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Readerman's Book List
Library Science
Editor: Robin Kinder
Details: Bound periodical, 410 pages, Haworth1994, 1-56024-672-3.
Interlibrary loan from the Edmon Low Library at Oklahoma State University.
No remarks at this time.
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies [L]
by CS Forester
Lord Hornblower [L]
by CS Forester
Commodore Hornblower [L]
by CS Forester
Horror Fiction
Author: Stephen King
Details: TCCL Hardback, 356 pages, Scribner 2002, -07432-1137-5.
Begun: Wednesday, October 9, 2002 1:50pm
Completed: Sunday, October 13, 2002 11:25pm
No remarks at this time.
Children's Fiction
Author: Gordon Korman
Details: Hardback, 184 pages, Apple 1984, 0-590-43709-7.
Interlibrary loan from Casa Grande Public Library in Casa Grande, AZ
Begun: Saturday, October 12, 2002 10:35pm
Completed: Monday, October 14, 2002 12:55pm
No remarks at this time.
Fiction
Author: Mark Dunn
Details: TCCL Hardback, 205 pages, MacAdam/Cage 2001, 0-9673701-6-7
Begun: Tuesday, October 8, 2002 10:45pm
Completed: Thursday, October 10, 2002 11:25pm
No remarks at this time.
Library Science
Author: Grant Burns
Details: TCCL trade paperback, 185 pages, McFarland 1998, 0-7864-0499-X
Begun: Friday, October 4, 2002 5:10pm
Completed: Saturday, October 5, 2002 11:10pm
No remarks at this time.
Graphic Novel
Author: Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell
Details: TCCL Large-format paperback, various pagings, Eddie Campbell Comics 1999, 0-9585783-4-6
Begun: Thursday, October 3, 2002 10:15am
Completed: Tuesday, October 8, 2002 10:40pm
No remarks at this time.
Young Adult Fiction
Author: Eoin Colfer
Details: TCCL Hardback, 277 pages, Talk Miramax 2002, 0-7868-0855-1
Begun: Sunday, October 6, 2002 3:40pm
Completed: Tuesday, October 8, 2002 9:45am
This is a sequel to one of the most original young adult books I've read in awhile. It's a little unfortunate that, in this time of Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket, it seems to be easy to pass this series off as an imitator, when it has its own very unique mythology.
Artemis Fowl is a young criminal genius. Imagine James Bond at twelve without the scruples. He is heir to an enormous fortune amassed by his father, a criminal mastermind in his own right who was missing, presumed dead, throughout the first novel. He disappeared in the middle of his biggest deal ever, the one that was going to make him the money he needed to go straight.
In The Arctic Incident, it is revealed that he is alive, and Artemis must work to save him from his kidnappers. This alone would make for a great, fast-paced story, but there is another wrinkle. It seems that there is a secret world of fairies, trolls, pixies, and gnomes existing beneath the surface of the earth. They have superior technology coupled with magic, but they have been content to stay away from humans for most of our existence because of the damage we do to the environment. The elite of the Lower Elements Police force of this subterranean demimonde is known as LEPRecon (I know, I know.). In the first book, Artemis stole gold from them, making him their sworn enemy. Now, though, there is a war brewing belowground that threatens to erupt into the human realm, and Artemis and the LEPRecon must work together to solve both of their problems.
Okay, I just read through all that, and it really does sound pretty cheesy. Just trust me. The books are a lot of fun. You might also want to check out the Artemis Fowl website.
Historical Fiction
Author: Jamie O'Neill
Details: TCCL Hardback, 572 pages, Scribner 2001, 0-7432-2294-6
Begun: Sunday, September 22, 2002 10:20am
Completed: Thursday, October 3, 2002 8:45pm
This selection was spurred on by an author interview with O'Neill on NPR. [Weekend Edition, Saturday June 15] I was fascinated by the discussion and put myself on the reserve list for it right away. Once I got it, though, I held onto it quite awhile before starting to read it. It's not a skinny book.
The interview drew me in with its talk of James Joyce, the Irish Easter Uprising (a history I did not know anything about), O'Neill's untutored decision to write a novel (he hadn't read a book until he was twenty) and the privations he endured while writing it. More than any of those things, though, I was interested in the relationship of the two main characters, young gay men in 1915 Ireland.
