Collected Miscellany

Peter Sean Bradly, esq. – proprietor of Lex Communis has posted an interesting book review of The Sparrow by Doria Maria Russell. If you are interested in science fiction, the problem of suffering, and/or just enjoy book reviews, check it out

Salon has a good review of Koba the Dread by Martin Amis – this week’s “Book of the Week.” Excerpt:

. . . what Amis is trying to do in “Koba the Dread” is to clear the mental decks, to synthesize what various sources have to tell us about the reality of a major episode of 20th century history and to disdain any attempt to apologize for it or explain it away. That he does not consider himself especially political may be why his tone is so even (though firm), why he’s without either the guilt or the fury that ex-believers feel in having allowed themselves to be deceived. Amis is asking if we can finally talk about this as logical, sensible, morally sentient adults.

This book is next in line for me so I hope to have my own review posted in the not too distant future.

National Review Online has a Q&A with William F. Buckley Jr. dealing with his book Nuremberg.

They also have posted Micahel Knox Beran’s review from the June 17 issue of NR On Dead Tree.

Here is my review of Nuremberg.

Some of you might think the title of this blog is a joke or toungue in cheek. Sadly, for some people this is not the case. See this NYT story: The Best Stealer List.

It seems some people are so enamoured of books that they will steal them if they have to:

While there’s no certainty that book sales are on the rise this summer, unfortunately there’s inferential evidence that there’s no shrinkage of “inventory shrinkage” in bookstores, and it may be rising . . . Who is doing all the stealing? There are the thieves who simply want to read a book or give it as a gift, particularly an expensive photo or art book. There are those, called boosters, who steal for resale. To many booksellers, the Beat generation means drugs, so stealing a Kerouac means reselling it for drug money. In recent years, there have even been several book-stealing gangs, led by bookstore owners.

I guess I should look on the bright side. I may have a problem but stealing is not one of them.

What did I do on my spontaneous day off? I finished reading fellow blogger Ken Layne’s book Dot.Con.

The book describes the travails of down on his luck reporter Larry Jonestowne. Jonestowne lands in San Francisco and decides to try grab a slices of the then ever expanding Internet pie by becoming a Tech journalist of sorts. Well, his first assignment goes badly and soon he is on the lamb with a stolen identity and host of enemies. The adventure takes him through some of the ugliest neighborhoods in the Bay Area, Las Vegas, and even the beaches of Mexico. All the while, Larry uses a unique style of tabloid internet journalism to keep his enemies guessing and to keep his income flowing.

All I can say is what fun! It is a practically non-stop mis-adventure through the Dot Com world. The characters are eccentric and quirky but real (besides the main character you have an obese “Fat People’s Revolutionary” named Terry Texas and her side kick, an overweight hyper-insecure hacker wannabe; The main heavy Thomas Sander, a main of vast weight, riches, ego, and cruelty; and a host of other small but sharply draw bit players. The descriptions of the various settings are such that you wonder just how Ken could describe these places in such detail. I guess being a nomadic wanderer pays off sometimes. Along the way, the book skewers journalism, the Dot Com bubble, the unique victim/group politics of California, and a host of other inflated egos and issues. Just when you think the story is slowing down Ken adds another twist to the puzzle, leaving you wondering just how Larry is going to escape the ever impending crash. Despite Larry’s a . . . lack of strict ethics, you find yourself rooting for him against a bizarre but all to real cast of characters. When you finally get to the end and survive the final twist, you are ready for the next episode in the life of Larry Jonestowne/Jesus Ramirez.

I have read a great many popular novels. The question I have after Dot.Com was: Why isn’t Ken Layne writing novels for a living? Popular culture spits out terrible books at an alarming rate; books full of bad writing and insipid plots. Ken Layne has written a witty and sharp satire of an incredibly topical subject and has financial problems? What a shame.

Now, obviously Dot.con is not great literature with a capital L (and I don’t think Ken is claiming it as such). But so what, you can’t read that stuff all the time. But this book is certainly better than a massive chunk of what currently passes for popular fiction. Ken gives me what I am looking for in a good read:

– An interesting and plausible plot (within the limits of the work itself).
– Fascinating and believable characters.
– Dialogue that provides pace, content, and humor.

What is so interesting about Dot.Con is that even though it is fiction you feel like you are learning something about San Francisco and its environs. The descriptions of the neighborhoods – the restaurants, the streets, the people – seem so real and are described in such a way that you feel like if you went there you would recognize the place. In other words, Ken describes the place not just as filler but as a crucial part of the story. The story is soaked in the setting; the people and places influence and reflect each other. From reading the book you get the feeling that Ken would be a fascinating person to have a conversation with, as someone who could write these descriptions must have lived an interesting life.

If you don’t have a copy of Dot.com yet get one from Ken. It is a great read and a fascinating look at life in California during one of the strangest parts of its ongoing strange history.

Recommend: Yes!

BTW, If you want to read an interview with Ken I did awhile back click here.

I have a question to pose to the blogosphere:

If someone you knew were only going to read ten novles in their life, which ones would you recomend?

I have asked a few people to get the ball rolling for you. National Review Literary Editor Michael Potemra offered this list:

Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time (7 vols.)
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment