-
Amazonia
Amazonia by James Rollins Published: 2002 Length: 510 pages In the first five pages of this book, the main character wrestles an anaconda under water and is sentenced by an Amazonian tribe to trail by combat. We’re also introduced to a secondary character that has a rehabilitated jaguar as a hunting partner and an Indiana Jones whip hanging from his hip, which later he actually uses to flick a gun out of someone’s hand. This novel begins on an absolutely ridiculous level and manages to maintain that for its entire length, which is impressive. Four years prior to the anaconda fight, a scientific expedition travelled into the Amazon rainforest and…
-
The Vegetarian
The Vegetarian by Han Kang Published: 2007 Translated By: Deborah Smith (from Korean in 2015) Length: 192 pages The Vegetarian is this year’s Man Booker International Prize winner, but I’ve seen very mixed reviews since it was awarded the prize last May. I like to watch BookTube videos, and that community seems to be simultaneously obsessed with the Man Booker prize and disapproving of every novel that is shortlisted for it, so I never know what to think. I saw the name so often in the last few months that I picked it up during my Powell’s shopping spree at the end of the summer just to see what the…
-
Captain America: Winter Soldier
Captain America: Winter Soldier by Ed Brubaker Format: Trade Paperback Illustrated by: Steve Epting / Mike Perkins / Michael Lark Collects: Captain America (vol. 5) #1-9 & 11-14 Publisher: Marvel Comics Published: 2005 (collected in 2010) Length: 304 pages Growing up, I was not the least bit interested in Captain America. I think he always seemed a bit tacky to Canadian readers. We have had a couple of maple leaf clad heroes, one with the embarrassing name of Captain Canuck, but they never really took off. I think by the time I was reading comics, the whole squeaky-clean patriotic leader idea wasn’t really in style. Once I learned a bit…
-
The Sea
The Sea by John Banville Published: 2005 Narrated by: John Lee Length: 06:54 (200 pages) Max Morden is a middle-aged man who has just recently lost his wife to illness, and in his grief has returned to the Irish seaside town where his family used to holiday in his youth. During his time there reflecting on his relationship with his wife, and those awkward final days, his mind goes back to his first childhood relationship that took place in that town many years ago. This is a beautifully written novel, and I do enjoy a despicable and depressed protagonist, so the combination of the rich descriptions, morose attitude, and nasty…
-
The Lost City of Z
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann Published: 2009 Narrated by: Mark Deakins Length: 10:06 (352 pages) Still on my adventure kick, I decided to turn to non-fiction this time. This is the story of a rumoured lost city, deep in the Amazon jungle, that captured the minds of explorers for years. Up to a hundred people have disappeared or been killed while searching for Z. I think this was described somewhere as a true to life Indiana Jones tale, which meant I was immediately on board. You can get me to do anything if you hint at the slightest similarity…
-
Gentlemen of the Road
Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon Published: 2007 Length: 204 pages I’ve been wanting to read a Michael Chabon novel for quite a while now, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay in particular, and just haven’t gotten to it. At the book sale last month, I found this and thought it might be a good introduction to him, mainly because it’s nice and short. Those were the longest 200 pages of my life. My god. The concept was great. The cover promises an adventurous tale of Jews with swords, and I’m always up for some swashbuckling. The two main characters are a giant man with an ax and…
-
Wishful Drinking
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher Published: 2008 Narrated by: Carrie Fisher Length: 03:08 (163 pages) With the latest Star Wars release a few months back, I went down a black hole of interviews on YouTube and was reminded of how hilarious Carrie Fisher is. I knew she had written an autobiography, so I thought this would be the perfect time to check it out. It turns out she actually has three autobiographies and a number of novels, and after reading this I think I’ll eventually make my way through them all. This first autobiography is based on her one-woman stage show, and it’s basically an overview of why she is…
-
The Last Colony
The Last Colony by John Scalzi Published: 2007 Series: Old Man’s War #3 Length: 336 pages I’m a big fan of John Scalzi, and the Old Man’s War series are some of his best. This is the third novel, and in this we return to John Perry, the protagonist from the first book, and Jane Sagan. This is a tricky one to summarize without giving away parts of the first book, but in a nutshell, the Colonial Defense Forces have decided to colonize a new planet despite pressure from a coalition of hundreds of races not to do so. John and Jane are chosen to lead the colonization efforts, and…
-
Daemon
Daemon by Daniel Suarez Published: 2006 Narrated by: Jeff Gurner Series: Daemon #1 Length: 15:57 (632 pages) I’ve been getting more and more into science fiction these last few years, and I had a craving for a technological thriller of the computer security variety. I usually have a backlog in my head for every genre, taken from book blogs or interviews or just natural progressions from what I recently read, but I couldn’t think of what to pick up for this. Daemon seemed to be at the top of many random Reddit recommendation threads, though, so I decided to grab the audio book. A billionaire computer game designer passes away,…
-
Stephen Fry in America
Stephen Fry in America by Stephen Fry Published: 2008 Length: 316 pages I love travelogues, and I love Stephen Fry, but I wasn’t in love with this book. I started off quite bored, and eventually did grow to enjoy it, but I think I went in with incorrect expectations. This is an account of Stephen Fry’s trip around America to visit all 50 states, during which he also filmed a six-part television series for the BBC under the same name. I haven’t seen the series, and I can’t say I’m itching to go find it after reading this. He starts his trip in New England, heads down to the south,…