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I didn't mention the detective because it's literally been decades since I read the book. Back in the late '70s I remember distinctly reading both THE EXORCIST and also Peter Benchley's JAWS because of hearing about the movies. I hadn't seen either of the movies but read the books instead.

So, I don't remember many details of either book -- but I do remember general impressions and feelings. And that once I saw the movie, I realized how much they had changed the emphasis in certain characters.

No, didn't read either of those others. I don't think I realized there was a book sequel. Will have to give it a look.

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How You Can Kill Al Qaeda: (In 3 Easy Steps)

Curious little non-profit 'pamphlet' book which aims to animate non-government sources to spread anti-al Qaeda Islamic stances on the web. His general position seems fairly reasonable, although some of his grander aspirations come across as fairly sketchy (translating a text into all applicable languages would set you back around $1,700, and even those on his own website leave something to be desired).

You have to trawl through his references and the web to get some juicy examples of pacifists and militants condemning suicide bombing etc (plenty out there for the former, and some for the zealot-friendly latter), as the book itself is more a powerpoint presentation in paper form. There are still some interesting titbits flagged up in the main text, including a Pew poll on the drop in support for suicide bombing in the Islamic world etc (2002-2007).

Some of it is accidentally comical: Wordpress as a terrorist's favourite (hence he recommends it), militaristic hierarchy trees for NGOs (is 'web chief' a normal title?), and rousing quotes about sticking banners up anuses. Still, a fairly worthy, and not too frothy, approach.

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

so far, i am enjoying this book. it is so far removed from Time Traveler..in a good way. i so loved that book so i couldn't wait to read her latest and i try not to buy books in hardback. but this time i am glad made the execption to the rule

I recently finished reading this book.

The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945 by Saul Friedländer.

This is truly a magisterial study of the Holocaust, well deserving of its award of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction, and follows the authors earlier volume covering the 1933-1939 period. It runs some 663 pages of text, includes 128 pages of meticulous notes, and 51 pages of bibliographic references. It places heavy reliance not only on contemporary documents, but also on published and unpublished memoirs and diaries (such as that of Victor Klemperer). I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the holocaust.

Killing Yourself To Live: 85% of a True Story
by Chuck Klosterman

To use a very basic comparison, Klosterman's third book seems like the unholy love child of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Nick Hornby's High Fidelity. Klosterman is given the very vague assignment of taking an "epic" road trip across America, visiting a multitude of different sites of famous and not-so-famous rock-and-roll deaths, offering insight into the cultural significance of what these deaths meant not only for music but for everyone and everything. Along the way, Klosterman also delves into his own personal experiences, most prominently with his strange perceptions of love as he attempts to juggle his feelings towards three separate women over the course of the novel. Love, death and music (to say nothing of various other subjects that also fade in and out of Klosterman's rambling narrative) are the focal point for Klosterman's journey.

Judging by the fact that I compared it to Thompson's work suggests that yes, I do find the writing style rather derivative. This is not to say I don't find it engaging, as I burned through it in the space of a couple of days. Klosterman makes some interesting insights - whether he's explaining how Radiohead's Kid A functions as the soundtrack for 9/11 or how all the women he's ever loved can be directly related to members of KISS, it's certainly interesting and worth consideration. I'm not sure exactly how original his conclusions about the subjects he tackles across his journey are (it's quite difficult to come up with anything genuinely original nowadays, after all) but that's virtually irrelevant. Killing Yourself To Live is a welcome book, if only because I find myself relating to a lot of the ideas presented, for better or worse. I still don't know whether I'd like or dislike Klosterman as a person, although I can't deny the guy's right about a few things. This is definitely driving me to read more, though.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

I'm getting ready to read an Arthurian legend book--it's been a long time coming. I'm posting to keep myself accountable. I give myself four weeks. (I'm rusty at reading books 400+ pages.)

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~~More DVD extras, please. Thank you.

Dunno if you happened to catch this, but I read and reviewed this book as well back in September (I gave it the same rating, and liked the same parts you did).

I agree that it's a little derivative, though I think he has something new to offer in the way he elevates base pop culture indulgences into metaphors for larger ideas. This isn't a great venue for that because he's (somewhat) constrained by the book's topic, but in his freeform essay collections like Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs and Chuck Klosterman IV (I posted reviews of both in the last 6-8 months), it really shines through and feels like something fairly new.

Anyway, glad you dug it. Dunno if you've read any of his other stuff, but if you liked Killing Yourself to Live I have to imagine you'll like the rest of it.

