Books read, August 2010
A slow reading month. Made a little progress in a number of books but finished few. Pretty sure I've given up on Boris Vian's 1947 L'Écume des jours/Froth on the Daydream (tr. Stanley Chapman), which I enjoyed whenever I was reading it but never felt particularly compelled to return to after setting it down.
57. Interfictions 2: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing (2009) edited by Delia Sherman & Christopher Barzak -- I enjoyed most of the stories in this anthology quite a lot, even if I'm still not sure how these "interstitial" stories differ from the more generically bounded short fiction I read in other literary fantasy anthologies. Did these stories cross boundaries? Break rules? Has this antho been shelved anywhere but in the sff section of any bookstore? I don't know. But with only one story that really didn't work for me and a number that were excellent, it's certainly a strong collection of stories that I'm happy to recommend. [Amazon]
58. When the Hands Are Many: Community Organization and Social Change in Rural Haiti (2001) by Jennie M. Smith -- An ethnography that delves into what poverty, democracy and development mean to some of the poorest people on earth, from their point of view rather than the more common academic or foreign aid official perspective. Occasionally a bit dry, but full of great insight. Might make a good companion piece to James Scott's Weapons of the Weak. [Amazon]
59. The Lifecycle of Software Objects (2010) by Ted Chiang -- Good science fiction from Chiang? You don't say! A sad and beautiful character-based novella dealing with the ethics of artificially constructed intelligence. Not Chiang's best work but still a lovely, thoughtful, very readable piece. [Amazon]
Short stuff: I read "MetaPhysics" by Elizabeth M. Glover, "A Reversal of Fortune" by Holly Black, "Mike's Place" by David J. Schwartz and "Non-Disclosure Agreement" by Scott Westerfeld from Tim Pratt's Sympathy for the Devil anthology. Also read "No Need of Wings" by Tia V. Travis, "Empty Dreams" by Jayaprakash Satyamurthy and "Dead" by Haddayr Copley-Woods.
Books read January through April, May, June, July
57. Interfictions 2: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing (2009) edited by Delia Sherman & Christopher Barzak -- I enjoyed most of the stories in this anthology quite a lot, even if I'm still not sure how these "interstitial" stories differ from the more generically bounded short fiction I read in other literary fantasy anthologies. Did these stories cross boundaries? Break rules? Has this antho been shelved anywhere but in the sff section of any bookstore? I don't know. But with only one story that really didn't work for me and a number that were excellent, it's certainly a strong collection of stories that I'm happy to recommend. [Amazon]
58. When the Hands Are Many: Community Organization and Social Change in Rural Haiti (2001) by Jennie M. Smith -- An ethnography that delves into what poverty, democracy and development mean to some of the poorest people on earth, from their point of view rather than the more common academic or foreign aid official perspective. Occasionally a bit dry, but full of great insight. Might make a good companion piece to James Scott's Weapons of the Weak. [Amazon]
59. The Lifecycle of Software Objects (2010) by Ted Chiang -- Good science fiction from Chiang? You don't say! A sad and beautiful character-based novella dealing with the ethics of artificially constructed intelligence. Not Chiang's best work but still a lovely, thoughtful, very readable piece. [Amazon]
Short stuff: I read "MetaPhysics" by Elizabeth M. Glover, "A Reversal of Fortune" by Holly Black, "Mike's Place" by David J. Schwartz and "Non-Disclosure Agreement" by Scott Westerfeld from Tim Pratt's Sympathy for the Devil anthology. Also read "No Need of Wings" by Tia V. Travis, "Empty Dreams" by Jayaprakash Satyamurthy and "Dead" by Haddayr Copley-Woods.
Books read January through April, May, June, July