With my beloved Kindle, I'm actually getting through a few books. Who'd have thought it!
So, here we go.
The Infection by Craig DiLouie (A Ric's Reviews recommendation)
Loved this book! If you love zombies and apocalyptic scenarios (and who doesn't) this will sate you. Fast paced story, lots of action and I couldn't put this one down. They should make a film of this one. Perfect for kids like me with ADHD.
Next up...
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Didn't really fancy the film for some reason but thought I out to read the novel. Took a while to get going, lots of description of 80s nonsense in this guy's life. Half way through it really takes off and gets a bit fucked up and nasty. Really not sure what to make of it all. Certainly a fine commentary on how things were in 80s New York with yuppies, fashion etc. As for the nasty stuff, I guess that's just timeless.
I was a bit traumatised by the whole thing. Needed to calm my nerves and read something more positive.
So I chose....
Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century by Jonathen Glover
Fuck me, what a mistake this was. This book described in details the most horrible crimes against humanity and then describe the morality (or lack of) of the whole thing, from individuals to the government in charge. Usual suspects Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Serbian war, Rwanda etc. Pretty hard going and it left me in a worse state than American Psycho.
Really needed something relaxing.
Alex's Adventures in Numberland by Alex Bellos
Ahhhh, this one was better. It is a tale of numbers through history. No traumatic experiences here. Well written, although a little dry in places. Well, it is about numbers I suppose. Overall, a good read and was a relief from the previous two.
Perked up with happiness I moved onto my favourite genre sci-fi. Two books here...
Renegades and Exiles by Dan Worth
These are the the first two in a trilogy. Third one not out yet and I can hardly wait. Nothing too clever here, big ships fighting, scary alien baddies, grand scale and just a good yarn. Some good characters to hold the thing together and you have a winner.
See, we had a happy ending.
Re. the violent history of humanity, The Better Angels of Our Nature might cheer you up.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/sep/22/better-angels-steven-pinker-review
Ok, the idea behind the book might. The review (and book) itself still contains some rather nasty descriptions of things folk got up to in Medieval Europe. But the general gist is we're not that bad any more. At least there's someone out there who thinks so?
I also meant to draw this to your attention:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/sep/14/here-comes-trouble-michael-moore-review
And as my piece-de-resistance, this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/sep/17/robert-harris-fear-index-review
I've flagged it before, but given that it combines sci-fi, numbers and financial dystopia, I couldn't resist putting it here.
I don't have anything to say about gaming, but I do have A LOT to say about books.
ps -- why don't blogger sort their shit out when it comes to links? It's surprisingly amateur for a Google enterprise.
ReplyDeletepps -- not sure if there is such a thing as financial dystopia, but since blogger also doesn't allow you to edit comments, I'm committed now.
Jeez, your comments are longer than my blog!
ReplyDeleteFinancial dystopia- you're living in it! Embrace the horror.
You say that like it's a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteWords, Richard, are very important.
Writing lots of words.
(Ok, I might have gone mad writing up my PhD.)