-
The Alchemist
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Published: 1988 Translated by: Alan R. Clarke (from Portuguese in 1993) Length: 167 pages I’ve been hearing about this one for a long time now. At first I was excited to get to it, but as the years passed I started thinking it probably wasn’t for me. My girlfriend had a copy, though, and really loves the book, so I thought I’d give it a go. This is the story of a young Shepard who discovers that his Personal Legend is to travel to the Egyptian pyramids to find his fortune. He is met at the beginning of the book by a king who tells…
-
April in Review
Books Acquired: Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel by Scott Adams Exiles on Asperus by John Wyndham Blankets by Craig Thompson The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon Amsterdam by Ian McEwan The Massacre Of Glencoe by John Buchan I’m a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood So, Anyway… by John Cleese The Salzburg Connection by Helen MacInnes The Tenth Man by Graham Greene Congo by Michael Crichton Microserfs by Douglas Coupland Black Swan Green by David Mitchell When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris Books Read: The…
-
Times Colonist Annual Book Sale Haul
It’s that special time of year again. Christmas, you ask? No, much better than that. This weekend was the 19th annual used book here in Victoria. Every year they receive thousands of books by donation and sell them for one to three dollars. The proceeds go towards local literacy programs, and any remaining books are then made available for schools to pick up for free. This means guilt-free book shopping! I also donated about nine of my own books, so I don’t even really have to worry about space. The only book I really had in mind going in was Tooth & Nail by Ian Rankin, as his books are…
-
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 Sculptor
The Sculptor by Scott McCloud Format: Graphic Novel Illustrated by: Scott McCloud Publisher: First Second Books Published: 2015 Length: 496 pages I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, but I kept hearing excellent things. I know Scott McCloud from, but haven’t yet read, his trilogy of non-fiction graphic novels on the topic of comics: Understanding Comics, Making Comics, and Reinventing Comics. David Smith is a struggling artist who achieved minor fame early in his career and then watched it crumble away. He’s broke and facing possible homelessness, feeling like he’s hit rock bottom in his life, when he’s presented with a deal: his life for his art. He will…
-
Golden Son
Golden Son by Pierce Brown Published: 2015 Series: Red Rising #2 Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds Length: 19:02 (464 pages) Red Rising was one of my favourite books last year. I marked it as my first favourite, but I made the list right after reading it, and I might have still been coming down a bit. Either way, it was a fantastic novel. This is the second of the trilogy, and it easily lived up to the first book. He always thinks because I’m reading, I’m not doing anything. There is no greater plague to an introvert than the extroverted. I had a couple of small problems with the first…
-
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…
-
March in Review
Books Acquired: The Tragedy of Mister Morn by Vladimir Nabokov Books Read: The Last Colony (Old Man’s War #3) by John Scalzi Golden Son (Red Rising #2) by Pierce Brown The Sculptor by Scott McCloud Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher I really enjoyed everything I read in March. Two were sequels to novels I love, so those aren’t too much of a surprise. The third is a graphic novel that got a lot of buzz last year and came highly recommended from a number of people I trust, so also not a huge surprise. The fourth was Carrie Fisher’s first autobiography, which I picked up on a complete whim and…
-
Splutter in Senseless Sounds
The last post was getting a bit full of quotes, so I thought I’d leave these two slightly longer excerpts to their own post. They were too good not to share. The first on his attitude towards work: It always does seem to me that I am doing more work than I should do. It is not that I object to the work, mind you; I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. I love to keep it by me: the idea of getting rid of it nearly breaks my heart. You cannot give me too much work; to accumulate work has almost…
-
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome Published: 1889 Narrated by: Steven Crossley Series: Three Men Length: 06:44 (184 pages) I can’t remember where I heard about this, I think this time last year it was unknown to me, but I would like to extend an enthusiastic thank you to whoever brought this to my attention. I absolutely loved this novel. This follows three men, and a dog, as they take a two-week holiday to travel down the Thames by boat. This was originally meant to be a serious travel guide, but it quickly become more about the humourous insights that occurred along the way. He tried to…