Books!

[Dreadnaught]

I am about to start a book with a really stupid cover and stupider title. But it's gotten good reviews. Interestingly, it's written by someone who works in publishing who seems to have said, "Fuck this, I can write a good book." The question is if the book is actually good, or does she just have all the levers of promotion at her fingertips.

On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life—the fissures in her parents’ marriage, the loss of old friends, the hopeful anguish of first love, the bizarre behavior of her grandfather who, convinced of a government conspiracy, spends his days obsessively cataloging his possessions. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.

[Flixy]

On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life—the fissures in her parents’ marriage, the loss of old friends, the hopeful anguish of first love, the bizarre behavior of her grandfather who, convinced of a government conspiracy, spends his days obsessively cataloging his possessions. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.

Wait, what?

[Khendraja'aro]

It's obvious: We're only remaining on the surface of planet Earth due to centripetal forces which obviously weaken as soon as the earth does not rotate as fast.

Must've been somesuch nonsense like this which went through the author's head.

[Flixy]

I was curious and looked it up, the combined effect of rotation and not being exactly round is a difference an incredible 0,5% between the poles and the equator. Doubt you'd even notice that.

[Dreadnaught]

As you found, there is an impact on gravity's effects from the shape/rotation of the planet. Whether we would notice a 0.5% change is an interesting question. If the earth's rotation were to start slowing down fast enough, I wonder if the deceleration itself would be noticeable.

The idea that there could be a slightly-noticeable impact (EG harder to throw a ball in the air with the accuracy you're used to) could be possible. Which I'm guessing is the kind of thing that could come up in this fictional book. I don't know, I'll get around to reading it and report back.

[Lewkowski]

Just finished reading the first three books of the Twenty Palaces series. He's also got a prequel out but the publisher dropped the series which is really annoying.

The book series came recommended by Jim Butcher and I wasn't disappointed. Its pretty gritty and people die all over the place - and there really isn't much humor but I read through the three books in one week. The first one is Child of Fire.

http://www.amazon.com/Child-Fire-Twe.../dp/0345508890

[Timbuk2]

Just saw Steven Soderbergh's 2002 remake of Solaris for the 2nd time tonight.

Was only as the credits rolled I saw it was based on a book by Stanislaw Lem.

Interesting enough movie, if a little slow-burning. Would like to read the book. Have you?

[Flixy]

The last love of my mother, by dimitri verhulst (i think). Light read, but pretty good. Think he could have skipped the last chapter, though.

[Omega]

Hoooooly shit. Newfound respect for Orwell. I read and finished Animal Farms and that man had balls. The only reason why I understood the parallelism between Soviet Russia and the book was because we have history textbooks condensing the Bolshevik Revolution, Trotsky's reign, and Stalin's purges. However, for a man to be living in the midst of it and writing about it with startling accuracy, unreal.

[Aimless]

http://www.amazon.com/Old-Mans-War-J...2292844&sr=1-2

Has anyone read this??

[LittleFuzzy]

http://www.amazon.com/Old-Mans-War-J...2292844&sr=1-2

Has anyone read this??

Yes. Interesting concept and it was well-paced. The Campbell Award Scalzi got for it was well-earned. The sequel didn't go off as well though.

[Nessus]

Just saw Steven Soderbergh's 2002 remake of Solaris for the 2nd time tonight.

Was only as the credits rolled I saw it was based on a book by Stanislaw Lem.

Interesting enough movie, if a little slow-burning. Would like to read the book. Have you?

Sorry, didn't see your question until now!

A couple times, yeah. There's cheap paperbacks abound after said movie, not hard to find. (Personally I prefer the Finnish translation to the English one, but this is probably cultural bias.) It's part of Lem's exploration of man's inability to comprehend alien intelligences/creatures. I much prefer Fiasco and Eden, of the same themes. But the reason I suspect Solaris was turned into a film was because it turned the tables, and the protagonist(s) contend not only with the alien on Solaris, but their internal demons. And Eden is a far more straight-forward guys in a rocket visit a society gone crazy type story. Fiasco is much more... Challenging, I had a good exchange about it with Chambalaya back in the day.

