This Week In Books: #3
Oct. 30th, 2006 01:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akujunkanThree weeks in a row. Go me. Appropriately, I read three books:
1) The Truth: With Jokes - Al Franken
I've been itching to get this one for awhile. I was pleasantly surprised by Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them three years ago, and this book doesn't disappoint either. There is just something about intelligent, funny people who have intelligent, funny views on the insanity that is modern U.S. 'politics' that makes me feel very grateful. Thank god these people are out there saying these things, and in a way that grabs attention. Franken's books tend to be better researched than Moore's, and while I haven't looked as closely at the chapter notes in this book as I did with Lies, they all seem to check out. Certainly, a lot of his examples are also present in All the President's Spin and Imperial Life in the Emerald City, which definitely argues in favor of them being accurate. Anyway, definitely check this book out.
2) An Introduction To Zen Buddhism - D.T. Suzuki
What an utter piece of CRAP. I suppose one can argue that this book has historical value in that it represents one man's views of Zen in the early 20th century, but again, what a complete, steaming turdpile. For one thing, it's obviously never seen an editor, and there are so many stylistic, grammatical, and transliteration discrepancies and indeed, errors, that it's nearly impossible to read. As far as content goes, Zen master or not, Suzuki is an ass. (One of my teachers once described him thus: D.T. Suzuki is a man who came to America and made a big name and a lot of money for himself telling Americans how they're incapable of understanding Buddhism.) Suzuki is quite bigoted, and his sneering attitude toward any school of Buddhism save his own (臨済宗) gets old pretty damn quickly. (You probably don't want to know his thoughts about Christianity or Hinduism either.) Otherwise, he spends 132 tortuous pages saying a whole lot of absolutely NOTHING about Buddhism.
Wintersmith - Terry Pratchett
I have been waiting forever for my library to finish processing this one so I can read it. And alas, forever is a long time in which to build up expectations. Hatful of Sky was leaps and bounds better than Wee Free Men, and I wanted Wintersmith to be even better than the former. Which it wasn't, but it's still pretty good all the same. Our hero Tiffany Aching has to go in against Annagramma, Granny Weatherwax, and winter personified. Of course, the Nac Mac Feegle are there to help (unfortunately, they feel rather like characatures of the Feegle from previous novels; much less spontaneous). The beginning is disorienting and very misleading as to the actual content of the story, but it really does pick up about halfway through. And there is also a moment of SHEER GENIUS at the end which I am spoiler-greying for those of you who want to read the book first.
Which makes it all worth reading RIGHT THERE.
That will be all.
1) The Truth: With Jokes - Al Franken
I've been itching to get this one for awhile. I was pleasantly surprised by Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them three years ago, and this book doesn't disappoint either. There is just something about intelligent, funny people who have intelligent, funny views on the insanity that is modern U.S. 'politics' that makes me feel very grateful. Thank god these people are out there saying these things, and in a way that grabs attention. Franken's books tend to be better researched than Moore's, and while I haven't looked as closely at the chapter notes in this book as I did with Lies, they all seem to check out. Certainly, a lot of his examples are also present in All the President's Spin and Imperial Life in the Emerald City, which definitely argues in favor of them being accurate. Anyway, definitely check this book out.
2) An Introduction To Zen Buddhism - D.T. Suzuki
What an utter piece of CRAP. I suppose one can argue that this book has historical value in that it represents one man's views of Zen in the early 20th century, but again, what a complete, steaming turdpile. For one thing, it's obviously never seen an editor, and there are so many stylistic, grammatical, and transliteration discrepancies and indeed, errors, that it's nearly impossible to read. As far as content goes, Zen master or not, Suzuki is an ass. (One of my teachers once described him thus: D.T. Suzuki is a man who came to America and made a big name and a lot of money for himself telling Americans how they're incapable of understanding Buddhism.) Suzuki is quite bigoted, and his sneering attitude toward any school of Buddhism save his own (臨済宗) gets old pretty damn quickly. (You probably don't want to know his thoughts about Christianity or Hinduism either.) Otherwise, he spends 132 tortuous pages saying a whole lot of absolutely NOTHING about Buddhism.
Wintersmith - Terry Pratchett
I have been waiting forever for my library to finish processing this one so I can read it. And alas, forever is a long time in which to build up expectations. Hatful of Sky was leaps and bounds better than Wee Free Men, and I wanted Wintersmith to be even better than the former. Which it wasn't, but it's still pretty good all the same. Our hero Tiffany Aching has to go in against Annagramma, Granny Weatherwax, and winter personified. Of course, the Nac Mac Feegle are there to help (unfortunately, they feel rather like characatures of the Feegle from previous novels; much less spontaneous). The beginning is disorienting and very misleading as to the actual content of the story, but it really does pick up about halfway through. And there is also a moment of SHEER GENIUS at the end which I am spoiler-greying for those of you who want to read the book first.
The galleries inside the Feegle mound were crowded but hushed. This was important. The honor of the clan was at stake here.
In the middle was a large book, taller than Rob and filled with colorful pictures. It was quite muddy from its journey down into the mound. Rob had been challenged. For years he'd thought himself to be a hero, and then the hag o' hags had said he wasna, no' really. Weel, you couldn't argue wi' the hag o' hags, but he wuz goin' to rise tae the challenge, oh aye, so he wuz, or his name wasna Rob Anybody.
"Where's mah coo?" he read. "Is that mah coo? It gaes cluck! It is a...a...chicken! It is no' mah coo! An' then there's this wee paintin' o' chickens."
Which makes it all worth reading RIGHT THERE.
That will be all.