The Library

All dressed up... [Flickr]

2009-10-15T18:57:41-07:00

Klobetime posted a photo:

Graham in his tux for his band concert. Hard to believe we have a son old enough to wear a tux!

Last Car to Elysian Fields, by James Lee Burke

2009-09-13T16:11:00.000-05:00

Dave Robicheaux is an alcoholic detective working in southern Louisiana; this is the third book in which he stars I’ve read. The plot is a bit crazy, including a decades old murder of a blues guitarist, a tragic car crash that kills three teenagers, and a hired killer that masquerades as a priest. You don’t read Burke for the stories, though; you read Burke for the rich and evocative descriptions. “New Orleans wasn’t a city. It was an outdoor mental asylum located on top of a giant sponge.” Or, “Lightning rippled like quicksilver across the thunderheads in the south, and the sugarcane in the fields along the road to St. Martinville thrashed and flickered in the wind and rain, the oak canopy blowing leaves that stuck like leeches on my windshield.” I love imagery like this; it makes the literary experience so much richer.

First Sentence:

The first week after Labor Day, after a summer of hot wind and drought that left the cane fields dust blown and spiderwebbed with cracks, rain showers once more danced across the wetlands, the temperature dropped twenty degrees, and the sky turned the hard flawless blue of an inverted ceramic bowl.

Persuader, by Lee Child

2009-09-13T12:01:00.003-05:00

Another Jack Reacher novel, another winner. The first chapter is a roller-coaster ride with Reacher accidentally shooting a cop while foiling a kidnapping, and it doesn’t slow down after that. Child weaves two gripping stories together, one in the present and flashbacks of the past. The two come together with the revelation that the villain in both is the same supposedly already dead man. There were many clues along the way that didn’t appear to make sense, but a twist towards the end neatly explained them all in a way that was truly surprising and not at all contrived. Entertaining and well-written, this is a perfect novel for an afternoon escape.

First Sentence:

The cop climbed out of his car exactly four minutes before he got shot.

100 Things Longhorn Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, by Jenna McEachern

2009-09-04T21:50:00.001-05:00

As most folks that know me can attest, I do love my Longhorns! I finished this the day before the first game of the season and it certainly helped to put me in the right frame of mind. It should really have been called 100 Things Longhorn Football Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die because virtually every item is either about football or strongly related, but then football is the lifeblood of the University so I suppose that should be expected!

The book is a series of vignettes covering the history and traditions of Longhorn football. Sections on places (Memorial Stadium, the Drag, the Cotton Bowl), people (Vince Young, Clyde Littlefield, Rooster Andrews), and important years and decades make up the bulk of it, and McEachern admirably captures the essence of them all. For instance, when discussing the Texas-OU game she mentions Robert Heard’s quote, “There is no rivalry to rival this one.” She follows it with, “Just reading those quotes [sic] makes you want to drive to Dallas tomorrow. It makes your mouth water, makes your heart pump faster, and makes your breathing shallow.” Well said! Another fun story: Yards After Contact is a common football statistic; it turns out that UT was reportedly the first school to track it, although at the time it was called “Yards Made by [Earl] Campbell After First Hit by a Tackler.”

In places this book was entirely too repetitive and could have used some judicious editing. At one point we learn “the day Texas football was truly born was November 30m 1893, when The University of Texas Foot Ball Club accepted a challenge from the Dallas Foot Ball Club, the self-proclaimed champions of Texas.” On the very next page we are told “no game was more crucial than the very first one, when the Texas Varsity stormed into hostile territory to challenge the Dallas Foot Ball Club, self-proclaimed "champions of Texas."” This particular tidbit gets mentioned elsewhere too, but to be found on facing pages is a bit too redundant for me. Another oddity was the seeming lack of logic behind what items had dedicated sections and what ones were combined into overviews. For instance, the World’s Largest Texas Flag didn’t get it’s own section—it had to share with the Hex Rally and Pig Bellmont in the More Traditions category. However, both the color PMS 159 (burnt orange, naturally) and the tunnel at the Cotton Bowl got their own entries—with the actual Cotton Bowl getting yet another! Seems like odd logic to me, but the stories were all still entertaining.

