Here it is: The book list.
Mort by Terri Pratchett: I didn't like this as well as Pratchett's other books. In it, Death takes on an assistant. The cover bills it as being about Love taking on Death, but don't believe the hype. It's not as interesting as all that.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini: This is a book about dragons and their riders. It begins poorly in that you can definitely tell that the guy was 15 (yes, that's right) when he wrote it. By the end, though, I was very intrigued. The characters get better, the teenaged angst lessens, and the cheesy lines begin to disappear. I especially enjoyed all the lore he creates/draws on regarding dragons. Sometimes, he seems to lean too heavily on Tolkein for his material, but for the most part, not a bad first try.
Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett: This book was hilarious. Vimes is all set to retire when someone starts killing people (without a license, which is a serious offense) using a gun. Excellent book. Comes somewhere after Guards! Guards! but before The Fifth Elephant in the Watch sequence.
The Sandman: Fables and Reflections: I don't remember who this is by. It's a graphic novel. Not a bad read; in fact, parts of it were fascinating. I couldn't read it before bed because it gave me nightmares, but on the whole, it examines myth and legend and the nature of Dream.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis: This is my second favorite Narnia book. In it, the children sail to the ends of Narnia, "discovering" lost and forgotten lands.
Pure Drivel by Steve Martin: This book is made up mostly of what its title suggests. It's a very short book of essays, and on the whole, it's pretty funny. Some essays fall a little flat, but not bad on the whole.
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis: Not my favoirte Narnia book. The kids have to rescue Prince Caspian's son. They miss Prince Caspian because they are stupid. They nearly get eaten by giants because they are stupid. They nearly get enchanted because they are stupid. And once again, Aslan gets to act like a jerk simply because people don't always understand what's going on. Booo.
Small Gods by Terry Pratchett: This book is hilarious. It's about the Great God Om, who is currently a small turtle with only one eye, and his chosen prophet Brutha, who would like Om to "choose somebody else." Makes lots of good points about organized religion and real devotion vs. an excuse to be nasty to each other.
The Brothers K by David James Duncan: As I listened to this on tape, I did not realize at first that it was abridged. I enjoyed it a great deal and will read the real version someday. It dealt with fathers and broken dreams and family and healing. It complimented a lot of the things I've been thinking about lately. The tone was also excellent. This was possibly my favorite book this month.
That's it, folks. Enjoy the picks!
Posted by LoWriter at May 2, 2005 05:19 PMSandman is written and created by Neil Gaiman. Artists vary book by book.
Posted by: Carl at May 3, 2005 08:14 AMLo, thank you for breaking from that horribly, icky, no good, very bad proofreading project to report on your April books.... :o) you had quite a diverse month! i really hope you get a chance to read the whole of the Bros K at some point. and now i'm really pumped to get my hands on the next narnia books!! here's my list, and its a bit piddly, but nicely packed:
1. Perfect by Natasha Friend - a Juvi-lit book about a 13 year old's struggle with an eating disorder and her father's death. it has a GREAT take on sisterhood and friendship. not cheezy at all, not too difficult for young readers & the message is definitely there but not at all in-your-face. its also a Milkweed book! if you know an 11-14 year old girl who reads, i'd give her this book. hell, i enjoyed it... ;o)
2. Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Meno - i picked it up for the name and the cover. eh. not so good. its a first person account of teen angst and fitting in. i'd reccomend The Perks of Being a Wallflower more. although, there is sex in this one... :o)
3. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Doug Adams - i read it for the movie!! a really really quick read. i got a bit bogged down in some of the "technical stuff" but that's part of what made me laugh so hard.
4. Crescent by Diane Abu-Jabar - book on cd about a 40 year old single woman with a gift for cooking middle eastern food as she's half Iraqi. she works in a cafe and the plot is based around her new relationship with a refugee Iraqi man. its a very romantic book with some nice juicy scenes (not quite dime store quality though, sorry ladies!). the plot is very politically charged, and breaks a lot of barriers. i was impressed with the outcome as i expected a cheesy ending but came out very satisfied. a good one for book on CD!!
Posted by: Dr. Gonzo at May 3, 2005 12:30 PMI, unfortuneately, completely slacked off this month because I read books like a bulimic, that is I binge (however I don't purge - but how would you purge a book). I started several, finished few, and overall watched a lot of TV.
Good list though, it's nice to hear what you have been reading, I think I will have to pick up a few.
So, I posted a comment on one of last month's postings, then I realized that likely, those don't get checked much, so I'll repeat myself: Lovely blog, Lo! :-)
I think I did some kind of book report on the Brothers K in High School. I bet I'd get more out of it now. I don't know if I actually even read the whole thing, or if I just fudged it (shame).
