This Week In Books
Oct. 16th, 2006 12:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akujunkanLet's see how long I can actually keep this up. (My guess: one week.)
At any rate, I've been a busy little reader since I got back.
1) Asking About Zen - Jiho Sargent
Picked this one up in Bangkok International Airport because 1) I was there for a whole day and 2) 曹洞宗 represent! Written by an American woman priest in Tokyo, it's actually much less hokey (as in, not hokey at all) and much more interesting a read than I'd expected. The author is clearly intelligent, and her observations on Japanese culture astute. The book is also interesting in that its main focus is not of the 'so what's enlightenment like?' variety.
2) The Bridegroom - Ha Jin
Ooh, this one was a stinker. Ha Jin's been a Book Club Darling since I was in high school, and as with most BCDs, I haven't the faintest idea as to why. The short stories in this collection were competently written, but you can see the 'surpise' endings coming a mile away. Jin also subscribes to the 'why waste time showing when you can just tell' school of narrative, with cumbersome results (witness the university professor protagonist of one story spending three pages describing the cultural revolution to his university professor colleage). The extraneous description is offset by an alarming lack of explanation of Chinese cultural references (does the garden variety reader know that America is the 'beautiful country' because its characters are 美國, or that Muji, the stories' setting, is most likely 無市 - Not A City?). Only "After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town," the final story, is worth a read, which can easily be accomplished in the Borders sans paying for this turkey.
3) Going Beyond Buddha - Dae Gak
I'd read this one once before, and it was better on the 2nd read-through, as the author's Korean Buddhism made more sense to me after I'd been to Korea and seen...Korean Buddhism. Anyway, it's a good book that examines Zen through the faculty of listening.
4) Chomsky for Beginners - David Cogswell & Paul Gordon
Excellent book that sums up Chomsky's history, and linguistic and political scholarship in graphic novel format. The best thing about it is the fact that it's clear and concise; the friends I rec this to are more likely to read it than to sit through all two-odd hours of Manufacturing Consent, which is what I used to rec before. It also got me interested in reading Chomsky's take on foreign relations and South America, normally not a region that interests me.
5) War Trash - Ha Jin
I decided to give Jin a go in novel format, and he's a mixed bag, although better here than in short stories. The book is fairly engaging with an unusual narrator (it's the 'autobiography' of a Chinese POW in the Korean War). The action is good, but Jin goes overboard on the telling. (The general wore combat fatigues, with a grenade strapped to his vest and a first-aid kit on his left shoulder. I could tell from the combat fatigues that he was a good general who wanted to fraternize with his men, while the grenade proved that he was a man of action. The first aid kit demonstrated that he truly cared about those under his charge. His upright posture showed me that--Enough!) It's all right as far as books go, but give it a miss if you've got something better to read.
6)Japanese Buddhism: A Cultural History - Yoshio Tamura
I'd also read this one before, but wanted to take another look after having been to Japan. Verdict: it's an interesting enough read, but like most Japanese writing, often strays from its ostensible thesis. Tamura was apparently a hardcore adherent of the Tendai sect; his colors shine through in the many chapters he devotes to Tendai/Pure Land and the minimal attention he pays to...everything after that.
7) The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents - Terry Pratchett
I often vastly prefer Pterry's Tiffany Aching YA books to many of his bona fide novels; the former are actually his funniest writing, IMO. This YA novel was in many ways like the majority of his bona fide novels: a good read, but nothing I'll be itching to reread anytime soon. That said, Pratchett writes at a consistently higher level than most published authors, so it's still well worth your time.
8) Brother Number One - David Chandler
Written by the preeminent scholar of the Khmer Rouge, it's a decent look at Pol Pot's life history. That said, Cambodian scholarship is still in its infancy in many ways, and this book left me with an oddly hollow feeling, like it was missing something. Which it is in many ways; Chandler just doesn't have as much scholarship to fall back on as do historians of other regions and time periods.
9) Firebird - R. Garcia y Robertson
Robertson penned The Spiral Dance, which hideous cover aside, is one of the best books I have ever read. You may therefore imagine my utter joy upon discovering that he's writing again. Unfortunately, Firebird reads like a decently written fanfic, and nothing more. The adventure plot is inventive and engaging and wonderful. The 'romance' plots are anything but, and left me highly annoyed (readers should never regard the sex scenes as what they have to wade through to get to the 'good' stuff). The writing also left me with the impression that Robertson has never met, let alone interacted with, a real, living, breathing woman in his entire life.
10) Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett
Yup, I'm on a kick. This was...a Pterry book. Amusing and well-written, but not something I was left thinking much about once I'd finished reading it. There are a couple of extremely hilarious scenes about halfway through which make it worth reading.
11) Sir Thursday - Garth Nix
The best book in the Keys to the Kingdom series, hands down. Nix is at his best when he's writing adventure that takes place in a limited number of worlds (you'll know what I'm talking about if you've read the other books), and this one does. He's also extremely good at action scenes, which I envy. One of my biggest gripes with this series is that it was written for younger readers, so he hasn't tapped as much of the dark potiential as is possible, but the world(s) have been developed enough in the first three novels that he can focus on letting the story rip this time through, which he does. Definitely worth reading (as are the other three).
12) Going Postal - Terry Pratchett
Okay, this is a damn good Pterry book, perhaps my favorite next to Night Watch. It's funny when it tries to be, suspensful when it tries for that, and I really ended up caring about the main character (I often feel that I'm reading about an archetype, not a character, with his books). I don't want to give anything else away, so read it!
That will be all.
At any rate, I've been a busy little reader since I got back.
