Thursday, February 28, 2008
Snow Angels
Book number 5 of the year is Snow Angels. My main reason is picking up this book is that next week this will be the 4th feature film from the extraordinary director David Gordon Green. It has a lot to live up to as I love all of the first three efforts.
The novel interweaves two stories set in a poor town outside of Pittsburg in the fall of 1974. The story echoed the themes of some of Atom Egoyan’s films, Exotica or The Sweet Hereafter. While Stewart O’Nan’s debut novel is interesting and well written it doesn’t pack the emotional punch that either of those two works did.
Most of the novel is told in flashback. It starts with Annie being shot and the blasts being heard by 15-year-old Arthur, whom Annie formerly babysat. The backstory of Annie and her husband during separation is quite interesting. Her story of living in a dead end town is whose life unravels under two tragedies comes alive with real characters and details. One drawback is that you can see the first tragedy unfolding as soon as the chapter begins and the buildup to the second tragedy, the shooting, seems a bit too literary an ending.
The parallel story of the dissolution of Arthur’s parent’s marriage doesn’t have need the interest of the first. This is mostly due to Arthur’s mother being completely one-dimensional and unappealing. Arthur’s coming of age, especially with his changing feelings toward Lila, the even poorer classmate who is the only other family living in the run down complex his mother is forced to move to post-separation. I’m really excited to see how DGG handles this part of the story given his success with similar parts of Undertow and All the Real Girls.
Another bothersome aspect of the book is the way it treats the female characters. Most of the male characters don’t seem to be judged. Annie meanwhile is abusive, hot-tempered, and cheats on her husband and friends. Her own mother even blames her for causing the situation she’s in. While she doesn’t deserve to die, the reader is lead to think she deserves almost what happens to her. And as stated before, Arthur’s mother is unappealing with much of the same attributes.
The novel interweaves two stories set in a poor town outside of Pittsburg in the fall of 1974. The story echoed the themes of some of Atom Egoyan’s films, Exotica or The Sweet Hereafter. While Stewart O’Nan’s debut novel is interesting and well written it doesn’t pack the emotional punch that either of those two works did.
Most of the novel is told in flashback. It starts with Annie being shot and the blasts being heard by 15-year-old Arthur, whom Annie formerly babysat. The backstory of Annie and her husband during separation is quite interesting. Her story of living in a dead end town is whose life unravels under two tragedies comes alive with real characters and details. One drawback is that you can see the first tragedy unfolding as soon as the chapter begins and the buildup to the second tragedy, the shooting, seems a bit too literary an ending.
The parallel story of the dissolution of Arthur’s parent’s marriage doesn’t have need the interest of the first. This is mostly due to Arthur’s mother being completely one-dimensional and unappealing. Arthur’s coming of age, especially with his changing feelings toward Lila, the even poorer classmate who is the only other family living in the run down complex his mother is forced to move to post-separation. I’m really excited to see how DGG handles this part of the story given his success with similar parts of Undertow and All the Real Girls.
Another bothersome aspect of the book is the way it treats the female characters. Most of the male characters don’t seem to be judged. Annie meanwhile is abusive, hot-tempered, and cheats on her husband and friends. Her own mother even blames her for causing the situation she’s in. While she doesn’t deserve to die, the reader is lead to think she deserves almost what happens to her. And as stated before, Arthur’s mother is unappealing with much of the same attributes.
Labels: Books
Friday, February 22, 2008
Armed and Dangerous
I just put down my fourth book of the year. At this rate I could get to 30. Still nowhere near the 50 of the Internet challenge but a far greater number that I would think possible.
First, I am a walking paradox. While I thing that most police are power-hungry bullies I am completely fascinated by the entire legal process. My favorite time waste television program is Cops. I’m addicted to all of the Law & Order franchises. One of my all time favorite shows is Hill Street Blues. And I love reading crime fiction and non-fiction.
My latest read fell into the last category: Armed and Dangerous: The Hunt for One of America’s Most Wanted Criminals. Not a great book but a quick read and highly entertaining if you are into the subject. Sort of beach reading for crime junkies.
This book is about the author’s process to put together a team and go into the hills around California’s Inland Empire to go catch a psycho back in the mid-80s. The problem is he lives off the land selling marijuana, knows the area better than the cops, and with his fragile mental state might kill someone soon. While I probably won’t want to read another book like this, it does show how unglamorous police work can be. The actual operation is rather anticlimactic with the biggest cliff hanger being will his superiors approve such a risky mission?
So to fill in empty space William Queen talks about many of the smaller cases he worked while building his big case. Most of them are quite interesting. The best is a drug and gun buy that goes bad when the bad guy brings live explosives, to sell, at the meet next to a high school with students around. This brings up an interesting point, which could easily another book. The ATF handled things differently in the mid-80s vs. the post-9/11 00s.
First, I am a walking paradox. While I thing that most police are power-hungry bullies I am completely fascinated by the entire legal process. My favorite time waste television program is Cops. I’m addicted to all of the Law & Order franchises. One of my all time favorite shows is Hill Street Blues. And I love reading crime fiction and non-fiction.
