Why didn’t anyone tell me…

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.

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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 has [...]

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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 triangle thing always [...]

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The economy is bad, and I realized early this year that my audiobook subscription was next on the chopping block, and, screaming in my heart, I clicked “Close” on my Audible subscription. And then I resumed reading the last 2 books I picked up.  Unfortunately, the second was a serial with 3 other parts, and [...]

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Thought I’d add this one to the list simply because I discussed it with a friend recently and didn’t have a chance to put it up here.
Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show

Now generally I like short story collections, especially in audio form, because the change from story to story is a lot of fun, especially [...]

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Intensity  by Dean Koontzzszszz. I’ve read a couple of his books and really like them, but this one I’m putting down. His books that I’ve liked I would call thrillers. This one I would call horror. I just don’t care to invest any more of my time in it.
SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT
I don’t like the [...]

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Forgot to mention that I also read Orson Scott Card’s “Ender in Exile“, which I find to be a good, but rather schizophrenic book. I can’t figure out which story he’s trying to tell. There are at least 3 story lines that happen, and I think I’d have preferred if they were dealt with in [...]

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Dave: I have 5 books in the queue, but a depressing book will be a morning-only read, leaving the evening for podcasts/re-reads.
Dave: like The Glass Castle was a morning-only reader.
Nate: by Jeanette Walls?
Dave: yeah
Dave: good book, but don’t read it on the way home
Nate: the wikipedia summary makes it look depressing
Dave: well, it depends [...]

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I just finished the Orson Scott Card collaboration, “Invasive Procedures“, which was a lot more fun than I expected. It had some suitably OSC twists, which seem to involve permanently bad things happening to the hero. It’s a nice change from so many years of Rambo-esque heroes that are impervious to bullets, knives, etc. etc. [...]

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Having just rebuilt most of my audiobooks for better quality, I’ve gone back to revisit many of my old favorites that I bought on CD. Between those, I am working on Legacy of Ashes, which is not the most exciting read, but is interesting in short bursts. I’m somewhere around 1964 right now, which ties [...]

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