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blue_lotus131. The Way the Crow Flies- Anne Marie MacDonald
I picked up this book because I'd liked her first one and because both my parents liked it. At first, I was daunted by the huge size of the book, but I soon got into it. This is one of the few books where I've ever exclaimed outloud as I was reading it. I read some sections at B*'s and was frequently exclaiming, "Oh my god, holy fuck! etc. etc. I loved the descriptions of the characters and the secret world of the RCAF. My aunt and uncle are friends with Anne Marie's family as they are involved in the military and have been stationed on bases together, which may be one of the reasons why Anne Marie wanted to set the story on a base. I loved this book, but found it extremely emotionally disturbing. I loved the relationship between Jack and Madeleine and cried like a baby when he died. I do not remember the last time I cried so hard at a book. Well written and worth the 800 and so pages. This definitely goes on the list of the best books I have read this year. It was an absolutely brilliant book
2. A Dirty Job- Christopher Moore- After being totally devastated by "The Way the Crow Flies", I needed something lighter. This one fit the bill. It's typical Moore, mad-cap, funny and crazy. I loved the descriptions of San Francisco and some of the plot in general. I thought this book was quite funny, but still not as good as "Lamb." I also thought that Moore did a good job of talking about death and the reality of death. However, I must add that I hated the ending, and the character of Mrs. Ling was a bad stereotype. A Chinese character that wants to eat everything and plays mah jong. Please, I'm tired of that. It's nothing new, and it's offensive. But this book is definitely worth reading if you're a Moore fan.
3. Alligator- Lisa Moore- I was excited to read this one because it was nominated for a Governor General's award and because I loved Lisa Moore's short stories. (She's a writer from Newfoundland). However, I didn't care for this book at all. I think she's better at writing short stories, to be honest. I didn't like the flow of the story and hated some of the characters. The one character that I liked the best basically got the shit kicked out of him. The sentence structure at the start of the book was a bit awkward and took me some time to get used to. She's not a bad writer, this book just did nothing for me.
4. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld- I don't think that Scott Westerfeld is the most lyrical writer, but I love his plotting. This book had such an interesting premise that I had to pick it up. The premise is that vampirism is a kind of parasite that people can catch. The narrator, Cal, has caught the parasite, but instead of becoming a full-blown vampire, he is a carrier who does not succumb. He uses his advanced sense of perception and knowledge of the parasite to try and chase down full parasite positives (known as peeps). In the process of doing so, he uncovers some awful truths about the parasite. An interesting idea and premise, and a quick read.
5. Bud Inc. by Ian Mulgrew- This book describes some of the background info and stories behind BC's marijuana industry. I thought this book was fascinating. Mulgrew is the legal affairs columnist for the Vancouver Sun and writes like a good journalist. He opens the background of the marijuana industry to the newcomer. I learned about some of the crazy people involved in the marijuana industry including Marc Emery (crackpot), Charles Scott (Reeferman) etc. This book also delves into the story behind Da Kine, the marijuana cafe that opened in my neighbourhood. I learned so much from this book. For example, marijuana comprises 5% of BC's economy.
I must say that Mulgrew is not completely unbiased in his writing of the book. He is a marijuana supporter, is actively in support of decriminilization, which would cut down on crime (most of which comes from paranoia, illegal activity and gangs) and medical marijuana. I didn't know that if you are allowed to have medical marijuana from the government, you are only allowed to smoke it and not have it in edible form. The government sometimes sells people really crappy medical marijuana so they have to go to the compassion clubs to get stuff they can actually use. I would have liked it if Mulgrew had gone a little further into the racism behind Canada's drug laws, but that's a mild complaint. All in all, this book is completely fascinating and I sort of wish we'd done it for book club.
I picked up this book because I'd liked her first one and because both my parents liked it. At first, I was daunted by the huge size of the book, but I soon got into it. This is one of the few books where I've ever exclaimed outloud as I was reading it. I read some sections at B*'s and was frequently exclaiming, "Oh my god, holy fuck! etc. etc. I loved the descriptions of the characters and the secret world of the RCAF. My aunt and uncle are friends with Anne Marie's family as they are involved in the military and have been stationed on bases together, which may be one of the reasons why Anne Marie wanted to set the story on a base. I loved this book, but found it extremely emotionally disturbing. I loved the relationship between Jack and Madeleine and cried like a baby when he died. I do not remember the last time I cried so hard at a book. Well written and worth the 800 and so pages. This definitely goes on the list of the best books I have read this year. It was an absolutely brilliant book
2. A Dirty Job- Christopher Moore- After being totally devastated by "The Way the Crow Flies", I needed something lighter. This one fit the bill. It's typical Moore, mad-cap, funny and crazy. I loved the descriptions of San Francisco and some of the plot in general. I thought this book was quite funny, but still not as good as "Lamb." I also thought that Moore did a good job of talking about death and the reality of death. However, I must add that I hated the ending, and the character of Mrs. Ling was a bad stereotype. A Chinese character that wants to eat everything and plays mah jong. Please, I'm tired of that. It's nothing new, and it's offensive. But this book is definitely worth reading if you're a Moore fan.
3. Alligator- Lisa Moore- I was excited to read this one because it was nominated for a Governor General's award and because I loved Lisa Moore's short stories. (She's a writer from Newfoundland). However, I didn't care for this book at all. I think she's better at writing short stories, to be honest. I didn't like the flow of the story and hated some of the characters. The one character that I liked the best basically got the shit kicked out of him. The sentence structure at the start of the book was a bit awkward and took me some time to get used to. She's not a bad writer, this book just did nothing for me.
4. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld- I don't think that Scott Westerfeld is the most lyrical writer, but I love his plotting. This book had such an interesting premise that I had to pick it up. The premise is that vampirism is a kind of parasite that people can catch. The narrator, Cal, has caught the parasite, but instead of becoming a full-blown vampire, he is a carrier who does not succumb. He uses his advanced sense of perception and knowledge of the parasite to try and chase down full parasite positives (known as peeps). In the process of doing so, he uncovers some awful truths about the parasite. An interesting idea and premise, and a quick read.
5. Bud Inc. by Ian Mulgrew- This book describes some of the background info and stories behind BC's marijuana industry. I thought this book was fascinating. Mulgrew is the legal affairs columnist for the Vancouver Sun and writes like a good journalist. He opens the background of the marijuana industry to the newcomer. I learned about some of the crazy people involved in the marijuana industry including Marc Emery (crackpot), Charles Scott (Reeferman) etc. This book also delves into the story behind Da Kine, the marijuana cafe that opened in my neighbourhood. I learned so much from this book. For example, marijuana comprises 5% of BC's economy.
I must say that Mulgrew is not completely unbiased in his writing of the book. He is a marijuana supporter, is actively in support of decriminilization, which would cut down on crime (most of which comes from paranoia, illegal activity and gangs) and medical marijuana. I didn't know that if you are allowed to have medical marijuana from the government, you are only allowed to smoke it and not have it in edible form. The government sometimes sells people really crappy medical marijuana so they have to go to the compassion clubs to get stuff they can actually use. I would have liked it if Mulgrew had gone a little further into the racism behind Canada's drug laws, but that's a mild complaint. All in all, this book is completely fascinating and I sort of wish we'd done it for book club.
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Date: 2006-04-11 06:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-13 02:21 am (UTC)