Book #2
Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore
This is Christopher Moore's first vampire love story book. But it's also a Christopher Moore book, so we get to learn those things you've always wondered about vampires: do they go to the bathroom? Can they read Kerouac in the dark? And what happens when your vampire girlfriend is growing distant and the cute new girl at the Safeway wants to take you out for a cup of coffee? Can you just slip a vampire in the freezer for a day so you can figure things out? We also get to spend time with one of my favorite Moore recurring characters: a homeless man who is known as the Emperor of San Francisco, and his loyal dogs, Bummer and Lazarus. The Plot? C. Thomas Flood has moved to SF from Incontinence, Indiana to become a writer. He instead finds a night time job at the Safeway, where he meets Jody. She's just been turned into a Vampire; it's kind of a big change in her life. Also, there's the problem of the vampire who made her trying to frame her for murder. It's a very silly, if uneven book. It's clearly one of Moore's earlier efforts. I'd recommend it if you like his other work, but if you are reading Christopher Moore for the first time, I'd recommend starting with either THE STUPIDEST ANGEL or THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BIFF, CHRIST'S CHILDHOOD PAL.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
100 books before I'm 30- the beginning
So my wife said to me the other day,"I want to try to read 100 books before I turn 30." I thought, "that sounds like fun!" (writer pauses here to watch his dog be extremely silly. That was adorable!) So I decided to join in on the fun. Now, by request (and since I have a fancy new ergonomic keyboard o try out)I will be reporting on my quest. But first, the ground rules.
1. Read 100 books before my 30 birthday (Sept. 2014 for me, August for my wife. I get a few extra weeks, but in my defense, I read much slower than she does.)
2. Must read the whole book, so no scanning cookbooks or craft manuals
3. If you want to read a children's book, you must read 10 picture books for it to count as one whole book. (only 5 if you actually read it to a child) teen or young adult novels are ok.
4. For graphic novels, you must read three for it to count as 1 book.
5. No Magazines, work assignments, or home work
And have fun!
So, on to book Number 1.
#1 Mass Effect: Revelation by Drew Karpyshyn
So this was a book I'd just gotten from the library when this whole thing started. It's not very good. I borrowed it because the Mass Effect game series contains some of the best Sci-Fi world-building and storytelling I have ever experienced. It's way cooler than Star Wars, so I was curious to see if the lead writer for the games could translate his world to the novel format. He couldn't. It reads like someone trying to include the mechanics of a video game in his story telling. I don't need game tactics advice if I'm reading a book. They're two different mediums. The story itself is a mildly interesting setup for the first game and introduces the origins of some tangential characters you'll meet later on. They run around the galaxy, they fight, stuff blows up, it ends. Don't waste you time.
Unofficially, I also finished rereading The Hobbit today. It doesn't count because I was already 3/4 of the way through the book when we started, but if I could have counted it, I would have. If you haven't read it in a while, or if you've only seen the old cartoon, you really should read it. There is so much to this book that I didn't remember, and so much that is alluded to that I want to know more about. I realized while reading it, that there is easily 3 movies worth of action happening in this story. So much happens in this book in such a short time, that I'm excited to see these moments get the time they deserve on screen. Most people think of the story ending after Smaug is killed. In many stories, the death of the dragon is the climax of the story. In the book, Smaug is dispatched in a short side-chapter and his death merely serves as the inciting incident that leads to the battle of the 5 armies. In fact, the power struggle and coruption that results when the dragon is defeated serves to gather the forces needed to save the whole north of Middle Earth from being destroyed (provded they don't kill each other first). The book starts has a delightful children's book, but by the time we reach the lonely mountain, the tone hass shifted to become a very adult story that fits in with the rest of the stories of Middle Earth. So Ignore that book above, and read The Hobbit instead.
1. Read 100 books before my 30 birthday (Sept. 2014 for me, August for my wife. I get a few extra weeks, but in my defense, I read much slower than she does.)
2. Must read the whole book, so no scanning cookbooks or craft manuals
3. If you want to read a children's book, you must read 10 picture books for it to count as one whole book. (only 5 if you actually read it to a child) teen or young adult novels are ok.
4. For graphic novels, you must read three for it to count as 1 book.
5. No Magazines, work assignments, or home work
And have fun!
So, on to book Number 1.
#1 Mass Effect: Revelation by Drew Karpyshyn
So this was a book I'd just gotten from the library when this whole thing started. It's not very good. I borrowed it because the Mass Effect game series contains some of the best Sci-Fi world-building and storytelling I have ever experienced. It's way cooler than Star Wars, so I was curious to see if the lead writer for the games could translate his world to the novel format. He couldn't. It reads like someone trying to include the mechanics of a video game in his story telling. I don't need game tactics advice if I'm reading a book. They're two different mediums. The story itself is a mildly interesting setup for the first game and introduces the origins of some tangential characters you'll meet later on. They run around the galaxy, they fight, stuff blows up, it ends. Don't waste you time.
Unofficially, I also finished rereading The Hobbit today. It doesn't count because I was already 3/4 of the way through the book when we started, but if I could have counted it, I would have. If you haven't read it in a while, or if you've only seen the old cartoon, you really should read it. There is so much to this book that I didn't remember, and so much that is alluded to that I want to know more about. I realized while reading it, that there is easily 3 movies worth of action happening in this story. So much happens in this book in such a short time, that I'm excited to see these moments get the time they deserve on screen. Most people think of the story ending after Smaug is killed. In many stories, the death of the dragon is the climax of the story. In the book, Smaug is dispatched in a short side-chapter and his death merely serves as the inciting incident that leads to the battle of the 5 armies. In fact, the power struggle and coruption that results when the dragon is defeated serves to gather the forces needed to save the whole north of Middle Earth from being destroyed (provded they don't kill each other first). The book starts has a delightful children's book, but by the time we reach the lonely mountain, the tone hass shifted to become a very adult story that fits in with the rest of the stories of Middle Earth. So Ignore that book above, and read The Hobbit instead.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)