PC Reading List

The book got me to thinking about a number of different things, and I wrote a review of it for the really cool new online lit mag Sloth Jockey.  There were a lot of things I could have included in the review, but didn't want it to get too long for people to read (or for the editor to include).

One of the things that I had to leave out was the fascinating idea of H. H. Holmes, the serial killer whose story is one of the two main threads in the book, as a harvester of body parts.  Sometimes, I think we like to think of questions of harvesting organs and/or DNA as a new ethical dilemma brought about by the great strides we've made in medical technology in recent years.  That's true, to an extent.  But I think it is easy to overlook that the progress has been strides, and not leaps.  There is a flow to the technology that has developed, and the ethical questions that are raised by the advances in technology don't sit in a vacuum. Rather, these advances have taken place slowly over time, and the ethical questions have been there throughout that time.

When H. H. Holmes and that other famous murderer across the Pond were doing their gruesome dissections, it was only a relatively short time after the writing of Frankenstein, another book which considers ethical questions which might seem to be a bit  ahead of their time.    For me, one of the beauties of Larson's narrative is that it gives some perspective about where we sit in the whole scheme of this flow of progress — and that this place is not really so unique (and exciting) as we might like to think.

And of course, the presentation of the attitudes toward progress that were largely held in Chicago — and the whole nation — at the time is pretty depressing.  Hubris sticks so close to humans that you might think of it as a faithful companion.  Too bad it's the sort of companion that might be said to corrupt good morals.

I enjoyed Holt's treatment not only of how Vikings might move about in today's world, but also at how the world of Vikings and of today might not be so different after all.  That made for a very entertaining read, actually.  And of course, the connection (or the discontinuity in our minds) between technology and magic is always fun to consider.  I liked how Holt handled that in such a lighthearted fashion in the book.

This is one of those novels I picked up cheap somewhere at some library sale or another.  It was worth the small amount I paid for it, and also the time invested in reading.  It might not be the most brilliant book ever written, but it was fun all the same.

Lottery is the tale of  Perry, who is not retarded.  His "number" (IQ) is 76, and you have to be below 75 to be retarded.  Perry is clearly above that number.  

Perry is a lucky man.  (Lucky is his middle name.)  He wins the lottery, $12 million worth of lottery.  The tale that unfolds around this is beautifully done.  Family members turn up out of the woodwork, all eager to help Perry manage his money.  Strange how they show up now, when none were particularly eager to help before.  

The story centers around issues of family, money, trust, intelligence, discrimination, and cheating.  It's a great read, weaving all of these wonderful threads together.  The story is told by Perry, and Wood does a masterful job of capturing his voice.   Not only does she seem to understand the life of a person with a number somewhere around 76, but she has a good knowledge of sailing (the setting of the story) and lottery winnings (her dad was a lottery winner).  The knowledge she brings to the narrative creates a very rich tale indeed.

If you decide to read the book, make sure and stop in at the blog discussion after you've done so.  It will always be up, so it doesn't matter that you stop in "late."

(and I've got plenty of books to talk about!)

One of the things I really like about the story is that the reader's sympathies don't necessarily lie with the titular protagonist.  In fact, one is more likely to sympathize with just nearly everyone else in the story more than with Artemis.  Somehow, that makes the read more fun, for me.

I will be giving a copy of the book to my 8 1/2 year old goddaughter today.  I haven't heard any of the kids I know talking about the book, so I am eager to see how she likes it.  I have a feeling she'll get a good laugh at it.

David Wolverton's The Golden Queen is the book that I most recently finished.  I ended up finding it a pleasant enough read, though it isn't something I am particularly interested in revisting.

In my reading of the novel, I found myself growing in sympathy for Gallen, Orick, and Maggie, and feeling a mix of sympathy and disguist for Veriasse and Everynne.  It seems to me that this is by design.  In addition, I found the dronons to be a pretty disgusting evil race for our friends to face, which made the overall story pretty effective.

I came across a copy of  a later book that continues this story when I recently visited a library book sale.  I had another 150 or so pages to read, meaning I'd read over 2/3 of it.  That seems like about the spot in my reading where I'll have a pretty good idea if it is a story I want to continue to pursue when I finish my reading.  Well, I didn't buy the book, even though it would cost me less than $1.  I am not really interested in investing the time in continuing along with the story.  

That said, the last little bit did make me smile, and I would count The Golden Queen as an enjoyable enough read in itself.

Perhaps the best deals I've managed to find have been at library book sales.  I love when these things happen.  In Singapore, it's about once a year, and it is a national event held in a very large convention center.  You can imagine the crowds.  Here, in my hometown, there are several smaller libraries, and each has its own method of selling off old books.  This past weekend, the one nearest my parents' place had their sale (I think it might be annual).  It was in a little back room, and I managed to find a number of good deals.  I ended up bringing out 10 paperbacks all for $5, and all in good condition.

This morning, my best friend and I popped into a library in a neighboring town.  They used to have a book sale every Saturday, but have in recent years opened a little shop in the front of the library to sell off old books.  Paperbacks start as low as 25¢, and some of the nicer books can be several dollars.  I really love that shop.  The only problem with it is that I usually end up with a whole lot of books to carry to the other side of the world.