I'm tempted to add another star. Not because the novel is good, but because, unfortunately... it has a lot of interesting ideas but it's way too hard I'm tempted to add another star. Not because the novel is good, but because, unfortunately... it has a lot of interesting ideas but it's way too hard to follow and doesn't just work.
It's really about the adaptation though.
And no I don't mean that Dirk Gently tv show, which is a loose adaptation at best indeed, but because I just listened to the BBC radio show. And that's what it's all about! Radio is of course Douglas Adams first love, and I will count that as 'canon' when it comes to Adams. It's the medium that Dirk Gently was meant to be experienced with.
So if you are asking, this is one of those cases in which case the book isn't better, but the you have to check out the radio drama-- ...more
Tina Fey is one of the best. As a fan of 30 Rock as well as her SNL years, this memoir is perfect. Getting into her early years, motherhood, philosophTina Fey is one of the best. As a fan of 30 Rock as well as her SNL years, this memoir is perfect. Getting into her early years, motherhood, philosophy of improv, behind the scenes at SNL, 30 Rock!!!, and noted Sarah Palin impersonator. All charmingly self-deprecating, yet she's so lovable, signature Fey style. What more could you want?
Also, I listened to the audiobook and Tina's performance is great. Not that it would have made sense to hire someone else to read, but she's just as good as an audiobook reader as anything else. Perhaps she could read other books for a living... something Victorian, or Russian... I'd pay for that....more
I found this book to be absolutely fascinating. Much has been said of the new HBO documentary, but I would recommend watching the film as an added supI found this book to be absolutely fascinating. Much has been said of the new HBO documentary, but I would recommend watching the film as an added supplement to reading this book, a bit of reference with regards to video footage. There is so much more to the story of L. Ron Hubbard and his pseudoscientific religion...
I found the biography of Hubbard to be an amazing story. I had already known the basic backstory of Dienetics and the science fiction writings of the time, but little did I realize what an intriguing character he was. There is no doubt the man was a monster. He was also a genius, in a bizarre way. The manner he treated women was despicable in particular. But his whole deal with grandiosity in the pre-Dianetics age, the occult and sex magick of the O.T.O. era, the self-hypnosis attempts to make himself a superman. What a read.
It goes on much further with Hubbard's new religion, legal challenges, evolving his schtick from self-help into insane space opera backstories going back trillions of years. In fact, author Lawrence Wright is remarkably fair with Hubbard. After researching so much damning evidence -- Operation Snow White is particularly awful -- he does not simply say that Hubbard was a con man. No, Hubbard may have believed his own bullshit after a while. That may be an overly sympathetic interpretation, but it's the conclusion I am left with. After a certain point, even the con men manipulating fanatics must become fanatics themselves.
Some criticize the focus on celebrities in this book, Travolta and Cruise and Paul Haggis, but it is Scientology which makes such a big deal of their 'Celebrity Centre' so that subject is very much -- as they say -- fair game. Behind the scenes with Travolta is one thing, Paul Haggis's personal account as an apostate is definitely required reading, but overall it is Tom Cruise who stands out. Apparently, Cruise believes that he is the number three man of the universe after LRH and David Miscavige.
It is current Scientology leader David Miscavage who may come out worst in this book. The man has so many rumors about abuse it gets ridiculous after a while: every single time it is mentioned by former members again and again there is a new footnote declaring, "the church denies all allegations of abuse from Miscavige." By the way, one thinks of comparisons with disgraced comedians Bill Cosby. How many allegations does it take until we can all just say it is definitely true? And how much fairer can Lawrence Wright be by always putting in the church's footnotes after SO MANY consistent allegations?
The church, of course, claims that it's unfair to use former members' accounts to learn about the inner workings because they are bitter. I happen to think that makes no sense and a former member would be the most honest of all. It's the true believer who always lies, and that goes for all religions but especially weird new religions.
That's one of the key questions, what counts as religions and what counts as a cult? In the end, the IRS settled it and after a crazed war Scientology won the right to be a religion. All their unverified self-help technologies get to hide behind religious liberties and need no scientific verification. Rather convenient, don't you think? And, no taxes. Worst of all, Scientologists get to constantly dodge criticism by claiming "religious bigotry." It does beg the question of why any religions get special benefits in a modern, secular country. Perhaps if America didn't give tax exemption to any church then Scientology would have long gone away by now.
As fair as Wright is, telling the other side and interviewing leading Scientologists with their hordes of lawyers, there is no question. The facts overwhelmingly show that the Church of Scientology is a criminal enterprise engages in tremendous human rights violations and have for decades. In the epilogue Wright gets into Mormonism -- which evolved from a cult to a so-called respectable religion -- and he also gets into Jonestown and the Branch Davidians. The power of belief is a frightening power indeed.
