The Man Inside, by W. Watts Biggers. I first read this book in early 1969; it has haunted me since. It's a strange, allegorical tale, about a young man with no memory who goes through a series of adventures and ends up inside a robot. I might have purchased the book because I thought it science-fiction (it really isn’t); it may have also been purchased during a brief period in late 1968 when I tried to buy every sf book I bumped into. (Fiscal reality quickly took hold.) Over the years I've looked for the book in used bookstores, but finally searched for it online. Biggers is perhaps best known for his work on Underdog. I was pleased to revisit, and to in some ways look over my own shoulder, but in general I was disappointed.
Another book I picked up from an on-line seller is Blondie and Dagwood's Snapshot Clue, purportedly by Chic Young but likely ghosted. I had bumped into a similar book at a used book store up in Northport, years ago, about another old comic strip character, and wondered what such a book would be like. Blondie didn't have much to do with the Blondie-and-Dagwood universe, and was a rather obvious story drawn out to nearly 250 pages. It was okay. It's an early version of novelizations that take advantage of public interest in certain characters; certainly this one is less ambitious than, say, any of the many Star Trek novels, which while they are constrained from altering major features of the Trek universe, usually develop a rich side story about other characters.
Late last year, I read the second Man From U.N.C.L.E. novelization, The Doomsday Affair (my brother Mike and I bought the book in the mid-60s, but I'd never read it), and had a similar experience: it was on okay story, but didn't have much to do with the U.N.C.L.E. franchise. It certainly seemed to have been written to spec, because the story came to an abrupt ending on page 160; it was so abrupt, I double-checked to make sure there weren't pages missing! Somewhat related is the old Ellery Queen series; many of the stories were "ghost-written" by famous writers. I've known for a long while that sf-writer Jack Vance had written several Queen novels, and I finally got my hands on one, Madman Theory. It's a rather run-of-the-mill murder mystery, although with unusual detail about California wildnerness. The oddest thing about the book is that Ellery Queen isn't in and isn't even mentioned. I guess you could say that's the biggest mystery . . . .
Good to Great by Jim Collins is a business book recommended by a book club at work. Back in December I read a wonderful business book by Srikumar Rao (Are You Ready to Succeed?), which stressed the personal approach (what can I do?), and I resisted the Collins book because it seemed more of a macro book, designed for CEOs and VIPS. But the Collins book is excellent, full of interesting ideas about what makes a company great (as opposed to "just good"), and also lots of suggestions for what can be done at any level. These weren't just "ideas," but were the distillation of research done on "great" companies. I was especially heartened by the notion that it's people, the best people, "on the right seats on the bus," who can make a company great, not necessarily the great ideas.
I'm been a big fan of the Children of the Lamp series by P.B. Kerr. I read the first one aloud to Em (my reading aloud to her ended early in 2007, alas), and have continued to read them afterwards. The 4th book, The Day of the Djinn Warriors, seemed to end suddenly and to lose its spirit, but the 5th book, The Eye in the Forest, is happily back up to snuff. The books have a nice blend of humor and adventure.
Dara Horn’s The World To Come is one of those rare, wonderful books that you find yourself reading slower and slower because you don’t want them to end. Finishing the book and then seeing Fiddler on the Roof at the Detroit Opera House later that day was an intriguing connection; both works are rooted in dark, Jewish oppression, but aso with brightness, humor, intelligence, art. Horn has a clear, confident, flexible style; she adjusts, bulks up to talk about war or madness or the metaphysical, slims down when the going is simple. I’ve ordered her first book; her third is due out in hardcover later this month.
Late last year, I read the second Man From U.N.C.L.E. novelization, The Doomsday Affair (my brother Mike and I bought the book in the mid-60s, but I'd never read it), and had a similar experience: it was on okay story, but didn't have much to do with the U.N.C.L.E. franchise. It certainly seemed to have been written to spec, because the story came to an abrupt ending on page 160; it was so abrupt, I double-checked to make sure there weren't pages missing! Somewhat related is the old Ellery Queen series; many of the stories were "ghost-written" by famous writers. I've known for a long while that sf-writer Jack Vance had written several Queen novels, and I finally got my hands on one, Madman Theory. It's a rather run-of-the-mill murder mystery, although with unusual detail about California wildnerness. The oddest thing about the book is that Ellery Queen isn't in and isn't even mentioned. I guess you could say that's the biggest mystery . . . .
Good to Great by Jim Collins is a business book recommended by a book club at work. Back in December I read a wonderful business book by Srikumar Rao (Are You Ready to Succeed?), which stressed the personal approach (what can I do?), and I resisted the Collins book because it seemed more of a macro book, designed for CEOs and VIPS. But the Collins book is excellent, full of interesting ideas about what makes a company great (as opposed to "just good"), and also lots of suggestions for what can be done at any level. These weren't just "ideas," but were the distillation of research done on "great" companies. I was especially heartened by the notion that it's people, the best people, "on the right seats on the bus," who can make a company great, not necessarily the great ideas.
I'm been a big fan of the Children of the Lamp series by P.B. Kerr. I read the first one aloud to Em (my reading aloud to her ended early in 2007, alas), and have continued to read them afterwards. The 4th book, The Day of the Djinn Warriors, seemed to end suddenly and to lose its spirit, but the 5th book, The Eye in the Forest, is happily back up to snuff. The books have a nice blend of humor and adventure.
February 2009
I read Economies by Fanny Howe after enjoying an essay of hers in a recent issue of Poetry magazine. The essay, a bit of family history, read like poetry; I thought I'd try Howe's fiction, and Economies is a recent collection of short stories. The stories were well written, although too bleak for my tastes. I think I most enjoyed Howe's structural creativity and courage; some the stories were put together unusually, and I liked that and also found it useful for my own writing projects.
Of the Oscar nominees, The Reader is my favorite. I've read in a few places that the movie either doesn't do justice to the book or minimizes its great themes, so I read the book, especially after Nancy gave it to me for Valentine's Day. I liked the book. While it did treat some of the material from the film more deeply, and provide more detail, I still felt that the major absences of the film (the underlying natures of the two main characters) remained absent. To some extent, an appeal of the book and the film is to not make it easy for the viewer/reader and not explain everything, but there is a downside to this, too.
Benjamin Franklin has been a hero of mine for a long time, probably since I read his autobiography (or maybe it was a portion of it) in 7th grade. I wound up naming a little "news and scandal" newsletter I produced for a few years (7th into 9th grade) after Franklin. A few years back I picked up a biography of Franklin by Edmund Morgan, and finally read it all the way through. I must say that the book was mostly devoted to Franklin's political life and not so much to his personal life. I enjoyed learning about Franklin's involvement in America heading into independence, and about the many years (nearly 30) that he spent in England and France, but wanted more personal information.
Lavinia, LeGuin
March 2009
Dara Horn’s The World To Come is one of those rare, wonderful books that you find yourself reading slower and slower because you don’t want them to end. Finishing the book and then seeing Fiddler on the Roof at the Detroit Opera House later that day was an intriguing connection; both works are rooted in dark, Jewish oppression, but aso with brightness, humor, intelligence, art. Horn has a clear, confident, flexible style; she adjusts, bulks up to talk about war or madness or the metaphysical, slims down when the going is simple. I’ve ordered her first book; her third is due out in hardcover later this month.
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