I have a fascination with gay culture. I think it probably started in college, but when I reached graduate school it really blossomed into curiosity about the lifestyle, support for gay issues, and interest in gay literature and film. A part of it, I'm sure, is the experience of being mistaken for gay, something that's been a part of my life since I was very young. At any rate, I selected At Swim, Two Boys in part for that reason. The book is incredible. I was put off at first by the length and a bit by the dialect of the characters, but I soon slipped smoothly into the world of Jim, Doyler, and their families, watching the interplay of class, religion, and politics in the lives of the large ensemble of characters. I think I identified most strongly with MacMurrough, an older man recently released from a prison term for "Gross Indecency", the same crime for which Oscar Wilde was jailed. His soul-searching, presented as discourses with a spectral cellmate, and his self-sacrifice for the sake of the two boys' love and friendship was heart-wrenching. I recommend this book highly to anyone with an interest in an emotional story that requires some commitment from the reader.
The Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked [L]
by David Benjamin
I'm passing on this one. I checked it out because the title sounded familiar and it intrigued me (I was often the last kid picked, as you might have guessed). But I read the cover blurb, and it's set in the 1950s. I was hoping for something more contemporary, and since I have a lot on my list right now, I'll save it for some other time.
Humor/Pets
Author: Terry Pratchett
Illustrator: Gray Jolliffe
Details: Mass Market Paperback, 126 pages, Gollancz 1995, 0-575-06104-9.
Interlibrary loan from Williamsburg Regional Library.
Begun: Wednesday, October 2, 2002 1:50pm
Completed: Wednesday, October 2, 2002 9:15pm
In my ongoing quest to read ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING THAT TERRY PRATCHETT HAS EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT WRITING, I requested this nonfiction book about cat ownership. It's pretty good. I would probably be more amused if I had ever owned a cat, and I'd probably be pretty upset if I was a dog person, 'cause he bags heavily on the canines, but mostly I just had fun. It's an interesting bit of fluff, but I'm not going to rush out and buy a copy.
Now that I think about it, I don't think I actually own anything written by Terry Pratchett. Everything I've read of his has been borrowed, either from a friend or from a library. This is a little weird. He is, after all, a writer I am completely crazy about. And you know, I don't own any Wodehouse or Forester either. That's really a huge change for me. I've spent years collecting titles by Stephen King, Terri Windling and her Scribblies writing group, and Robert Heinlein. It's interesting that, once I committed to going to library school, all the authors I discovered I read only from libraries. In addition to the ones already mentioned, the same is true of Dorothy Gilman, Tony Hillerman, and Carl Hiaasen.
Of course, there are financial considerations to keep in mind as well. During the same time period, I've had a lot less disposable income. This bears thinking about.
Fantasy
Author: Terry Pratchett
Details: Map and Guidebook, Unnumbered pages, Corgi 1998, 0-552-14608-0.
Interlibrary loan from East Baton Rouge Parish Library
Begun: Wednesday, October 2, 2002 1:10pm
Completed: Wednesday, October 2, 2002 1:40pm
There's not a whole lot to say about this item, which really isn't a book at all. It's the third in a series of "Michelin guide" overviews of locales in Pratchett's Discworld. The map folds out from the back cover of a slim pamphlet. It's a beautiful aerial painting of the Lancre area, which is a kind of combination of Appalachia and Transylvania. The booklet itself has descriptions of walking tours and some "local color" information from the incredibly earthy local witch, Nanny Ogg. It's certainly fun, but It seems a little too much like someone cashing in on Discworld's fame with an expensive item that will appeal to the rabid fan. I'm glad I was only addicted enough to ILL it from two states away instead of buying it online from Amazon UK.
Mystery
Author: Philip Kerr
Details: Pre-Publication Galley, 347 pages, Crown 2002, 0-609-60981-5
Begun: Monday, September 30, 2002 7:30pm
Completed: Tuesday, October 1, 2002 11:50pm
To be honest, I was quite disappointed in Kerr's novel. His idea of using Newton's tenure at the Mint to frame a detective story is good, and he has obviously researched that character meticulously, as he explains in the back matter of the book. However, his portrayal of Newton's "sidekick" character, Christopher Ellis, is much less apt. He appears boorish, dissipated, and crude, and one wonders why Newton spends any time with him at all. There are similar problems with the language. Newton's speeches often read like quotes from his works, and it seems likely that at least a few of them are, while Ellis' phraseology appeared anachronistic. It's not just the difference between high- and low-class tone. Kerr's Newton sounds like an educated 17th century Englishman. His Ellis sounds like a 20th century American.
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