Books, Books, Books
Aug. 18th, 2004 03:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annundrielI just finished The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, which I highly recommend. I can appreciate the fact that it's not a book for everyone, primarily because of the subject matter, but it's a book that definitely deserves thought and attention. The book is science fiction and deals with the discovery of life in Alpha Centuri via radio transmissions and the subsequent journey of a mission funded by the Society of Jesus. It's not the science fiction that I think people would have issues with, but rather the exploration of God and belief and morals that takes place. But it's so much more than just that. It's so much more than just science fiction and so much more than just spiritual journeys. The questions about God and beliefs and the possible answers presented to these questions, are interesting and thought-provoking. And I just really enjoyed the book, okay?
There are excerpts from reviews and one of them says, "Readers who dislike an emphasis on moral dilemmas or spiritual quests may be turned off." My favorite review that I've read so far stats, "The Sparrow casts a strange, unsettling emotional spell, bouncing readers from scenes of black despair to ones of wild euphoria, from the bracing simplicity of pure adventure to the complicated tangles of nonhuman culture and politics...The smooth storytelling and gorgeous characterization can't be faulted."
So, yes. Two thumbs up. Read it.
I was planning on re-reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but I find that my need for reading something with tallships and sailing is really too great to ignore at the moment. So I'm going to re-read Mr. Midshipman Hornblower before I try to continue with that series. I think the last time I read it was in tenth grade. Yes. Because Neesha and I made fun of the somewhat innuendo laden story/chapter titles during Choir. (Oh, the good ol' days...) I like the series, at least what I've read, a lot. C. S. Forester's writing is surprisingly engaging and easy to read. I must confess that I find Patrick O'Brian a bit harder to get through.
I'm also feeling a great need to re-read anything/everything by Jane Austen.
*
Anyhoo. Yesterday Grandma and I went and saw The Manchurian Candidate, which I quite enjoyed. *Very* well acted. And before hand they showed a preview for a movie called Closer with Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, and CLIVE. Ahem. I'll see it just for him. Yup. Jude's not bad either.
Also, Wal-Mart had an appalling lack of Tori Amos. What's with that?
And, why has no one ever told me of Flogging Molly before?? WHY was I not told of this?? I stumbled across them a few weeks ago and have since then been d/ling and waiting to get somewhere that sells more than just the current popular music.
There are excerpts from reviews and one of them says, "Readers who dislike an emphasis on moral dilemmas or spiritual quests may be turned off." My favorite review that I've read so far stats, "The Sparrow casts a strange, unsettling emotional spell, bouncing readers from scenes of black despair to ones of wild euphoria, from the bracing simplicity of pure adventure to the complicated tangles of nonhuman culture and politics...The smooth storytelling and gorgeous characterization can't be faulted."
So, yes. Two thumbs up. Read it.
I was planning on re-reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but I find that my need for reading something with tallships and sailing is really too great to ignore at the moment. So I'm going to re-read Mr. Midshipman Hornblower before I try to continue with that series. I think the last time I read it was in tenth grade. Yes. Because Neesha and I made fun of the somewhat innuendo laden story/chapter titles during Choir. (Oh, the good ol' days...) I like the series, at least what I've read, a lot. C. S. Forester's writing is surprisingly engaging and easy to read. I must confess that I find Patrick O'Brian a bit harder to get through.
I'm also feeling a great need to re-read anything/everything by Jane Austen.
*
Anyhoo. Yesterday Grandma and I went and saw The Manchurian Candidate, which I quite enjoyed. *Very* well acted. And before hand they showed a preview for a movie called Closer with Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, and CLIVE. Ahem. I'll see it just for him. Yup. Jude's not bad either.
Also, Wal-Mart had an appalling lack of Tori Amos. What's with that?
And, why has no one ever told me of Flogging Molly before?? WHY was I not told of this?? I stumbled across them a few weeks ago and have since then been d/ling and waiting to get somewhere that sells more than just the current popular music.