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Congo Michael Crichton 1980

I remember a user here writing "I can only take so much of the Crichton Formula" or something to that effect. After eight or more novels in the last six months I'm done with the Crichton Formula, at least for another six months. I've seen the film, back when it was released in 95' and enjoyed it. The novel isn't very different, more depth obviously, more facts but held no surprises or managed to renew my interest. If your unfamiliar with the story, an expedition is sent deep into the Congo after an earlier expedition is mysteriously killed looking for rare diamonds. Congo wouldn't have been a bad read had I not seen the film first.

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Beauty by Sherri Tepper



It was not what I expected. I really enjoyed parts of it. I liked the overall message. In parts I was thinking, okay already, can we simply get to the point though. LOL.

Surprisingly this book went forward and back in time. It showed how magic, beauty and natural resources were drained from the world. Effectively it showed the end of the world.

Beauty and other folks ideas on what to do about that surprised me. If it had been me, I think I would have tried to affect the overall direction of society instead what they came up with.

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Bleacheddecay

Born Standing Up
A Comic's Life
by Steve Martin



In his own words, Steve Martin tells the story of how he grew up (sort of), how he became interested in show business (magic kits), and how he finally hit it big (a combination of things). The overwhelming majority of the book focuses on the journey there, with the last 20-30 pages talking about his success and what happened from there. It stops long short of the majority of his film career, his work as a published author, and all the other things that have given him such incredible longevity.

Martin's a pretty private guy, so perhaps my expectations should have been a bit more muted. This was reasonably interesting, but more in the sense that almost any successful performer's life is interesting, and not in ways that are all that specific to Martin himself. It seems like it was written as much for posterity as it was for amusement at times.

This all sounds fairly harsh, given that I did enjoy reading this book, but I did find myself waiting for some sort of revelation that never really came. Still, if you like Martin and are at all interested in the journey that accompanies all stories of success, it's worth a read.

The parts that did live up to my expectations were those in which Martin described his act in an abstract sense. He talked about how it was almost a parody of a bad comedian, and how he decided at one point in his career to simply forge ahead and make the audience wonder what they were missing: to decide that it was funny and convey the impression that everyone else just hadn't caught up yet. Rarely, to my mind, are performers quite so self-aware of just why what they do works, but I think Martin has a pretty good bead on it.

In short: fantastic title, pretty good book.

Yeah, agree with all that (I've always had mixed feelings about Martin's standup tho, so i think i went into Standing with lower expectations).

Thought the most revealing thing about his comedy was just how much graft he put in - you get the feeling that he's not really a natural on many levels, he just wanted it that much and was methodical (& took risks) along the way.

There's some useful bits and pieces from a writing/creative perspective tho - variants on paring down to the bare bones etc. Acknowledgement of the use of awkwardness/uncomfortableness to prompt cathartic laughter etc. (And man did he seem to work every angle at getting the best potential laugh).

On the one filmic revelation i remember: I kinda liked that The Jerk started out with just fairly silly scenes of him practising lassoing on fence posts, and ending up with a herd of them

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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here

2666 by Roberto Bolano

I've only just started it; this morning actually and from the 90 or so pages I have read the impression I get is that it is extremely well written and so far the story has been well told - which seems to correlate with the praise it has garnered since it was first published. It's a large book so who knows what the later sections hold. But as of now it's a book that definitely warrants further exploration.

Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives

Ingenious bite-size chunks nibbling away at one of the biggest philosophical elephants in the room. Not all of the ideas here are unique, but they're often spun in delightful new directions. Some hurtle off into the far reaches of speculation, others coalesce as ethereal morality plays, and many land blows closer to home than you'd expect from such hypothetical displays.

The piously-aligned may find many of the speculations offensive (God as microbe, floundering fool, babbling room of monkeys etc). There's also more than a dash of mechanistic ennui in there (& ironically, counter-belief: the least lancing & specific claim in the book talks nebulously of the magical indeterminancy of life's interleaved patterns). But on the whole this is an exercise in svelte and far-from-unfeeling fantasy, and it's all done very creatively and accessibly indeed. If you like the idea of afterlives where God is missing (& people argue over the carbon-dating of his footprint), where your 76-yr-old self can meet you at 11 by your favourite stream, or where we sleep a short intermission in an eternally reverberating universe, then this could be for you

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I've just finished reading George R.R. Martin's - And seven times seven never kill man and was wondering if someone would share their thoughts about it. If they had any...I think I may have missed something somewhere...:/

Now I'm reading Neil Gaiman's - American Gods...my very first Gaiman...