1) Asking About Zen - Jiho Sargent
Picked this one up in Bangkok International Airport because 1) I was there for a whole day and 2) 曹洞宗 represent! Written by an American woman priest in Tokyo, it's actually much less hokey (as in, not hokey at all) and much more interesting a read than I'd expected. The author is clearly intelligent, and her observations on Japanese culture astute. The book is also interesting in that its main focus is not of the 'so what's enlightenment like?' variety.
2) The Bridegroom - Ha Jin
Ooh, this one was a stinker. Ha Jin's been a Book Club Darling since I was in high school, and as with most BCDs, I haven't the faintest idea as to why. The short stories in this collection were competently written, but you can see the 'surpise' endings coming a mile away. Jin also subscribes to the 'why waste time showing when you can just tell' school of narrative, with cumbersome results (witness the university professor protagonist of one story spending three pages describing the cultural revolution to his university professor colleage). The extraneous description is offset by an alarming lack of explanation of Chinese cultural references (does the garden variety reader know that America is the 'beautiful country' because its characters are 美國, or that Muji, the stories' setting, is most likely 無市 - Not A City?). Only "After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town," the final story, is worth a read, which can easily be accomplished in the Borders sans paying for this turkey.
3) Going Beyond Buddha - Dae Gak
I'd read this one once before, and it was better on the 2nd read-through, as the author's Korean Buddhism made more sense to me after I'd been to Korea and seen...Korean Buddhism. Anyway, it's a good book that examines Zen through the faculty of listening.
4) Chomsky for Beginners - David Cogswell & Paul Gordon
Excellent book that sums up Chomsky's history, and linguistic and political scholarship in graphic novel format. The best thing about it is the fact that it's clear and concise; the friends I rec this to are more likely to read it than to sit through all two-odd hours of Manufacturing Consent, which is what I used to rec before. It also got me interested in reading Chomsky's take on foreign relations and South America, normally not a region that interests me.
5) War Trash - Ha Jin
I decided to give Jin a go in novel format, and he's a mixed bag, although better here than in short stories. The book is fairly engaging with an unusual narrator (it's the 'autobiography' of a Chinese POW in the Korean War). The action is good, but Jin goes overboard on the telling. (The general wore combat fatigues, with a grenade strapped to his vest and a first-aid kit on his left shoulder. I could tell from the combat fatigues that he was a good general who wanted to fraternize with his men, while the grenade proved that he was a man of action. The first aid kit demonstrated that he truly cared about those under his charge. His upright posture showed me that--Enough!) It's all right as far as books go, but give it a miss if you've got something better to read.
6)Japanese Buddhism: A Cultural History - Yoshio Tamura
I'd also read this one before, but wanted to take another look after having been to Japan. Verdict: it's an interesting enough read, but like most Japanese writing, often strays from its ostensible thesis. Tamura was apparently a hardcore adherent of the Tendai sect; his colors shine through in the many chapters he devotes to Tendai/Pure Land and the minimal attention he pays to...everything after that.
7) The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents - Terry Pratchett
I often vastly prefer Pterry's Tiffany Aching YA books to many of his bona fide novels; the former are actually his funniest writing, IMO. This YA novel was in many ways like the majority of his bona fide novels: a good read, but nothing I'll be itching to reread anytime soon. That said, Pratchett writes at a consistently higher level than most published authors, so it's still well worth your time.
8) Brother Number One - David Chandler
Written by the preeminent scholar of the Khmer Rouge, it's a decent look at Pol Pot's life history. That said, Cambodian scholarship is still in its infancy in many ways, and this book left me with an oddly hollow feeling, like it was missing something. Which it is in many ways; Chandler just doesn't have as much scholarship to fall back on as do historians of other regions and time periods.
9) Firebird - R. Garcia y Robertson
Robertson penned The Spiral Dance, which hideous cover aside, is one of the best books I have ever read. You may therefore imagine my utter joy upon discovering that he's writing again. Unfortunately, Firebird reads like a decently written fanfic, and nothing more. The adventure plot is inventive and engaging and wonderful. The 'romance' plots are anything but, and left me highly annoyed (readers should never regard the sex scenes as what they have to wade through to get to the 'good' stuff). The writing also left me with the impression that Robertson has never met, let alone interacted with, a real, living, breathing woman in his entire life.
10) Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett
Yup, I'm on a kick. This was...a Pterry book. Amusing and well-written, but not something I was left thinking much about once I'd finished reading it. There are a couple of extremely hilarious scenes about halfway through which make it worth reading.
11) Sir Thursday - Garth Nix
The best book in the Keys to the Kingdom series, hands down. Nix is at his best when he's writing adventure that takes place in a limited number of worlds (you'll know what I'm talking about if you've read the other books), and this one does. He's also extremely good at action scenes, which I envy. One of my biggest gripes with this series is that it was written for younger readers, so he hasn't tapped as much of the dark potiential as is possible, but the world(s) have been developed enough in the first three novels that he can focus on letting the story rip this time through, which he does. Definitely worth reading (as are the other three).
12) Going Postal - Terry Pratchett
Okay, this is a damn good Pterry book, perhaps my favorite next to Night Watch. It's funny when it tries to be, suspensful when it tries for that, and I really ended up caring about the main character (I often feel that I'm reading about an archetype, not a character, with his books). I don't want to give anything else away, so read it!
That will be all.
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no subject
on 2006-10-16 07:29 am (UTC)Going Postal - I *know* posties, being related to several and so many parts of this book made me laugh.
And to think you've read all these in the short time you've been home. Somehow I think your claim about the other books and reading them slowly - so not going to happen. I'm considering making a small wager.... ;)