbed your review of The Polish Boxer Tad and ordered it from Amazon after reading a couple of pages.

*delurking* love your review on The Polish Boxer is gone straight onto my wishlist. Sounds excactly like the kind of book I enjoy. :)

Read over on Lucy's thread that you're a bit under the weather. Hope the storm isn't a problem for you and that you will be able to stay in, safe and dry. Have you read Kraken by Mieville? It might be a fun read for an ailing man.

Edited to fix brain fart.

Thanks all.

>53 avatiakh:&54: Kerry and Pat...hope you like it as much as I did.

>55 drachenbraut23:: glad to see you stop by!

>56 tiffin:: Gaiman?...or Mieville, Tui?

Sorry you're not 100%, Tad. I'm thumbing your review of The Polish Boxer too even though I haven't quite finished it. In fact, if it were not an ER ARC, I'd simply say, "What Tad Said."
I'll speak to the extended fun of Miéville's Kraken - a little too much book, but all of it was fun for me!

Well, finally we're out. No power (like 90% of NJ) and don't expect to get it for days to a week. Major tree down across road kept us in house except for walks. The non-existence of gasoline (most stations have no power and those that do have no gas since Newark pumping stations are out of commission) meant we couldn't run a generator, but we huddled in sleeping bags and played cards to keep the kids from going crazy.

However, tree finally gone so we were able to drive to in-laws out toward PA. They have power, so we finally feel warm. It's amazing how much difference a hot shower can make! :-D

Tad, so sorry to hear you we're in the path of Sandy. I'm glad you found a place of refuge. I hope your life gets back to normal soon.

Glad to hear that you've been able to get to where there is power, Tad. I'd been worrying about you and I'm glad all are safe.

Tad I didn't realise you were in Sandy's path till just now - glad you are safe and out of your house till the power's back on.

Great review of The Polish Boxer and I've put it onto my WL.

Keep warm and safe!

I figured that you were very affected by Sandy and I'm glad you've gotten out of Dodge for the duration. So glad you are warm and safe now.

Thanks all. It's not fun but we're okay compared to a lot of folks here in NJ.

Chinatown Beat by Henry Chang



I guess I'd sum this up by saying that it shows promise but didn't quite hit the mark for me. The setting is great: Chinatown is alive and vibrant, seedy and jaded (no pun intended). The plot was a bit uneven and lacking in drive. The main character is reasonably well drawn but I never got a real sense of what made him tick. Chang seemed to set us up to root for the murderer, but then turned him/her into someone that left a bad taste in the mouth. Still, the promise was there and I might try #2 to see if Chang grows into his work.

Legion by Brandon Sanderson



Sanderson's got an interesting character in Stephen Leeds, a genius whose brilliance manifests only in his multiple personalities. The story was imaginative and fun and whetted my appetite for more…I wonder if we'll get more stories? Sanderson fans should enjoy it, even though it's not his usual fantasy fare, and mystery fans may find it enjoyable, also.

The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi



Bottom Line: Requires some work to read but intriguing and shows promise.

---

For all that it is shelved as science fiction, this seemed more like a mystery to me. A mystery set in the far future in a society…or, rather, three societies…that are quite imaginative and intriguing, but a mystery nonetheless. Given that a Google of Rajaniemi shows him to possess of doctorate in mathematical physics, the story is relatively undemanding in terms of hard science. Most of it is simply hand-waving at some concepts and new terms. This may be a positive or negative depending upon your tastes: if you want to know how privacy management can make one individual invisible to another, you're out of luck. If you just want to enjoy the social implications without laboring through a lot of "stuff", you're good to go.

However, I can see how other commenters were overwhelmed by the neologisms and half-explained social concepts; the book is chock-a-block with them. For me, that was part of what made it interesting. It's a book that makes you work. Until the explanations come, you have to pay attention and think about what you're reading. The experience is very immersive. That said, I think Rajaniemi did go a bit overboard and made the reader work a little too hard. The story would not have been harmed by a couple of clues as to what the heck was going on in the background so that there were a few less moments of, "Oh, that's what he meant!" after the fact. Keeping the details of the central mystery close to the vest does not require keeping the details of the entire universe there.

The plot moves at a decent clip and the central mystery is certainly no worse than many I've seen that were explicitly in that genre. The characters range from interesting to bizarre, but they certainly grab your attention.

All in all, as a first novel, it shows a lot of promise. I'll pick up his next one to see where he's going to go with his writing.

My Sister's Blue Eyes by Jacques Poulin, translated from the French by Sheila Fischman



The not-so-good news is that I prefer Volkswagon Blues, Autumn Rounds or Translation is a Love Affair. The good news is that, in my opinion, any of Poulin's work is well worth reading. This is another story about his recurring character, Jack Waterman. It's written with the same deceptively simple style with the same spare and evocative language. It even has the oft-seen Volkswagon Microbus.

This time, Jack's story takes the reader on a reflection upon death, specifically on ending one's life when the terms of living become too much. Beyond that, it is a reflection on the different types of love that we can experience in our lives.

My preference for his other books is entirely personal; it has nothing to do with Poulin's ability to write. Some of the subject matter was just a little unpleasant for me and, while I enjoyed the book quite a bit, it didn't evoke that instant love I have for some of his other works.

Tad, it's good to hear from you and know you're OK. The stories I've been reading about Sandy in NJ and the NYC area have been painful. I guess the upside is you've had lots of time to read. Hope you're able to get back home soon.

Tad

I'm checking in to see how you are in your area of NJ. Glad you found a warm place to stay.

I did mean Mieville. Honest to Pete, the aging brain...

Glad you are where it's warm and there are hot showers. After our big ice storm a decade ago, I gained a whole new appreciation for the luxuries we tend to take for granted. Be safe. Be well.

Glad to hear you are safe, Tad. I'm not always very aware of where everyone is located in this group, or even if I know which town or state, my geography of the US is a little vague in some areas, so one consequence of Sandy is me learning whether people were or were not in the path of the storm. It's a relief to hear people reporting back safe and sound.

Glad to hear you're safe and warm, Tad. Hope life gets back to normal soon!

Yes glad to hear that you are OK. I'm with Genny - a little hazy about where people are in the US.

I'm glad to hear that you and your family are safe, Tad. I hope that you get power back to your house soon.

Very glad to hear that you were able to get out & to a place with electricity. I hope all is well & you get power back at home soon.

Sadly, the flirting with power has ended. The schools decided to open and, with gas in short supply, commuting my kids is not an option. So, it's back to the freezing house. They say power by Saturday hopefully.

26° tonight...brrrrr!

Still, thanks for all the good wishes.

The Tree of Life by C. L. Moore



Some conversations with a friend about the (few) early women in science fiction led me to pick up one of Catherine Moore's books—they don't get much earlier. She was one of my favorites when I was younger, both her standalone stuff and her collaborations with her husband, Henry Kuttner.

The Tree of Life is one of her books featuring the anti-hero, Northwest Smith. Like many of her works, it's technically science fiction but edges into horror. I enjoyed it, though not as much as her most famous with that protagonist, "Shambleau".

It feels quite dated, so I'd only recommend it if you're a hardcore fan of the genre and nostalgic for a bit of 1950s fare.

A World Too Near by Kay Kenyon



The first book in this series, Bright of the Sky, was a little info-dump-ish but the world-building was original enough, and my initial interest in the characters high enough, that I was pretty interested in seeing where she was going with the second book.

Unfortunately, now that I'm done with it, I'm that dissenting reviewer who doesn't join the chorus of raves.

First, there's less info-dump; we already know what the alternate universe looks like. However, the larger tendency to talk at the reader rather than immerse the reader in what's going on so that they see it first-hand is still present. That's not my favorite writing style.

Second, I just didn't warm to any of the characters. I didn't like them nor empathize with them. I didn't even find some of them consistent with who they were in the first book. Couple that with the first point and we have a story that never enrolls me. Instead, I sit at arm's length watching a drama.

Lastly, the book felt choppy. Some of that was natural since Kenyon uses the technique of multiple, interwoven points of view. Still, there was an overall bumpiness to it where some sections felt overly long and others rushed.

I'll give her an A for originality, but count me as someone who doesn't recommend this book and, by extension, the series, to anyone but devoted fans of speculative fiction.

Power on yet? I hope it stays on. C.L. Moore, wow. I'll have to thrash around and find one. I am definitely on a 50's sf jag.

No power

Hmmm, I was only so-so on the first book of Kenyon's series--didn't realize the second was out. The completist in me wants to see where she goes with it, while the realist is inclined to follow your recommendation. I don't know if I've read any of the Northwest Smith books by Moore, although I think I've read and enjoyed most of the Jirel of Joiry stories. They were written later so maybe were better written?

Sorry to hear about the continued power outage. I know that gets old really fast. Sending positive thoughts about quick power restitution!

oh my. Still no power? This has been a long siege for you, or would have been except for the hot water in PA. Hope you get out of the 19th century soon. Are the schools heated, at least?