His Master's Voice is also partly about these themes, but it also turns the mirror on humanity as a whole instead of random individuals. Both mr. Lem and I consider HMV his most brilliant, fundamental work. Solaris is by no means a bad read, IMO, but if you like it, might consider going a bit deeper down the rabbit hole.

[Ominous Gamer]

Wait, what?

Found the review in one of the library magazines I have to deal with. The day ends up reaching 40+ hours long, the birds die, the bullies won't leave Julia alone.

The review made it sound like the story is stuffed full of irrelevant shit that would get in the way of a good disaster story, but they gave the book the best marks possible.

[Illusions]

The review made it sound like the story is stuffed full of irrelevant shit that would get in the way of a good disaster story, but they gave the book the best marks possible.

Dear Diary,

As the sun rises this morning, its blistering light igniting trees in its wake, the main thought on my mind today is what I will wear to tonight's dinner with Billy. OMG I'm so glad he finally asked me out! I think I'll wear that blue dress I bought at Mandees last Thursday. Or Friday? I don't really care, I'm really psyched about dinner with Billy! He has the dreamiest smile. Well its getting kinda hot in my room, I'm gonna go and turn the air conditioner on, then start thinking about what set of earrings to wear.

Love and Kisses,

Julia


I get the feeling that this is going to be as dumb as Melancholia. Also, in case anyone can't figure it out, I made that diary entry up.

[Omega]

Brave New World's ending was meh.

[Kazuha Vinland]

Not really a book, but Knausgaard made a speech for the 1 year memorial of the terrorist act of Oslo, that I found touching. It's a direct translation, so the language is probably thrown off, but nevertheless.

There exists a few pictures from the summer of 2011 that I will never forget. There are images of a rainy island in a fjord, the dark green trees that rooted all the way down to the waterline. The grizzled mountains, the heavy immovable surface, the lights from a cloudy sky. This scenery is so familiar, that I normally do not take notice of it. It disappears into the ordinary. The Norwegian summer I have grown up by, and that I still do. But on these images, there lied people. They were dead, and covered in plastics. The life which the day before had shined in their eyes, was put out for eternity. He who did it, he who tore these people away, took them from their parents and their friends - one by one - and filled this island with horror and blood and death. He has also grown up in the Norwegian summer. He knows it as we know it. The straining rain, the heavy surface, the evergreen trees. He said he did it to rescue the Norwegian culture. But what is the Norwegian culture?... Now the Norwegian culture has also become this. An island filled with bodies wrapped in plastics.

It was like the world stood open that day. After this it has slowly closed itself, till we now stand here one year later. Outside the shock. Looking back. We must not forget the 22nd of July, it says. But what is it that we must not forget? It is what a life is, what a pair of eyes glittering with joy is, it is what laughter is. When I write this, I foresee my own children. Should somebody be able to kill them? How is it possible? To take their lives when they play in the garden, when they play, fight, laugh and run. To put the lights out in their alive eyes, you need to place yourself at a distance where all of this disappears. Only then, with the distance that makes them into something different than humans, can someone kill them. Now, after the 22nd of July 2011, we know that this distance exists. And that it exists right among us. That is the difference which is dangerous.

It's about looking. Not looking back, as that is looking at a distance. Not looking forward, as that is looking at a distance. It is about seeing what is now; what we have, it is about seeing what we are. So all of you whom are present here today, turn around and look at each other. Those eyes, that face, it is the other person. It is us. That is what we must never forget.

[Khendraja'aro]

Okay, I managed to buy a really bad Sci-Fi book for my Kindle. Instead of just reposting what I wrote as a review, I'll simply link to it.

The mind boggles as to why so many people gave that pile of turd 5 stars. Yes, it really is that bad. I found myself skipping pages, only reading the occasional paragraph, in the sense of "Does it get any better? Urgh. Nope." and "Is it over yet?"

Spoiler:

(Yes, the review includes my real name. Don't have much of a problem with that)

[Loki]

Rare to see a book with so many ones and fives at the same time.

