Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Excerpts
I'm taking a page from Carrie and putting down excerpts of books I've been reading for the past month or so. Yeah, yeah, I know I should be writing a real blog entry but I'm just too busy right now. I promise I'll write about what's been going on in my universe soon. I can't believe it's only the third month of '06! I feel like I aged a year...Oh, right. I did, haha! Anyway, here, the books that gave me sleepless nights:
Times are bad when witches or whatever they are, exchange their cauldron for a library, filing cabinets, and a place in the bestseller list.--The Dumas Club, Arturo Perez-Reverte. I was sorely disappointed in this book. Or maybe the translation wasn't that good? Nah, I don't think that's it. The ending sucks. But--SPOILER ALERT!!--I did like the fact that the beautiful mysterious young girl in the book, who ended up being the protagonist's sidekick, may in fact be the Devil and that she's been wandering all this time on Earth pining for heaven. Sad, what?
Every now and then, you'll see a tattered piece of 1950s signage, something exuberant that harks back to flash bulbs and frozen glamor. Most have been torn down now, replaced by brutal information boards stamped out in Helvetica, the official typeface of purgatory. Helvetica isn't designed to make you feel anything good, to promise adventure or gladden the heart. Helvetica is for telling you that profits are down. that the photocopier needs servicing, and by the way, you're fired.--The Straw Men, Michael Marshall. Got this cold contact at NBS in Ali Mall when I was rushing to get to the bus station for Donsol. I realized that I didn't have anything to read with me so I grabbed the first promising novel off the shelf. The book gods must love me. This is a fantastic debut novel. I have since found out that he has two more novels out. Needless to say, I'll be on the lookout for them. Review to follow soon. And isn't the observation about Helvetica on-point? It's like Arial, the official font of bureaucracy. Ok, ok. Only publishing nerds will get me.
Civilization slipped into its second dark age on an unsurprising track of blood, but with a speed that could not have been foreseen by even the most pessimistic futurist. It was as if it had been waiting to go. On October 1, God was in his heaven, the stock market stood at 10,140, and most of the planes were one time (except those landing and taking off in Chicago, and that was to be expected.) Two weeks later, the skies belonged to the birds again, and the stock market was a memory. By Halloween, every major city from New York to Moscow stank to high heavens and the world as it has been was a memory.--Cell, Stephen King. It's by King so what else can I say? It kicks ass.
His heart skipped and a thousand suns flashed up in novas...All will be well and all manner of things will be well. Only believe; be true; stand; do not falter now.--The Talisman, Stephen King. I had a tattered copy of The Talisman that I bought at a booksale. Unfortunately, I don't know who borrowed it. I have felt the loss keenly. Good thing the good people at King's publishing house saw fit to release a new edition. Those who aren't King fans won't believe this, but King can write with an elegance approaching genius.
Times are bad when witches or whatever they are, exchange their cauldron for a library, filing cabinets, and a place in the bestseller list.--The Dumas Club, Arturo Perez-Reverte. I was sorely disappointed in this book. Or maybe the translation wasn't that good? Nah, I don't think that's it. The ending sucks. But--SPOILER ALERT!!--I did like the fact that the beautiful mysterious young girl in the book, who ended up being the protagonist's sidekick, may in fact be the Devil and that she's been wandering all this time on Earth pining for heaven. Sad, what?
Every now and then, you'll see a tattered piece of 1950s signage, something exuberant that harks back to flash bulbs and frozen glamor. Most have been torn down now, replaced by brutal information boards stamped out in Helvetica, the official typeface of purgatory. Helvetica isn't designed to make you feel anything good, to promise adventure or gladden the heart. Helvetica is for telling you that profits are down. that the photocopier needs servicing, and by the way, you're fired.--The Straw Men, Michael Marshall. Got this cold contact at NBS in Ali Mall when I was rushing to get to the bus station for Donsol. I realized that I didn't have anything to read with me so I grabbed the first promising novel off the shelf. The book gods must love me. This is a fantastic debut novel. I have since found out that he has two more novels out. Needless to say, I'll be on the lookout for them. Review to follow soon. And isn't the observation about Helvetica on-point? It's like Arial, the official font of bureaucracy. Ok, ok. Only publishing nerds will get me.
Civilization slipped into its second dark age on an unsurprising track of blood, but with a speed that could not have been foreseen by even the most pessimistic futurist. It was as if it had been waiting to go. On October 1, God was in his heaven, the stock market stood at 10,140, and most of the planes were one time (except those landing and taking off in Chicago, and that was to be expected.) Two weeks later, the skies belonged to the birds again, and the stock market was a memory. By Halloween, every major city from New York to Moscow stank to high heavens and the world as it has been was a memory.--Cell, Stephen King. It's by King so what else can I say? It kicks ass.
His heart skipped and a thousand suns flashed up in novas...All will be well and all manner of things will be well. Only believe; be true; stand; do not falter now.--The Talisman, Stephen King. I had a tattered copy of The Talisman that I bought at a booksale. Unfortunately, I don't know who borrowed it. I have felt the loss keenly. Good thing the good people at King's publishing house saw fit to release a new edition. Those who aren't King fans won't believe this, but King can write with an elegance approaching genius.
// posted by terrie @ 3:14 PM 
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Read a few pages of Straw Men off Amazon, Marshall is very readable indeed. I'm next i'm next i'm next!
Hey, girls! Agree with both of you--Marshall is a find. He's great! And, Carrie, the book ends with a major plot thread unresolved so I'm now feverishly hunting up Book 2 so I can continue the story. I'm having the same reaction as with Lost--only on print! And Isa, kainis diba? I mean, the ending is such a cop-out! It has soured me from reading other Reverte books
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