(no subject)
Right, time for some more book-stuff!
5. Toby Litt - Finding Myself
Just finished this one, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The subject matter isn’t heavy in the slightest, but it really does give a lot of pause for thought. It’s easy to read, but I feel that it can raise a lot of questions, which made it especially enjoyable for me.
On the surface, it is the story of Victoria, a novelist who invites a group of her friends to a seaside house, in order to observe their activities and make it into a novel. Of course, nothing goes to plan, but I’ll let you read the book to find out exactly what! It’s a story of manipulation, of what goes on inside people’s heads, and how they feel about themselves and about one another. I thoroughly enjoyed it for the reasons I outline above - it’s an easy, unchallenging read, but there’s plenty to think about both during the story, and afterwards.
Highly recommended!
6. Imogen Edwards-Jones - Air Babylon
Another unchallenging read, but this one has nothing under the surface. Edwards-Jones has done much research into the airline industry to get gossip and information about things that happen, all those juicy stories you read about in the press. She has then dramatised them - all into one group of characters in one day. The main character has many things happen to him and his friends, interspersed with him telling stories of things he’s heard, or happened to him before.
It’s a fun read, but part of the problem is that the idea behind the book means that there is no real plot - just twists. We never really care about these characters, however much Edwards-Jones tries to flesh them out; everytime they gain a little more depth, they become more of a caricature and more ridiculous. Of course, it isn’t meant to be read as a standard fiction book, it’s just a fun romp around the juicy stories of the airline industry. It kind of works… just as long as you don’t try and think too hard.
7. David Gerrold - Encounter At Farpoint
The novelisation of the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Not a great book, hampered by the TV episode itself not being anything thrilling. Gerrold also attempts to add background to some of the characters, which, by the end of the series, had been completely contradicted on screen. In addition, in scenes added for the book, a lot of character voices just 'sound' wrong. Both these things were probably pretty much unavoidable when the book was written, but unfortunately and unavoidably take away from the overall experience. Not a bad book, a passable diversion.
The updated chart:
1. Toby Litt - Finding Myself
2. Michael Crichton - Disclosure
3. Matthew Collins - This is Serbia Calling
4. Michael Crichton - Airframe
5. Douglas Coupland - Miss Wyoming.
6. Imogen Edwards-Jones - Air Babylon
7. David Gerrold - Encounter at Farpoint
I'm most of the way through Book 8, so more reviews coming soon :)
5. Toby Litt - Finding Myself
Just finished this one, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The subject matter isn’t heavy in the slightest, but it really does give a lot of pause for thought. It’s easy to read, but I feel that it can raise a lot of questions, which made it especially enjoyable for me.
On the surface, it is the story of Victoria, a novelist who invites a group of her friends to a seaside house, in order to observe their activities and make it into a novel. Of course, nothing goes to plan, but I’ll let you read the book to find out exactly what! It’s a story of manipulation, of what goes on inside people’s heads, and how they feel about themselves and about one another. I thoroughly enjoyed it for the reasons I outline above - it’s an easy, unchallenging read, but there’s plenty to think about both during the story, and afterwards.
Highly recommended!
6. Imogen Edwards-Jones - Air Babylon
Another unchallenging read, but this one has nothing under the surface. Edwards-Jones has done much research into the airline industry to get gossip and information about things that happen, all those juicy stories you read about in the press. She has then dramatised them - all into one group of characters in one day. The main character has many things happen to him and his friends, interspersed with him telling stories of things he’s heard, or happened to him before.
It’s a fun read, but part of the problem is that the idea behind the book means that there is no real plot - just twists. We never really care about these characters, however much Edwards-Jones tries to flesh them out; everytime they gain a little more depth, they become more of a caricature and more ridiculous. Of course, it isn’t meant to be read as a standard fiction book, it’s just a fun romp around the juicy stories of the airline industry. It kind of works… just as long as you don’t try and think too hard.
7. David Gerrold - Encounter At Farpoint
The novelisation of the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Not a great book, hampered by the TV episode itself not being anything thrilling. Gerrold also attempts to add background to some of the characters, which, by the end of the series, had been completely contradicted on screen. In addition, in scenes added for the book, a lot of character voices just 'sound' wrong. Both these things were probably pretty much unavoidable when the book was written, but unfortunately and unavoidably take away from the overall experience. Not a bad book, a passable diversion.
The updated chart:
1. Toby Litt - Finding Myself
2. Michael Crichton - Disclosure
3. Matthew Collins - This is Serbia Calling
4. Michael Crichton - Airframe
5. Douglas Coupland - Miss Wyoming.
6. Imogen Edwards-Jones - Air Babylon
7. David Gerrold - Encounter at Farpoint
I'm most of the way through Book 8, so more reviews coming soon :)