It seems that Scientology is dying already. What a mercy. I just hope they don't harass and sue and stalk Lawrence Wright in the meantime. We get it, Scientology. The institution built up L. Ron Hubbard, let him live on a boat when all countries rightfully kicked him out, and it was unfortunate that he brainwashed so many people (particularly those in the Sea Org) with his lies. Then, the ambitious David Miscavige did his coup and now he gets to live like a celebrity while the church sucks money and free labor from its worshippers. Isn't that enough? Doesn't the world get to move on by now? Please Scientology, just go away already and be nothing more than a sad, curious chapter in tragic American history.
Everyone needs to read this book. Learn about many things, from Robert Heinlen to MK Ultra, the perspective is always broad. Lawrence Wright has done the world a great service by researching and writing this book. ...more
I'm not even going to pretend I'm an objective Truman Capote fan, and just go ahead and compare the novella to the iconic 1961 Audrey Hepburn film.
ThI'm not even going to pretend I'm an objective Truman Capote fan, and just go ahead and compare the novella to the iconic 1961 Audrey Hepburn film.
The original manic pixie dream girl or not, the film is iconic for very good reason. It still stands up well, except of course for that specific example of horribly embarrassing racism which we all know.
There are two main differences from the novella and film: the ending and the time. In fact it works better that it is supposed to take place during 1943 with World War II as a backdrop, as opposed to the hip late 50s/early 60s. The only main discrepancy is the ultimate tragic fate of her brother Fred, actual war vs. random jeep accident, and otherwise parties and gossip columns work just fine in the 40s. So in my view that's a flaw in the adaptation.
And then there's the Hollywood happy ending vs. the unsatisfying literary conclusion. This is the key difference in themes. The titular narrator loves Holly Golightly, sure, but perhaps it's too much to expect that it'd really work out. Remember, you should "never love a wild thing."
Spoilers don't matter for a work this old, do they?
Otherwise, the film really is an incredible adaptation (again: minus the racism) recreating so many wonderful scenes. Reading the source material simply adds to it and I can't recommend it enough.
By the way my edition did have a few short stories by Capote which weren't as strong in my opinion. Even if it's just the main Breakfast at Tiffany's though, worth it. ...more
It was... ok, for an atheist book. As others have said, its no Hitchens or Dawkins and its not supposed to be. Its really supposed to be funny. It oftIt was... ok, for an atheist book. As others have said, its no Hitchens or Dawkins and its not supposed to be. Its really supposed to be funny. It often is, and just as often seems to miss the mark.
First of all, some pretty interesting reasoning on Penn's definition of atheism vs agnosticism. One might say its petty semantics. I think of it as the difference between saying "I don't believe in God" and "I believe there is no God." Suffice to say, Penn strongly argues that if you're answer to The Question is 'I dunno' then you have to be an atheist.
There is quite a lot of celebrity name-dropping, and a lot of what seems to be vulgarity for vulgarity's sake. Enough with the shock value, we get it you like to be naked! Sometimes these sorts of stories are great, hilarious inside stories of pop culture and his nutty life. And often times they come off as just plain bragging.
The parts about family and death and friendship are surprisingly touching. Then he immediately cuts to some story about underwater fucking and zero gravity nudity and how much he fucking hates c-list celebrities at strip clubs.
On libertarianism. I used to be a card-carrying member of that, and I understand all the arguments. They are pretty much right. However, it gets a bit dogmatic and libertarianists tend to put themselves in tinier and tinier boxes of ideological purity. He masks a lot of this passion/knowitall-smug as humility, as his self-deprecating/attention-seeking ego tends to do, but in the end its more of the same. A truly limited government that leaves people alone to be deviants would indeed be nice, but just give in and let the social contract do its work. No taxes and no social programs just isn't going to happen, I wish it would, but while we're in the real world perhaps a more efficient 'big government' would be better to work towards than endlessly arguing why its irrational and then doing nothing to change it. Perhaps I'm getting cynical, but talk radio brand libertarinism just bores me at this point.
Lastly, as a vegetarian atheist I was torn on the story about former jews eating pork. Seafood I don't mind, but I don't want to hear about cheeseburgers and bacon as so awesome. Blasphemy is one thing, and I guess if you're going to eat meat anyway might as well up the system. But I couldn't help cringing at that story. And ex-hasid stories are usually very heart-warming to me! Perhaps I'm the one being too ideological here.
(Also I'd argue that judiaism can be an ethnic group - as arbitrary as those terms are, its what we do and its not that bad to say "he's scottish" "she's han chinese" "they are ashkenazim jewish" et al. - without a jew necessarily being a member of a religion. They overlap to be sure, but can't I say fine I'm jewish by ethnicity but its not my religion??)
