July 29, 2007
East of Eden
By John Steinbeck
Man. After Moby Dick, the first third or so of this seemed refreshing and awesome and interesting. Then all the things that annoy me about American lit in general and Steinbeck in particular started bugging the crap out of me. I often get the feeling when reading AmLit (and especially Steinbeck) that the author was sitting there writing with a pretentious "I am a Great Author (tm)" attitude. Steinbeck's work is so dry and spare that it seems self-conscious. Moreover, he creates interesting characters and then doesn't do anything particularly interesting with them. East of Eden appears to be telling me that (whoa!) sibling rivalry exists! And sometimes has bad consequences!
Well, no shit, Sherlock. I'm an only child and I know about sibling rivalry. At least bring something new to the table.
Maybe I just can't get past his writing style. I have the same problem with Hemingway.
Regardless, I finished the damn book, and am now two-thirds done with the summer reading I'm doing for my tutoring student (we're both reading the books together so we can discuss them and I can help her with the essay she has to write about them). Next up: Sophie's World, which I'm about four chapters into. So far, it's written in astonishingly simple language but about very complex things. I like it.
Book 17 in 2007.
July 24, 2007
Moby Dick
By Herman Mellville
I read this because the gal I tutor had to read it, and I wanted to help her out.
Oh, the pain. Note to self: next time, read the Cliffs Notes.
It wasn't as horrid as I'd been given to expect, but for every interesting chapter of plot, there are at least five chapters of "omg, look how much whale research I did!" showing off. I usually like tangents and whatnot, but Melville manages to make them dull as mud. Blech.
Book 16 in 2007.
Dead Witch Walking (Rachel Morgan, Book 1)
By Kim Harrison
Rachel Morgan is a witch in a slightly alternate version of our world. Years ago there was a plague started by a bio-engineered tomato and many regular humans died. Like, most of them. The nonhumans - witches, vampires, and so on, were unaffected, and with their numbers more proportional to the regular humans, they decided to come out of the shadows.
Rachel starts the book as a sort of paranormal FBI agent, working for an organization which polices nonhumans. She quits, though, tired of her boss treating her like crap. Her friend Ivy, a not-quite-full-blooded vampire, quits with her and the two hole up while the agency vents its anger. They don't like broken contracts. The only way to get the agency off their backs (aside from dying) is to pay off their contracts, so Rachel and Ivy set out to bust the biggest supernatural drug dealer in town, figuring that will square them with the agency. But he's not what he seems, of course, or this would be a pretty dull book.
It's not. It's a fun romp and I'm looking forward to reading more of the series!
Book 15 in 2007.
Proven Guilty (Book Seven of The Dresden Files)
By Jim Butcher
I put off reading this book so that I wouldn't be left where I am now: desperate to read more about Harry Dresden, but unable to do so unless I shell out for the hardback of the latest book. Dammit.
"Proven Guilty" is good stuff, though a bit darker than the last few books. I won't even try to sum up the plot; suffice to say that it includes a handful of teenagers in peril, some very funny scenes at a horror movie convention (also some very creepy scenes at the same event), and Harry doing his best, as usual, to keep his head above the troubled waters of his life. Awesome.
Book 14 in 2007.
Stealing Jesus
By Bruce Bawer
Catching up on a backlog here.
This is an awesome book. Some will argue that it's too angry, but I don't blame Bawer for being angry at fundamentalists. He's a gay Christian, and fundies are not only railing at him that his basic nature is an abomination at odds with the religion he so dearly loves, but (to his mind) perverting the underlying message of that religion.
Bawer does an excellent job of showing folks who don't really get the idea of fundamentalism what the movement is all about. He draws a distinction between the "Church of Law," Christianity with a strong emphasis on rules and punishment for breaking those rules, and the "Church of Love," Christianity with a strong emphasis on Jesus' message that God loves us all and the idea of God's grace. Sure, there is really a broad spectrum of Christian churches with Love and Law as the extremes, but the book is about fundamentalist extremists, so it makes sense to focus on the extremes. Bawer dissects the tenets of Christian fundamentalism and lays out how at odds and incompatible they are with the teachings of Jesus. Good stuff.
I found this a fascinating read and highly recommend it to anybody interested in religion and the impact of religion on culture and politics in America today.
Book 13 in 2007.