chinese poets, canadian-jewish poets, peter f. hamilton
As summer beats on throb throb throb and night falls only past eight, we continue these murky thoughts, we bear still our many scars from heat. We ponder our wardrobes, we consider renewing our passports. I read some books in June, which was so long ago, and here are my thoughts on them.
Orson Scott Card
Empire
See here.
Allen Steele
Spindrift
I've just had to read the backcover of Spindrift in order to remember basically what went on there. Ok! So Spindrift is about some dudes in a spaceship doing some First Contact. It is pretty good, if not very good! I think. Next!
M. John Harrison
The Machine In Shaft Ten
This old out of print short story collection collects some early works by crazy science fiction guru M. John Harrison and while they are not the best short stories or as absoloutly awesome crazy as Light, his recent novel, they are pretty great! Seriously, they are pretty good. And weird!
Peter F. Hamilton
The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God, Last Chance At Eden
The Nights Dawn trilogy, to be precise, with the addendum of the short story collection set in the same universe, Last Chance At Eden. Coming to something like 3,300 pages, this insanely long hardish space opera sci-fi series totally doesn't feel that long. It's really really good. Peter F. Hamilton, you know, is some sort of mutant genius at constructing well-thought out, totally believable, and interesting sci-fi settings. I'm serious. He spawns out a new series every few years, and every time it's awesome. Of course, he's also a mutant genius at completely unsatisfacory endings. But I forgive him! The Nights Dawn trilogy as a whole is one of the best sci-fi works i've ever read. Populated by a hundred heroic and less heroic characters. Who never sleep together as much as you'd like them to. It is totally great.
Random Messianic Jews (Purportedly Rabbi Natan, by the words of Rabbi Nachman, the messiah of this sect of Messianic Jews)
Courage! (hebrew)
So, how do I explain this. Okay! The Breslavs are a sort-of-messianic-but-not-too-messianic sect of Judiasm who are followers of the Rabbi Nachman, a few century ago Big Ol' Rabbi. This Rabbi was a Good Ol' Rabbi as well, saying pretty Accurate things, if within the very limiting view of Hasidic Judiasm. Anyways! Nothing at all like, say, the Watchtower dudes, they give out these little booklets to random passers by often! And I, thinking that but for their views on non-jews and horrific monotheistic refusal to flex the Breslavs are pretty good dudes (they are) took one! Then I read it! That's about it. What I mean is again Marina if some Breslav hands you a booklet be open and maybe it will be interesting for you!
Hermann Hesse
Strange News From Another Star
A collection of beautiful short stories by one of the quiet masters of questioning fiction. Hermann Hesse is not ashamed to tell you about what he thinks people should be like in metaphors! Hermann Hesse writes the best, bar none, dream sequence i've ever read (And, fittingly enough, it's absolutely meaningless to anyone not Hermann Hesse)! Hermann Hesse totally wrote out a version of the plot of my Mountain book in a few pages of short story! He's an asshole! If you ever find a copy of Strange News From Another Star, I think you should read it.
Cory Doctorow
Little Brother (free download link)
Admission: I think I might not like Cory Doctorow. First it was When The Sysadmins Ruled The World, a very popular short story about the apocalyse and a group of Sysadmins claiming to rule the world until they run out of food. Which was horrible. Maybe it was intended to be a dark, very mean satire of the pumped up importance of the internet gurus of our dark age, but I somehow doubt it. Anyways. Then there's Little Brother. Little Brother is a hamhanded political novel about a group of teens in the very-near-future who witness a terrorist bombing, then are arrested by the Evil Homeland Security and tortured! Then they are released and fight them by - i'm not really sure. Graffiti tagging and posting on their blogs. And in one pivotal scene, staging a mass LARP. And hamhandedly attempting to co-op the Yippy&related subcultures of the 60s. But I can't blame the characters for that, that was the author. Anyways, it's really pretty bad.
So I might not like Cory Doctorow. No offense Cory Doctorow! I think you are a ok dude but maybe rethink your moral priorities.
Leonard Cohen
"Book Of Longing (reread), Book Of Mercy
Book Of Longing is a book of beautiful, amazing poems. Book Of Mercy is a book of beautiful, strange, uncanny psalms, notes-to-God. They are both very good, and very different, and I think it would only help if you read both of them.
Li-Young Lee
The City In Which I Love You
Gorgous, subtle, intensely personal, wonderfully precise poetry about being Li-Young Lee, and being other people. Yes.
