A curmudgeon writes.
Mount Analogue by René Daumal
My rating: three stars
Here we go: a book about climbing mountains. About climbing one mountain in particular: Mount Analogue.
There’s a slight snag in this crampons-and-rope plan, however: the mountain doesn’t exist.
(I mean, until a voyage to a corner of the Pacific, where it’s suddenly discovered that it does.)
Were you expecting anything less from a book written by a pataphysician and Gurdjieff devotee?
(I wasn’t.)
Continue reading “Book review: Mount Analogue”
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
My rating: four stars
I first read Cryptonomicon more than 20 years ago, when it first was released. A good friend of mine was visiting from the US – I lived in London at this point – and had a copy of the book in his satchel.
It sounded cool, and so I found a copy, read it, and while there was a lot I didn’t understand in it, I enjoyed the hell out of it, which was quite remarkable because at the time I wasn’t really into 1000-page epics.
I figured it had been long enough that I should revisit: to see a) if it was still as impressive and b) whether I understood it any better.
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Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino
My rating: four stars
Are you a film nerd?
You probably are if you’re interested in reading this book. I mean, you’d probably have to be a film nerd to be interested in the very specific period of filmmaking (and styles of film) that are this title’s focus.
There’s one thing I can guarantee, however: you are not and will never be as big a film nerd as Quentin Tarantino. (Or as big a dick as he is, some might add. Some)
Thankfully, the Tarantino on display between the covers of Cinema Speculation is the amiable nerd who wants to share his passion rather than a ponytail-free Comic Book Guy. In fact, the copy within might prove to be some of the best QT PR in quite some time.
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Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
My rating: four stars
When I was a kid, I got onto the Tolkien trip and read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Pretty cool, I thought.
Then I tried The Silmarillion and man, did those emergency brakes slam on. I haven’t tried that one since, and that was… about 35 years ago, now.
Continue reading “Book review: Tigana”“Language. The process of sharing with words seemed such a futile exercise sometimes.”
Solaris by Stanisław Lem
My rating: three stars
Apparently this wasn’t the first time I’d read Solaris.
After I’d finished this Kindle edition – one with the Lem-approved translation, executed by Bill Johnston – I discovered an older, dog-eared copy of the work on my shelves. I must have read that version from the time in university when I had a Russian partner who was interested in getting me into Russian literature, to the extent that I wrote some essays for her. (On Goncharov, I think? I can’t quite remember.)
Anyway, being unable to remember treading those star-paths before seemed to be very in keeping with the work itself, and I assume Lem would approve.
Continue reading “Book (and movie?) review: Solaris”It’s a new year, so it’s that time again… time to figure out what I’m going to spend the year reading. Here’s the list.
Here we are again at the end of a year that feels like it only began the other week. It’s been a big one for lots of reasons, and I’ve gotten through it OK – I think? – but I have to take issue with my hopeful belief in the last one of these things that I’d somehow get more motivation in 2022.
I didn’t.
In keeping with my lack of motivation, this recap may be a little shorter than previous years, but I’m hoping there’s still something in here that might pique your interest. It’s a collection of stuff that I enjoyed (or didn’t) through this year, and is one in a continuing line. Faintly ridiculous effort, but this will make it ten years of this kinda stuff, so let’s go.
Previous versions are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here if you need an introduction.
The end of the year is coming up fast. By which I mean to say that at time of writing it’s tomorrow.
So I figured I should really get off my arse and review some of the books I’ve consumed in the time since I last posted.
(Which is, as ever, far too long ago.)
They probably won’t be too long, but still… here we go.
Continue reading “NINE TIMES”Two reviews for the price of one! Well, I guess they’re all free, so that argument probably doesn’t hold much water. Anyway, I recently powered through two books of nonfiction about important issues, so it made sense to whack ’em both in here.
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber
My rating: three stars
If ever there was a title to get me through the door, then this was it. How could I resist? The thing I didn’t know when I began Bullshit Jobs, though, was that Graeber’s position wasn’t that work as a whole was bullshit.
This I had to learn. (See, there’s also plain shit jobs, which are very different from bullshit jobs.)
Continue reading “Book review: Bullshit Jobs: A Theory”
Yeah nah. 