Why didn’t anyone tell me…

A programming book of all things, and not just one. It’s good to know that the things that I feel are wrong really are as wrong. And even better, someone knows how to fix them. Last night I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. First, I loved the book, as unkind as the subject [...]

[Read more →]

Holes, by Louis Sachar Kids book, too simple, too predictable. However, it remained fun and kept my interest. Yeah, read into that all you want, but it made for a fun quick read. I can see why it became popular.

[Read more →]

A Scanner Darkly, by Philip K. Dick This one annoyed me. No, I haven’t seen the film. But the whole thing probably makes more sense to stoners. There was the interesting “cop spying on himself” thing that could have been better. Then the whole “you were double double double crossed” thing weaved too deep and [...]

[Read more →]

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman Now, if you’ve read any Neil Gaiman, you’ll realize, the guy is about 20 degrees off of level. This is all sorts of awesome. Let me tell you why. If you read some of my previous posts, you’ll know that I’ve read enough to see some annoying patterns in books, or [...]

[Read more →]

“Fire”, which is in the same world as Graceling, kinda. It might be that I’m just too much of a guy for this book. I expected something far different than what I found while reading. I never quite reached the point of suspended disbelief here. The heroine is too perfect, the stupid love triangle thing [...]

[Read more →]

Absurdistan. I don’t remember why I picked it up, but the rambling pointless nature of it caused me to put it down. Sure, there were funny quips, but not enough to hold my attention.

[Read more →]

The Hunger Games series. Holy. Cow. I hope this lady keeps writing. At the end of the first book, I was entranced. At the end of the third, I cried. This is some seriously good writing. I’m going back to these again sometime soon.

[Read more →]

Brave New World by Aldus Huxley. The point is, this book, while it may have been somewhere between shocking and progressive during the ’30s, is just pointless now. I can see it as maybe the first place that many people will have encountered some of these ‘ideal society’ ideas, but the modern versions are more current, more polished, and closer to home. Save yourself the time – leave it on the shelf in the public library.

[Read more →]

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton. I’m really going to miss having my one Crichton a year. Much more than that and I get all cynical, but once a year and they remain fun. This one is about a cutting-out expedition by our heroes. The characters are distinct and memorable, the setting is good, and it [...]

[Read more →]

Jodi Picoult : Vanishing Acts. Yes, I know it’s a book by a girl. And I’m starting to notice that entirely too many girl-written books have the same attributes: 1. Girl hero character is always object of hidden, secret love that comes out in book, even when it does nothing for the story. 2. Love [...]

[Read more →]