Archive for 'books' Category
2008.04.14
Mark Twain Surfed!
Well here’s something I never knew. Samuel Clemens, known throughout the world as Mark Twain, tried surfing in Hawaii over a century ago. Wow!
I tried surf-bathing once, subsequently, but made a failure of it. I got the board placed right, and at the right moment, too; but missed the connection myself.—The board struck the shore in three quarters of a second, without any cargo, and I struck the bottom about the same time, with a couple of barrels of water in me.
Awesome. How strange that surfing was known over a hundred years ago. Of course I often forget that The Duke was popularizing surfing a century ago, too.
Still, Mark Twain! Imagine if he had written a story about it?
2 Comments | Catergorized: books surf2007.10.07
Marriage of the Living Dark
At long last I’ve finally finished David Wingrove’s Chung Kuo series. A couple weeks ago I ordered the final book, The Marriage of the Living Dark, about 10 years after it was first printed. Exactly three weeks ago I started the first book in the series and today I finished the last one.
I’m still digesting the ending. Parts of it I don’t really understand and I think, for reading it only once, that it jumped around a bit too much. Other parts I was surprised by how familar the events were. It was like I’d read it all before though I know I hadn’t.
My next project relating to this series will be to read the excellent series of interviews and commentary Bob Newell has gathered. I see there’s a section on Mr. Wingrove’s reflections after finishing the first seven novels; I wish there was one for the eighth!
Next I’ll be going back into my manga reading. I’m dreadfully behind and really want to finish Death Note though, perhaps, that title will soon become taboo.
No Comments | Catergorized: books2007.09.17
System of the Moon
I got two things done this weekend. Well, more than two but I’m not counting laundry. I watched the series From the Earth to the Moon and then Apollo 13, and I finished Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and System of the World). Amazing stuff.
As lately I’ve been in a space mode I thought I’d notch it up a bit and pick up a few movies about us going there. I’d seen From the Earth to the Moon when it first aired on HBO back in 1998. I was really impressed with the show. It was tragic, triumphant and honest. Apollo 13 I saw in the theaters. Though a bit dramatic at times, I was actually kind of surpised when I watched the extra materials on the DVD at how much time and research went into the film to make it real. Some of the lines are direct quotes from the astronauts, crew and family as they recollected the tense days wondering if they would be the first floating corpses in space. Both shows are well worth it if you’re a space geek like me.
Meanwhile the Baroque Cycle… What to say? It is huge, vast… So many people asked me what it was about and I still don’t know how to answer that question. Superficially it’s about tearing down the old world of feudalism and superstition and laying the groundwork for the modern world as we know it in terms of economy, science and multinationalism/multiculturalism. The depictions of life in the late 1600s and early 1700s are wonderous and scary, and various plots will take you all around the globe.
One of the primary plots is the shenanigans revolving around a cache of Solomonic Gold (it is slightly heavier than normal gold because it is imbued with mystical, alchemical power). Isaac Newton and other alchemical fanatics are after it while those that have it generally want to get rid of it. It is my assumption that the alchemy and what happens to a few characters with Solomon’s Gold is why Neal Stephenson let the books be marketed as a science fiction story.
Many of the characters are ancestors to characters in the Cryptonomicon except, apparently, Enoch Root. I wondered about him after reading Cryptonomicon (as have others) but wrote it off as artistic license. He’s a very complex thread in The Baroque Cycle and someday I’ll have to read it again and untangle what I can.
All in all a satisfying end of the weekend. I’ve just started in on David Wingrove’s Chung Kuo series. 57 pages in and it’s just as awesome as I remember it…
No Comments | Catergorized: books movies tv2007.09.12
Would You Buy This Book?
All you Harry Potter fans, imagine this scenario. You’ve been following and loving the series since it came out. Then the final book comes and and for one reason or another you don’t get the seventh and final book right away. Maybe you had no money, or you were out of the country, or you were in the hospital or whatever. A few weeks go by and you decide to go get it.
But it’s not available. Anywhere.
You discover it had a very limited printing. You don’t know why. Now you can’t find the last book anywhere and it pisses you off. Then depresses you. Then pisses you off all over again. You decide you’re not even going to read the damn thing since they couldn’t be bothered to print enough for you to get a copy.
Years pass and you wonder what happened to Harry. Did he die? Or did he finally defeat Voldemort? In a moment of weakness you reread the previous books and you remember how much you love them. You go questing for the seventh book so you can finish it.
New books stores: not in stock
Used book stores: not in stock
Online: prices ranging just shy of $200
Piqued, you go another few years not knowing how the series ended. When you visit book stores you casually glance to see if they have a copy. They have the others, but not that all important last book.
Finally you can take it no longer. You go online and discover some remote bookstore that has a copy for just under $100. Would you buy the book? It’s been ten years since the book came out. Ten long years where you’ve only heard second hand online how it all ends.
I ask again, would you buy the book?
My nemesis book for the last ten years has been The Marriage of the Living Dark by David Wingrove. It’s the eighth and final book in his Chung Kuo novels. I have the first seven and have read them a few times. I think that Mr. Wingroves books are some of the best speculative fiction books -in terms of characters, story, writing, concept, and scope- I have ever read. I love these books! And for ten years I’ve had no idea how it’s ended. I’ve looked and only found it for close to $200 for years. A couple weeks ago I found it online for eighty-odd dollars.
