Books
I've had the last five days off work, and in addition to hanging around with my family, I kinda dove into a pile of books I have at home. Below is a list of what I've read, and a few brief thoughts on them.. I've tried to catalog the books I've read before, hopefully I'll keep up on it this time. (also shamelessly stealing the star-rating system from kreie, who apparently stole it from Amazon :P)
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
Fiction. Good use of old English. Lots of details, somewhat dense, first half of book awesome, second half (esp ending) wanders quite a bit.
Skin - Roald Dahl
Fiction. Stories w/ a twist, somewhat predictable, but enjoyable, and written in more adult language then his childrens' books.
Better - Atul Gawande
Non-Fiction. Surgeon/Doctor speaks on different topics affecting doctors - insurance, participating in the death penalty, innovation, etc. Very well written, reads like short papers on different subjects with specific cases thrown in for flavor.
The Center Cannot Hold - Elyn R. Sacks
Non-Fiction/Biography. Written by a Professor of Law and Psychology - who happens to have schizophrenia. Written VERY well, great insight into the mind of a successful person with schizophrenia. Reminds me a lot of 'An Unquiet Mind' by Kay Redfield Jamison (only that book was about bipolar illness). Favorite quote: "This is a classic bind for psychiatric patients. They're struggling with thoughts of wanting to hurt themselves or others, and at the same time, they desperately need the help of those they're threatening to harm. The conundrum: Say what's on your mind and they'll be consequences; struggle to keep the delusions to yourself, and it's likely you won't get the help you need."
On the Beach - Nevil Shute
Fiction. Considered one of the classics of the post-apocolyptic genres. I enjoyed this much more than I did 'Alas, Babylon'. The language in it reminds me of 'The Great Gatsby'. Was also nice to have an outside-the-US perspective on the end of the world, and I was glad the author didn't cop-out with a happy ending, even though there was enough support in the plot to provide one.
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
Fiction. Good use of old English. Lots of details, somewhat dense, first half of book awesome, second half (esp ending) wanders quite a bit.
Skin - Roald Dahl
Fiction. Stories w/ a twist, somewhat predictable, but enjoyable, and written in more adult language then his childrens' books.
Better - Atul Gawande
Non-Fiction. Surgeon/Doctor speaks on different topics affecting doctors - insurance, participating in the death penalty, innovation, etc. Very well written, reads like short papers on different subjects with specific cases thrown in for flavor.
The Center Cannot Hold - Elyn R. Sacks
Non-Fiction/Biography. Written by a Professor of Law and Psychology - who happens to have schizophrenia. Written VERY well, great insight into the mind of a successful person with schizophrenia. Reminds me a lot of 'An Unquiet Mind' by Kay Redfield Jamison (only that book was about bipolar illness). Favorite quote: "This is a classic bind for psychiatric patients. They're struggling with thoughts of wanting to hurt themselves or others, and at the same time, they desperately need the help of those they're threatening to harm. The conundrum: Say what's on your mind and they'll be consequences; struggle to keep the delusions to yourself, and it's likely you won't get the help you need."
On the Beach - Nevil Shute
Fiction. Considered one of the classics of the post-apocolyptic genres. I enjoyed this much more than I did 'Alas, Babylon'. The language in it reminds me of 'The Great Gatsby'. Was also nice to have an outside-the-US perspective on the end of the world, and I was glad the author didn't cop-out with a happy ending, even though there was enough support in the plot to provide one.