Brian's 2013 Book Log

[Janet]

Your cover of Of Mice and Men is gorgeous, Brian!  Mine is utterly hideous.

[Alexi]

Eww! Do you think I can specify to the library which cover I want?

[Janet]

  Maybe...

 

I doubt it!

[Brian.]

Not sure why Penguin who publish both would change the good cover for that horrible one, must be a financial reason.

[Devi]

I've added both those latest books to my wish list! I especially like the sound of The Handmaid's Tale.

Edited July 8, 2013 by Devi

[dex]

What's The Black Path like, Brian. Does it have the same characters as The Savage Altar and are there more babies?

[Brian.]

What's The Black Path like, Brian. Does it have the same characters as The Savage Altar and are there more babies?

 

It has the same characters as it's part of the Rebecka Martinsson series. I don't recall any babies although I do have a very poor memory.

[Brian.]

Mafia State by Luke Harding

 

Synopsis

In 2007 Luke Harding arrived in Moscow to take up a new job as a correspondent for the British newspaper the Guardian. Within months, mysterious agents from Russia's Federal Security Service - the successor to the KGB - had broken into his flat. He found himself tailed by men in cheap leather jackets, bugged, and even summoned to
Lefortovo, the KGB's notorious prison.

The break-in was the beginning of an extraordinary psychological war against the journalist and his family. Vladimir Putin's spies used tactics developed by the KGB and perfected in the 1970s by the Stasi, East Germany's sinister secret police. This clandestine campaign burst into the open in 2011 when the Kremlin expelled Harding from Moscow - the first western reporter to be deported from Russia since the days of the Cold War.
 

My Thoughts

I picked this books up at a bookshop as I have an interest in Russian history, both classical and more modern. I was intrigued by the spiel on the back which highlighted that Harding had been targeted by the FSB due to his articles about what is going on in Russia.

 

From the start some of the techniques used against Harding are straight out of Cold War folklore and it's pretty strange to think that they are still being used today. Harding is keen to point out that the aim of the FSB is not to remain hidden but to disrupt the life of those individuals being targeted. This ranges from the silly, like leaving the phone off the hook to the sinister, deleting a family picture being used as a wallpaper on a laptop. The fact that embassy staff were familiar with these tactics just goes to show how widespread it must be.

 

The book is very critical of the way Putin and other oligarchs now control Russia for huge financial gains. Vast areas of the country live in poverty and dissenters are swiftly dealt with. Although I have no reason to believe this is wrong I couldn't help but feel that this book is written from one point of view only. It isn't a neutral presentation of modern day Russia, it is written by someone who clearly has an axe to grind with Putin and his pals.

 

There is a lot of good information in the book and this means that I didn't find it a quick read. It's not a hard book to read and each chapter deals with a different topic. There are some really good topics about the death of Litvinenko and the military stand off in Georgia.

 

I couldn't help but think that Harding brought some of what happened to him on himself. He knew that he was baiting the Russian authorities and that they wouldn't take kindly to his articles. At the same time he is probably right in saying that a lot of foreign journalists in Russia toe the line so as not upset Putin and that they lack guts.

 

This was an interesting read.

 

 

3/5 (I liked it).

[poppyshake]

Really great review of Of Mice and Men Brian I really liked it too (but have not been so prompt with my review ) I've always been intrigued by The Handmaid's Tale but I'm not good with dystopian novels. I panic when the world is not as we know it. Do you think I'd be okay with it Brian?

[Brian.]

Really great review of Of Mice and Men Brian I really liked it too (but have not been so prompt with my review ) I've always been intrigued by The Handmaid's Tale but I'm not good with dystopian novels. I panic when the world is not as we know it. Do you think I'd be okay with it Brian?

 

You probably will as the detail in more about the immediate surroundings rather than the country as a whole. I think you would know within the first 2 chapters whether it's your kind of book or not.

