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Catching Up on Reading List
9 years ago
General
I've been remiss on keeping up with this, but I do want to keep record of what I've been reading so:'
Last time, I said I was gonna be reading A Wizard of Earthsea, but that was sidetracked by a coworker unexpectedly loaning me an omnibus of the first three books in the Sector General series, Hospital Station, Star Surgeon, and Major Operation, by Scottish scifi author James White, which and of whom I had all but never heard of before.
The series concerns a hospital in deep space. The first book is an anthology of several minimally related stories with some of the same characters, and it is hit or miss. Only one of the stories I found to be outright terrible-- concerning telepathic dinosaurs. Some were better, but none really struck me as particularly great. The 2nd book, about a first contact with an alien civilization, and the ensuing conflict, I enjoyed more. The 3rd was also a first contact story, in which, it turned out, one of the two intelligent species on the newly-contacted planet were continent-sized beings not capable of communication with the other intelligent species.
The series in general is full of fascinating ideas, but the quality of the writing is quite poor, and none of the characters felt very real or well-developed to me. It was frustrating-- I felt like if White's ideas had been in the hands of a more skilled craftsman, they would have been realized in a more satisfying way. Is it is: the book did not leave me feeling much interested in reading more of the series. Maybe some day, but certainly not a high priority.
After that, the random draw lead me to read Dr. Mutter's Marvel's. a biography of 19th century American doctor Thomas Mutter, a pioneer of early plastic surgery. I had drawn this earlier, but circumstances distracted me, and it went unread at the time. The book was written by an old friend from the New York poetry scene, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz. I enjoyed it. I feel like I cannot make any critical assessment of this one because of my friendship with the author. In some respects, I feel I judge it too harshly, and in others, maybe too lightly. So I will just say that I enjoyed it and leave it at that.
After that, the random draw again yielded A Wizard of Earth Sea by Ursula K. Le Guin. I'd been aware of Le Guin for many years, but never read anything be her except a couple short stories. This was terrific: vivid, compelling high fantasy. I've ordered the 2nd book in the series, will add it to the list when it arrives. One thing in particular that struck me about it was that the vast majority of the characters are non-white: a rarity in high fantasy. It got me thinking about the Thomas Covenant series, the first three books of which I also read recentishly, on my husband Oscar's recommendation (in addition to the books on this list, I am also always reading one of his recommendations). There is a character in the second book-- Hile Troy-- who I found myself picturing as black, even though nothing in the book states his race or describes his skin tone. A cursory googling reveals that the character is widely accepted to be black, but I can find no explanation with regard to why! It is puzzling.
In any case. After that, the random yielded Sherman Alexie's short story and poetry collection, War Dances, which was also (mostly) terrific. I had read one other Alexie book years ago-- just stories-- and had been itching to read more for a while. The stories are across the board great-- poignant, well written, and relatable-- but I found most of the poetry not to my liking. A lot of it rhymed, and felt awkward and forced to me. Not that rhyming poetry can't be done well... I just... Alexie is a widely respected poet, and I am definitely willing to read more of his stuff... but based on this book alone, I don't get it. I love his prose, though.
After that: Largo Desolato, a short play by Czech playwright Vaclav Havel. Havel, if you are not familiar, was in the 70s and 80s a dissident who opposed the communist government, and a key player in the Velvet Revolution that bloodlessly overthrew said government-- and later president of the new government. He was also a very entertaining absurdist playwright. Largo Desolato, written a couple years after his imprisonment, and several before the revolution, comes across as overtly biographical-- about an dissident being censured by the state, and the high, perhaps unrealistic expectations, of his followers. It's only 56 pages, but an interesting an enjoyable read.
This I finished yesterday, and am now starting on a collection of six plays by John M. Synge, an Irish playwright with whom I have no familiarity, except that I've long been vaguely aware of him as an author of note who is ostensibly worth being familiar with. So, here goes!
Last time, I said I was gonna be reading A Wizard of Earthsea, but that was sidetracked by a coworker unexpectedly loaning me an omnibus of the first three books in the Sector General series, Hospital Station, Star Surgeon, and Major Operation, by Scottish scifi author James White, which and of whom I had all but never heard of before.
The series concerns a hospital in deep space. The first book is an anthology of several minimally related stories with some of the same characters, and it is hit or miss. Only one of the stories I found to be outright terrible-- concerning telepathic dinosaurs. Some were better, but none really struck me as particularly great. The 2nd book, about a first contact with an alien civilization, and the ensuing conflict, I enjoyed more. The 3rd was also a first contact story, in which, it turned out, one of the two intelligent species on the newly-contacted planet were continent-sized beings not capable of communication with the other intelligent species.
The series in general is full of fascinating ideas, but the quality of the writing is quite poor, and none of the characters felt very real or well-developed to me. It was frustrating-- I felt like if White's ideas had been in the hands of a more skilled craftsman, they would have been realized in a more satisfying way. Is it is: the book did not leave me feeling much interested in reading more of the series. Maybe some day, but certainly not a high priority.
After that, the random draw lead me to read Dr. Mutter's Marvel's. a biography of 19th century American doctor Thomas Mutter, a pioneer of early plastic surgery. I had drawn this earlier, but circumstances distracted me, and it went unread at the time. The book was written by an old friend from the New York poetry scene, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz. I enjoyed it. I feel like I cannot make any critical assessment of this one because of my friendship with the author. In some respects, I feel I judge it too harshly, and in others, maybe too lightly. So I will just say that I enjoyed it and leave it at that.
After that, the random draw again yielded A Wizard of Earth Sea by Ursula K. Le Guin. I'd been aware of Le Guin for many years, but never read anything be her except a couple short stories. This was terrific: vivid, compelling high fantasy. I've ordered the 2nd book in the series, will add it to the list when it arrives. One thing in particular that struck me about it was that the vast majority of the characters are non-white: a rarity in high fantasy. It got me thinking about the Thomas Covenant series, the first three books of which I also read recentishly, on my husband Oscar's recommendation (in addition to the books on this list, I am also always reading one of his recommendations). There is a character in the second book-- Hile Troy-- who I found myself picturing as black, even though nothing in the book states his race or describes his skin tone. A cursory googling reveals that the character is widely accepted to be black, but I can find no explanation with regard to why! It is puzzling.
In any case. After that, the random yielded Sherman Alexie's short story and poetry collection, War Dances, which was also (mostly) terrific. I had read one other Alexie book years ago-- just stories-- and had been itching to read more for a while. The stories are across the board great-- poignant, well written, and relatable-- but I found most of the poetry not to my liking. A lot of it rhymed, and felt awkward and forced to me. Not that rhyming poetry can't be done well... I just... Alexie is a widely respected poet, and I am definitely willing to read more of his stuff... but based on this book alone, I don't get it. I love his prose, though.
After that: Largo Desolato, a short play by Czech playwright Vaclav Havel. Havel, if you are not familiar, was in the 70s and 80s a dissident who opposed the communist government, and a key player in the Velvet Revolution that bloodlessly overthrew said government-- and later president of the new government. He was also a very entertaining absurdist playwright. Largo Desolato, written a couple years after his imprisonment, and several before the revolution, comes across as overtly biographical-- about an dissident being censured by the state, and the high, perhaps unrealistic expectations, of his followers. It's only 56 pages, but an interesting an enjoyable read.
This I finished yesterday, and am now starting on a collection of six plays by John M. Synge, an Irish playwright with whom I have no familiarity, except that I've long been vaguely aware of him as an author of note who is ostensibly worth being familiar with. So, here goes!