First Sentence:

The University of Texas was legislated to be great.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni

2009-08-30T17:09:00.001-05:00

This is a fast read—about 200 pages but a small size, large font, and vacuous phrasing. The simplicity is a good indication of the ideas contained within however; Lencioni’s approach to what makes an effective team is remarkably simple too. In order, a team needs trust, healthy debate, commitment, accountability, and rewarding results. You can’t skip any of these phases along the way; e.g., without trust it isn’t possible to have unfiltered discussions. Simple and obvious, like many of the popular business theories today. Unlike some popular theories though, these have the ring of truth.

This is a fable book, like The Goal or Virtual Leadership. The story in Five Dysfunctions was clumsy and contrived, but the points it tries to make come across well. It was hard to see how some of these techniques would work in the real world where people have multiple motivations and are more complex than cartoon characters, but the assessment template and discussions that close the book seem very useful. Despite the mixed review this is well worth your time, but make sure this isn’t the only book you take on an airplane!

First Sentence:

DecisionTech was located in Half Moon Bay, a foggy, coastal farming town just over the hills from San Francisco Bay.

The Emperors of Chocolate, by Joël Glenn Brenner

2009-08-23T15:11:00.001-05:00

This examination of the world of “big chocolate” was fascinating. I was shocked to find out both how massive these corporations are, and how few of them exist. “M&M’s alone generate more revenue than Camel cigarettes or Maxwell House coffee. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, the nation’s No. 3 brand (owned by Hershey), outsells such well-known products as Advil and Ivory Soap. ... Mars is bigger than such corporate giants as RJR Nabisco, McDonald’s and Kellogg.” There are really only four major players in the mass-market candy industry: Mars, Hershey, Cadbury, and Nestlé. In America Mars and Hershey rule the candy aisle, with a staggering number of recognizable treats belonging to them. Mars owns M&M’s, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Snickers, Dove Chocolate, Twix, Kudos, Skittles, Starburst, and the entire Wrigley Company (not to mention Banfield—The Pet Hospital, Whiskas, Pedigree, and Uncle Ben’s Rice). Hershey has all the various incarnations of the Hershey Bar and Kisses, as well as Symphony, Special Dark, Krackel, Mr. Goodbar, 5th Avenue, Almond Joy, Mounds, Heath, Kit Kat, Milk Duds, Reese’s, Whoppers, Jolly Rancher, PayDay, Bubble Yum, Breath Savers, and Twizzlers. These companies are surprisingly secretive as well; recipes and costs are obviously important trade secrets, but the Mars corporation wouldn’t even confirm the founder had ever worked for the company after his death!

The author does an effective job of describing the mysteries of chocolate; many people believe the taste is so complicated that it rivals scotch and wine to sophisticated palates. Odd words such as “mouthfeel” are commonly used, and the descriptions of how subtle differences in ingredients can have a huge impact on the resulting flavor were quite interesting. Learning about how the industry has grown from being simply large kitchens to modern factories in just the last 100 years was also captivating. For instance, in the Hershey factory before automation, “workers were known to pick up a Kiss, lick the bottom, dab it on the pile of tissues, then deposit that on the foil and twist. Not exactly sanitary, but fast.” This book is more than just a simple case study; it is an enthralling tale that I didn’t want to put down.

First Sentence:

Theo Leenders hadn’t moved from his desk all day.

Midnight Train to Memphis, by Derek B. Davis

2009-08-23T14:21:00.001-05:00

I don’t remember where I came across this book, but it held my interest. The story and characters are interesting despite the Steven Seagal-ish plot: a proud veteran framed by a corrupt businessman gathers his military friends to fight back and clear his name. Gambling, smuggling, murder, and rape give this a clearly adult tone, but the simple writing and large print give this a distinct young adult feel. The unevenness can be forgiven, though, as it is Davis’ first outing as an author and the promise shown here is intriguing.

