Unseeing

Humans are particularly good at not seeing things they find uncomfortable, or that upset the way they think the world works. In The City & The City this idea is taken literally... Two cities occupy the same space, and each ignores the other. Language, script, styles of architecture and clothing let the citizens know who and …

Odd John: another biography style story about super smart people

I just finished Odd John and it reminded me a bit of The Glass Bead Game in that it was a historical/biographical style telling of a group of super intelligent people who the rest of the world doesn't understand. It was about ten times more entertaining, though that isn't saying much. It was also written …

Becoming critical

I remember I used to love every book I read. Now I find it harder to do so. Probably this is a consequence of reading a lot of books. I have a higher baseline of quality. I also have seen so many plots/ideas/character types that they don't impress me or excite me anymore. Whatever it …

Game of thrones Season 07 episode 03

Things are really speeding along... and, I appreciate it. We've seen plenty of battles, we don't need to see another one. We've spent long enough waiting for Jon and Dani to meet, we don't need any more travel sequences. Things are happening, and it's great that the writers feel confident enough to get done what …

1Q84: Long, rambling, long, repetitive, too long, doesn’t make sense in the end

I finally finished the 1300 page monster 1Q84 and am glad its over. This is a markedly different experience from a different very long book I read this year that left me physically aching for more at the end of it. IQ84 is interesting, weird, creepy at times, creative and has some nice imagery, but …