To answer my own question, I bought the book. And in a few weeks I’ll let you know if it was worth it; I have to read all the others again first so I have all the details in mind. I think I’ll be a bit sleep deprived until this is all over. Finally.
9 Comments | Catergorized: books geek2007.08.22
A Nation of Non-Readers
One in four adults read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Of those who did read, women and older people were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices.
I know a lot of people are surprised that I’m always reading something, especially many of my coworkers, but the thought that one in four Americans haven’t read anything in the past year makes me sad. That many prefer watching movies or cruising the intertubes comes as no surprise to me. I do the same thing. Yet I still manage to read a good haul of books in a year.
I used to regularly “review” the books I’ve read on this site and perhaps I should continue with that trend. I’m currently reading Neal Stephenson’s mammoth Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and System of the World). I’m on the last book. Yes, it’s slow progress at times but so-o worth it. Even when I don’t have a “real” book in hand I am fortunate to work for a company that publishes Japanese manga, and I’ll frequently rip through the latest Death Note, Bleach, Monster and more. If you ever ask what I’m reading and I say, Nothing, then you will know that I’ve been kidnapped by aliens and been replaced by a doppleganger while I’m off helping the aliens save the universe.
I’ve nothing against TV, movies, video games, and the web. I do all of these things, too. Yet I still read. I’d love to say that only stupid people don’t read books, but I know that’s a generalization. Instead I’ll just say that most people who don’t read are stupid. Non-readers probably don’t deserve to participate in the civilized world. I just don’t get not reading.
I’ll stop ranting and encourage to you go pick up a book and read it. What are you reading anyways?
8 Comments | Catergorized: books grrr manga thoughts2007.07.30
Past Tense
Ever notice that almost every novel you will ever read was written in the past tense? Even novels that supposedly take place far in the future? Funny that.
No Comments | Catergorized: books thoughts2007.06.07
Manga: The Complete Guide
Congratulations to my friend Jason Thompson on completing and publishing Manga: The Complete Guide. I know he’s been working on (and stressing about) this project for a long time and it’s wonderful that he’s completed it. I’m looking forward to picking it up and reading his sometimes dry wit and humor shine through.
He also spoke tonight at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum for the Marvel of Manga exhibition opening featuring manga legend Osamu Tezuka who created Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. He also created one of the most interesting twists on a Hitler theme, Adolf.
Congrats, Jason!
1 Comment | Catergorized: anime books friends manga2007.04.30
My Daemon
I’d read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series almost two years ago and really loved it. Smart, adventurous and provocative. Not long after I hear it was going to be made into a series of movies, starting with the first book, The Golden Compass. While I’m always dubious of Hollywood creations from existing stories, I am still looking forward to this one, which premiers in December.
Just a bit ago I was perusing various blogs and ran across Panxa’s Daemon Entry. Naturally I had to take the test! You can see the results here. It’s kinda slow with the Flash, though, so you can see a breviated version after the jump!
No Comments | Catergorized: books geek movies2007.01.21
What Is Speculative Fiction?
I’m a huge fan of science fiction and fantasy, both in book and movie format. I also enjoy alternate history and some horror. What these genres have in common is they all ask the question:
What if…?
In a sense all fiction is speculative, otherwise it would not be fiction at all. The difference is that “normal” fiction deals with the world as it is. It does not seek to change fundamental realities, even when it take some artistic license. And yet…
What if aliens invaded Earth? What if, in a medieval world populated with various non-human races, a dark overlord threatened freedom? What if a virus turned the population of England into raving zombies? What if America never entered World War Two? What if there was a war between Heaven and Hell that was leaking into our world?
All of these premises speculate on what the world (ours or someone elses) would be like. These stories (and even some documentaries) force us to imagine how the world could be different. In some cases they will make us wish to change the world we live in, in other cases they will make us appreciate our lives, and sometimes they simply entertain us with a reality that is not our own. In all cases there is possibility. The possibility of, “What if…”
I love speculative fiction. It is the mainstream’s subversive vice, the muse of possibility and intelligence…
What if…
7 Comments | Catergorized: books movies thoughts tv2007.01.07
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci CodeI got The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown for xmas (thanks Dad!) and just finished reading it earlier. I’d seen the movie last month. While reading I was amazed at how closely they kept the plot when adapting for the screen. In fact the essential points are one for one until the end of the movie, and those are barely different.
What is missing on the screen, and almost impossible to include, is all of the mental discussion of symbols, numerology, history and conspiricy. I think for me these were the most intriguing portions of the story. It reminded me strongly of The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. In fact now I want to go back and read it. I know The Da Vinci Code brought up many controversies since it claimed it was all factually based but I do know much of the symbology is accurate. Sadly I’d forgotten about Fibonacci Numbers. Now I have something to do with my free time.
It also brought up nostalgic memories from Prague when I’d be up pouring over alchemical symbols and tarot until the wee hours of the morning. I was always interested in the hidden meaning of things. Not in spiritual/ritualistic sense but definately in the psychological and historical sense. My trip to ÄŒeský Krumlov and my love of the architecture of Peter Parléř gave these interests real life applications.
I feel like I need to see the movie again and see just how much information they did manage to pack into it. My memory is that there wasn’t very much. I did like the book; despite the “popularity” it actually lived up to the hype.
3 Comments | Catergorized: books movies prague