First Sentence:

A new model Chevrolet Silverado passed by, leaving behind a gust of wind to part Ryan’s hair.

Zoe’s Tale, by John Scalzi

2009-08-23T13:17:00.000-05:00

The fourth tale in the Old Man’s War series, this one is a little different than the others. Instead of a new story in the same universe, in the fashion of Ender’s Shadow and Wicked this tells a familiar tale from a different viewpoint. Scalzi did a good job of making a story we already know (The Last Colony) interesting and compelling. Told from the point of view of Zoë, the daughter of the protagonists of the previous novel, we visit the same events again but with a fresh outlook. Much like teenagers everywhere, they know much more about what is happening than the adults believe, and they sneak out and get into trouble without their parents ever finding out. Some of the dangling threads of the earlier book are wrapped up (like why the werewolves vanished) which was nice, but some of the characterizations were weak; Zoë’s friend Gretchen has an identical personality and outlook, coming off as a simple copy rather than a separate person. This makes a nice companion to The Last Colony, but it is the weakest in the series.

First Sentence:

The flying saucer landed on our front lawn and a little green man got out of it.

The Fencing Master, by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

2009-08-23T11:46:00.000-05:00

In The Club Dumas, Pérez-Reverte crafted a mystery with book sellers and lost manuscripts; here, the adventure revolves around fencing and 19th-century Spanish politics. Don Jaime Astarloa is the fencing master of the title, an older man who is expert in a dying art. A mysterious woman appears and wants to be taught the killing thrust for which he is famous, and his life starts to spiral out of control after that. Mix in secret political documents, a throne in jeopardy, and a noble man living in the past and an exciting thriller begins to unfold.

The Fencing Master was both captivating and well-written, but I simply don’t know enough about fencing to be drawn in to the obviously well-researched sections. I could follow the duels and the intensity of the fights came through well, but I suspect that there was an artistry that would have been more poignant if I was better versed in swordsmanship. I still loved the book, however, and look forward to others by this author!

First Sentence:

Much later, when Jaime Astarloa wanted to piece together the scattered fragments of the tragedy and tried to remember how it all began, the first image that came to his mind was of the marquis and of the gallery in the palace overlooking the Retiro Gardens, with the first heat of summer streaming in through the windows, accompanied by such brilliant sunlight that they had to squint against the dazzle on the polished guards of their foils.

Schulz and Peanuts, by David Michaelis

2009-08-22T20:34:00.000-05:00

Charles M. Schulz was both a complicated and simple man. The beloved creator of Peanuts poured a lot of himself into his characters, but Charlie Brown is by no means Charles Schulz. Multiple affairs and a deep sadness marked Schulz’s life, who continually was depicted as a socially-awkward, self-involved man—far from the lovable loser in the funny papers. On the other hand, Sparky (Schulz’s nickname) remained a straightforward and down-to-earth person for his entire life, despite his fame and fortune. I suppose this oxymoronic behavior is fitting for a man that wrote a comic strip about children that waxed philosophical.

For a book about a humorist, there is very little humor found here; I find it surprising that a comic that ran for so long and was so amusing was created by a man that doesn’t seem that funny. I didn’t expect him to be cracking jokes constantly, but there wasn’t really any indication that Schulz had any comedy at all in his personality. While Schulz’s history is interesting, once I realized how many of his experiences made their way into the strip I found myself wanting more details on the backstory of Peanuts and less of the creator sitting at a coffee shop. Regardless, an interesting story that brought out many fond memories of reading the funnies as a kid.

First Sentence:

The great troop train, a quarter-mile of olive green carriages, rolled out of the depot and into the storm.

