A collection of articles and interviews on Murakami's T-shirt collection. Now if that isn't fitting. I actually bought three Japanse Pro Baseball T-shA collection of articles and interviews on Murakami's T-shirt collection. Now if that isn't fitting. I actually bought three Japanse Pro Baseball T-shirts in 2021 after reading his short story The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection, I went out and bought a couple Japanese baseball T-shirts, just for the hell of it. Now I feel like I'm trapped in a Murakami fever dream. Not really. The book was good, just not great Murakami. Feels like one of those books a publisher will put out: "Hey, look ... if we collected all of these interviews and pieced in this and that, we could have another book that would sell at least 100k globally...". I'm a Murakami completist, so of course I'm going to read (look at it), but this is the part of the Murakami marathon when your calf starts cramping AFTER the real race is over....more
In 1997, David Cornwell (aka John le Carré) was invited by the Anglo-Israel Association to give an address at their annual dinner. This little book (2In 1997, David Cornwell (aka John le Carré) was invited by the Anglo-Israel Association to give an address at their annual dinner. This little book (22pp) is his speech. It was lucid, sharp, and addressed not the conflict in Israel, but his own history with both Israel and the Jewish people in England, Europe, America and Israel. But the address is more than that, but a conversation about what it means to be a thoughtful artist in nervous times. There were several lines and paragraphs that were so tight and so beautiful that I'd have to stop reading and re-read them out loud to my wife....more
Three sections: one on opium, one on caffeine, and mescaline. An earlier edition of the caffeine section was sold as a stand-alone audiobook mini a coThree sections: one on opium, one on caffeine, and mescaline. An earlier edition of the caffeine section was sold as a stand-alone audiobook mini a couple years ago. It was expanded with a bit more on tea. The section on opium came from an older April 0f 1997 Harper's article titled "Opium, Made Easy". It included some bits that Pollan had excluded from his original piece. Finally, there was also the piece on peyote (unless you are native, don't pick it or appropriate its ceremonies) and mescaline. Mostly this piece discusses Michael's many failed attempts and one final "success" in participating in a mescaline ceremony (using the San Pedro cactus and not the more problematic peyote cactus. This chapter was the least satisfying. It seemed at the same time to be both forced and lack focus. It was as much about covid as it was about psychedelic protoalkaloids. It felt like, coming off the success of Pollan's book on the science of psychedelics (How to Change Your Mind) he and his editors thought putting together a Botany of Desire: Tripping edition would be both timely and a good follow-up to his last effort. It just felt a bit Frankensteinesque. So, as a Pollan completest, it was for me, one of his most disappointing books. ...more
Hard to close the book on this one. I'll write more. Read it on a flight from Maine to DFW. Not quite a novel but a lovely novella by one of the greatHard to close the book on this one. I'll write more. Read it on a flight from Maine to DFW. Not quite a novel but a lovely novella by one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century. ...more
Similar to my review of Volume 1 (Vindolanda). Goldsworthy's strength is building a good set of characters (their development is a bit clunky, howeverSimilar to my review of Volume 1 (Vindolanda). Goldsworthy's strength is building a good set of characters (their development is a bit clunky, however) that the reader cares about, history, and military history and action. The best prose in the book is when he is quoting Latin poets and philosophers. The read is easy and packed with a ton of action.
In my last review I said the novels were a bit like Dumas' romances, but I'd also add that in someway these novels are also a bit like Tom Clancy's early Jack Ryan novels (back before he chased away any real editor) without the flag-waving militarism. Instead of Jack Ryan, Goldsworthy treats us to Flavius Ferox. Which actually makes the comparison a bit more interesting. I'm going to start calling Goldsworthy's fiction Roman Tom Clancy. Still doesn't make it five stars. This isn't literature. It is a beach read or cotton candy for the military classicist's soul....more
A romantic historical fiction from popular British military historian best known for his books on key Roman emperors. His facts are his strong points.A romantic historical fiction from popular British military historian best known for his books on key Roman emperors. His facts are his strong points. He knows the subject well. Narrative? KInda like Dumas, he can spin a good yarn without hardly writing a poetic sentence. But the story rolls forward and he has created good characters. I will finish the trilogy, but can't exactly place it on the shelf next to Robert Graves or Mary Beard. This is more at the same level as Robert Harris. But if you like historical fiction that reads like a military romance (The Three Muskateers) you might enjoy it. I'll give it four stars and hope there isn't a steep drop off with books 2 and 3....more
“You can't eat hope,' the woman said. You can't eat it, but it sustains you,' the colonel replied.”
Like with Leaf Storm and Other Stories, this collec“You can't eat hope,' the woman said. You can't eat it, but it sustains you,' the colonel replied.”