[Kidsmum]

I've never read Of Mice & Men either Brian even though we have it on the shelves as one of the children studied it at school but after reading your review it sounds like something i'd enjoy. As for The Handmaids Tale, i've read a few of Atwood's books but that ones still my favourite so far.

[Brian.]

I Have the Right to Destroy Myself by Young-Ha Kim

 

Synopsis

I don't encourage murder. I have no interest in one person killing another. I only want to draw out morbid desires, imprisoned deep in the unconscious. This lust, once freed, starts growing. Their imaginations run free, and they soon discover their potential... They are waiting for someone like me.

A spectral, nameless narrator haunts the lost and wounded of big-city Seoul, suggesting solace in suicide. Wandering through the bright lights of their high-urban existence, C and K are brothers who fall in love with the same woman - Se-yeon. As their lives intersect, they tear at each other in a struggle to find connection in their fast-paced, atomized world.
 

 

My Thoughts

This novella came to my attention on a random list that I found on the net somewhere. I'm not sure if I still have the list and I can't recall what website I found it on. Anyway, I decided to read it next as I fancied something a little off the wall and it also means I get to tick another country off the list. This book was a gift from someone and I sometimes wonder what they think about my mental state when I read books like this.

 

It's a bit tricky to review the book as the story is pretty strange and in places nasty. Sometimes the nastiness in a book really feels like it is there for effect only but I thought it worked well here. It's not over done but it does catch the attention and I found myself re-reading a few bits to make sure I read what I thought I had.

 

I also really liked the concept of a person who moves from place to place finding and helping people who wish to commit suicide. It's a delightfully dark idea and something which really appeals to my mind. Personally, I would have preferred a bit more plot but that probably would have spoiled the book.

 

A warped but interesting book.

 

Ohh, and the cover is gorgeous, it would be an incredible tattoo but would require one hell of an artist to make it work.

3/5 (I liked it).

[Brian.]

Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming

 

Synopsis

"Listen, Bond," said Tiffany Case. "It’d take more than Crabmeat Ravigotte to get me into bed with a man. In any event, since it’s your check, I’m going to have caviar, and what the English call “cutlets”, and some pink champagne. I don’t often date a good-looking Englishman and the dinner’s going to live up to the occasion."

Meet Tiffany Case, a cold, gorgeous, devil-may-care blonde; the kind of girl you could get into a lot of trouble with—if you wanted. She stands between James Bond and the leaders of a diamond-smuggling ring that stretches from Africa via London to the States. Bond uses her to infiltrate this gang, but once in America the hunter becomes the hunted. Bond is in real danger until help comes from an unlikely quarter, the ice-maiden herself …

 

My Thoughts

Time for the next novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series of books. I have one more left after this on my TBR so I will have search out the next books soon. I have enjoyed the previous books and discovered that often, the title is the only thing in common with the movies.

 

There are relatively few characters who feature a lot in this book. There is obviously our hero James Bond, the girl, Tiffany Case and the ever reliable Felix Leiter. The bad guys are an American mafia organisation called 'The Spangled Mob'. Initially, Bond doesn't take the threat posed by them too seriously as he thinks that they cannot pose as much danger to him as Smersh have in earlier missions. Needless to say, his initial attitude changes the more he has dealings with them.

 

The plot follows a relatively typical Bond storyline and the book was fairly enjoyable. In particular, old Las Vegas is superbly brought to life by Fleming. I did find the action lacking a little which is a shame as there could have been more done with the mafia angle. I also really didn't like Tiffany Case, I found her to be really quite annoying. She was up and down all the time and I wouldn't have been bothered if she had been killed off.

 

This was a decent enough read but I preferred the earlier books.

 

3/5 (I liked it).

[Brian.]

Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes

 

 

Synopsis

Ultrarunning legend Dean Karnazes has run 262 miles-the equivalent of ten marathons-without rest. He has run over mountains, across Death Valley, and to the South Pole-and is probably the first person to eat an entire pizza while running. With an insight, candor, and humor rarely seen in sports
memoirs (and written without the aid of a ghostwriter or cowriter), Ultramarathon Man has inspired tens of thousands of people-nonrunners and runners alike-to push themselves beyond their comfort zones and be reminded of "what it feels like to be truly alive," says Sam Fussell, author of Muscle.

Ultramarathon Man answers the questions Karnazes is continually asked:

- Why do you do it?
- How do you do it?
- Are you insane?

(taken from goodreads)

My Thoughts

This book was gift, bought for me because 'you like running'. I wasn't sure what to make of the book before I started it. I had no idea who Dean Karnazes was but I was aware that an ultramarathon is any run that is more than 26.2 miles long. This prompted the question in my head, 'how far can a person actually run?'

 

As it turns out, with the right genes, training and mental fortitude a hell of a long way. The blurb on the back of the cover says that it has inspired thousands of people to push beyond their boundaries. I'm not sure about that claim but it's difficult not to feel inspired by reading this book. It put into perspective my struggles at anything over 12km in length. That wouldn't even be considered a warm up for Karnazes but I now want to to push on beyond that.

 

The book is extremely well written and it's easy to see why it is a national bestseller. The chapters just flew by as I was sucked in to the descriptions of the insane race distances involved. They are not all huge successes and the bad bits of his experience are also covered in great depth. One thing that really struck me was the fact that Karnazes managed all this while keeping up his 9 to 5 job.

 

After finishing the book I read a few negative reviews and they are all based around the fact that Karnazes can come across as an egotist. Although I can see where the reviewers are coming from, it's his book about his feats of endurance. It would have been nice to see a few more people from the ultramarathon world included. There are people who have run further than Karnazes but again, it's his book.

 

This is a great read and I think runners and non-runners alike would enjoy it.
 

4/5 (I really liked it).

[Brian.]

Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood

 

 

Synopsis

'I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking,' are the famous lines on the first page. This a semiautobiographical account of Isherwood's time in 1930s Berlin.

Written as a connected series of six short stories the book, first published in 1939, is a brilliant
evocation of the decadence and repression, glamour and sleaze of Berlin society. Isherwood shows the lives of people at threat from the rise of the Nazis: Natalia Laundauer, the rich, Jewish heiress, Peter and Otto, a gay couple andthe 'divinely decadent' Sally Bowles, a young English woman who was so memorably portrayed by Liza Minnelli.

(taken from goodreads)

My Thoughts

I have a love of reading about places that I have been to and in particular cities that I have visited on my travels. For quite a while two books based in Berlin have been on my radar, Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood and Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Doblin.

 

This book is a collection of six short stories which are roughly interconnected with the presence of the author. The six stories detail the lives of various people in a time of political instability prior to the power grab by the nazi party in the 1930's. All of the characters are from slightly different walks of life who happen to live in the city of Berlin.

 

I enjoyed all of the individual stories a lot. I kept expecting one of them to be a bit flat but that didn't happen. The characters are all fairly vibrant and they all really jump off the page. In particular, the character of Sally Bowles caught my attention. I immediately thought of Holly Golightly but unlike Holly I found Bowles to captivating and irritating in equal measures. At her most diva moments she is exactly the kind of person who I dislike and yet there was something endearing about her.

 

A couple of the male characters are what can probably best described as being 'fruity'. In places this is ridiculously over the top but in a very good way. The daft TV show Will & Grace kept popping into my head while I was reading the book, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not.

 

I really enjoyed this book, it was an easy read and I look forward to reading more of Isherwood's work.

 

4/5 (I really liked it).

[frankie]

Great reviews, Brian!
 

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima


My Thoughts
I'm not too sure when or where this book came into my awareness but I have had it sitting on my bookcase for a few months now. I had initially planned to read Confessions of a Mask first because that was the first Mishima book which caught my attention but I felt drawn to this as my next read. I wasn't too sure whether the synopsis was something that would appeal to me but I was intrigued as to why Haruki Murakami dislikes the work on Mishima so much.

