Worst Books Read in 2011
3. Sequence by Adrian Dawson
To quote myself, boring and an affront to scientists everywhere.
4. Leaving Atocha Station by Ben Lerner
5. The Man Who Couldn’t Eat by Jon Reiner
6. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
7. Stolen World by Jennie Erin Smith
8. The Black Company by Glen Cook
9. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
10. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
Best Books Read in 2011
5. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
For the first hundred or so pages of this book, I did a lot of complaining about the amount of math and the detail into which Stephenson goes about mathematical theory. Somewhere along the way, I managed to be drawn into this many layered story that is at times, humorous, at times tragic, and at times WTF. I ended up loving it.
6. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
7. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Best Books Read in 2011
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Leviathan Wakes is an absolutely fantastic science fiction novel. I was skeptical when I read the description, but emerged a true believer. Without doubt the best scifi of many I read this year, and one of the best out of 200 books overall.
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror is good stuff. I’ve always been a bit skeptical of Christopher Moore, but I may look into some of his other books. There are zombies, evil Santas, they make fun of those horrible bell ringers, there’s a crazy Zena-type, and a remarkably mentally challenged angel. Oh, and the fruit bat. What’s not to love? I’m not coming up with anything. If you take the holidays seriously, you might disagree and should probably steer clear. There isn’t a lot of Christmas cheer and you’d be horrified by some of the things done to Santa and the Nativity story. If you revel in the irreverent, well, this is the Christmas book for you.
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
The Unit is the saddest piece of dystopian fiction I have ever read. Normally the genre leaves me angry or frightened or feeling the need for a good shower, but this made me feel heartbroken. The Unit is a place where women who have reached the age of 50 and men who have reached the age of 60 without having children are sent to live in order to participate in “humane” experiments and act as organ donors for the so-called needed. These people are known as dispensable.
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We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Yevgeny Zamyatin described We as “my most jesting and most serious work.” Having read nothing else by the author I cannot completely concur with the statement, but serious and jesting it certainly is. We describes a supposedly utopian society based on mathematics and a petroleum based food substance. (If the latter seems an odd choice, keep in mind that the book was written in 1920.) This society is the result of a two hundred year war in which all but 0.2% of humanity is wiped out and the remainder go to live in a city surrounded by a glass wall where even the weather is rigidly controlled. Schedules are king, they have a Benefactor who is unanimously elected each year, and every aspect of life is controlled. We is the story of a mathematician who begins to realize, with the help of a woman he falls in love with, that perhaps all is not well in this alleged Eden.
Ultimately, while I enjoyed this book, I had some problems with the writing. It ended up being highly disjointed and frequently confusing. This is partially explained by the fact that it is written as a series of journal entries. Nevertheless, it could have been executed more skillfully, in my opinion.
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon is, without doubt, the most dense and one of the most challenging works of fiction I have ever read. It lives up to its reputation of being a madcap, sprawling yet tightly packed, post-modern epic. It also lives up to its reputation of being difficult. Despite my original skepticism and the sheer pretentiousness of the book, I was pleasantly surprised by the degree to which I enjoyed it. Below is a comprehensive description of my thoughts and feelings on the book, as well as my views on what it is. Continue reading
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Gravity’s Rainbow is, without doubt, the most dense and one of the most challenging works of fiction I have ever read. It lives up to its reputation of being a madcap, sprawling yet tightly packed, post-modern epic. It also lives up to its reputation of being difficult. Despite my original skepticism and the sheer pretentiousness of the book, I was pleasantly surprised by the degree to which I enjoyed it. I am glad I read it, although I certainly enjoyed some parts more than others. The sheer number of characters (400!) and narrative styles made it difficult to keep track of what was happening and at times of the primary themes. Some scenes seem repetitive and at times I wanted to scream because a theme I understood was being repeated, but one I did not understand seemed to have been neglected. Naturally, just keeping track of the characters was difficult at times. On the other hand, this is a highly inventive book and I have read no other like it. There is a beautiful rhythmic quality to the way the words flow. The degree to which that feels natural is highlighted by the fact that the frequent points at which characters burst into song without it being jarring. The writing is extremely pretentious, of course, but also skilled.
Less whimsical than the title would suggest... 