My latest read fell into the last category: Armed and Dangerous: The Hunt for One of America’s Most Wanted Criminals. Not a great book but a quick read and highly entertaining if you are into the subject. Sort of beach reading for crime junkies.
This book is about the author’s process to put together a team and go into the hills around California’s Inland Empire to go catch a psycho back in the mid-80s. The problem is he lives off the land selling marijuana, knows the area better than the cops, and with his fragile mental state might kill someone soon. While I probably won’t want to read another book like this, it does show how unglamorous police work can be. The actual operation is rather anticlimactic with the biggest cliff hanger being will his superiors approve such a risky mission?
So to fill in empty space William Queen talks about many of the smaller cases he worked while building his big case. Most of them are quite interesting. The best is a drug and gun buy that goes bad when the bad guy brings live explosives, to sell, at the meet next to a high school with students around. This brings up an interesting point, which could easily another book. The ATF handled things differently in the mid-80s vs. the post-9/11 00s.
Labels: Books
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Halsey's Typhoon
My favorite type of book to read is something that I like to call "micro-history." Books that focus on a specific event or trend and discuss the history that led up the happening while focusing on the people affected. These are usually historical aspects that were not taught in school or just glossed over. I’ve read books on the Galveston Hurricane, San Francisco Earthquake, and sinking of the Slocum. Some of the best books in this genre include Into Thin Air, The Perfect Storm, and Longitude. As you can see most of the books involve disasters and need not be about old events.
The third book I’ve read this year, Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue, recounts the typhoon that his the Pacific Fleet in the later part of World War II. I had no memory of this event happening and was interested when I picked this book up at half price.
This book is an interesting quick read that is told from many interviews of the survivors of the three ships that went down and the main rescue ship. The book really takes off in the second half when the survivors are floating in the open ocean hoping for rescue and still battling the typhoon.
However, this might not be the book to read on the subject. Another book was released after this one on the same subject and has much better reviews on Amazon. Military buffs complain of the numerous errors in this book. While I couldn’t pick any out, they didn’t seem to ruin the spirit of first hand accounts. I did notice that the list of the dead in the appendix did seem to contain a few annoying errors. It also seemed like the heroes were portrayed as too saintly and the ones at fault a bit too incompetent.
I do recommend reading more on the story if for nothing else it made a war hero of Gerald Ford, involved the controversial Admiral Bull Halsey, and hurt the military career of John McCain, grandfather of the current presidential candidate.
The third book I’ve read this year, Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue, recounts the typhoon that his the Pacific Fleet in the later part of World War II. I had no memory of this event happening and was interested when I picked this book up at half price.
This book is an interesting quick read that is told from many interviews of the survivors of the three ships that went down and the main rescue ship. The book really takes off in the second half when the survivors are floating in the open ocean hoping for rescue and still battling the typhoon.
However, this might not be the book to read on the subject. Another book was released after this one on the same subject and has much better reviews on Amazon. Military buffs complain of the numerous errors in this book. While I couldn’t pick any out, they didn’t seem to ruin the spirit of first hand accounts. I did notice that the list of the dead in the appendix did seem to contain a few annoying errors. It also seemed like the heroes were portrayed as too saintly and the ones at fault a bit too incompetent.
I do recommend reading more on the story if for nothing else it made a war hero of Gerald Ford, involved the controversial Admiral Bull Halsey, and hurt the military career of John McCain, grandfather of the current presidential candidate.
Labels: Books
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
KOP
I just finished my second book of the year. It is Kop, the debut science fiction novel from Warren Hammond. It would be more appropriate to label this as a film noir set in a futuristic world. I picked it up cold from the new acquisitions section of the library. There are 14 user reviews and all have given it 5 stars. I would not disagree.
The film noir story is an aging corrupt cop, Juno, from vice is assigned to investigate a murder by the chief of police, Paul Chang, his former partner. The chief is corrupt and wants Juno to team with a beautiful young recruit that is squeaky clean and try to connect the murder to a corrupt mayor who is trying to take down the power in the police force.
While the cops are corrupt they try to do things that benefit the planet as a whole. The jungle planet Lagoto had an economic boom due to its brandy crop. People made the journey to live a better life but the economy collapsed while many were en-route only to find no work. Rival drug gangs took over and Chang supported one gang for peace and geographical sections of safety while the politicians sold out any remaining economic opportunity to off-world interests leaving the planet in a perpetual third world state.
A interesting, fast paced read that mirrors history with a story of a futuristic planet with mostly poor inhabitants and the rich off-world people who can afford the latest in heath care, vanity body enhancements, and the latest technology. While this story is completely resolved the author has a sequel scheduled for release this summer that I am looking forward to.
Hot Chick Born Today
Megan Gallagher, 48, I've been a fan since her Slap Maxwell days but she really hit her peak as Wayloo Marie Holmes in China Beach.