Like with Leaf Storm and Other Stories, this collection starts with a Novella: "No One Writes to the Colonel" (★★★★★), and is followed with several of Gabriel García Márquez's short stories:
1. Tuesday Siesta - ★★★★ 2. One of These Days - ★★★★ 3. There Are No Thieves in This Town - ★★★★★ 4. Balthazar's Marvelous Afternoon - ★★★★★ 5. Montiel's Widow - ★★★★ 6. One Day After Saturday - ★★★★★ 7. Artificial Roses - ★★★ 8. Big Mama's Funeral - ★★★★★...more
I'll come back to finish and review this, but DAMN. Go pick it up and read it.I'll come back to finish and review this, but DAMN. Go pick it up and read it....more
Little bit of Jung, little bit of Pauli, even a little bit of Sting. I liked it. Nothing out of this world, but a nice introduction (maybe a weak-forcLittle bit of Jung, little bit of Pauli, even a little bit of Sting. I liked it. Nothing out of this world, but a nice introduction (maybe a weak-force above introduction) on many of the connections in the Universe and the minds that explore(d) them. The writing is at times beautiful and the narrative doesn't fall into any worm-hole sized digressions, so that is always nice....more
"Miami isn't Cuba. We can do what we please here." - Charles Willeford, The Way We Die Now
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The final installment of Willeford's Hoke Moseley myst"Miami isn't Cuba. We can do what we please here." - Charles Willeford, The Way We Die Now
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The final installment of Willeford's Hoke Moseley mysteries, and probably my favorite. It has all the middle-class Miami challenges: immigrants, a partner and daughters who seem way less plussed by the murderer Hoke put away 10-years-ago than he does, a dumb partner, an ambitious boss, office politics, etc. Hoke is asked to go undercover, his roommate and daughters disappear, his boss even has a surprise for him. Hoke is sore, bruised, and often near broke, but like a mutt -- there is something that draws people to him. I love how Donald Westlake described Hoke:
"Hoke is a good cop, or at least he tries to be a good cop, but in his Miami, one good cop is about as useful as one good paper towl in a hurricane. Hoke is constantly bested by people that are tougher and meaner than he is, he's constantly lied to and betrayed, he's constantly faced with the futility of what he's doing, and yet he keeps moving doggedly forward..."
Also, there is one revenge scene in this book that reminded my why Quentin Tarantino loved Willeford stuff so much. It is brutal and satisfying and cleansing in a way that American crime fiction sometimes achieves. It is both gratuitous and chaotically naturalistic....more
"Life is short and deserves a better cause." - Karl Kraus
"'By the way, Dr. Fairbairn said I was overdue for my prostate massage'. Helen signed, and the"Life is short and deserves a better cause." - Karl Kraus
"'By the way, Dr. Fairbairn said I was overdue for my prostate massage'. Helen signed, and then she smiled. 'I'll get the Crisco.'" - Charles Willeford, Sideswipe
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Book three in Willeford's four Hoke Moseley mystery novels. Hoke has had a breakdown and is sent to live with his father and his stepmother on Singer Island. His partner is pregnant and living with him and his daughters. His daughters have their own challenges. Meanwhile, a psychopath has met an old man in jail and is putting together a team for a perfect crime. Sometimes, not even a meltdown lets you get away from work for more than a month.
Willeford has an off-beat naturalism that might not be everyone's jam, but he's my jam and toast for sure. He has an insight into human nature and Miami that is hard to rival. ...more
"Hoke didn't like himself very much. He never had, now that he thought about it. Still, a man had to take care of his family." - Charles Willeford, New"Hoke didn't like himself very much. He never had, now that he thought about it. Still, a man had to take care of his family." - Charles Willeford, New Hope for the Dead
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Hoke Mosely is rational self-interest with a bit of morality thrown in. Hoke is not a perfect hero, and certainly not an anti-hero, but he does seem to exist on a plane we all can relate to a bit. He cuts corners, lies to his boss, has a poor relationship with his ex-wife and not a much better relationship with his daughters (one of the great parts of this novel is his sex talk with his daughters). He's got a pregnant Cuban partner and is sleeping with a murder witness. Sometimes, you have to make the best of a poor hand. I've seen other reviewers downplay this novel because of Hoke's imperfections, but I'd rather have an uncomfortable/imperfect hero than one that is auto-tuned to a narrow bandwidth of morality. ...more
"Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed." - Blaise Pascall, from Pensées
I h"Man is equally incapable of seeing the nothingness from which he emerges and the infinity in which he is engulfed." - Blaise Pascall, from Pensées
I had a bit more hope from this book. That doesn't mean I didn't like it. In parts, I liked it quite a bit. But there was a bit more unevenness in the musings than I was hoping for. Lightman, for me, is like a less poetic Rovelli. He has the background in physics (PhD from Cal Tech) that makes him one of the great explainers of Physics (not everyone with a PhD in physics can explain physics well to the dirty, unwashed masses). So, thank God for good physicists who are also good teachers and writers. But I just wish the unifying ideas of this book: beginnings, endings, and infinity were tied down a bit tighter. But there were definite points where I was entranced by his writing and couldn't wait to read more. But there were some chapters where my attention started to fade. Still, I will continue to read Lightman....more
"Not to fear rethinking the world is the power of science." - Carlo Rovelli
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This was a nice little read. A good introduction to the history and "Not to fear rethinking the world is the power of science." - Carlo Rovelli
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This was a nice little read. A good introduction to the history and basic concepts of quantum physics. Broken into chapters that look at: observables, probability, quanta, many worlds, hidden variables, physical collapse, indeterminacy, etc. This part was pretty basic and shallow. It is a lot packed into the first 100 pages (not including a bit of history and biography). But the 2nd half is the part I really liked. Rovelli posits his ideas, that centers on relationships (the two entangles particles and the observer) and it is here is poetry starts to peak. He is really looking at how we only exist in relationship to something else. It is beautiful and like all of Rovelli's books that beauty is found in the relationship between Physics and poetry/language.
So, not my favorite of his books, but I still don't regret the time (I mean what is time?) or money (I mean what is money?)...more
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