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http://www.last.fm/user/diezelpower/

Currently reading;


"The Complete History of Jack the Ripper" - by Philip Sugden

The Afghan Campaign Steven Pressfield 2006

This is my fourth or fifth read of the The Afghan Campaign, I received it for Christmas back in 06. I pick it up every year and I always enjoy the re-read. The story follows a young Macedonian soldier who's left home to join Alexander the Great's army as they invade the Afghan kingdoms. The war quickly gets messy and the rules/tactics of previous wars no longer apply. Recommend to fans of war novels.

Black & blue by Ian Rankin. just got into Rankin , very good so far

Just started The Exorcist..

Second Variety - Collected Stories Vol 2

Twenty seven short stories from Philip K Dick's prolific early days (1952-55), with an adroit intro by Spinrad (highlighting the growth of PKD's multi-perspective approach to fleshing out his worlds). The best offerings play with his favoured themes of being 'truly' human and the horrors of world war. Second Variety just musta had an influence on Terminator (and had me utterly smothered in paranoia at points - shame it got turned into the disappointing Screamers). Imposter works better as a short than its big screen counterpart, and was his first foray into the slightly loopy 'how could you tell a non-human apart' territory (which was apparently first forged as he read diaries of Nazi camp personnel).

There are a few too many hurried/hackneyed entries, most likely turned out for the cash, but only one of them is truly dire. Plenty of other lush little numbers here tho, from fecund post-apocalyptic worlds to lives juggled between humanity and automation.

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The Exorcist William Peter Blatty 1971

A much more interesting and engrossing read then I imagined it would be. The Exorcist isn't a story about an exorcism at all if you ask me, its a case study on the human condition. Genuinely haunting, it had me on edge a few times. There is so much crude language but it comes across so honestly in context that I accepted it and got use to it fairly quickly. Not a book for anyone with a weak stomach but I recommend it, Ill be reading it again soon.

i have 3 books going on now... but one has me hooked like this........




then i think i will read patrick swayze's book or even get the book on tape just to hear the texan drawl talk of his love for lisa. thats the 2nd favorite love story besides johnny and june cash!!!

eMilee ... Oooh, I keep waffling on whether to get that book now or wait. So, you're enjoying it? I love The Time Traveler's Wife (haven't seen the movie yet, though).

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Linda's Author Website
Linda's Amazon Author page

I am thinking of laying aside Diana Gabaldon for a wee bit in favor of this, which arrived last week:


You know ... Halloween week and all that!

I guess I have a deep-seated fondness for Steve Martin. I got to see him three times live, back in the earlier days when his standup routine was still happening in college gymnasiums with very little security. Got to interact with him *during* his act on two of those three occasions, too.

He was THE hot comedian when I was in high school. And when "King Tut" hit the airwaves, my buddy Danny bought the 45 and brought it in to school. I seem to remember he got our English teacher (one of the few English teachers I had that I didn't like much) to play the record -- and we were all howling with laughter while she was scowling at how infantile it was.

Apparently it went over her head.

I've always found it fascinating that Martin is not only a private person, but also an intellectual and very well read in wildly uncomical areas. He has a sophisticated side to him that just makes his early standup (and yes, it always felt like self-comedy-parody) even sillier and funnier. And, of course, the crisp white suit and balloon animals (in the days when George Carlin and Richard Pryor were hip, smooth, and politically acerbic) made Martin still funnier and much more charming.

If one was a bit tired of the ranting of all the social comedians, Martin was a true breath of fresh air.

It's definitely one of my fave books, and it helps to explain why I enjoy the flick more than some do. The Exorcist is just very complex and not at all what most people seem to think it's about.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Very true! I read the book ages ago (before I ever saw the movie). Its two main characters are Regan's mother and Father Karras. NOT Regan or the devil or even the older exorcist. The parts exploring Karras's psyche and angsts were fascinating and carried the book. The entire possession thing seemed almost incidental in comparison ... at least to me.

They are pretty much my feelings. But you didn't mention the detective, Lieutenant Kinderman who I thought also had a vital role even if it was only brief.

Have either of you read the sequel Legion or the similar The Ninth Configuration, I'll be hunting them down soon.