readin', and 'ritin', and 'rithmetic...

[worldandtime]

Meh, so it's two out of three. I'm not writing (except at the moment), but I am reading--finishing up Gene Wolfe's The Claw of the Conciliator and started today a biography of Kurt Godel (of incompleteness fame) and an Agatha Christie (N or M--which I"ve either not read or not read in so many years I've forgotten it). I also started today Balzac'

Comments

[farhorizons]

On the note of the ring, I would say you're a huge dork for describing it in terms of major and minor axes, but I was playing with my chopsticks at lunch today and crossed them and said, "The opposite angles are congruent...and if I had another chopstick, I could make a transversal!"

[worldandtime]

I figured someone would make a snotty comment about my description of the ring as elliptical, but I figured the minor/major axis description was less dorky than specifying an eccentricity. Also, my first thought on seeing the ring was "Wow, it's an ellipse!" not "Crap! It's bent." In spite of your comment, I don't think my reaction is inappropriate. And there's something to be said, I think, for seeing the beauty of the new shape before bemoaning the damage to the personal possession.

It's a good thing you made the chopstick comment, or I would have to have commented on the irony of your calling me "a huge dork." You're probably not as "dorky" as I am, but still...it's not like you're one of the cool kids or anything ;-). Except perhaps for the night of the orange juice...

[anonymous]

doc,
Lets do lunch. Shoot me an email.
-Evan

[zetetyc]

i read that Book of the New Sun series. I spend the first two books waiting for it to get good. read the final pair with the sad realization that it just wasn't.

the world was creative, certainly, but a mass of confusion. the characters weren't that interesting, let alone compelling. it was one of those series where i actually wished i hadn't spent the time reading it.

which didn't stop me from reading it all the way to the end....

[worldandtime]

Yeah, I regret to say (regret, because I bought the books) that I may not finish even "Claw" and probably not read the other two. I agree with the creativity of the world. I don't mind the confusion of the world--in some ways, that's even appealing. But the novels have neither insightful character development nor engaging plot, and I feel a good novel should have one of those two. Or possibly, great philosophy, but these don't seem to have that, either. Interestingly, I liked "The Wizard Knight" duology much more though there were still echoes of the same issues. But there was more plot--maybe that helped.