the swan thieves
August 26th, 2010SPOILERS AHEAD
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
Certainly not as good as The Historian, it still had its enjoyable moments, and I was anticipating what should (obviously) have been an explosive ending. Except…
it just sort of petered out. Perhaps because of The Historian I was expecting a more…mystical…explanation for Robert Oliver’s behavior, the way he was seemingly possessed by these long-dead artists. But no, he was just obsessed with one of them. And Dr. Marlow, by figuring this out (and figuring out the big secret, which no one in the 21st century would even be scandalized by), somehow magically cures Oliver, even though no explanation is ever given as to why he became so obsessed (other than his underlying mental illness, which, again, doesn’t seem to actually have been treated).
It was basically:
Dr. Marlow: Hey, instead of staying at the institution and actually treating you for your obvious mental illness, I took a bunch of whirlwind trips all over the world and I found out the big secret about this woman who you’ve been completely obsessed with for years. But you already figured it out on your own, so I haven’t given you any new information.
Oliver: Thanks Doc! After months of not speaking a word while institutionalized for, apparently, no particular reason, your running around (and knocking up my ex-girlfriend in the process) to figure out the big secret, which I already knew, has magically cured me. Don’t worry, I’ll call you if I get depressed again!
Oh well.
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under the dome
August 15th, 2010
I used to be an avid Stephen King reader, devouring everything that he wrote, and using my holiday bookstore gift certificates to buy whatever book he inevitably published that year. Then I kind of grew out of it a bit, and pretty much stopped reading his books somewhere around college. Not intentionally. I just found…other things to read that seemed more important.
But now that I’m reading an average of a book a week, I decided to pick up his latest, since the price on the e-book finally dropped to something reasonable. And it was great. Disturbing, harrowing, a little creepy (all in good ways). While the imposition of the dome was external/alien, the real evil was manifested within. I’m not sure I buy the idea that it could devolve quite so quickly (less than a week), but as a study of how petty, local, power-hungry (and religiously fervent) despots become truly obsessed with their own power, it was really fascinating.
All in all, I’m glad I picked it up. Now I just have to convince myself to go back and finish the Dark Tower series, which I abandoned halfway through with the thought that he was never going to finish writing the darn thing. But apparently Mr. King has finished it, so I’m adding it to my wish list.
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the man from beijing
August 1st, 2010
finished. Read my review of The Man From Beijing here.
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Coney Island 2010
July 30th, 2010I know!! Pictures!!
And you thought I had forgotten how to do this.
Anyway, I hadn’t been to Coney Island yet this year, and I wanted to check out what (if any) changes had been made since the beginning of last summer. A few – there appears to be some sort of movement vis-a-vis the vacant lots (or at least frames for imaginary tents) and there were plenty of people enjoying themselves, on a weekday, so I think it’s doing OK. Some photos from the day…
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angelology
July 26th, 2010
Ok so…this book was stupid. I think the author was trying to be Elizabeth Kostova (The Historian) with all of the background, but it’s like she forgot that there was current action, and was told to finish the damn think in 20 minutes. The middle “part” of the book was incredibly tedious “history”, with a level of detail that bordered on compulsive. But when we get to the last section, where all of the “action” is, it’s rushed, confusing, and people are jumping to conclusions and changing their motives every five minutes, in completely irrational ways, except to the extent that such jumps move the action forward.
Click here for my library entry on Angelology.
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reading…
July 19th, 2010Since I got my nook, I’ve read quite a few books (for me at least). I found a widget for the blog that lets me keep what I’m reading updated in the sidebar, and also maintains a library of everything I’ve catalogued. Note that the list is ONLY books that I’ve read since I got the nook. And also doesn’t count the mountain of periodicals I read.
(also note – you can borrow ebooks for free from the New York Public Library, but only if you’ve got a nook or a Sony reader device – amazon is so locked down that the kindle doesn’t read the format that library books are available in. This has turned out to be the best feature, by far, of owning the nook. I’ve saved a ridiculous amount of money).
But I was thinking that I should really go back to posting about them as well, since…well…I need something to post about.
So here are the books I’ve read to date:
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Everyone’s favorite biker-punk feminist pixie gets her start here. I did get engrossed by this first book (enjoyed would be an inappropriate word to use given the subject matter), but a lot of the threads didn’t make sense until the second and third books arrived. And Larssen’s obsession with technical detail was a bit annoying – Yes she’s a hacker. No, the audience doesn’t care how much RAM her ibook contains.
The Book of the Dead: I became a bit engrossed with Patricia Cornwell’s books when I was living in Italy, and they were available in abundance in the english language section of the bookstores I visited. This, and the next few, just continue the series.
Scarpetta: See above.
The Lost Symbol: This was the first book I successfully figured out how to borrow from the library. So it was a triumph in that sense. Otherwise, it was as enjoyable as his other works. Take of that what you will.
The Girl Who Played With Fire: This time we learn about Lisbeth. And it’s not pretty, but it is entirely engrossing. Again.