We fled to the comparative civilization of Queens on Thursday, and yes, that hot shower was extremely comfy. We've been back home since Saturday morning, with full power but no office to go to, as Water Street lived up to its name during Sandy and the building is still being pumped out. Work at home seems likely for at least a month.

I keep thinking of the people in NJ without homes, even freezy ones. Stay warm if you can. I hope the lights are on soon.

I feel so sheltered in Pennsvylvania... Still predicting you'll have power by Saturday?

Still no power. Oh dear. At least the sun is shining. Good luck for power today or tomorrow.

Power finally came on this evening. Thank goodness! I can't tell you how utterly weary I was of being cold 24x7.

Hurrah!!

Hooray for power again!!!

Whew.

I'm so glad for you all.

The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain



In the preface, Anthony Bourdain starts a sentence, "When I look back on the last five years since I wrote the obnoxious, ever-testosteroned memoir..." He's talking about Kitchen Confidential and the implication of the sentence is that the former book could be described that way, but this one...

Snort! This is a full sibling, replete with boasts of scars and burns, swagger about meals physically painful to eat, bluster about the criminal tendencies of co-workers, brags about oral sex from servers, gloating about the Herculean marathons of drink and food that would stun mere mortals, and sheer macho exultation about "getting it done" in an overworked kitchen when the whole evening gets in the weeds. There's enough testosterone in this to power a pro sports team's steroid collection.

But, for all that, there is also an undisguised love of food and food adventure that takes over the memoir and makes it simply fun to read.

If you've read KC, you know what you're getting. If you haven't, but think you might enjoy some uninhibited recollections about eating well all around the world, then give this a try.

I'm glad power is restored. Reading by a flashlight was doable when we did not have power, but like you, I certainly was glad when we could see the light, feel the warm heat, listen to the hum of the refrigerator, and take a hot shower.

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester



Bottom Line: It's exciting. It's colorful. It's visceral. But you must work to find any of that. If you don't, it's dated and probably slightly boring.

---

As of this moment, this book has a rating of 4.11 stars on LibraryThing, a reasonably impressive score.

I find that fact somewhat mind-boggling. At the same time, I don't.

That first reaction comes from the fact that this book is dated. Maybe not as much as something of the type written by E. E. "Doc" Smith—it is, after all, very much soft science fiction about psychological and social issues rather than hard science fiction focused on technology. However, the techno-socio vision clearly didn't even capture the commonplace physical world of the late 20th century, much less what might occur in the 25th century in which it is set. The language in which it is written has that same slightly-artificial, somewhat stilted tone that sets "The Big Sleep" off from "The Godfather". The simplicity of Gully's obsession and the responses of those faced with it can seem shallow to those who have read of a Hannibal Lecter. And the circumlocutory reticence that averts its eyes from the sex, euphemizes the violence, and throws up its hands altogether when they meld in what is a plot-important rape scene just seems awkward in this Internet age.

On the other hand, there is something timeless about an obsessed anti-hero who will stop at absolutely nothing for revenge. A world controlled by corporations eager to extract the last bit of profit, run by amoral super-rich who are immune to the law (or, more accurately, have purchased it) has lost none of its appeal. In fact, it's one of the foundations of cyberpunk (this novel often being cited as one of the prototypes of that genre).

And last, but perhaps not least—and let me warn you right here that there's a ton of cynicism in this paragraph—this book regularly makes its way onto "Greatest Science Fiction" lists. It's cited as seminal by some famous authors. It gets referenced in other science fiction books. It's often compared to The Count of Monte Cristo in its theme of an ordinary man driven to genius by revenge. Heck, as I said above, it's seminal cyberpunk! In true Emperor's New Clothes fashion, who wants to be the one to say, "I don't think so"?

The way to reconcile the left and right hand here is to realize that this book needs to come with a warning label: "It's exciting. It's colorful. It's visceral. But you must work to find any that." Because of our changing culture, Bester doesn't hand it to you. You're going to have to imagine and visualize and think about it. In other words, you're going to have to make yourself into a 1950s reader.

Am I going to give it a 4-star rating? No. That's too unconditional a rating for me. If you really like science fiction and are perfectly willing to force yourself to read it with a mindset of a half century ago, then give this a try; it's a damn good read. If not, ignore those "Greatest" lists and read something more modern.

The Disappearance by Philip Wylie



Bottom Line: An ambitious questioning of 1950s gender relations, but slightly lacks the courage of its answers.

---

If you're looking for an unambiguous thumbs up or thumbs down on this book, you're not going to get it here. The premise of this book is that, one day, all the men disappear from the women's world, and all the women disappear from the men's. What happens to the single-gender societies?

