seven dykes freakonomics unnatural lost marvel dead disregards wanderers cyberia cup

[maribou]

Seven Years in Tibet, by Heinrich Harrer
I enjoyed this book very much and have a teensy crush on Heinrich-Harrer-as-he-was-in-1953. That said, it's very odd to read something written in 1953, by a German who'd been part of the war. The lack of political correctness is sometimes unintentionally hilarious, sometimes refreshing, occasionally disturbing.
(109/200)

More Dykes to Watch Out For, by Alison Bechdel
While these occasionally make me laugh, I think I read them more because I find them comforting. I discovered this strip as a teenager (17 or so), and I appreciated this book because the strips were so old I'd never read them before.
(110/200)

Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
This was really really interesting and good and I had a great time until the last chapter. Which was lame. At least by comparison.
(111/200)

Unnatural Dykes to Watch Out For, by Alison Bechdel
This one was funny more often than the earlier one, but I was still mostly reading it because it makes me happy and peaceful. Which is a good reason to read something, if you ask me.
(112/200)

The Lost Child, by Sarah Ash
Hm. It took me about half the book to get into this one, after which I had trouble putting it down. I think it'd've been better had it been set in medieval Europe, even if an alternate one, instead of in pseudo-medieval Europe. Would read other books by the author, though.
(113/200)

Marvel 1602, by Neil Gaiman
Marvel superheroes in the 17th century. Nifty, and I liked it even though I'm only passingly familiar with the Marvel universe - ie, I enjoyed the jokes I got, and the story didn't wear thin where I didn't know enough to get the jokes.
(114/200)

Dead Lines, by Greg Bear
Dependably engrossing, is Mr. Bear. This isn't sf; it's an an old-fashioned ghost story dressed up and taken out on the town. The protagonist ought to be unlikeable, but the author's skill makes him sympathetic.
(115/200)

And Disregards the Rest, by Paul Voermans
I was initially skeptical about this book, as I was attempting it for the third time, but I am at a loss as to what I didn't like the first two times. Lovely writing, fascinating story.
(116/200)

Wanderers and Islanders, by Steve Cockayne
An odd book. Strange structure, strange setting, strange tones (part Gogol, part English schoolboy novel, two things I wouldn't have thought of putting together, and lots of other parts too), heavy Jungian influences. I absolutely loved it, after a short adjustment period, and hope to read the next one soon.
(117/200)

Cyberia, by Douglas Rushkoff
Drugs and raves and VR, oh my. This book felt better than the first time I tried to read it, in 1998 - datedness shades to nostalgia as the years go by, I suppose. The writing's good, the narrative line is good, the people he writes about are interesting - but I found myself grumbling, "Dude, do you even HAVE a skepticism filter?" far too many times. I may check out his novel at some point, since I don't expect any pretensions to objectivity in fictional worldviews.
(118/200)

The Cup of the World, by John Dickinson (unabridged audio)
The reader suffered from an annoying tendency to pause in strange places so that the sentence you got wasn't the sentence you were expecting to get - maybe she was reading it for the first time? - but was otherwise quite good. The strange pauses were much less frequent as one went forward in the tale. The story itself is wonderful, props to ettinsmuir for her recommendation of it. This is also a fantasy set in a pseudo-medieval-Europe, but this pseudo-Europe is far better suited to the plot and characters than the real one would be, so that one is appreciative of the fantasy world rather than mildly irritated by it. I was thoroughly absorbed.
(119/200)

Comments

[kerrymae.livejournal.com]

I'm going on a Freakonomics crusdade to spread the gospel. I really enjoyed that book, but it did make me feel superfluous as a librarian. ;)

[maribou]

I read it, Jay read it, and we're sending it to Vegas. So I feel your evangelism.

[gfish.livejournal.com]

Cyberia! Happening to pick that book up at the library in the summer of 1994 -- and I very nearly didn't -- changed my life. It got me online, and it got me on LambdaMOO. In doing so, it gave me an environment where I had a reason to program regularly enough to start getting good at it. It seems likely I would have ended up a computer person even without it, but probably not for a couple of years later, and my entire social group would be completely different.

[maribou]

Nifty. I love those stories.