[Khendraja'aro]

Yeah, makes one wonder, doesn't it? I'd gift it to you if I could so that you'd be able to judge it for yourself, but:
a) That's not possible on a Kindle and
b) I wouldn't do that to my worst enemy *)

Spoiler:

*) Disclaimer: This is not intended to mean that Loki is my worst enemy.

[Loki]

I'll try harder to achieve that designation.

[Wraith]

Okay, I managed to buy a really bad Sci-Fi book for my Kindle. Instead of just reposting what I wrote as a review, I'll simply link to it.

Admiral Dorg sat in his command chair on board the Alliance Flagship War Weapon
and watched as his fleet was destroying the humans’ ships. He heard his bridge
crew cheering but he couldn’t help thinking, “This is too easy. This fleet
couldn’t have defeated our ships at the Human Colony World.”

Then he said, “Communications, put a picture of one of those human ships that was just
destroyed on my display.” A picture of a small ship suddenly appeared on his
console. He looked at it for a minute and then pulled up a picture of the small
human ship that had killed two heavy cruisers. He put it next to the ship that
had just been destroyed; they looked nothing alike. His internal alarms went off
at full blast; he stood and yelled, “Order the fleet back into formation!” His
crew stopped cheering and looked at him like he was crazy. “Do it now; we’re
being set up for a trap!” His crew hesitated, looking at each other for just a
moment, and then started issuing orders, but that small hesitation proved fatal;
the human fleet ripped into the Alliance ships like a tsunami.

Seems pretty bad. How was this published? Is the publisher a vanity press?

Not sure how you could expect anything good from a book with a title like that, though. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of those 5-star reviews came from sock puppets.

[Khendraja'aro]

I think it's self-published. The editing (or rather, the lack thereof) is a pretty strong indicator.

And I don't really know what I was thinking.

Currently trying to get through "The Fall of the Malazan Empire" - that was highly reccomended through diverse sources. I'm a bit dubious, however, the writing style is too difficult for my taste. Lot's of names, characters and concepts flying around. And not a lot of explanations. For example, fantasy novels usually include at least some explanation as to how their magic system works. This one doesn't.

You also have to discover that "Tiste Andii" are an alien race and not merely some human tribe (at least I think so). Magic is done through "Opening a Warren" - but those are also means of teleportation, insofar as you enter a Warren, physically travel through said Warren and emerge elsewhere - but you can also be forced out of there mid-travel for some reason. And they have different flavours, but I haven't yet discovered if there's any meaning to the names of those flavours. Or if they're just names.

One of those books you probably have to read at least thrice in order to understand them. Otherwise it's just confusing.

[wiggin]

Reading Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men and Star Maker again. I can never decide whether I like these books - partly it's because they're not really novels, partly it's because they are obviously somewhat dated. And yet... his imagination and broad perspective bring me back to what SF is really supposed to be about.

Nessie - some aspects of it reminded me of the second essay in One Human Minute. If you haven't read Stapledon, you might find it worth a shot. No promises you'll like it, though.

[Nessus]

I will demand delicious Jewish treats if I am disappointed

[wiggin]

delicious Jewish treats

Isn't that an oxymoron?

[Nessus]

I wouldn't know

[wiggin]

Well, most 'traditional' European Jewish food is pretty awful - heavy fare eaten by poor peasants. Lots of relatively flavorless meat and potatoes kinda stuff. Mizrahi and Sepharadi Jews did a bit better (at least they discovered spices and vegetables), but even so, they didn't have bacon. Without that, how delicious could it really be?

[Nessus]

While I do prefer pig over beef with meat cuts etc I don't really understand the American obsession with bacon. There's bacon-flavoured sexual lubricants!

[wiggin]

If you watch US cooking shows, the secret ingredient is always bacon. Oh, sometimes butter is involved as well, but bacon make every dish delicious.

[Flixy]

Bacon can be delicious, but we're not that obsessed!

Is Israeli food good that you know of? Friend of mine is going there, and I like cooking, so I was wondering if it's wirth asking her to bring a cookbook