Its not mostly a political book, don't get me wrong. Its part atheism, part biography, a lot of comedy. Mostly its just Penn Jillette ranting and he is sincerely good at that. Whether you agree or disagree with him, grossed out or not, you will surely be entertained. ...more
Early Neal Stephenson still worth reading for the completist. It's not postcyberpunk, it's not a hacker thriller, and it's not an historical drama aboEarly Neal Stephenson still worth reading for the completist. It's not postcyberpunk, it's not a hacker thriller, and it's not an historical drama about scientists either.
Zodiac is more based in the real world, about a hip environmentalist fighting corporate toxic waste in the mean streets (and seas) of Boston. Politically, it's very interesting to note that this is pretty much a leftist theme without any libertarian leanings. The main Stephensonism, however, is more about having a cool intellectual adventurer as protagonist, regardless of ideological leanings.
So activist Sangamon Taylor, based off the real-life Marco Kaltofen, basically works for Greenpeace and fights off the evil villains who are tampering with nature in the Boston harbor. The stakes get bigger and ever more exciting, although there is that typical abrupt Stephenson ending which may not be satisfying enough for all.
It's a relatively quick read, you can learn a lot about chemical compositions and such, and even with all the trademarked fascinating infodumps it goes by much faster than his latter 1000-page tomes. Topics range from why simpler molecules make for better drugs, to the finer intricacies of the Vietnamese restaurant scene. This is all quite funny, by the way. Enjoy!
Just make sure to level up to the better books if this one is your first... ...more
The prequel to the epic Trainspotting saga, which is now... at least five books now by my count?
That's a lot of stories about these guys, from the grThe prequel to the epic Trainspotting saga, which is now... at least five books now by my count?
That's a lot of stories about these guys, from the groundbreaking 90s novel which at the time felt like a perfect one-off. Author Irvine Welsh has been drawing from that well for a long long while, and he does it extremely well, but it's hard to say if this book feels necessary or not.
It is more explicitly political than the original, directly blaming Thatcher for the economic conditions which led to rampant drug addiction in Scotland in the 80s. It starts off with Renton in college, and ends with many scenes taking place in rehab. The novel still mostly structured like a series of interconnected short stories, some of them as grotesque yet hilarious as only Welsh could write.
Psycho Franco, manipulative pimp Sick Boy, and poor well-meaning loser Spud; they're all there with deeper dives into what makes the characters tick. If you want more of these characters, you will very much get it.
Welsh's novels tend to reference each other, and it's a must-read in that sense, but doesn't quite have the power and timelessness of Trainspotting. I'd still only recommend that one to fans of the film. Skagboys is also better than the first sequel Porno, a lot better than Franco's solo excursion Blade Artist, but perhaps not as good a read as the finale Dead Men's Trousers.
If this was its own book, its own thing that came out without any others and without expectations, it could be a masterpiece of junkie drama. Yet, comparisons can't be avoided, so this is mainly for the devoted fans at this point. ...more
I really enjoyed this novel. Even read it a second time (that is, listened. To the 39-hour audiobook. Every minute was a blast)!
It's pure Neal StephenI really enjoyed this novel. Even read it a second time (that is, listened. To the 39-hour audiobook. Every minute was a blast)!
It's pure Neal Stephenson, even if it probably won't be anyone's favorite Neal Stephenson compared to other books. Interesting to compare T'Rain to the Metaverse in Snow Crash, although the modern MMORPG virtual reality isn't science fiction rather it's totally plausible. Interesting to compare the epic scope hacker stuff to Cryptonomicon, though it reads more up to date nowadays than the 1999 classic.
Although there are some issues with certain choices in the narrative -- and I hate to be accused of being politically correct but savvy readers will know what I mean. Choices about who gets to be the villains and who got to suddenly be the heroes. Even still, the international cast is great; all the information about Iowa and Canada and Russia and China and Taiwan and Eritrea and British Isles and Hungary and more. Very very global-minded.
I quite enjoyed the first half that focused on hackers and the tech industry and video games and the Russian Mafia. Being that it's Stephenson, that wasn't enough, and then it had to get into Islamic terrorism and intelligence agencies. Which upped the stakes, but the infodumps weren't quite as fun after that. Expect a lot of exposition, on economics and fantasy novel theory and gaming and so on, and oddly those are often the best reads of a good Stephenson tome.
In a way, the worst criticism might be the heavy use of coincidence that sets up the plotlines and characters. Somehow though, it totally works. In a crazy world where these coincidences happen, when R______ m______s go to X_____ and just *happen* to get in a firefight with I_____ t_______s. That's enough, no more spoilers.
Don't be intimidated by the dictionary-level size of Reamde, read on and have a blast!
But whatever you do, don't ever download any viruses called Reamde......more
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