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Category Archives: Sunday Salon
A Case of Two Cities / Qiu Xiaolong (The Sunday Salon)
27 July 2008 – 3:47 pm
It’s been a month or so since I’ve gotten any Sunday Salon reading in, what with trips to Seattle for Independence Day and my birthday and other distractions. Today was a lazy day on the couch, sipping tea and reading Qiu Xiaolong’s A Case of Two Cities. Unfortunately this has not been an enjoyable read.
My memories, somewhat faded, of the first books in the Inspector Chen series were of solid mystery writing set in a different culture. (…)
Big Lies / Joe Conason
1 June 2008 – 11:12 am
Early Sunday morning I couldn’t get to sleep, so I lounged around on the couch and read Joe Conason’s Big Lies until about 3:30 a.m. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from the book. Perhaps a regurgitation of the information I already had from my extensive blog reading. But what this center-left reader found was disappointing. See, I really want to find the political book that really will make a difference. This isn’t it. (…)
Little Brother / Cory Doctorow
25 May 2008 – 6:22 pm
This book reminds me a lot of the movie Pump Up The Volume. The only real common plot element is a teen working underground inspires a rebellion among fellow youth against unjust authority. But the main similarity I think is more the feel of the work: wishful thinking. I agree with the politics. I think kids need to rebel, not for their sake, but for society’s. But I still think the book is wishful thinking.
Marcus Yallow is a teen geek. (…)
Middlesex / Jeffrey Eugenides
4 May 2008 – 6:59 pm
Another day of Sunday reading. Again this week I participated on the Wordsy podcast. Check out last week’s episode, which also features yours truly. There’s more though. If you are interested in appearing on the podcast, Hans has set up a conference call and wants people to call in. The phone number is on that link, but I believe the time will be 10 a.m. Pacific next week rather than 9:30 a.m.
Reading today is the last 225 pages of Jeffrey Eugenides Middlesex. (…)
Lift Every Voice / Lani Guinier
27 April 2008 – 11:54 pm
My Sunday Salon reading this week is Lani Guinier’s Lift Every Voice. But I started off the day updating this site to run on Wordpress 2.5. I like a lot of the new features, but a few things are kind of annoying. In the middle of my upgrade work, I participated in this week’s episode of the Wordsy Podcast, where Hans Dekker, Erik Hare and I discussed a few of the top literature stories on Wordsy. (…)
Wild Jack / John Christopher
6 April 2008 – 1:51 pm
One of my first introductions to science fiction was the young adult series known as The Tripods. John Christopher’s tale of alien invasion and subjugation is not well remembered generally, though it is still in print. But I’ll wager most science fiction fans of my generation think back fondly on that series. He also wrote a post-apocalyptic Prince in Waiting series, which was brutal. I’ll have to re-read those and put up a review some day. (…)
Vanishing Ladies / Ed McBain
30 March 2008 – 9:02 pm
For today’s Sunday Salon, I am participating under the weather. Both figuratively and literally. I’m not feeling so hot, and Western Washington saw a bit of late winter weather the last few days. The snow ain’t really staying around, but it’s quite chilly and definitely very wet. Hence, I read curled up on the couch with some tea.
Before I delve into my reading though, I want to plug Wordsy, a Digg clone for people who love books. (…)
Fahrenheit 451: 50th Anniversary Ed. / Ray Bradbury
16 March 2008 – 5:03 pm
Before I start writing about my Sunday Salon selection for today, a word of warning. Fahrenheit 451 has been out for nearly six decades. I will be freely spoiling the plot. Do not read on if you care.
I’ve had Ray Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451 in my recommended science fiction reading, but I haven’t read the novel in 10 years. I thought I would refresh myself on the book. I had forgotten a lot of things, but found that some scenes were still vivid in my memory. (…)
Before They Are Hanged / Joe Abercrombie
9 March 2008 – 8:28 pm
Today’s Sunday Salon is brought to you by two cups of black currant tea, one mug of French press coffee, and Joe Abercrombie.
One little detail before I get on with my thoughts on the book. The title is a misnomer. Only one person gets hanged in the book. There is no they involved on the recipient end of the hanging. He’s sold you a bill of goods. Okay, done with the spoilering. (…)
Beowulf
3 March 2008 – 12:31 am
Sunday Salon time again. I’m working on a couple of books, but only got reading on one of them today.
I revamped the web site this week. I’ve been categorizing books much as they would appear in the local chain book store. I had categories for Science Fiction, Travel, Political Science, etc. I’ve converted all those categories to tags. Now there are just three, possibly soon to be four, categories at Rat’s Reading. Administrivia, for web site announcements. (…)
