The Gripping Hand by Larry Niven The sequel to The Mote in Gods Eye, which I read a couple of months back. The story picks up about 30 years later and again concerns the relationship between The Empire of Man and the Motie civilisation. A couple of the more minor characters are fleshed out and prove to be really interesting. Overall it's serviceable but it lacks the plot twists and the suspense of the first in the series.
I have found that the more "famous" an author is, the less he or she is truly edited. The editors with later works seem to just correct spelling and maybe punctuation.
No god but God: The Origins, Evolution & Future of Islam by Reza Aslan Islam is the source of much discussion these days but I find that few of us actually know much about it. Reza Aslan is a moderate Muslim of Iranian descent living in America, and this is his effort to represent the religion and its history to western readers in a positive way. As such, this presumes little knowledge and emphasises the progressive aspects of Islam, including egalitarianism, pluralism and pacifism whilst decrying the extremists who he believes have perverted it, explaining the historical evolution and the the contingencies that have led to the present situation. I'm sure that a lot of this could be disputed but it at the very least presents an alternative view that one can counterpose to the overwhelming negativity that one tends to find in western media. One point that I must take issue with is that while the historical narrative presented appears to be fairly reliable, Aslan's own personal belief stated in his opening (paraphrased) that religious "truth" intersects with but is not identical to historical truth sounds like relativist mumbo-jumbo to me. Still, you can't have everything, and if that kind of cognitive dissonance is how he reconciles his religious practice with his scholarly work, then so be it - there is limited impact on the latter.
I found it okay. He's essentially someone who believes in God but doesn't treat scripture as divine. That religion has evolved beyond scripture and raises issues of identity, belong, culture and tradition. Sometimes even ethnicity. Therefore following religion isn't always just about the believe in God or what the scriptures teach. I actually find it a refreshing, and very progressive approach as you're never going to have anything other than a conflict of logic when it comes from someone who holds themselves out as being part of a particular religion, yet can see the inherent stupidity in the slavish following of scripture.
The Coming Fury - Bruce Catton This one covers the period from the 1860 Democratic convention to First Bull Run. It isn't as well-written as Catton's later Civil War books -- at one early point he actually spins his wheels for a few pages -- but still an engaging read, mainly about the individuals who had a hand in the events that brought about the war. Another prominent theme is the misconceptions each side had about the other, and (recurring throughout his work) about what the war itself would mean.
http://grrm.livejournal.com/465247.html The Winds of Winter has been delayed because it just isn't finished. GRRM says he is rewriting several parts because he didn't like how they played out so this means the book will not be done before season six airs.
Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Archer is well-known as a disgraced former-politician who has spent some time in jail, however he is also reputed as an excellent and prolific writer. This was an early work and seems to be among his best known. It concerns the fortunes of two contrasting figures, an American banking heir and a Polish immigrant throughout the twentieth century and the rivalry that develops between them. I liked Archers writing style, and the first portion of the book in particular is very well done and evocative. Unfortunately I did feel that as things developed, the plot contained far too many contrivances, success came far too easily for the main characters and their behaviour towards each other increasingly petty. Still, I felt it worthwhile and enjoyed the historical panorama despite the flaws.
Casino by Nicholas Pileggi This is the book that led to Scorsese's movie of the same name. Being quite familiar with the latter and having previously enjoyed Wiseguys which has a similar relationship with Goodfellas, I thought that reading the true story of events might be interesting. It is, in case you don't know, the story of Frank Rosenthal and Anthony Spilotro, both figures connected to the Chicago Mafia, who ran casinos and organised crime in Las Vegas for a number of years. It does give a lot more info than the movie, which changed all of the names and quite a few of the events in order to make for better storytelling. The result is something more brutal and less glamorous than what we seen onscreen. Unfortunately however there are drawbacks - narration is minimal and the stories are told by interweaving interviews with several of the participants. As a result it can be difficult to keep track of all of the names, to tell who is speaking, and worse, who is being honest (these are criminals and conmen after all). So - worthwhile but only because it was fairly short.