The film noir story is an aging corrupt cop, Juno, from vice is assigned to investigate a murder by the chief of police, Paul Chang, his former partner. The chief is corrupt and wants Juno to team with a beautiful young recruit that is squeaky clean and try to connect the murder to a corrupt mayor who is trying to take down the power in the police force.
While the cops are corrupt they try to do things that benefit the planet as a whole. The jungle planet Lagoto had an economic boom due to its brandy crop. People made the journey to live a better life but the economy collapsed while many were en-route only to find no work. Rival drug gangs took over and Chang supported one gang for peace and geographical sections of safety while the politicians sold out any remaining economic opportunity to off-world interests leaving the planet in a perpetual third world state.
A interesting, fast paced read that mirrors history with a story of a futuristic planet with mostly poor inhabitants and the rich off-world people who can afford the latest in heath care, vanity body enhancements, and the latest technology. While this story is completely resolved the author has a sequel scheduled for release this summer that I am looking forward to.
Hot Chick Born Today
Megan Gallagher, 48, I've been a fan since her Slap Maxwell days but she really hit her peak as Wayloo Marie Holmes in China Beach.
Labels: Books
Friday, January 18, 2008
Bringing Down the House
The New Year always brings a number of challenges and resolutions. I’m trying to do reasonably well with my resolutions and I joined the Blog365 challenge. (I finally officially joined it today, I am member number #1155.) Another challenge that I know about is 50/08. This is to read 50 books in 08. I really respect anyone who can achieve that but I have no realistic chance of completing it so I’m not even trying. But I am always reading and hopefully can finish a number of quality books this year.
This week I finished my first book of the year: Bringing Down the House. This is a non-fiction book about a blackjack card-counting team from M.I.T that took Vegas and other casinos for millions. The MIT blackjack team traces it origins back to 1980 but the book focuses on the, probable, end of the team in the time span of 1994-1998.
The book is a great and very quick read. Anyone who finds the world of gambling would find this a page turner. The process that the team employees to use spotters, card counters, and big players to beat the system is explained well. Much like the James Bond novels there are liberal amounts of gambling, tense setting, and women who love men with money.
But while an interesting read you have to question how much of it is non-fiction. The book comes entirely from author interview with principle players. The reader will probably question a number of facts that are sometimes glossed over. My biggest question is why they kept moving money on the flights to Vegas like drug mules when they were there every month. I suggest you enjoy the read and don’t bog down trying to determine if it is fiction or non-fiction.
The reason I read the book is it is being loosely adapted into the movie 21. I am pretty sure that they will screw it up. That said I will probably go see it just to see Jim Sturgess, who was so good in Across the Universe in the lead role. Laurence Fishburne also looks promising as the casino security man. Kevin Spacey as the team leader will probably be good, it's his kinda part, but I'm kind of bummed that the team isn't mostly Asian. That seemed to fit in with the whole geek, math, MIT, gambling team that was such a big part of the book.
Hot Chicks Born Today
Alison Arngrim, 46, that little bitch Nellie Oleson was by far the best looking girl on Little House, I was never a fan of the show but if I was at someone's house and had to watch it I rooted for her to be in the storyline
Devon Odessa, 34, I was a big fan of My So-Called Life and while there were hotter girls on the show, Devon was still very attractive
This week I finished my first book of the year: Bringing Down the House. This is a non-fiction book about a blackjack card-counting team from M.I.T that took Vegas and other casinos for millions. The MIT blackjack team traces it origins back to 1980 but the book focuses on the, probable, end of the team in the time span of 1994-1998.
The book is a great and very quick read. Anyone who finds the world of gambling would find this a page turner. The process that the team employees to use spotters, card counters, and big players to beat the system is explained well. Much like the James Bond novels there are liberal amounts of gambling, tense setting, and women who love men with money.
But while an interesting read you have to question how much of it is non-fiction. The book comes entirely from author interview with principle players. The reader will probably question a number of facts that are sometimes glossed over. My biggest question is why they kept moving money on the flights to Vegas like drug mules when they were there every month. I suggest you enjoy the read and don’t bog down trying to determine if it is fiction or non-fiction.
The reason I read the book is it is being loosely adapted into the movie 21. I am pretty sure that they will screw it up. That said I will probably go see it just to see Jim Sturgess, who was so good in Across the Universe in the lead role. Laurence Fishburne also looks promising as the casino security man. Kevin Spacey as the team leader will probably be good, it's his kinda part, but I'm kind of bummed that the team isn't mostly Asian. That seemed to fit in with the whole geek, math, MIT, gambling team that was such a big part of the book.
Hot Chicks Born Today
Alison Arngrim, 46, that little bitch Nellie Oleson was by far the best looking girl on Little House, I was never a fan of the show but if I was at someone's house and had to watch it I rooted for her to be in the storyline
Devon Odessa, 34, I was a big fan of My So-Called Life and while there were hotter girls on the show, Devon was still very attractive
Labels: Books
