Star Wars Trilogy
George Lucas, Donald F. Glut, James Kahn
Usually I steer away from movie novelizations. This wasn't bad per se but as someone who has watched the movies for as long as I can remember...I found myself bored at times. There are some new scenes which may have been in the original scripts that add depth. I found myself enjoying the 'thoughts' of the characters, especially what Vader was thinking.
Read this if you're a big fan of the movies but haven't seen them in a while.
Grade: C
Saturday, April 30, 2011
"Caesar: A Biography"
Caesar: A Biography (Christian Meier)
Here's a weird book: An extremely dry, dense, philosophical biography of Julius Caesar. The author starts the book with the unusual choice of criticizing Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon (as a selfish action) and it's over 50 pages before Caesar is born. Unfortunately, I can't recommend this book at all; The tone is so dry, with no quotes and basic matter of fact textbook-style narration, that even the most interesting material is rendered as lifeless as dust. The author also bizarrely begins with an in-depth discussion of Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon that assumes fairly extensive knowledge about the political, social, and military context of the time, but then proceeds thirty pages later to explain the most basic facts about Rome, such as, for example, what the Senate is, and who the Knights are. I found myself skipping pages, reading a few dull paragraphs, and going back to skipping pages until just putting the book down.
One good point: The exceedingly dry tone does occasionally entertain, as when the author notes that "Modern scholars are skeptical about Caesar's claims" that he is descended from Venus.
Grade: F
Here's a weird book: An extremely dry, dense, philosophical biography of Julius Caesar. The author starts the book with the unusual choice of criticizing Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon (as a selfish action) and it's over 50 pages before Caesar is born. Unfortunately, I can't recommend this book at all; The tone is so dry, with no quotes and basic matter of fact textbook-style narration, that even the most interesting material is rendered as lifeless as dust. The author also bizarrely begins with an in-depth discussion of Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon that assumes fairly extensive knowledge about the political, social, and military context of the time, but then proceeds thirty pages later to explain the most basic facts about Rome, such as, for example, what the Senate is, and who the Knights are. I found myself skipping pages, reading a few dull paragraphs, and going back to skipping pages until just putting the book down.
One good point: The exceedingly dry tone does occasionally entertain, as when the author notes that "Modern scholars are skeptical about Caesar's claims" that he is descended from Venus.
Grade: F
Friday, April 29, 2011
"Drinking at the Movies"
Drinking at the Movies
(Julia Wertz)
A biographical retelling of the author's moving from SF to NY and eventually giving up drinking (spoiler alert). The art isn't that great, but it is very expressive and well-written. The book is broken up into chapters detailing the seasons, which gives it a structure the previous works (Fart Party vol 1 & 2) were sorely lacking. Hard to put down.
Grade: A
(Julia Wertz)A biographical retelling of the author's moving from SF to NY and eventually giving up drinking (spoiler alert). The art isn't that great, but it is very expressive and well-written. The book is broken up into chapters detailing the seasons, which gives it a structure the previous works (Fart Party vol 1 & 2) were sorely lacking. Hard to put down.
Grade: A
Thursday, April 28, 2011
"Philistines at the Hedgerow"
Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons (Steven Gaines)
Here's one I feel bad about. This book is entertainingly breezy and gossipy, but the subject - rich assholes with too much money - is too overbearing for me to enjoy. My blood pressure just kept going up as I read about various assholes with too much money until I realized that not only was I not enjoying this book, but getting annoyed on my lunch break reading about assholes with too much money is probably not the best idea. Still, it's well-written enough and brisk-moving, so YMMV.
Grade: :(
Here's one I feel bad about. This book is entertainingly breezy and gossipy, but the subject - rich assholes with too much money - is too overbearing for me to enjoy. My blood pressure just kept going up as I read about various assholes with too much money until I realized that not only was I not enjoying this book, but getting annoyed on my lunch break reading about assholes with too much money is probably not the best idea. Still, it's well-written enough and brisk-moving, so YMMV.