The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs by Irvine Welsh Another of my periodic visits to the precariat of Edinburgh with Irvine Welsh. This one is partially on familiar ground, the protagonist being an unlikeable and vindicative alcoholic, but also somewhat surreal as it centres around a supernatural plot device linking him to another character. It's genuinely hilarious in places, and despite the premise being a little unusual for Welsh, the characters are real fleshed-out human beings. As always the scathing yet sympathetic portrayal of modern society in its alienation and depravity is quite enriching. I must remember to return more often.
Apocalypse: The Great Jewish Revolt against Rome, AD66 by Neil Faulkner Ancient history can often be a very dry read, a consequence of both scholarly uncertainty about the events and the remove at which they exist from the reader. This account of the Jewish uprising of the first century by Neil Faulkner makes amends for this by applying a Marxist perspective to the tale, casting the Romans and their Hellenised client elite (including the temple authorities) as the oppressing classes, and the mostly rural peasantry over which they rule as the oppressed. It's an interesting and very worthwhile approach - while it obviously has it's limitations, it lends an immediacy to the story and empathy towards its participants. The uprising, the subsequent sacking of Jersusalem, and destruction of the temple were among the central events influencing the formation of Christianity and in the formation of what we now know as Judaism. Faulkner covers this, the prior history of the region, Roman politics, military strategy and much else besides, covering an impressive amount of ground in less than 300 pages.
The Only Pirate At The Party -- Lindsey Stirling and her sister This is an autobiography by that dancing Mormon violinist Youtuber someone mentioned earlier this year. It's a quick read, taking just a few hundred pages of large type to cover her childhood antics and growth pains, career path, missionary work, battle with an eating disorder, and the joys and trials of her mini-celebrity life. There are pictures too. One of the purposes in writing the book is clearly to encourage others who suffer from disorders of their own. There are also passages aimed at those who want to achieve some daunting career path of their own, as Stirling takes several opportunities to talk about moments when she had to endure the scorn of others and come out stronger for it. If none of this sounds interesting to you, it's probably not a book for you, but I enjoyed it. The Moonstone -- Wilkie Collins This is a reread that I haven't finished yet, so normally I wouldn't mention it, but seriously, it took me just a few pages to remember why I liked it so much. It's a good yarn and a mystery at the same time, the characters have strong voices, and the narrators are entertaining all on their own. If you read it (I see Gutenberg has a Kindle version), do yourself a favor and leave all prefaces until the end.
Rick mentioned historical themes - there's a movie coming out soon about a detective (or something like that) trying to find out who let Jesus out of his death cave or whatever.
Inferno by Dan Brown. After the last one I had decided not to read Dan Brown any more, however having been in Venice recently and hearing that this was partly set there, I decided to give it a go. The plot concerns an attempt to release a bioweapon by a terrorist concerned with overpopulation. He's obsessed with Dante, bases much of his plan around Dante's Inferno and leaves clues to the location of the weapon also based on Inferno for Professor Langdon and other characters to find. Of course this is as silly as it sounds. It is more of the same - obviously nonsense in a lot of the detail (no, IQ's don't go up to 202) and with a convoluted plot that has so many rug-pulls that you're left with very little firm ground on which to stand. The dialogue and writing generally is clunky and unsubtle. And yet as a travel guide it has some merit - I did learn more about the things I'd seen in Venice, I learned enough about Florence to want to see it, and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has now become something I will make it my business to go to at some stage.
Just finished THE LONG EARTH by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett. Fun little read but it falls short. Kinda reads like it was written with the sequels already in mind (probably because there was no way a book with those two names on it can fail). So, it's an overture and I'm looking forward to the other three installments. I wonder if they really wrote it together or if they just mailed finished chapters to each other. It's absolutely clear who wrote what and who had which idea. They didn't even try to find a common tone, it's just Baxter here, Pratchett there and if you ever read just one book by any of them you'll see it clearly I had been hoping for a little 'more' though. For some weirder ideas the farther away from Earth-1 they get. I mean, if you're doing parallel universes, do them right.
