Caught In The Whirlwind
Posts tagged 50 in 365
[50 in 365] Book 6: Lifting Shadows
Jul 14th 2008
I've been really lax in posting books for a while I'm actually reading book 8 right now (no way in hell am I going to get to 50) so I'll be trying to catch up when I can.
This one is also going to be a weird one. The book is…
Lifting Shadows
by Rich Wilson
Lifting Shadows is the authorized biography of the band Dream Theater. If you recall, I picked it up at the Progressive Nation show in Albany and had it all signed and such. The book was really interesting. I thought I knew a lot about the history of the band but there was several periods of the time where I was really surprised about what was going on. It shocked me to learn how close they were to breaking up and calling it quits a few times.
My one complaint about this book is that the author uses the word "Ironically" a lot. As in, everything is ironic. Everything. I'm usually not terribly annoyed by bad grammar or something like that, as long as it's not horrible. But this crossed the threshold into obnoxious territory. I also started to get annoyed by how the author would describe the various albums, adding his own commentary to the descriptions of the tracks. I already know what the music sounds like…and I really don't care if the author thinks that a certain track is a classic or not. I'm reading it for the band…not the author.
Of course this one is weird because a) it's so limited in scope and b) even if you were interested it's going to be practically impossible for you to get a copy at this point. It's just a really good read for anybody who's a fan of Dream Theater, or even somebody who's heard of them and wants to look inside the way a band develops long term over a span of 20 years.
[50 in 365] Book 5: Neverwhere
May 14th 2008
I remain screwed. No way I'm going to finish this anywhere close to 50. Oh well, I enjoy talking about the books, so I'll keep writing the posts.
My fifth book was…
Neverwhere
by Neil Gaiman
It's a book about a man named Richard Mayhew that moves to London. Once he arrives there he stumbles across a girl wounded on the street and decides to bring her back to his apartment to help her mend. This act sets off a series of events that changes his life forever.
This book was recommended to me by Wassy after we had watched the Stardust movie. I had never read any of Neil Gaiman's previous works so she insisted that I read this book. I'm very glad I did.
The book is set in sort of a reality based fantasy setting, using the backdrop of modern London to create a fantastic world hidden beneath the city. The author does this in such a way that the reader realizes that the world is fantasy based, but there's a nagging suspiscion that everything talked about in the book could actually exist out there. This is further helped by the main character's point of view…a normal guy who's suddenly been thrust into a world he never knew existed. Thus whenever he stammers or questions the actions that are happening around him, he echos the disbelief of the reader as well.
Neil Gaiman's descriptive style is something I noticed right off the bat. The world of the book is rich with detail, however, he doesn't spend 10 pages setting up the room or what the characters look like. Instead, he draws your attention to certain aspects of things in a very calculated order. This more accurately mimics how one actually takes in something they've never seen before, gradually noticing the important details as the scene goes on, and not front loading everything with a lot of description that needs to be waded through in order to get to the point
Warning, minor ending spoilers are located in the next paragraph.
I especially enjoyed the ending of the book. Richard ends up leaving the fantasy world behind and resuming his normal life, that has been changed slightly to give him everything he ever wanted. But the author didn't leave it like that. Because as is the case in life, once you have everything you ever wanted, you often realize that what you thought you wanted wasn't what you wanted at all. And so Richard rejects his perfect life and returns to the world of London Below, where his true path lies.
All in all, an excellent book. I'm going to be picking up some of his other novels for sure.
[50 in 365] Book 4: Night Mare – Completed
Apr 10th 2008
Yup. I'm totally screwed. It's now April and I've been averaging 1 book a month since the beginning of the year. I swear I thought I read more than this!
In any case, here's my final thoughts of Piers Anthony's Night Mare, one of the books iin the Xanth series of novels.
As far as Xanth books go, this was probably my favorite one. The famous puns were there but they seemed to be toned back from previous efforts which enhanced the actual storyline of the book considerably. It's also made better because it seems by this point in the series, the world of Xanth has been well defined. So Piers Anthony doesn't have to spend time explaining the mechanics of the world. The storyline of this novel crosses the entire Xanth universe which gives it kind of an epic feeling which is good based on what the story was about.
And the twist towards the end of the book I never saw coming. But looking back on it, it doesn't seem forced or implausable like so many twists can seem. The book was carefuly constructed in such a way that if you don't know what the twist is, it's almost impossible for you to figure it out. But if you know what it is, you can find supporting evidence all over the place.
A very well written book and highly recommended to those interested in a fun, light-fantasy novel.
[50 in 365] Book 4: Night Mare
Mar 7th 2008
I've been a little slow in reading these books but I'm not giving up yet. I decided that I needed a couple of quick read books to catch up. So I picked…
Night Mare
By Piers Anthony
My friend (Wassy) introduced me to the Xanth series. It's very…off beat although very well thought out. The situations are strange, the characters are interesting and the puns run wild.
The world of Xanth is a magical one, where most often something operates exactly as it sounds. Fly paper is paper that flies. A shoe tree is a tree that grows shoes.
Sometimes the puns can be a bit much but overall it's a really fun series so far. I've been working my way through it and I'm currently reading the sixth book after a bit of a break after the first 5.
So far so good, but I expected to like this one.
[50 in 365] Book 3: The Amber Spyglass
Feb 27th 2008
Ok. I admit it. I'm going to fail this challenge miserably. I just finished my choice for book three, which was…
The Amber Spyglass
By Philip Pullman
This book was the third and final book in the His Dark Materials trilogy. After reading the first two books and really liking the first one and sorta liking the second I was eager to read the conclusion to see how this all tied together.
And I must say…wow. This series of books is probably near the top of my list as far as book series goes. The second book makes total sense after reading this one because, as I suspected, all of that setup was necessary in order for the conclusion of the series to work.
My favorite part of the book was at the end, and that heart wrenching decision that the main characters had to make. I don't want to spoil anything in case somebody else is going to read this book, so I'll just say the ending doesn't disappoint. It feels like everything in the previous books were working towards the last 40 or so pages of this one.
I've hard some people say that this book is mostly aimed towards a younger audience but I'd have to disagree at least with this book. Concepts such as love, sexuality, religion, loss, etc made their way into this book by the end, and while it's written in such a way that there's a layer of understanding that can be achieved by a younger reader, I can see many layers of meaning which are only understandable by an adult reader.
Overall, I'd recommend these series of books to anybody who wants a good, fun light fantasy series. You won't be dissapointed. I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing for my next book at this point. I'll have to scout around. I do know that I'm going to fail this thing miserably though. Oh well. Onwards!
[50 in 365] Book 2 – The Subtle Knife – Completed
Feb 3rd 2008
Ok…I'm VERY behind schedule right now. I just finished my second book, The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman.
Overall, I was pretty happy with this book, but I definitely think that The Golden Compass was better. As one of the commenters who responded to my review of that book said, The Subtle Knife doesn't really leave as much to the imagination as the first book in the series did. One of the things I really liked about The Golden Compass was that the author didn't really feel the need to explain the world to the reader in a forced manner as many science fiction/fantasy books do. However, this book seems like it was almost entirely explanation.
I have a feeling the author was setting up necessary exposition in order for the conclusion to make sense. The multiple layers of meaning were also evident, more-so in this book than in the previous one. The allusions to the religious overtones were even more evident in this book than in the first one, keeping things interesting with the promise of deeper meaning. I'm looking forward to reading the third book which is next on my list. A post on that one is forthcoming, probably tomorrow.
I need to step up the pace here if I want to have any hope of finishing 50 books this year. I'm doubtful if I can make up the difference at this point without reading some childrens books thrown in there.
[50 in 365] Book 2 – The Subtle Knife
Jan 22nd 2008
The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials Book 2)
by Philip Pullman
by Philip Pullman
I'm going to avoid posting a synopsis for this one because some people in the group have been reading the first book, so I don't want to spoil the events for anybody.
As I mentioned previously, I planned on continuing on reading the His Dark Materials trilogy based on how much I enjoyed the first book. I haven't started reading yet but I plan on it tonight probably since I need to get a move on with this 50 in 365 challenge thing, considering I'm only on book 2 right now.
Too much time playing video games, not enough time reading!
Book 1 – The Golden Compass – Completed
Jan 21st 2008
I'm not making very good time I'm afraid. I just finished my first book in the 50 in 365 challenge this morning. As I mentioned earlier, I read The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.
While it's true it was aimed towards younger readers, there's also a lot of subtext which adults will appreciate too, especially the religious aspects of the story. One of the most interesting things I found in the book was the exploration of the role of the church in the lives of the people in the world that the book is set in. One of the things the author does well is set up a world which is believable by basing it upon our own universe, but giving everything a twist. I also enjoyed the fact that the author never takes the time to explain
the mechanics of the world, preventing the sometimes awkward
conversations between characters explaining things which the
participants should already know. This leaves the reader to work out
the details, using what they know of the real world and the clues they are given inside the structure of the main story. If something is necessary to understand, then it is explained cleanly in the context of the story by an adult speaking to the young main character.
The way the characters were structured also made the book interesting to me. I'm not one for long periods of description or actions with no dialog. I really need dialog between characters to anchor me to the story. And because the main character in this book is actually 2 characters (Lyra and her daemon, Pan), even when they are alone there is still an opportunity for conversation.
This first book comes highly recommended to anybody who enjoys books based in a light fantasy world with an interesting narrative.
I'm now starting on on the second book in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, but I'll make a full post on that book a little later on.
50 in 365: Book 1 – The Golden Compass
Jan 13th 2008
I noticed in my neighborhood, there's a challenege going around…the 50 in 365 challenge where the goal is to read 50 books in 365 days. I'm a heavy reader in general, but I think the challenge might be a fun thing, and it would get me to write a little more about the books I've been reading then I have been doing in the past. So I've decided to join up.
My first book is going to be….
The Golden Compass
by Philip Pullman
Lyra is content to run wild among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon familiar always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle– a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armore bears. Ans as she hurtles toward danger in the cold, far North, young Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: she is destined to win, or to lose, this more-than-mortal battle.
I chose this book not because of the film that just came out (I really don't care about that at all) but because of a recommendation at The Sword and Laser, a book club which was started by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont, formally of the Buzz Out Loud podcast from CNet. They made a sci-fi/fantasy book club which I'm pillaging for ideas for interesting books to read and this book was their first one.
I'm three chapters in right now and enjoying it, but we'll see how it ends up. If it's good, I'll probably go for the next couple books in the series.
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