Looking at this simply from a story point of view, there are two very distinct parts. There are the portions where the story is actually going on and the plot is happening. These keep you entertained and interested, no question. Then there are the portions where Wylie, through the thoughts/words of one character or another, speechifies. These are tedious. You could skim through these a bit to keep the story moving swiftly. Unfortunately, you'd then miss important points of this allegorical tale about the different realities experienced by men and women, and what Wylie thinks we ought to do about them. You need to read them.

Looking at the characters, there are some colorful and vivid ones. I found them a bit internally inconsistent but they do keep you engaged.

Looking at this as a picture of 1951, well, it's great! The social mores, the racial and sexual prejudices, the Cold War attitudes: all leap from pages for your inspection. You can marvel at how far we've come since then, or you can despair how much some things are the same but, either way, the picture is vivid and bright.

But, what this book is really about is asking questions about the complementary nature of man/woman, about double standards, about monogamy, about the "natural" nature of a man or a woman. Looking at it from this point of view, you find a book that is ambitiously willing to question convention and normality but that, ultimately, loses heart in hanging onto the answer.

Wylie boldly says, "This is where we should go." But...few of his characters really go there. The enlightened, principled male lead isn't so enlightened or principled when you put him under a microscope. The strong, independent female lead doesn't really come across as strong and independent to my ears. My two favorite characters, Teddy and Bella, come somewhat close but, unfortunately, they are minor bit parts.

It's a book that asks some really good questions. It's also a book that, due to its era, doesn't realize that some questions exist (Minorities and LGBT issues). It's a book that doesn't quite have the courage...or maybe it was vision...to put a stake in the ground with its answers and say, "Ban this book if it offends you that much, but this is what I think!" But, maybe that's okay, since the book will cause you to think about your answers yourself.

The Marseille Caper by Peter Mayle



Fairly fun, but a piece of lightweight froth that has too much of a formulaic feel to it to allow it to rank with the better Mayle stories. The focus seemed to be more on listing great meals to be had in Marseille rather than the actual story.

Retro-fitted a review of The Disappearance.

I wanted to try something a little more "folk art-ish" so I took a stab at the lake by our cabin in a baking dish.

GREAT summing up of The Disappearance I just love the different 'angles' people take on the same book.

I love your folkie bowl. Charming and sweet, but dynamic and original. The blue swirls rock on the circular sweep look of the green beneath. But the sky is still and blue and hot, very summer.

>97 TadAD: I like it!

Happy Thanksgiving, Tad!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Tad!

Happy Thanksgiving, Tad!!! Love the baking dish!!!

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Tad!

Happy Thanksgiving!

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, translated from the German by A. W. Wheen



Without reading them, I'm sure that the hundreds of other reviews of this book have said most of what there is to say: Remarque's writing is stunningly evocative of terror, pain, camaraderie, boredom and incomprehension. It's not hard to see some basis for why this book is sometimes called the greatest war novel written. This soon after reading it, I can't say if I'd give it that accolade but it's certainly in the short list of those I've read in that category.

As I read it, two other books kept coming to mind. The first was Tuchman's The Guns of August, one of my favorite non-fiction books about World War I. I couldn't stop thinking about how sanitary the Causes of the war seem in Guns' view from the altitude of nations and armies, when compared to the blood and pus of the Effects in All Quiet's look at the individual soldier.

The second was Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls: its concept of "the good war" versus this book's "no war is good," a philosophical divide that would make—probably has made—for many interesting book club debates.

A must-read.

I forgot to list this one—read it as part of a semi-group read a few weeks ago…

Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold



It passed an afternoon but that's about it. Ethan was just a little too gee whillickers for me, a little too afraid of the demonic aura of females corrupting him against his power to resist, to be creditable as a top-flight scientist. I found myself wondering if his genetics lab had a sign on it that said "NO GIЯLZ!" The plot was a little too lopsided: frothy in the beginning but weighty and portentous at the end.

There was something almost of 1940s science fiction about the writing: naive, simplistic, little true depth to relationships. Although, I doubt 1940s science fiction would have applied itself so positively to a homosexual society. :-D

An interesting discussion about this book would be on the (intentional? unintentional?) sub-story that it's nurture not nature that determines.

I don't worship Bujold but I do enjoy some of her books. However, this wasn't anywhere near her best. Readable but eminently forgettable. It would have been twice the book if she had decided actually to grapple with the social issues she raised.

No argument - but for some reason it has settled in my head as one of her more 'interesting' ideas even if she didn't write up to it.

Yeah, it could have been quite interesting. I would have loved for her to treat the issue of nature vs. nurture directly. Even more, I would have loved some indication of how they dealt with "deviant" men who found themselves drawn to women...the mirror image of Western treatment of homosexuality. The ending of Ethan also has a whole book(s) implicit in it.