That's all the books I read, sweet babes. Rest now,
close your eyes
that's right.
Good night.
Orson Scott Card
Empire
See here.
Allen Steele
Spindrift
I've just had to read the backcover of Spindrift in order to remember basically what went on there. Ok! So Spindrift is about some dudes in a spaceship doing some First Contact. It is pretty good, if not very good! I think. Next!
M. John Harrison
The Machine In Shaft Ten
This old out of print short story collection collects some early works by crazy science fiction guru M. John Harrison and while they are not the best short stories or as absoloutly awesome crazy as Light, his recent novel, they are pretty great! Seriously, they are pretty good. And weird!
Peter F. Hamilton
The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God, Last Chance At Eden
The Nights Dawn trilogy, to be precise, with the addendum of the short story collection set in the same universe, Last Chance At Eden. Coming to something like 3,300 pages, this insanely long hardish space opera sci-fi series totally doesn't feel that long. It's really really good. Peter F. Hamilton, you know, is some sort of mutant genius at constructing well-thought out, totally believable, and interesting sci-fi settings. I'm serious. He spawns out a new series every few years, and every time it's awesome. Of course, he's also a mutant genius at completely unsatisfacory endings. But I forgive him! The Nights Dawn trilogy as a whole is one of the best sci-fi works i've ever read. Populated by a hundred heroic and less heroic characters. Who never sleep together as much as you'd like them to. It is totally great.
Random Messianic Jews (Purportedly Rabbi Natan, by the words of Rabbi Nachman, the messiah of this sect of Messianic Jews)
Courage! (hebrew)
So, how do I explain this. Okay! The Breslavs are a sort-of-messianic-but-not-too-messianic sect of Judiasm who are followers of the Rabbi Nachman, a few century ago Big Ol' Rabbi. This Rabbi was a Good Ol' Rabbi as well, saying pretty Accurate things, if within the very limiting view of Hasidic Judiasm. Anyways! Nothing at all like, say, the Watchtower dudes, they give out these little booklets to random passers by often! And I, thinking that but for their views on non-jews and horrific monotheistic refusal to flex the Breslavs are pretty good dudes (they are) took one! Then I read it! That's about it. What I mean is again Marina if some Breslav hands you a booklet be open and maybe it will be interesting for you!
Hermann Hesse
Strange News From Another Star
A collection of beautiful short stories by one of the quiet masters of questioning fiction. Hermann Hesse is not ashamed to tell you about what he thinks people should be like in metaphors! Hermann Hesse writes the best, bar none, dream sequence i've ever read (And, fittingly enough, it's absolutely meaningless to anyone not Hermann Hesse)! Hermann Hesse totally wrote out a version of the plot of my Mountain book in a few pages of short story! He's an asshole! If you ever find a copy of Strange News From Another Star, I think you should read it.
Cory Doctorow
Little Brother (free download link)
Admission: I think I might not like Cory Doctorow. First it was When The Sysadmins Ruled The World, a very popular short story about the apocalyse and a group of Sysadmins claiming to rule the world until they run out of food. Which was horrible. Maybe it was intended to be a dark, very mean satire of the pumped up importance of the internet gurus of our dark age, but I somehow doubt it. Anyways. Then there's Little Brother. Little Brother is a hamhanded political novel about a group of teens in the very-near-future who witness a terrorist bombing, then are arrested by the Evil Homeland Security and tortured! Then they are released and fight them by - i'm not really sure. Graffiti tagging and posting on their blogs. And in one pivotal scene, staging a mass LARP. And hamhandedly attempting to co-op the Yippy&related subcultures of the 60s. But I can't blame the characters for that, that was the author. Anyways, it's really pretty bad.
So I might not like Cory Doctorow. No offense Cory Doctorow! I think you are a ok dude but maybe rethink your moral priorities.
Leonard Cohen
"Book Of Longing (reread), Book Of Mercy
Book Of Longing is a book of beautiful, amazing poems. Book Of Mercy is a book of beautiful, strange, uncanny psalms, notes-to-God. They are both very good, and very different, and I think it would only help if you read both of them.
Li-Young Lee
The City In Which I Love You
Gorgous, subtle, intensely personal, wonderfully precise poetry about being Li-Young Lee, and being other people. Yes.
That's all the books I read, sweet babes. Rest now,
close your eyes
that's right.
Good night.