Current Reads

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Current Reads

The book is interesting in terms of introducing a very unique character and putting him in as many situations as he can be without distrupting the story, I'm not too excited by it. Read Last and First Men or Star Maker first. I think my opinion is premature. He's a slow read, but it usually pays off.

After reading If Not Now, When?, I wanted to see what else Primo Levi wrote, and this book is what I found. This is the second book of his I've read and it's also a good book. Originally, I wrote my own synopsis, but the one on the back cover said it better. My ego can take it. Here it is:

In this exuberant and wildly funny novel, Primo Levi celebrates the joys of work and the art of storytelling. The magic is worked through the mezmerizing tales told by Libertini Fausonne, a construction worker, and another character - not unlike Levi himself - who share stories of their adventures. Fausonne is a life-loving, self-educated philospher who has built bridges and towers in India, Africa, Alaska, and Russia. His passion for work and travel shines through his stories - of a monkey who wanted to be a man, of a magnificent machine that caught stardust, and of a first love, a girl who drive a bulldozer. The writer-chemist narrator, himself a rigger of words and molecules, listens, patient and amused, and responds with his own fascinating stories and reflections on the similar joys of labor both physical and intellectual.

The storytelling is excellent, and made it very easy to become engrossed in the material. I've earmarked several passages because they essentially reflect many of my (now realized) opinions of the joys of working. They have helped me actualize some of the things that are incomplete in my life, and I appreciate what it has made available to me.

A major part of the book's appeal is Faussone's character. The more it's presented, the less mysterious he becomes, and I lost interest by the end of the book for that reason.

A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, by John Allen Paulos

I sent a quick note to Dr. Paulos about his book, Innumeracy, and he suggested I pick this one up. Actually, I already owned it, I was just waiting to read it. An eye-opening lesson into the stories behind the newspaper stories. The book is broken down into major newspaper categories (global politics, local politics, "soft" news, science, etc.) and disects different types of stories, hilighting their inaccuracy with clear examples. His exploration into mathematics goes beyond arithmetic into realms of, say, stastics and graph theory, but he rarely ever takes us to these advanced spheres without clear explanation. Dr. Paulos is a good guide; you won't be left behind.

I have two complaints about this book. The first is that the math does get a bit confusing, but missing some details in one in fifty-odd essays is nothing much. The second is the title's attractiveness. I was asked several times by complete strangers to explain the book (something I did with difficulty, for some reason). Clearly, these complaints are no big deal, but I would not be upset if he titles his next book "A Book About Math."

I sent another email to Dr. Paulos after completing this book. He said that maybe I should get a commission! I think I'll stay out of book sales. However, I noticed that I've owned another one of his books for a while, Mathematics and Humor. Give me a couple of months to finish my other stuff.

Starship Troopers, by Robert A. Heinlein

I am a great consumer! Yep, I bought the book because I liked the movie trailer. Enormous computer-generated bugs fighting soldiers in "Mech"-style battlesuits. Adrenaline 101!

The book has very little to do with the adrenaline, and more to do with the story of a worldwide military republic. The only people who get a vote in the system are those who have served a military term. It's a decent read, but I felt he got a bit soft at the end of the book, which made his story, and therefore, his proposed society lose credibility.

So what? I'm still off to the pictures!

Tales From Watership Down, by Richard Adams

This is a nice followup to Watership Down, which tells tales of El-ahrairah and the residents of Watership Down. It's light and interesting reading, but don't pick it up unless you've read the original. It's not as good as Watership Down, but you won't be disappointed if you liked the original..

The Iowa Baseball Conspiracy, by W. P. Kinsella

I picked up this book because of my affection towards Field of Dreams. This book has many similar themes: the undeniable magic of baseball, a father's unfulfilled life.

There was a baseball league formed in Iowa in the early 1900's. For some reason, nobody remembers the league except the narrator. The league founders don't admit starting it, the Chicago Cubs deny having any documentation on it, the local Iowa newpapers have no information about it, but it did exist. There is also a (surprise!) forgotten and historic baseball game between the Cubs and the Iowa Confederacy All-Stars that lasted more than two-thousand innings. Why does nobody admit the truth about the Confederacy, and who is covering it up?

Unfortunately, the book is disappointing. It's an interesting concept, but by the end I didn't particularly care what happened.

War And Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

Wish me luck. I'm on page 102 of 1300-odd pages. At least I like it. It's similar to Dune, but in the same way a speedboat is like a motorcycle. If you've read Dune, you'll probably get into War and Peace.

Garrison Keillor is the host of A Prarie Home Companion, which can be heard on National Public Radio. You may know him for his various stories from Lake Wobegon.

Radio Romance takes us back to 1926 where two brothers start a small radio station to boost the sales of their unsuccessful small sandwich shop. They call it WLT, for With Lettuce and Tomato. The radio station becomes more popular than anything the brothers could have imagined as it turns into the voice of the north Midwest for 25 years. The book is about the people in and around the radio station; a few of which you wouldn't necessarily let in your house.

This is a cute book. The stories are well intertwined, but it's also the kind of light reading that allows you to pick the book up over several weeks or months. It's fun light escapism.