Yep. A part of me wanted Ethan to succumb to the --pilot, guard, guide -- I forget how they get involved and so on - and I did think that Bujold's total resistance of that was right. He only changes 'a little bit' which did feel right.

Looks like I'm getting Warren Ellis' new book, Gun Machine, from Early Reviewer. I've been intrigued by some of his graphic novel stuff...wonder how he'll do at straight prose. Not sure if this is his first or not.

I was going to post another book here but it doesn't seem this thread is worth maintaining with only one or two people even reading the book comments anymore.

I'll close this out now—Lucy, etc. I guess we can take this to PM (or LXXV Sidebar for those participating in that) if you want to chat.

Take care all and have a happy holiday!

oh. sorry, if lurking was rude. I do read your reviews - very well-written and interesting, even if the books themselves are not my usual interest.

What is LXXV Sidebar?

111: I was going to post another book here but it doesn't seem this thread is worth maintaining with only one or two people even reading the book comments anymore.
How the other half lives...

I read your thread too! Generally nothing to say if the book is unfamiliar. Maybe you need a puppy.

I'm a regular lurker too, Tad, although not a sci fi reader so I usually skip those reviews but I still get ideas from your thread and of course love looking at your pottery. Hope you'll reconsider. My main problem with commenting on threads is lack of time these days but I get alot out of reading them and I'm always glad to see you've posted something new.

And I'm also curious about what LXXV Sidebar is.

Caught up! I think your lake dish would look splendid AT the lake with lovely summer strawberries in it.

Always a regular reader, of course, here!

Hello!

Dropping by to say that I lurk as well. I'm not very good at posting unless I have something specific to say, which tends to depend on whether I have read the book.

Same here, Tad. I follow your thread and a lot of others regularly in this group, Club Read, Reading Globally, et al., but I'll generally only comment on a review if it is of a book that I plan to buy and read soon based on your review or previous reviews of it, or if it's a book I've already read. And, as Pat said, I'm not a fan of science fiction, so I won't comment about reviews of those books unless the author is someone that I'm interested in, e.g. China Miéville or Octavia Butler.

On the other hand, I admit that I get disappointed if I've spent a good amount of time to write a review and receive few comments about it. I used to feel that way about Club Read, but I came to realize that a lot of people were reading my reviews, even if they didn't post comments afterward.

Another lurker here, admittedly coming back after an extended absence. Threads are like blogs, wherein only some small percentage of readers will take the time to comment, and they only tend to do so if they have something specific to say (moreso in forums, I think). That said, LT participation has to be enjoyable for you, ultimately (you don't owe anyone anything! a hard lesson for me I had to learn this year), so please do whatever makes you happy! But know that we ARE reading, even if we're a little shy and just peeking around the corner most of the time...

I've been enjoying your photos of your work on Roni's thread... sad to say, I've gotten terribly behind and am only now catching up on threads. Hope all is well with you.

Thanks for stopping by folks. However, I think I'll just leave this thread and then see after the holidays what to do about next year.

Hi, Mary & Faith, it's been a while since we talked.

Have a great holidays, everyone, whatever your persuasion!

Happy Christmas, Tad. Looking forward to seeing you next year

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2013!

Glitterfy.com - Christmas Glitter Graphics

I want to wish you a glorious celebration of that time of year when we all try to unite around a desire for Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward All. Merry Christmas, Tad!

Merry Christmas To You and Your Family Tad!

Merry Christmas, Tad!

Being a great lurker on your thread, "delurking" this time to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas *smile*

Just dropping by with some Christmas cheer from me and the Moomins (another great LT find). I miss seeing your pottery although I have been lurking on Roni's thread so did see some there recently. Hope you're having a great celebration with your family.

I'm sorry, Tad, I haven't been around the threads too much this fall and winter. I do hope you will continue, however, because I just got caught up and was looking forward to doing a better job of keeping up. I love, love, love your reviews and the pottery (and photography) is beautiful. I need to read more Poulin because everything I've read I've loved. You remind me of how much. Couldn't agree more about All Quiet on the Western Front - a must read. I would add Matterhorn to my list of best war books of this type. I read them both the same year. Have to admit I can't stand Hemingway. Ah, well, there are lots of books in the sea. Adding The Polish Boxer to the list.

I hope that 2013 is your best year yet, Tad, and I look forward to seeing lots more pottery and hearing about lots more books.

Here's to a great new year ahead, Tad!

Happy New Year, Tad!

Thank you all. Happy New Year to everyone.

Move to here.