 

 

So Murakami dislikes Mishima? I'd never heard that. I was a bit shocked, but then again, authors are just like us, they are (at least hopefully) big readers and they do have their own tastes... Still, quite surprising!

I'm sad that you didn't like the book that much, because the synopsis sounds interesting... I've had this on my wishlist for ages, my friend's brother was reading the book years ago and what she said about the book, having heard her brother's opinions, it made me
want to read it. I still might, but I'm not overly keen on it anymore...
 

Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run by Andy Holgate

 

I'm beginning to see a pattern here...

 

Sounds like a good book to read, even bearing in mind your bugbears about it. Like I told you, I've just bought new running shoes and I'm very excited about giving them a go and starting my jogging program, and I think this would be a very inspirational read I had no idea, though, that the distances were so bloody long...

I think there's just something very appealing in all this... I've never been 'athletic', I was quite useless at gym back in highschool and
stuff, and the stuff we were made to do then took all the fun out of sports. It wasn't until 2006 when I did the jogging program the first
time, on my own, that I started to think that hey, I'm not that useless, I am actually athletic if I only keep on putting the hours in.
Obligatory sports lessons at school can really manage to do the opposite to kids, from what they're supposed to do!

[frankie]

I'm doing my reply in two separate posts because I couldn't get the quote system to work for me properly...

 

I appear to have only bought running books on my last shopping trip
 
Photo 01-07-2013 21 30 00.jpg

 

 
Yes, I definitely see a pattern...

 

I decided to replace my old keyboard Kindle yesterday as it's looking pretty battered and a lot of the keys are fairly unreadable. I opted for
a Wifi Paperwhite and it occurred to me that I still buy paper books new. I had a quick look at my most recent 10 purchases of new paper
books and found that I would have saved a lot of money if I had bought the Kindle versions where available. So from now on I will not buy a new
book in paper form unless it is unavailable as an e-book or from my library. I've pretty much ran out of space again for books so buying them
electronically makes even more sense. I won't be giving up hunting around second hand book shops though, they are such good value for money
and great fun.

 

It's great that you noticed this, you can save your money and do other things with it (like travel to Iceland! ). But I'm glad you're not giving up going to the secondhand bookshops, it's a whole lot of fun, I think it should be claimed as a type of therapy...

 

I Have the Right to Destroy Myself by Young-Ha Kim

[/quote

 

What a beautiful cover! I'd love to read the book just because of it I think the synopsis sounds good, too, I think I'll be adding this to wishlist

 

 

[Brian.]

I can't get the quote system to format like I used to be able to, arghh.

 

 

Great reviews, Brian!

 

Thanks, I thought I'd get bored of doing them but I look forward to it now.

 

 

 

So Murakami dislikes Mishima? I'd never heard that. I was a bit shocked, but then again, authors are just like us, they are (at least hopefully) big readers and they do have their own tastes... Still, quite surprising!

 

I read it in an article about Murakami and I think it's also mentioned on Wikipedia. I think the dislike comes from the fact that Mishima was very much a traditionalist and Murakami is pretty modern in his outlook. I think Murakami also thought that people like Mishima were holding Japan back internationally.

 

 

 

I'm sad that you didn't like the book that much, because the synopsis sounds interesting... I've had this on my wishlist for ages, my friend's brother was reading the book years ago and what she said about the book, having heard her brother's opinions, it made me want to read it. I still might, but I'm not overly keen on it anymore...

 

Don't let my review put you off reading it, we all have different tastes after all.

 

 

 

I had no idea, though, that the distances were so bloody long...

 

For Ironman events they are huge but sprint triathlons are much shorter, 400m - 750m swim, 20km bike ride and 5k run.

