June's mix of books was another varied one, though it leaned a little heavier on the SciFi side. I ended up having to return a number of the books to the library before I had a chance to fully go back through them and jot down my thoughts - one unfortunate aspect of having a limited amount of time with most of the books I read.
The Postman - David Brin (1985)
"Where is it written that one should only care about big things?"
This was one of the more hopeful of the Post-Apocalyptic books I've read, which I have no complaints about. Any specifically SciFi aspects of it felt fairly light. Probably the main thing that bothered me was the several instances of Deus ex Machina, and I'm still unsure how I feel about the gender roles as presented. Still, it's engaging and interesting despite the number of related books I've read recently. And once I learned that the book was first published in several parts in novella form (not uncommon for the genre), I felt that the structure made more sense.
Related Reads:
Alas, Babylon (Frank)
Earth Abides (Stewart)
The Philip K. Dick Reader ["The Turning Wheel"]
The Three Body Problem - Cixin Liu (2006)
(Translated from Chinese to English by Ken Liu in 2014)
"Sometimes I thought life was precious, and everything was so important; but other times I thought humans were insignificant, and nothing was worthwhile."
I missed the boat on reading this a few years back when it was at a popularity peak. The story is fairly math/physics/computer-science heavy, but uses language that the average non-STEM-field reader can generally follow. I did feel that someone in related fields would find more to appreciate here. China's Cultural Revolution and surrounding history also plays a fairly big role; an overall knowledge of it would be helpful, although their are footnotes in the English edition that offer brief additional insight. Wresting with certain difficult philosophical questions is also major part of the book.
There were definitely differences between the structure and tone of this book and what I'd normally expect from a book written by an American author - I had envisioned the book going a completely different way at the beginning than where it ended up. The translator's note about quality of translation gave a bit more explanation here. I'm not sure I'm invested enough to say I'll definitely find and read the sequels, but I wouldn't rule it out, either.
Related Reads:
Ender's Game (Card)
Ready Player One (Cline)
It's Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too) - Nora Purmort (2016)
"I fought the urge to try to feel things before they happened and instead tried to feel what was actually happening."
The author went through several devastating events within a period of a few short weeks, and she writes about her experiences and emotions with unflinching clarity and surprising humor. Even though I'm pretty sure Nora and I have very dissimilar personalities, the book reads like a conversation with a friend, and I kept finding pithy and relatable quotes. It's a book to pick up if you've "gone through some shit" or want to better understand the thought processes and coping mechanisms of someone who has.
Related Reads:
There is No Good Card for This (Crowe & McDowell)
Bossypants (Fey)
(continued in Part 2)
The Postman - David Brin (1985)
"Where is it written that one should only care about big things?"
This was one of the more hopeful of the Post-Apocalyptic books I've read, which I have no complaints about. Any specifically SciFi aspects of it felt fairly light. Probably the main thing that bothered me was the several instances of Deus ex Machina, and I'm still unsure how I feel about the gender roles as presented. Still, it's engaging and interesting despite the number of related books I've read recently. And once I learned that the book was first published in several parts in novella form (not uncommon for the genre), I felt that the structure made more sense.
Related Reads:
Alas, Babylon (Frank)
Earth Abides (Stewart)
The Philip K. Dick Reader ["The Turning Wheel"]
The Three Body Problem - Cixin Liu (2006)
(Translated from Chinese to English by Ken Liu in 2014)
"Sometimes I thought life was precious, and everything was so important; but other times I thought humans were insignificant, and nothing was worthwhile."
I missed the boat on reading this a few years back when it was at a popularity peak. The story is fairly math/physics/computer-science heavy, but uses language that the average non-STEM-field reader can generally follow. I did feel that someone in related fields would find more to appreciate here. China's Cultural Revolution and surrounding history also plays a fairly big role; an overall knowledge of it would be helpful, although their are footnotes in the English edition that offer brief additional insight. Wresting with certain difficult philosophical questions is also major part of the book.
There were definitely differences between the structure and tone of this book and what I'd normally expect from a book written by an American author - I had envisioned the book going a completely different way at the beginning than where it ended up. The translator's note about quality of translation gave a bit more explanation here. I'm not sure I'm invested enough to say I'll definitely find and read the sequels, but I wouldn't rule it out, either.
Related Reads:
Ender's Game (Card)
Ready Player One (Cline)
It's Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too) - Nora Purmort (2016)
"I fought the urge to try to feel things before they happened and instead tried to feel what was actually happening."
The author went through several devastating events within a period of a few short weeks, and she writes about her experiences and emotions with unflinching clarity and surprising humor. Even though I'm pretty sure Nora and I have very dissimilar personalities, the book reads like a conversation with a friend, and I kept finding pithy and relatable quotes. It's a book to pick up if you've "gone through some shit" or want to better understand the thought processes and coping mechanisms of someone who has.
Related Reads:
There is No Good Card for This (Crowe & McDowell)
Bossypants (Fey)
(continued in Part 2)
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