My belief is based on little more than the enthusiasm that working on Geek Throwdown has stirred up in my attitude toward reading. Not that it takes much to light the bonfire, but it's always nice to feel like my neurosis is justified. The new year starts with a ready-made excuse for me to (once again) scour used bookshops for secret treasures, scam recommendations from friends like a Soviet spy looking for potential double agents, and obsessively make and remake my 'To-Read' list on scraps of notebook paper that follow me everywhere like sad confetti. I love what good books mean to me, and damned if I'm not knock-kneed and misty-eyed over a Reason To Read Even More.
Check back in three months when the words start to get all wobbly and my hold on reality begins to... become not good.
What's important now is that by the end of week one, I've read Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol, Spin State by Chris Moriarty, and The Affinity Bridge by George Mann. I know I was supposed to start with Salman Rushdie, but since the library held a really nice fancy copy for me, I just couldn't bring myself to inevitably trash such a beautiful book with my filthy fingers. So here we are.
Kozol's book was appropriately incendiary and seems to confirm plenty of beliefs I have about the world. It strikes me as the kind of nonfiction that should be read by most people but probably won't. Ach. We know how that goes.
Spin State was aces all around. It had the right shades of Blade Runner and took off in a direction I didn't expect, and the chronic info-dumps were fun and readable. Moriarty's story was character-driven and interesting. The ending was especially abrupt and well-timed, more of a cliff-hanger that didn't feel like a nasty cheat. I don't know how many authors out there are doing the 'Sci Fi Noir' bit but it's a trend I like, a lot. Looking forward to the sequel.
The Affinity Bridge was fantastic, literally, and went by way too quickly. I'd nearly picked up a copy at Malaprop's in Asheville back in November; I'm glad I found a cheap copy the other day and gave it a shot. Hellaciously good even in its' airy derring-do, like a great episode of Buffy or Firefly.
Not sure what to read next, I've got Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Terror, and Charlotte Gray all demanding attention.
These are times when I am literally in love with books, reading, libraries, and being literate.
PAGE TOTAL, WEEK ONE: 1092!
No comments:
Post a Comment