Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Of Recent Reading

Roughly chronological, beginning with the most recent:

The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
My first foray into science fiction. I read an article that described this book as "a Star Wars-style space opera penned by G. K. Chesterton in the midst of religious conversion." Subsequent research on the author led to reviews comparing him not only to Chesterton, but also Borges, Nabokov, Dickens, Swift, Melville, Kafka, and Proust. And while these comparisons seem a little wild (though not terribly), I am finding Wolfe quite a pleasant surprise.

Borges and the Eternal Orangutans, Luis Fernando Verissimo
Very fun mystery novella by a Brazilian, starring Jorge Luis Borges as the detective.

Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
The spoof on the Apocalypse that Nate Wilson should have written.

The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco
I finally got around to reading this, having read most of Eco's other novels first.

The Dancing Wu-Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics, Gary Zukav
A layman's introduction to relativity and quantum mechanics. Man, where was the New Physics hiding all my life? Totally righteous.

At the End of an Age, John Lukacs
A historian's take on the death of Modernism. This book, along with the previous one, pretty much single-handedly made a postmodernist of me.

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, Umberto Eco
I always enjoy Eco, though this is probably my least favorite of his novels so far (I have yet to read The Island of the Day Before.)

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke
Absolute must-read. Imagine if Jane Austen and Honore de Balzac got together to write Harry Potter for grownups and you will have some idea of the supreme sweetness of this novel.

I really love my current employment, as it gives me from four to fifteen hours a day, three days a week, wherein I have little to do but read--and I make $12 an hour doing it. On the other days, I walk around outside thinking and listening to music or N.T. Wright lectures for $10.25 an hour. Pretty happy with that.

posted by Jeremy at 4:45 AM

5 Marginalia:

Tank posting on his blog??? Right after Josh stops??? What the Aitch, dude.

By  Anonymous, at 5:16 AM  

Tank-

I don't know what your email addy is anymore, and I don't have your phone number, and I need to send you an invitation to the wedding. Get in contact with me, b.

By  Anonymous, at 4:13 PM  

You really must post more often.

By  Anonymous, at 5:11 PM  

jonathan strange.. i just love that book by susanna clarke :)..

By  Anonymous, at 9:13 PM  

Tell us more about this magical employment of yours.

By  jon, at 12:51 AM  

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