June 19, 2009
#2 - The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman Here are a list of important facts about this work of literature.  In the spirit of the book, they may be true: This is written by the world’s first known cyborg, also known as a “PC.”  Thus we should fear it and acknowledge it, lest it rain nuclear annihilation down with its friend Skynet. I laughed a few times while reading this.* There are a series of sections detailing everything you could possibly need to know about a variety of subjects that you may or may not care about.  Did you know there is a 51st state?  (Hint:  it’s not Puerto Rico, as much as you may want it to be.) Did you know:  John Hodgman has appeared in a variety of cameo roles throughout film history?** John Hodgman once killed a lobster. All in all, this was a really great read, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what subject he’d tackle next.  Also, a T-800 was forcing me to keep reading to save humanity, but I’d prefer to not talk about that. _______________________________ * OK, I laughed non-stop, and out loud.*** ** I guess you’ll have to read the book to find out.  Or use IMDB or Wikipedia, but we know how untrustworthy they are. *** This was undoubtedly awkward for the neighbors, who probably wonder what exactly I’ve been learning at school anyway.

#2 - The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman

Here are a list of important facts about this work of literature.  In the spirit of the book, they may be true:

  • This is written by the world’s first known cyborg, also known as a “PC.”  Thus we should fear it and acknowledge it, lest it rain nuclear annihilation down with its friend Skynet.
  • I laughed a few times while reading this.*
  • There are a series of sections detailing everything you could possibly need to know about a variety of subjects that you may or may not care about.  Did you know there is a 51st state?  (Hint:  it’s not Puerto Rico, as much as you may want it to be.)
  • Did you know:  John Hodgman has appeared in a variety of cameo roles throughout film history?**
  • John Hodgman once killed a lobster.

All in all, this was a really great read, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what subject he’d tackle next.  Also, a T-800 was forcing me to keep reading to save humanity, but I’d prefer to not talk about that.

_______________________________

* OK, I laughed non-stop, and out loud.***

** I guess you’ll have to read the book to find out.  Or use IMDB or Wikipedia, but we know how untrustworthy they are.

*** This was undoubtedly awkward for the neighbors, who probably wonder what exactly I’ve been learning at school anyway.

12:38am  |   URL: http://summerreads.tumblr.com/post/126256708/2-the-areas-of-my-expertise-by-john-hodgman
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June 18, 2009
#1 - Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh I felt almost like I was setting myself up for a challenge.  I was done with school, but for whatever reason I decided that I would read a novel with stream of consciousness prose.  In Scots, no less. But I found that I rolled through the text fairly smoothly.  And boy, what a vivid picture Welsh paints.  You can feel the grime creep off the pages, these desperate characters lurching through life, looking for validation or redemption or, sadly, just their next fix.  The novel is really a collection of short stories centered around a core group of six or seven characters, who are all to varying extents deeply flawed.  The majority are heroin addicts, and along with them are alcoholics, abusers, and the abused.  There is little levity, except for the darkly ironic;  the titular story, for example, finds one of the harshest characters, a man who has abandoned his family, lose control after encountering the father who abandoned him so long before.  Life in Leith is a bleak cycle, and Welsh hammers it home. And yet there are moments of pure bliss.  “Victory on New Year’s Day” is, comparatively, one of the shorter stories in the novel.  It is the only story narrated by Stevie, a minor character who is one of the only morally and physically clean people we encounter.  Obviously, it is an oddity of a story immersed in a world of oddities.  But in the course of a few spare pages, Stevie falls in love with a girl, and it is this small happiness in life he clings to. We must cling to these little victories as well.  Maybe that’s all we can do.

#1 - Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

I felt almost like I was setting myself up for a challenge.  I was done with school, but for whatever reason I decided that I would read a novel with stream of consciousness prose.  In Scots, no less.

But I found that I rolled through the text fairly smoothly.  And boy, what a vivid picture Welsh paints.  You can feel the grime creep off the pages, these desperate characters lurching through life, looking for validation or redemption or, sadly, just their next fix.  The novel is really a collection of short stories centered around a core group of six or seven characters, who are all to varying extents deeply flawed.  The majority are heroin addicts, and along with them are alcoholics, abusers, and the abused.  There is little levity, except for the darkly ironic;  the titular story, for example, finds one of the harshest characters, a man who has abandoned his family, lose control after encountering the father who abandoned him so long before.  Life in Leith is a bleak cycle, and Welsh hammers it home.

And yet there are moments of pure bliss.  “Victory on New Year’s Day” is, comparatively, one of the shorter stories in the novel.  It is the only story narrated by Stevie, a minor character who is one of the only morally and physically clean people we encounter.  Obviously, it is an oddity of a story immersed in a world of oddities.  But in the course of a few spare pages, Stevie falls in love with a girl, and it is this small happiness in life he clings to. We must cling to these little victories as well.  Maybe that’s all we can do.

12:22am  |   URL: http://summerreads.tumblr.com/post/125626300/1-trainspotting-by-irvine-welsh-i-felt-almost
FILED UNDER: books trainspotting review 
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June 17, 2009

Welcome

After a long year of difficult schoolwork and very little reading for pleasure, I’ve made a promise to myself this summer to read more.  So I delved into the depths of The Strand, grabbed some stuff that looked interesting, and decided I’d write about it.

I should give credit for this idea to 52 Books, a great tumblelog that runs not just in the summer but throughout the entire year.

And here we go.

11:28pm  |   URL: http://summerreads.tumblr.com/post/125601027/welcome
FILED UNDER: welcome about