Grade: :(
Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman's Co-Creator Joe Shuster
Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman's Co-creator Joe Shuster
By Craig Yoe
Okay, so I bought it hoping there would be sexy art. What I got was an interesting look at how Superman was created, his creators betrayed, and how Shuster came to draw fetish art (and yes, all of the art is in the book). The fetish books were linked to crime and banned by Congress in the McCarthy hey-day but the images are fairly tame by today’s standards. I rather enjoyed the history portion of the book and the glimpse into the history of erotica in the fetish art section. I suppose if you’re offended by a Lois Lane-look alike in her underwear whipping a Superman look-alike you should probably not read this book (and never, ever go to the internet). Grade B+
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
"Why Fairy Tales Stick"
Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre
By Jack Zipes
The author dissects the origins of several famous fairy tales (Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard and Cinderella to name a few) as well as how the tales have been interpreted down through the generations. While many readers may not find fairy tales relevant as adults or even in the modern era, Zipes is able to connect these old stories to today…because these stories are not old, they continue to evolve and inform our stories today. Recommended for anyone interested in Fairy Tales, how story-telling evolved, or true book nerds. You may want to break up the reading because even I was going into overload by the end.
Grade: B
"Grammar of the Ancient World"
Grammar of the Ancient World (Dominic Rathbone)
Not literally grammar, what the title refers to is the everyday life of ancient civilizations: What they ate, the kind of furniture they used, the kind of jobs normal people had. All the stuff that normally stays off-camera when reading books about ancient civilization is here, although whether or not you'll find it interesting is another story. Here's a good test: If you find the fact that Egyptians didn't use pillows when sleeping, but instead had carved wooden semicircular head-rests interesting, this is probably a good book for you to read. If you meet this news with yawns or cries of "Who cares?" it's probably better to take a pass. (Makes a good bathroom book, if you are interested.)
History Nerd Grade: B
Non-History Nerd Grade: F
Not literally grammar, what the title refers to is the everyday life of ancient civilizations: What they ate, the kind of furniture they used, the kind of jobs normal people had. All the stuff that normally stays off-camera when reading books about ancient civilization is here, although whether or not you'll find it interesting is another story. Here's a good test: If you find the fact that Egyptians didn't use pillows when sleeping, but instead had carved wooden semicircular head-rests interesting, this is probably a good book for you to read. If you meet this news with yawns or cries of "Who cares?" it's probably better to take a pass. (Makes a good bathroom book, if you are interested.)
History Nerd Grade: B
Non-History Nerd Grade: F
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
"Perils of Peace" ( & History introduction)
I'm going to be giving History books two grades, one for history nerds (you know who you are) and one for everyone else. This is to prevent me recommending a bunch of boring books for nerds that I find interesting and that the average person will doze off attempting to finish.
Perils of Peace (Thomas Fleming)
This book covers the two years inbetween Yorktown and Washington giving up command of the army - it's an interesting look at a period of history that's usually totally skipped over. It's also cheerful to read - if you think the US is screwed up now, just cast your mind back to when the government was broke and the continental congress couldn't even afford to pay the army or interest on its European debts and ended up fleeing to New Jersey. My only issue with the book is that it ends with a line like "Washington had successfully negotiated the perils of peace," but there's another six years of hobbling along under the Articles of Confederation and implementing the Constitution before the federal government is in order. I guess that'd be a really long book, though.
History Nerd Grade: B
Non-History Nerd Grade: F
Perils of Peace (Thomas Fleming)
This book covers the two years inbetween Yorktown and Washington giving up command of the army - it's an interesting look at a period of history that's usually totally skipped over. It's also cheerful to read - if you think the US is screwed up now, just cast your mind back to when the government was broke and the continental congress couldn't even afford to pay the army or interest on its European debts and ended up fleeing to New Jersey. My only issue with the book is that it ends with a line like "Washington had successfully negotiated the perils of peace," but there's another six years of hobbling along under the Articles of Confederation and implementing the Constitution before the federal government is in order. I guess that'd be a really long book, though.
History Nerd Grade: B
Non-History Nerd Grade: F
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