 

 

 

I've never been 'athletic', I was quite useless at gym back in highschool and stuff, and the stuff we were made to do then took all the fun out of sports. It wasn't until 2006 when I did the jogging program the first time, on my own, that I started to think that hey, I'm not that useless, I am actually athletic if I only keep on putting the hours in.

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Initially it can be very difficult but given time and patience I think most people would be surprised how much they can achieve physically. Sticking with and exercise or training program is the one place where most people fall down.

 

 

But I'm glad you're not giving up going to the secondhand bookshops, it's a whole lot of fun, I think it should be claimed as a type of
therapy.

 

I don't think it would be possible for me to give it up anyway, I'm addicted.

[frankie]

I can't get the quote system to format like I used to be able to, arghh.

 

Yep, I was struggling with it, too! For some reason.

 

Thanks, I thought I'd get bored of doing them but I look forward to it now.

 

Naaah, don't get bored, you're great at doing them

 

I read it in an article about Murakami and I think it's also mentioned on Wikipedia. I think the dislike comes from the fact that Mishima was very much a traditionalist and Murakami is pretty modern in his outlook. I think Murakami also thought that people like Mishima were holding Japan back internationally.

 

I'll have to look up wiki for that, thanks! But if it was only about Mishima being a traditionalist and Murakami being modern, I think it's a crock of ship, because we need all kinds of different styles of books. It's interesting hearing that Murakami thinks people like Mishima are holding Japan back, internationally. I think Japan is in many ways mega popular in the Western countries...

 

Don't let my review put you off reading it, we all have different tastes after all.

 

Don't worry, I'm still going to read it if/when I get the chance. It was actually one of the books on your 'to swap' list that I would've wanted to get my hands on but other people beat me to it It was just my luck, other people wanting all the books I would've liked to get I snooze, I lose!

 

For Ironman events they are huge but sprint triathlons are much shorter, 400m - 750m swim, 20km bike ride and 5k run.

 

 

Ah yes, that definitely makes sense, duh!  

 

 

 

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Initially it can be very difficult but given time and patience I think most people would be surprised how much they can achieve physically. Sticking with and exercise or training program is the one place where most people fall down.

 

I agree. But then again I imagine it's really hard to get kids involved in physical activity, when they are at a trying age and feeling awkward about growing limbs and stuff... But it doesn't help that they do these monitoring the kids -regimes where kids have to run 1500 meters, and do stretching and some weird acrobatics to see how they scored against that national average And yelling out the times and percentages infront of everyone else, making your worst enemies know how badly you did at this and that

 

Why do they do these national tests? It would be more pleasurable if kids were more able to have an influence on what was done. I would think most kids would like to play different types of games rather than be doing all sorts of crappy tests and hear how they compare to others.

 

I don't think it would be possible for me to give it up anyway, I'm addicted.

 

You and us all

Edited July 19, 2013 by frankie

[Devi]

Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood

 

 

Love this cover! Book added to my wishlist.

[Brian.]

9-11: Was There an Alternative? by Noam Chomsky

 

 

Synopsis

 In 9-11, published in November 2001 and arguably the single most influential post 9-11 book, internationally renowned thinker Noam Chomsky bridged the information gap around the World Trade Center attacks, cutting through the tangle of political opportunism, expedient patriotism, and general conformity that choked off American discourse in the months immediately following.

Chomsky placed the attacks in context, marshaling his deep and nuanced knowledge of American foreign policy to trace the history of American political aggression--in the Middle East and throughout Latin America as well as in Indonesia, in Afghanistan, in India and Pakistan--at the same time warning against America’s increasing reliance on military rhetoric and violence in its response to the attacks, and making the critical point that the mainstream media and public intellectuals were failing to make: any escalation of violence as a response to violence will inevitably lead to further, and bloodier, attacks on innocents in America and around the world.

