new york book review (1)*

sometimes, consultants have time to read

My reading has dwindled down this year. With my eyes tired from the glare of the computer screen, my mind either exhausted from debugging computer code, or perhaps numbed from not exercising certain portions of it, and with a sense of confusion and disorientation from constant travel, I often find it hard to focus on a book. Or maybe that’s because I was smart enough to pick books that aren't easy, suspenseful reads (guilty: The Trial by Franz Kafka; Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf). But I have to say, sitting on the plane today, reading Kazuo Ishiguro’s Remains of the Day, brought back that delightful joy of narrative. For a while, I was only vaguely aware that I was sitting on a plane, slowly descending over misty rain and dense orange lights scattered across New York City. For a moment, I escaped the repeated experience of a slightly anxious and distracting journey from city to city, through cab rides, security, boarding lines and stowing items into overhead compartments.

All that melodrama being said, here’s the backlog of book reviews since I have started life in the ‘real world’. Also, since I’m no longer required to read, I no longer finish books. Those are italicized. I hope to maybe finish them someday, but it may not happen. Books I actually finished reading are bolded.

Fiction

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore ~ The comic book behind the movie. The comic book is actually quite enjoyable, and I prefer it to the actual movie, because the ending is far more ambiguous and realistic.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera ~ I appreciate Kundera’s poetic reflections on philosophical questions that are posed alongside the story. The narrative itself is decent, but nothing spectacular, concerned with recounting the meaningless lives of people, as though some meaning could be elicited from the act of retelling….

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe ~ This book was enjoyable to read, but didn’t really live up to all my expectations. I think there was a blurb on the back that compared this to Iliad. I’ve never read the Iliad, but I didn’t find such mythic qualities to it. That being said, if my expectations were lower, I would have enjoyed it much more.

White Noise by Don Delillo ~ I really enjoyed this book about a Hitler studies professor and the airborne toxic event. Witty, intelligent and very bleak. Satirizes the academy and today’s consumer society and information overload.

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke ~ The book that was written alongside the Kubrick film does a much better job of filling in the details that the movie leaves in the dark.

2010: Space Odyssey II by Arthur C. Clarke ~ I really really enjoyed this book. It’s a must-read for any science fiction fan. Beautiful and incredibly surprising ending, as well as some wonderful descriptions of life on one of Jupiter’s moons, on Jupiter etc…

2061: Odyssey Three by Arthur C. Clarke ~ Just as the title might suggest something rather uninventive, the novel is decent, but nothing particularly groundbreaking.

Sophie’s World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy by Jostein Gaarder ~ The plot is cute but expected, though I do remember being really surprised by it when I read it back in high school or middle school. This book took me some two months of Delta Shuttle flights to finish reading, but was a great refresher/explainer of philosophy ideas.

3001: The Final Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke ~ This book contains only about 50 pages of actual continuation of the storyline, the rest seems to be Clarke’s detour into describing the future—one in which the comforts of a technologically-advanced society have stripped humanity of any real meaning in life, except a lengthy enjoyment of simulated pleasures. Nevertheless, his descriptions are absolutely fabulous to read, especially if you’re into descriptions of strange worlds (e.g. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury). I read this on the plane to California.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini ~ This doesn’t quite contain the strong cultural and archetype qualities of Things Fall Apart, but it does have a strong, engrossing narrative. I have to admit, sometimes I become a little wary of all this minority literature. That being said, I still think this book is well written, and avoids lengthy ruminations on identity and hybridity. It is instead more about ‘returning to the homeland’ and dealing with the past.

The Trial by Franz Kafka ~ I got through the first 70 pages. This book is rather slow paced. I might try and return to read it again, but for now, I can’t really comment on it.

Great Jones Street by Don Delillo ~ I started reading this book because my boyfriend played a show on Great Jones Street in NY—but I’m stuck about halfway through this book right now. Props though for providing pretty vivid descriptions of Great Jones Street—which now looks nothing like what was described in the book.

Non fiction/Cultural commentary

Comodify your Dissent: Salvos from the Baffler with Thomas frank, Matt Weiland as editors ~ The ideas in this book are nothing mindblowing, but it is an excellent collection of commentary on today’s technological and information society-- in particular the domestication of rebellion and dissent into consumption—written in a style far superior to anything that you could ever produce.

Is there meaning in this text? by Kevin Vanhoozer ~ The first part of this book summarizes the history of intellectual thought on authorship and textual meaning, focusing in particular on the postmodern death of the author and the death of meaning. It’s quite clear and easy to understand. I haven’t gotten yet to the part where Vanhoozer elaborates his own thesis .... so there's not much more that I can say.

Christian (I’m sorry, about 80% of them have stupid titles).

Bringing heaven down to earth: connecting this life to the next by Nathan Bierma ~ Written by a blogger, concerning the Christian’s call to bring heaven down to earth. I read a few chapters here and there, mostly because I was attracted when I heard that Bierma noticed that the Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city. Heaven is urban.

Should I Get Married? by Blaine Smith ~ The book addresses the question of the title by illuminating a few key issues to consider. The first part of this book is excellent—the most important question it asks concerning marriage is “Do you have compassion on the other person?” and “Are you good friends?”. The second part of the book gets weird with these random rules that don’t make any sense, and seem incongruent with the rest of it.

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Schazerro ~ Despite the fact that the title and the style of the book hugely smack of that despised genre of ‘Christian self-help’, the book is actually really good. It talks about how spiritual maturity in the way that Christians tend to conceive of it (lots of praying, lots of Bible studies, lots of service etc…) does not always translate into emotional maturity. This book explores daily Biblical devotions and contemplation as a way of learning to live an abundant life as a healthy, whole individual.

The Great Divorce by C.S Lewis ~ I sometimes catch myself wondering if C.S. Lewis’s books will become outdated—that they will only speak strongly to his generation, and some already-converts of mine. Yet rereading the Great Divorce reminds me that there is something timeless about C.S.Lewis’ writing, that hopefully can speak to many, if not, all generations and cultures. His vision of Heaven and Hell give incredible insight into the nature of human suffering and hell.

Love Yourself & Love is a Feeling to be Learned by Walter Trobisch~ Despite a tacky title that would suggest a cheesy new age self-help book, Love Yourself explores the necessity of loving ourselves (something that Christians often avoid… in the name of humility) in order to truly love others. Love is a Feeling to be Learned elaborates that true love is also suffering, not just fluffy pink hearts.

Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton ~ Thomas Merton seems to be another contemplative genius, that is especially applicable to our generation. I’m about halfway through this book, but find that I have to spend a whole day just thinking about what is said in one page. Notably, Merton comments: “When men are merely submerge in a mass of impersonal human beings pushed around by automatic force,s they lose their true humanity, their integrity, their ability to love, their capacity for self-determination. When society is made up of men who know no interior solitude, it can no longer be held together by love: and consequently it is held together by a violent and abusive authority.”

I’ve also made a list of potential reads for the next month or so: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (it’s an embarrassment that someone who did so much postcolonial literature still has not read this book), American Gods by Neil Gaiman (I have to have my science fiction/fantasy light reads!), Blindness by Jose Saramago (interesting premise….), The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (I just keep hearing about this book).

*if the guy in High Fidelity can arrange his record collection autobiographically, then I can list my books the same way…