I’m trying to read 52 books in 2007, a book a week. I’ve still got a little cushion, but I’m slowing down. Been lucky, with lots of good books. Here’s a list, with a one-line review, link to more detailed review. Starred books are particularly good.
52 Books in 2007 – Q1 Results
- *A Clockwork Orange (f), by Anthony Burgess
Wonderfully inventive, dark satire about a hyper-violent future. - Kafka on the Shore (f), by Haruki Murakami (review)
Disappointing outing, tho still worth a read for Murakami fans. - The God Delusion (nf), by Richard Dawkins (review)
Cheap, lazy book by a once-great author. Please: more science, less pop psych and bad philosophy. - *Programming the Universe (nf), by Seth Lloyd (review)
Is the universe a big computer? Fascinating book. - *Lullabies for Little Criminals (f), by Heather O’Neill (review)
Beautiful novel about kid growing up in the skanky streets of Montreal. - A Beginner’s Guide to Anarchism (nf), by Ruth Kinna (review)
Decent intro to anarchism, but missing key connections, especially to the hacker world. - Now is the Hour (f), by Tom Spanbauer (review for Books in Canada)
Coming-of-age-in-the-small-town-60s story of a teen figuring out he might be gay. - The Human Stain (f), by Philip Roth (review)
Slick and assured writing by a great American novelist, lacked something, not sure what. - Prochaine Episode (f), by Hubert Aquin (review)
Twisted tale of a Quebecois spy, or a writer, or a lunatic, or all three. - King John of Canada (f), Scott Gardiner (review for Books in Canada)
Canada gets a king. Satire ensues. - *The Wealth of Networks (nf), by Yochai Benkler (review)
The text to read for a comprehensive and detailed study of the open movement in all its guises. - Slow Man (f), J.M. Coetzee (review)
Man gets hit by car, loses leg. Metaphysical musing, good Coetzee; not great Coetzee. - Crazy about Lili (f), William Weintraub (review)
Fun fluff about a young McGill student in the 1940s, and his friendship with stripper Lili L’Amour (a fictionalized Lili St-Cyr). - America at the Crossroads (nf), Francis Fukayama (review)
Maybe the neocons were a bunch of idiots after all. So says a former neocon. - *A Complicated Kindness (f), Miriam Toews (review)
Mennonite girl smokes pot and screws. Funny, sad, and fantastic.
Darn you, Mcguire – I just hit 13 yesterday and was feeling pretty good about it. Must … overtake … (gasp)
i ususally have a big slowdown in the summer. still: get to work Hughes.
Canada has a summer?
how do you pick your books by the way? are you making a definitive list in january?
books picked randomly (well, based on what I would like to read) … no difinitive list, though there are some books I’d like to read this year, most of which are sitting by my bed.
I’d like to see a review of Italo Calvino’s “If on a winter’s night a traveler†posted.
well i’ll have to read it first. do you recommend it?
I would recommend “If on a winter’s night a traveller”, for whatever that’s worth.
I would also strongly recommend “Fictions” by Jorge Luis Borges – especially for “The Lottery of Babylon” and “The Library of Babel”
Borges I know well…
“winter’s night” it seems to me i picked up once, but have not read. I’ll scour my bookshelves again & see if it’s there somewhere.
From what I’ve read so far, “winter’s night” is awesome.
Hugh, is there a way that commentators can be pinged when their name comes up (like in IRC)?
edward: er… ur askin the wrong guy! maybe this’ll work:
http://edwardog.net/
but normally i try to respond to comments here.
Hugh,
Re: Edward’s desire to track comments — this isn’t exactly what he wants, but it allows your readers to get email notice when someone comments on a thread that they’ve contributed to:
http://txfx.net/code/wordpress/subscribe-to-comments/
A lot of people are using it now and I’m going to add it to mine.
Cheers,
Sprague
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