I have gone on record as a lover of sad documentaries and non-fiction. I have actually said the words "sometimes a good cry is important," when referring to experiencing things like Dear Zachary, A Day No Pigs Would Die, The Invisible War, Columbine, and One Nation Under Dog.
So, after reading Sonali Deraniyagala's memoir about losing her entire family in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, I understandably wanted to punch myself in the face. Hard. Books like this, describing devastating experiences like hers, are stark reminders of what a privilege it is to decide to feel like crying.
5 out of 5.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
The Lies of Locke Lamora
But inside! You got your lovable band of con-men tricksters, your mysterious villains, your sexy shark-fighting ladies, your sky-high towers made of alien glass, and capers oh so many capers and cons and heists. It's so fun. It should be made into a movie, or, better yet, an HBO miniseries (so hot right now) so we can all spend more time with Locke Lamora and his lovable cabal of mischievous orphan tricksters, The Gentlemen Bastards. That last part sounds pretty cheesy but I promise you, no one breaks into song, and Scott Lynch throws in plenty of swear words and blood & guts.
The world-building is fantastic, just enough detail without overwhelming. I almost wished I knew more about the setting, a Venice-like city called Camorr full of alchemical gardens & floating markets. They have cinnamon lemons there - how good would cinnamon lemonade be? Hey, if there's a nerd out there reading this, please throw a Gentlemen Bastards party with themed food and invite me (I'm nerdy enough to attend, but not host, such gatherings).
Lynch also borrows from the George R.R. Martin school of fuckery and "things that cause readers to yell at your book" at a few points. A great book giveth, and a great book taketh away.
5 cool, refreshing glasses of nerd-brewed cinnamon lemonade out of 5.
Labels:
5/5,
books that will make fun movies,
characters you want to be friends with,
charming books,
crime,
fantasy,
fun,
George R.R. Martin,
great character names,
heists,
lovable con-men,
misleading covers
Monday, July 1, 2013
Congo
Emboldened by my enjoyable revisit to Jurassic Park &
the Lost World, I thought I’d pick up another Crichton novel I barely
remembered but knew I’d read in my early teens. Foolish, foolish, Jane. This. Book. Is. Bananas.*The plot DID give me some great ideas for band names though:
- Corporate Jungle Heist
- Parachuting Gorilla
- Killer Police Apes
- Gorilla Ticklers
- Stone Skull Crushers
- Amy & The Blue Diamonds
- The Japanese Consortium
Sure, there is some action when the aforementioned killer police
apes start busting out the aforementioned stone skull crushers, but mostly the
book is concerned with how one company is going to beat another company to a
source of rocks that will make computers faster. There are a lot of sentences
that begin “Karen had to upload the data to the satellite uplink to get the new
probability for the desired outcome.” Nerds, do NOT tell me if I got that wrong.
So unless you like reading a lot about old technology, just see the movie. Or,
don’t – because apparently it’s
also pretty bad (Amy the Talking Gorilla was nominated for worst supporting
actress and LOST TO MADONNA. BRB going to be laughing about Madge being worse to watch than
this for awhile).
1 out of 5 playtime sessions with All Ball & Koko.
*Um, YEAH pun intended. Are you new here?
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