Debunking Economics by Steve Keen One of a small number of economists both who predicated the great recession and who had a model describing why it happened, this is Professor Steve Keen's take-down of his own profession, accusing a large majority of economists (neoclassicists mainly) as ideologically-driven and obsessed with abstract models which are contradictory and fail to reflect reality. It's very involved and technical to the point of becoming tedious in large parts, but while it may overstate its case in some instances, it's quite convincing and it's quite astonishing that there's so much hokum in mainstream circulation.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. A brutal tale of overtaxing our environment. When a community realizes that only one tree remains to provide resources for all 26 local inhabitants, mayhem ensues. Martin presents a well-illustrated tale of depravity which cautions the reader on scarcity of natural resources. The book had good rhythm and choreography but is a bit lacking in breadth of vocabulary. 3 out of 4 stars.
Just wrapped up Ethan Allen: His Life and Times by Willard Sterne Randall. A good and fairly in-depth bio of one of the lesser-known founding fathers. I mean, everyone has heard of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, but most people really don't know all that much about him. A fascinating and complicated man and pretty much the reason that the state of Vermont exists. On deck, I may finally get into my massive bio of John Marshall.
"Live From Cape Canaveral": Covering the Space Race, From Sputnik to Today -- Jay Barbree What it says in the title -- Barbree was an NBC correspondent from the very first NASA missions up through at least 2007 or so, when this book was published. The highlights include the personalities of the early astronauts and the mischief they got into, a short jaunt with Jimmy Carter, and a look behind the scenes of the Challenger disaster coverage. Unfortunately, with only about 300 pages, unmanned missions scarcely get mentioned at all. Maybe the worst part is when the author confidently predicts that we'd be well on our way back to the Moon by now. Worth a read.
Leonard, the tribute to Leonard Nimoy from Bill Shatner (ghost written by David Fisher). Kind of lightweight, filled with anecdotes we've mostly all heard before. There are a few surprises. Shatner being Shatner, I'm sure his perspective is a bit self-serving. On balance, tho, it comes across as genuine. Shatner obviously really loved Nimoy, at least on some levels, and it comes thru.
I'm reading a sci-fi classic 'Ringworld' by Larry Niven. I'm about 1/3 the way through and so far its pretty good
A Separate Peace - John Knowles Short novel about boys at a boarding school on the cusp of becoming eligible for the WWII draft. One of them gives in to a moment's spite and consequences follow. Introspective without being plodding or navel-gazing, the novel delves into the adolescent male psyche very realistically. I enjoyed it.
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo I try to read one or two very long books per year and this had been on my list for some time. There was no competition from TV or internet in the 19th century and as such, works like this were more likely to succeed without the extensive editing that they'd get today. That's both for good and ill, I believe. This is an engrossing, all-encompassing novel that attempts to give you a full representation of the time and place in which it's set, and a full exploration of the characters about whom it concerns. Hugo's prose (even upon translation) is majestic and his humanity is moving. On the one hand I have a greater understanding of Paris and French history than I did before, and one cannot fail to be gratified at having been through the ringer with Jean Valjean, the ex-convict turned saint who attempts to evade the law and ameliorate some of the misery around him. On the other, while it adds to the aforementioned epic experience, I can't help but wonder if the author needed several chapters dedicated to an aside on the Battle of Waterloo, and others on the history of the Parisian sewage system! It's all probably better known to most people from the musical these days, and I had a passing familiarity with the plot going in. But there's so much more here that even if you do know how things develop, and you have the time, it's worthwhile.
Super Cargo Ships by Christopher Baio Check out my review on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Super-Cargo-S...TF8&qid=1464216183&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1
Moon Mouse by Adelaide Holt Check out my review on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Mouse-Ad...TF8&qid=1464277979&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1
Actually if you read the section on the Liberty ships you'll find that one of the innovations was drastically cutting back on the use of rivets instead using welding.
I just finished My Lost Brothers by Brendan McDonough. It's a memoir from the only surviving member of a 20 man "hot shot" firefighting team that got trapped in a box canyon fighting the Yarnell Arizona fire a few years back. It was the largest single loss of firefighters since 9/11. He was the youngest , newest guy on the team, but that's how shit plays out in a dangerous job.