Dead Until Dark: I love the TV series, so I thought I’d give the books a try. At least the first one, which was available from the NYPL. But having seen the TV show, it actually got a bit confusing because the show diverges quite a bit from the books. Not bad, basically candy for your brain.
The Hour I First Believed: I’ve loved everything that Wally Lamb has written, and this was no exception. I heartily agree with my friend who, when I asked her how she liked it, said something along the lines of “I cried when it ended because I wasn’t going to get to spend any more time with these characters.” A really, really, beautiful book.
When Will There Be Good News?: The third in the Jackson Brodie mystery novels that read more like character studies. Can’t wait for the fourth.
The Help: I enjoyed it, but not as much as I think other people did. I was a little disturbed by the “young white woman on a mission to save the poor black women” narrative, even though well-intentioned.
Game Change: A fantastic breakdown of the 2008 election, and every wrong (and right) move that the major candidates made. There was a very brief section of the book that actually made me feel bad for Sarah Palin (I got over that right quick), but the rise of Obama, and how everyone else underestimated him, is utterly fascinating.
Going in Circles: This book had me googling local roller derby clubs by the end of it. Then I regained my sanity.
The Scarpetta Factor: The most recent of the Scarpetta books. Same formula, but interesting every time.
The Bridge: I was a little burnt out on election reading after Game Change, but the parts of the book dealing with Obama’s parents and his childhood were really great.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest: A bit predictable in certain places, and, as a lawyer, a bit confusing in the courtroom, given the vast differences between Swedish courtroom tactics and American ones, but still a really nice ending to the trilogy.
A Reliable Wife: Not sure what to make of this one. One part romance novel, one part grifter, one part mystery. eh.
The Passage: (from my review page) Excellent read, even if a bit derivative of other works. I couldn’t help thinking, through large parts of the book, about the recent film adaptation of ‘I Am Legend’ – that this was the story (at least for a good chunk of the book) of the people we encounter in the walled city at the end of that movie. But it was still incredibly engrossing. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but I will say that I was genuinely shocked. Definitely worth the read, and worthy of its place as one of the recommended summer reads of 2010.
Storm Front: (from my review page) Enjoyable read for the genre. I’ll probably pick up the next one in the series when I’m bored.
The Tourist: A somewhat conventional spy drama…former spy gets pulled back in, framed for murder, etc., but written well with good characters filling out the story.
The Death of American Virtue: I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get through this, but it was pretty engrossing, and pretty evenhanded to all parties. Including interviews with ALL of the major players in the drama, it’s a pretty good exploration of how even those with (allegedly) the best of intentions can get wrapped up in a witch hunt and experience extreme tunnel vision.
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The Schools Project
June 18th, 2010My brother, who just finish his Masters Degree in education, is leaving the country (again) to travel to Africa and Nepal for a year. In between climbing lots of rocks, he’s planning on visiting a variety of educational institutions during his trip in order to…well, I’ll just let him explain it himself.
I can’t believe he’s leaving again. It seems like he just got back from the Peace Corps yesterday.
(and yes, he is totally one of those do-gooder-type people who wants to make the world a better place while the rest of us obsess over the real estate market).
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museum mile festival
June 10th, 2010Tuesday was beautiful out, and it was also the museum mile festival, where all of the museums on Fifth Avenue open their doors and let people in for free for the evening. So I headed up there with my dad, and we hit the Cooper-Hewitt and the Met (where we met up with my stepmom). Got yelled at for taking pictures in the C-H, so only one from there, and most of the photogenic stuff was outside, but we hit the Picasso exhibit, the Egypt exhibit and Big Bambu at the Met. And had cocktails. Very civilized.
I’m, as always, too lazy to individually label the photos, so you’ll have to guess what’s what.
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5 boro bike tour
May 4th, 2010Now that I’ve gotten the issues with my site permissions fixed, it’s time to upload my pics from the 5 Boro Bike Tour on Sunday.
As far as the tour itself, it was WAY too hot and humid, and I ended up having to take the SAG bus when I was about 5 miles from the end, because I was starting to feel the effects, for the second time that day, of heat stroke (there’s nothing quite like getting chills when it’s 87 degrees outside). One of these years the weather is actually going to cooperate. As always though, it was ridiculously crowded. I took these pics from my phone during some of the sections when we were not so much with the moving and tweeted them, but here they are all in one place.
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catching up.
May 4th, 2010I’ve been having some problems uploading images, so rather than writing long descriptions of these pictures only to discover that they haven’t loaded, I’m just going to try again. I’ve just about given up the ghost on actually completing the 365 project, since I’ve been horribly neglectful, but I’m still trying to take pics when I can.
2010.04.20: good time to tear up the sidewalk at your restaurant that has most of it’s seating outside – first nice day of spring. as a bonus, even though no one could actually get to the front door, all the sushi chefs were inside ready to go.
2010.04.22: when backing up a big truck, perhaps you should use your mirrors to confirm that you’re not about to tear a giant gash into the side of the truck by backing directly into the scaffolding behind you.
2010.04.26: yet another dog waiting sadly for its owner who was busy having a leisurely coffee indoors.
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