A 3-book week.
It's rare that I finish three books in a week. (I didn't start any of them this week - they've all been read concurrently - but every once in a while, I actually finish things I start reading.)
WORLD WAR Z, by Max Brooks, is definitely the highlight and a must-read for anybody who is even faintly interested by the premise: an oral history of the zombie war. Make no mistake, this book is not a pisstake or a quick cash-in on a zombie craze, but a well-thought out and well-researched book imagining what would happen if zombies really did start taking over the world. (One hint: scuba diving would suck.) Very, very highly recommended.
DIARY is not Chuck Palahniuk's latest, but is the latest that I've read. After being very into him for a while I got burned out, so it was quite nice to revisit his stuff with a fresh eye. He has a certain style that he tends to wear into the ground, but in bursts it's compelling, and the story definitely kept me hooked.
THE ARCHITECTURE OF HAPPINESS is the third book I've read by Alain De Botton, but unlike the other two (STATUS ANXIETY and HOW PROUST CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE, both of which I inhaled in a day or two) it took me quite a while to get through this. I think that's partially because I spent a good chunk of time earlier this year reading some of Christopher Alexander's books, and he treats many of the topics that De Botton takes on in much greater detail. De Botton also has a frustrating habit of truncating his thoughts dramatically, striving for a deep profundity in every clipped sentence when really an extra sentence or two would actually drive the point home instead of leaving it semi-floating in the ether. I don't mean to be too critical, as I really did enjoy it, albeit some parts more than others. (Sample amusing quasi-rhetorical question: if architecture can bring out the best in us, then why did Goering have such a nice house?)
Oh, and I survived the movie marathon. If anybody cares speak up and I'll post a blow-by-blow.
WORLD WAR Z, by Max Brooks, is definitely the highlight and a must-read for anybody who is even faintly interested by the premise: an oral history of the zombie war. Make no mistake, this book is not a pisstake or a quick cash-in on a zombie craze, but a well-thought out and well-researched book imagining what would happen if zombies really did start taking over the world. (One hint: scuba diving would suck.) Very, very highly recommended.
DIARY is not Chuck Palahniuk's latest, but is the latest that I've read. After being very into him for a while I got burned out, so it was quite nice to revisit his stuff with a fresh eye. He has a certain style that he tends to wear into the ground, but in bursts it's compelling, and the story definitely kept me hooked.
THE ARCHITECTURE OF HAPPINESS is the third book I've read by Alain De Botton, but unlike the other two (STATUS ANXIETY and HOW PROUST CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE, both of which I inhaled in a day or two) it took me quite a while to get through this. I think that's partially because I spent a good chunk of time earlier this year reading some of Christopher Alexander's books, and he treats many of the topics that De Botton takes on in much greater detail. De Botton also has a frustrating habit of truncating his thoughts dramatically, striving for a deep profundity in every clipped sentence when really an extra sentence or two would actually drive the point home instead of leaving it semi-floating in the ether. I don't mean to be too critical, as I really did enjoy it, albeit some parts more than others. (Sample amusing quasi-rhetorical question: if architecture can bring out the best in us, then why did Goering have such a nice house?)
Oh, and I survived the movie marathon. If anybody cares speak up and I'll post a blow-by-blow.
posted by dd | 12:01 AM
5 Comments:
Speak Up Speak Up!
blow-by-blow, please
who are you anonymous people? why do you hide your identities?
i am brannon (fka Commenter Number Two) and i love your movie and book reports but do not love user names and passwords. i will henceforth sign my anonymous posts with my initials.
hey brannon - thanks, it's just sometimes superweird having seemingly random comments without context. Then again, such is the price of blogging publicly.
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