 

This new edition of 9-11, published on the tenth anniversary of the attacks and featuring a new preface by Chomsky, reminds us that today, just as much as ten years ago, information and clarity remain our most valuable tools in the struggle to prevent future violence against the innocent, both at home and abroad.

(taken from goodreads)

 

 

My Thoughts

I think I bought this book fairly recently as part of a discount deal. I had heard of Chomsky and read interviews that he has given over the years so I am familiar with his viewpoint. This is a very short book, my edition, which is an updated one still only has 170 pages so this review will be pretty short.

 

The book isn't a book as such but more a collection of interview transcripts which have been collated and expanded upon by way of short pieces by Chomsky. Due to this, various points are repeated from time to time and I found this a little annoying. A lot of ground is covered in this short book though and I think it would make a good introduction to this line of political thinking. The points are mostly well explained even though I was familiar with them from The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein.

 

I'm conflicted with my rating for the book. It loses marks for the fact that it is a collection of interviews rather than a cohesive book. My conflict comes from the fact that this book was initially published in November 2001 with the intention to get the work out there. This means that the rough nature of it is understandable but I still would have preferred my updated edition to more 'book like'.

 

 

3/5 (I liked it).

[Timstar]

Caught up on your book log Brian, Some interesting books and great reviews. Glad you liked Of Mice and Men, it's one of my favourites.

[Brian.]

Caught up on your book log Brian, Some interesting books and great reviews. Glad you liked Of Mice and Men, it's one of my favourites.

 

Thanks. I do try to vary what I read as it helps keep my reading mojo flowing, that's why I lurch from 1 subject to another rapidly.

[Timstar]

Thanks. I do try to vary what I read as it helps keep my reading mojo flowing, that's why I lurch from 1 subject to another rapidly.

 

Yeah I noticed! I try to vary mine but no where near as much as you do.

[Brian.]

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

 

 

Synopsis

Five prominent biophysicists have set up the Wildfire Project, to investigate the frightening possibilities of a biological emergency. They send an urgent warning to the President of the United States, that sterilisation procedures for returning space probes may not be adequate to guarantee uncontaminated re-entry to the atmosphere.

Two years later, Project Scoop sends seventeen satellites into the fringes of outerspace to 'collect organisms and dust for study'. But the real aim of the mission is kept secret - they have been sent to discover new biological weapons of war.

Then in the middle of the night, one of the probe satellites from Project Scoop crashes onto the tiny town of Piedmont, in northeastern Arizona. Soon after, all but two of the inhabitants are found dead from a strange disease that dried the very blood in their veins and caused death in minutes...
The Andromeda Strain.

Time is running out for the scientists...they must discover the biological link between the two survivors and trace what is causing the horrifying virus. For they know it is only a matter of time before it will spread through their country, killing millions, and only they have the knowledge to stop it from doing so..

(taken from goodreads)

 

My Thoughts

I have a distance memory of this book on my parents bookshelf when I was a young 'un. Even though I hadn't graduated to reading proper books at the time I was captivated by the cover. At some point the book disappeared and it didn't cross my mind again until I saw the 1971 movie on the TV late on night about 20 years ago. I saw a copy of it while doing one of my regular charity shop sweeps and I just had to buy it and see what the book was like.

 

The book is laid out as a factual recollection at a hearing of events that occur due to the crash landing of a satellite. Along with the details of what happened we discover the mistakes and discoveries made by the team of scientists sent to solve the disease which has killed many people. This all comes together to make an interesting book which is based on more than just ratcheting up the tension.

 

There is a lot of scientific detail and its clear that there was a lot of research that went into the book before it was written. There is also a quite interesting aspect looking into artificial intelligence and what happens when machines we rely on fail and it goes un-noticed. Although the plot may look a bit far fetched to readers today I imagine that in the 60's when it was published these were real fears that many people had.

 

The book is well written and well paced so I found myself picking it up to read whenever I had a spare 5 minutes.

 

4/5 (I really liked it).