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The Flanders Panel - Arturo Perez-Reverte (1996)
Began: November 29 | Finished: December 5
[12/20] A good mystery book. The mystery is all tied up with an old painting, but it's still a very personal mystery that doesn't really go beyond the lives of the characters (in contrast to The DaVinci Code which had sort of a more... universal impact).
Guns, Germs, & Steel - Jared Diamond (1997)
Began: November 20? | Finished:
[12/20] This book is chock full of fascinating stuff. The theory is that everything depends on the north/south or east/west orientation of the various continents. Everything else pretty much comes out of that. FASCINATING. I've been reading it for a month, I'm about halfway through, and I have every intention of finishing it. A rare book indeed.
[1/17] Lost some steam on this one. I'm still working on it. Been watching too much TV lately, and I've also picked up another non-fiction book recommended by Raff, The Decline of Pleasure by Walter Kerr.
[2/8] Finally picked this up again! (Found it underneath a pile of clothes when cleaning my room.) Diamond gives one of the more interesting definitions of religion that I've come across:
The supernatural beliefs of bands and tribes did not serve to justify central authority, justify transfer of wealth, maintain peace between individuals. When supernatural beliefs gained these functions and became institutionalized, they were thereby transformed into what term a religion. (p278)I should see if I can find some other ways that people distinguish between 'supernatural beliefs' and 'religion'. It could make for an interesting comparison.
Here's an interesting bit of trivia: "The Japanese language includes special forms of the pronoun "you" for use only in addressing the emperor." (p280)
Not very politically correct, this Jared Diamond. He references 'Myanmar' (p300) instead of Burma. He also uses B.C. and A.D. instead of B.C.E. and C.E. Maybe being politically correct isn't in vogue right now (though I would have though it was more so when this book was published in 1997), but I really am more comfortable with Burma, B.C.E., and C.E.
In Her Shoes - Jennifer Weiner (2002)
Began: November 22? | Finished: November 28?
[12/20] Kelly loaned this to me way back with the Nora Roberts books, but it took me a while to get to it. An enjoyable read with interesting characters, but the end resolved everything too quickly. All of a sudden all the problems are fixed and everyone's living happily ever after. Too sudden. Reminded me of how I felt about the ending of Wally Lamb's She Come Undone. I think I'll still put the movie on my Netflix list though. I like Cameron Diaz.
Dragonvarld series - Margaret Weis
#1 Mistress of Dragons (2003) Began: November 5? | Finished: November 5?
#2 The Dragon's Son (2004) Began: November 8? | Finished: November 8?
[12/20] When I started reading Mistress of Dragons I thought, if these characters are for real this book is going to suck. Luckily, it turns out they're deluded and the real story is much more interesting. The first book was better than the second, but I'll still probably read the third.
The Excalibur Alternative - David Weber (2003)
Began: November 5? | Finished: gave up
[12/20] I really have no idea when I started reading this. Some time in November. I picked it up as filler when I couldn't find the Honor Harrington books in order. The premise is that way in the future, these other races go back in time and pick up legions from way back when, bringing them forward to fight battles. An ok premise, but I didn't attach to the main character enough. I didn't really care what happened to them all. An idea with potential, but the implementation just didn't work for me.
Honor Harrington series - David Weber
#1 On Basilisk Station (1993) Began: October 27? | Finished: October 30?
#5 Flag In Exile (1995) Began: November 3? | Finished: November 4?
#6 Honor Among Enemies (1996) Began: December ?? | Finished: January 26
#7 In Enemy Hands (1997) Began: November 5? | Finished: November 6?
#8 Echoes of Honor (1999) Began: November 7? | Finished: November 8?
#9 Ashes of Victory (2000) Began: November 12? | Finished: November 15?
#10 War of Honor (2002) Began: November 17? | Finished: November 19?
[12/20] Pretty much all I read in November was David Weber's Honor Harrington series. And I didn't even manage to finish it. The library didn't have all the books. Stupid library. Then work got less busy, and I figured I had no reason to spend all my time reading fluff. Great fluff, though!
I think I've mentioned Walter before - he recommended Jumper and Reflex to me. He also recommended Honor Harrington. He was dead on. My fantasy/science fiction ratio leans heavily towards fantasy, but this SF was right up my alley. A great main character that I get to follow through many books and through all sorts of trials and tribulations. Plus I have this thing about military fiction. I enjoy it (sometimes).
[1/25] Picked up Honor Among Enemies at some point. I read it while eating lunch at work. It's slow going - resulting in a $3.25 late fee from the library. Their site let's me renew even when it's over due though, so I'm safe for a few more weeks. Next time I have a few months where I need complete fluff reading I'd like to read the Honor Harrington books in order. I know there are characters in this one that showed up in later ones, but I can't hook them all together. My memory isn't good enough.
[1/30] Brought home Honor Among Enemies, to bring it with me to burger night (there were four of us in a row at the bar, reading books; I love our bar). Ended up staying up too late that night to finish it. A good read; par for the course.
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