Probably. Like Palahniuk, Klosterman's a writer that I acknowledge is not exactly a great writer but he manages to write something compelling enough to get me to burn through the book in a couple of days. I'm now on the look-out for Fargo Rock City, which sounds like something I'd be more interested in.

I found it kinda disappointing, but I assume that's because I wasn't highly familiar with the bands he was analyzing. If you're into the whole metal/glam rock thing, you'd probably like it a lot more. Regardless, I'd certainly be interested in your thoughts on any of his other books.

Well, I like to think I'm into the "whole metal/glam rock thing". I'll see where I can get my hands on it - bookstores don't usually stock his books unless you order them personally, so I'm waiting a while before I do so.

Da Vinci: A Broken Code - Brian H. Edwards



my sister hap'd upon a Doulos Ship in port and saw this in their bookstore and picked it up for me because she knows im into this kind of thing. dan brown irritates me, so im to the point where i ignore him - but of course since she got it for me I had to read it, if only for her.

And let me say - i cant believe i waited this long to read it. It was a very quick and concise argument for discriminating readers. I had no idea who Brian Edwards was before reading it, but I understand he's a evangelical minister who lectures, writes and preaches.

I have seen my share of religious argument (to be sure!), but I have to say I was highly impressed with his candor, honesty and impartiality - especially in giving that he clearly disagrees with Dan Brown. His honesty in acknowledging "unknowns" (rather than attempting to suggest his own facts in the place of the "unknowns"), and brevity in argument greatly increased his credibility to me. I dont know if I'd agree with him on every ecclesiastical point he'd make, but it makes me want to read his other books.

but theyre often out of stock! now if only we can locate the Doulos again....

hey, mack. i've never read the da vinci code, and probably won't, but a friend of mine wrote this Case Against the Da Vinci Code. might find it entertaining.

Interesting stuff. I've had a couple of light tussles (nothing too serious, of course) around here on The Da Vinci Code. Generally, the line of discussion has been its many documented inaccuracies and the Gnosticism it espouses, versus the idea that it's just a potboiler and not meant to be taken seriously. Regardless of how one chooses to take it, though, Dan Brown does, in fact, believe the book's central premise, and went as far as to include a disclaimer emphasizing the veracity of his research in the beginning of the book, if memory serves.

On a brighter note, the future missus and I rented the film adaptation and had a grand old time MST3K-ing our way through it. It was particularly well-suited to the activity.

Flash Forward by Robert J. Sawyer was really good. Better, of course, than the TV show. The span of the time flash is 21 years or so, vrs six months. We, the readers, and the lead characters too, know from the get go what likely caused the flash forward.

When you think you know where a book is going then it goes somewhere better, well that always makes me happy.

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Bleacheddecay

Bought Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey, the first of her Last Herald Mage series. Utterly ridiculous trash-fantasy cover, I was almost embarrassed reading it on the train (Mr. Next took one look at it and said 'What's that, gay Narnia?' I know they say never judge a book by its cover but in this case...)



Anyway, there were a few inconsistencies in plot and a few of the common fantasy problem of too many silly names and magical abilities, especially later on. There are better written fantasy books but it had likable characters and was generally a fun read with true love, tragedy and talking horses. It made me remember how much I love reading (after a month of nothing but writing) and restored my faith in fantasy somewhat after some tedious reads.

Sounds like a rip-roarin' good time. The book was an annoying page-turner (that is, I plowed right through it due to its short chapters -- "Oh, one more chapter before bed..."), but it annoyed me because I kept WANTING to stop reading it because it was so boneheaded and ridiculous. I'm not sure if that's ultimately a compliment or not. I certainly didn't like much about it -- the characters, the writing style, the premise and story.

I just liked the short chapters.

This reminds me of my experience reading Angels and Demons. I kept saying to myself and anyone who would listen, this is the stupidest thing I have ever read. But I could not put it down. It got me from Burlington, VT to Philadelphia, PA quite painlessly. A car trip, that would ordinarily be quite enervating, flew by. Thank you, Dan Brown.

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Louise Vale first woman to play Jane Eyre in the flickers.

Were there drawings of the characters throughout that book? I seem to remember a series that she did with that feature.

I love good fantasy. Robin Hobb's The Farseer Trilogy and Jaqueline Carey's Kushiel books for instance were great for me.

My favorite Mercedes Lackey books are the witch books she discontinued due to crazies stalking her over the series.

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No drawings in my copy, except the cover. I love Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy and her Liveship Traders series too. I must check out the Kushiel books since I'm getting back into fantasy again