In any event, I don't remember much of the book, so I think I'll try it again.
Posted by: Mardou at May 4, 2005 05:40 PMNevermind... kept seeing "Brothers K" and thinking it was Dostoyevsky. Never did really manage to process the author information. Cursed scanning. Come to think of though, I really should brush up on my dead Russian authors.
Posted by: Mardou at May 5, 2005 09:04 AMdead russian authors are overrated. but their books are faboo. :o)
Posted by: Dr. Gonzo at May 5, 2005 09:43 AMCarl-- You are right. I couldn't think of the name at all. Thank you!
Dr. Gonzo-- As always, your list is much more intelligent than mine. Kudos on the many good reads!
10lees-- No worries. You'll have a month where all you do is finish books.
Mardou-- Welcome! And don't worry about mixing up The Brothers K with that Russian book. I think that could be part of the point, actually, but I can't say for sure because I never read the Karamozoff (however you spell it) book. :)
Also, does anyone else find Russian literature dark and depressing?
Posted by: Lo at May 5, 2005 03:37 PMits supposed to be dark and depressing. :o) i'll lend you The Master & Margarita. its a fantasy book, so it should, theoretically, appeal to you. biting sarcasm is usually very dark and depressing.
as for the Brothers K and the Brothers Karamozov: they really dont have many corrolations other than family drama. you can read one w/o ever touching the other and still really enjoy them.
Posted by: Dr. Gonzo at May 6, 2005 10:31 AMRussian novels are dark and depressing because they don't get much sunlight up there... plus they have heroines that throw themselves in front of trains. Although I don't know what the French excuse is, they have heroines that eat arsnic.
Posted by: 10lees at May 6, 2005 02:02 PMand american heroins prostitute themselves!
Posted by: Dr. Gonzo at May 6, 2005 05:14 PMStalin did bad things to Russian morale, but it's not just the Ruskies. Czech writers are pretty mopey, too. I thought it was just Kafka at first, but then I read Milan Kundera, and apparently, writing depressing literature is some kind of national past time over there.
Everyone's got that one friend that's all catastrophic thinking and pessimism... Eeyore types... that's Eastern Europe, I think.
Posted by: Mardou at May 8, 2005 09:12 PMStalin did bad things to Russian morale, but it's not just the Ruskies. Czech writers are pretty mopey, too. I thought it was just Kafka at first, but then I read Milan Kundera, and apparently, writing depressing literature is some kind of national past time over there.
Everyone's got that one friend that's all catastrophic thinking and pessimism... Eeyore types... that's Eastern Europe, I think.
Posted by: Mardou at May 8, 2005 09:12 PMooh... lookie there... two identical posts... I'm having some kinda trouble with this here electric "computing" machine...
Posted by: Mardou at May 8, 2005 10:02 PMI am the Eeyore. But I'm not Russian.
I would like to point out that my education has been seriously neglected. I am only just now discovering the joy of Sherlock Holmes. Why is this?
Posted by: Lo at May 9, 2005 03:46 PMBecause you aren't well educated??? hhehehe, you know I am just kidding. I haven't read Sherlock Holmes either, but I have heard great things about his writing and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Sir Arthur Connan Doyle's The Lost World, great book for young adults.
Posted by: 10lees at May 9, 2005 09:56 PMI've almost finished the first book (A Study in Scarlet) in Vol. 1 of the complete Sherlock Holmes, and I love it! Why didn't someone tell me that Sherlock Holmes, besides being a pop culture icon, actually kicks ass? I'm stunned!
Posted by: Lo at May 10, 2005 08:04 AMkudos to Carl. Fables and Reflections in the first of (I think) eleven Sandman graphic novels. I would have to say my favorite is still the first I ever read, Seasons of Mists, but you would probably understand it better if you read them in order.
I'm somewhat surprised you haven't heard of Gaiman before. He cowrote "Good Omens" with Terry Pratchet. You would probably truly enjoy his novel "American Gods".
Posted by: rhett at May 11, 2005 10:16 AMI am sooo not up to speed on my sci-fi... or Sherlock Holmes... or really anything. What IS the speed limit anyway? I'm gonna get a ticket for driving like a little old lady...
Posted by: Mardou at May 11, 2005 12:12 PMI am bad with names. I had heard of Sandman before, and I knew that Pratchett co-wrote Good Omens with a graphic novelist (is that a phrase?) but I haven't read Good Omens yet, and I've only read the one Sandman graphic novel. I will have to try the others as well as American Gods. (And my ultimate goal is to read every Terry Pratchett novel available, so reading Good Omens goes without saying.) Thanks for the reccommendations. I will probably do more reading as the summer moves TV into re-run season.
Posted by: Lo at May 12, 2005 08:36 AM