Made to Stick, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

2009-08-22T15:48:00.006-05:00

Why are some ideas remembered and others forgotten? That is the central idea discussed in Made to Stick. With a fair amount of humor and a plethora of anecdotes, the Heath brothers do a thorough job of examining this issue. There are six main qualities that make an idea sticky: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotion, and storytelling. Each of these are explored, and accompanied by credible examples such as the Don’t Mess With Texas campaign for emotion and Subway’s Jared campaign for storytelling. A sticky idea that has lasted for nearly 50 years was JFK’s call to “put a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade.” Simple, concrete, credible, emotional, and a story to remember. In contrast, the author’s say “Had John F. Kennedy been a CEO, he would have said, "Our mission is to become the international leader in the space industry through maximum team-centered innovation and strategically targeted aerospace initiatives."” I’ve met several CEO’s that talk that way, none of them memorable.

As with many books, the humor is what I enjoyed the most. Buzzwords are depicted as the antithesis of concrete, abstract phrases that don’t really mean anything. A medical example: “idiopathic cardiomyopathy.” As described by the authors: “"Cardiomyopathty" means something is wrong with your heart, and "idiopathic" means "we have no idea why yours isn’t working."” Another funny bit a few pages later: “Remembering the capital of Kansas is an abstract exercise, unless you happen to live in Topeka. By contrast, when you think about "Hey Jude," you may hear Paul McCartney’s voice and piano playing. (If the phrase "Hey Jude" drew a blank, please exchange this book for a Beatles album. You’ll be happier.)” At the close, a long section on how to apply what was discussed to your own ideas boosts this book from interesting to truly useful. Clearly written and fun to read, this is a great book for examining how ideas are communicated. I enjoyed reading it.

First Sentence:

Every move an Army soldier makes is preceded by a staggering amount of planning, which can be traced to an original order from the president of the United States.

The Last Colony, by John Scalzi

2009-08-08T21:09:00.001-05:00

Third in the Old Man’s War series, this installment tells the story of an experimental colony used as bait in a war. John Perry from the original novel takes center stage again, accompanied by Jane Sagan and Zoë from the sequel. Witty and imaginative, this volume is more about interstellar politics than the military action of the others. There was a bit of a deux ex machina near the conclusion and a few plot lines are left unsatisfied but overall Scalzi delivers another enjoyable romp.

First Sentence:

Let me tell you of the worlds I’ve left behind.

Longitude, by Dava Sobel

2009-08-08T20:58:00.000-05:00

In this day and age we take knowing where we are on the planet for granted. I was surprised to discover how difficult a problem this was for sailors before the nineteenth century. Latitude could be discovered by watching the stars, but longitude didn’t have a reliable way of being measured. This caused an amazing amount of tragedy on the high seas, such as when Admiral Sir Clowdisley misjudged his longitude in the fog and sailed his armada into the rocks in 1707 losing almost two thousand men. This was such a large problem that most major governments offered a king’s ransom for the person that could create a device that solved the problem. The man that eventually claimed the prize wasn’t a scientist, engineer, or an astronomer, but a clockmaker. With so much money at stake, politics and professional jealousy worked against John Harrison, but he persevered and changed the face of navigation. I picked this up on a whim, but was glad I did—this was much more entertaining and interesting than I’d expected.

First Sentence:

Once on a Wednesday excursion when I was a little girl, my father bought me a beaded wire ball that I loved.

100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories, edited by Dziemianowicz, Weinberg, and Greenberg

2009-08-08T17:57:00.000-05:00

I’ve always liked ghost stories, but this collection was largely pedestrian and disappointing. Coming Home by Nina Kiriki Hoffman was one of the only truly unnerving stories, dealing with the ghosts of guilt instead of the more traditional apparitions. O Come Little Children... by Chet Williamson was my other favorite; the twist at the end of this one truly snuck up on me, and with most of the other stories being so predictable this was doubly surprising. While one or two tales are worthy of being told around the campfire, the vast majority are easily forgettable.

First Sentence (from the introduction):

The ghost story is the oldest type of supernatural tale, and thus the one closest to the European oral storytelling tradition.

Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D. H. Lawrence

2009-08-05T23:02:00.000-05:00

Set in post WWI England, this is a story that examines the twin roles of sensuality and intellectualism in relationships. Lady Chatterley has a husband that is crippled from the waist down and unable to to sexually perform. Because they have a strong cerebral relationship at first the lack of physical intimacy isn’t an issue, but over time Lady Chatterley becomes less and less satisfied, eventually starting an affair. There are more than a few fairly explicit erotic sections which explains why this novel was banned in many countries for many years. More interesting though, is the message that Lawrence conveys: as important as an emotional and intellectual connection is in a relationship, a physical, sexual component is required for true happiness.

Written in the early part of the twentieth century, the style is stodgy but readable except when a speaker drops into the local, uneducated dialect. “Tha mun come one naight ter th’ cottage, afore tha goos; sholl ter?” And this isn’t the most obtuse passage! Lawrence has a sly sense of humor I liked, too. “Sex and a cocktail: they both lasted about as long, had the same effect, and amounted to about the same thing.” Overall I can’t say I loved the book, but I’m not sorry I read it either.

First Sentence:

Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.

The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi

2009-08-02T16:42:00.000-05:00

The sequel to Old Man’s War, this episode is told from the point of view of a member of Special Forces, a group of soldiers created from the DNA of the dead. I didn’t find this as inventive as Old Man’s War, but the plot was more interesting. One of the newly created Special Forces members has a memory overlay attempted but seems to fail. However, over time more and more of the other personality begins to break through; considering this other set of memories belong to a traitor, the table is set for an interesting action jaunt with some light examination of what it means to be an individual.

As with most of Scalzi’s writing, the sense of humor here is undeniable. In a scene where newly hatched soldiers are exploring pre-Colonial speculative fiction to learn about humanity, Scalzi gets to throw in his snide opinions on Starship Troopers, The Forever War, and the Star Wars series. “Everyone wanted a lightsaber and was irritated the technology for them didn’t really exist. Everyone also agreed the Ewoks should all die.” There is no mention of the chronologically first three Star Wars movies, so my assumption is they didn’t stand the test of time—as it should be!

First Sentence:

No one noticed the rock.

Good friends [Flickr]

2009-06-28T14:38:14-07:00

Klobetime posted a photo:

The Campbell and the (not so photogenic) Klobe families.

I am king of the world! [Flickr]

2009-06-28T14:38:04-07:00

Klobetime posted a photo:

Stacy surprised herself with how much fun the tube was.

Wipeout! [Flickr]

2009-06-28T14:37:50-07:00

Klobetime posted a photo:

What happens when you can't hold on... at least I kept my suit on this time!

Relaxing [Flickr]

2009-06-28T14:37:39-07:00

Klobetime posted a photo:

Yeah, we had a good week.

Float on the lake, hang out on the deck, kill the monsters [Flickr]

2009-06-28T14:37:26-07:00

Klobetime posted a photo:

Playing Munchkin was popular after the antics on the lake.

Sunset number three [Flickr]

2009-06-28T14:37:15-07:00

Klobetime posted a photo:

Daredevil, part two [Flickr]

2009-06-28T14:37:03-07:00

Klobetime posted a photo:

The Campbell boys were fearless on the tube!

Goofball [Flickr]

2009-06-28T14:36:51-07:00

Klobetime posted a photo:

Geronimo! [Flickr]

2009-06-28T14:36:41-07:00

Klobetime posted a photo:

Graham liked jumping off this rock into the lake.

Farthing, by Jo Walton

2009-06-13T14:34:00.000-05:00

Imagine a world where England made peace with Nazi Germany after the Battle of Dunkirk and World War II never really happened. Hilter overtook all of continental Europe and got into a prolonged war with Stalin, still going strong in the 1949 of the book. Against this setting we find a murder of a senior Parliment official in the opening pages. There are two voices telling the story, with each chapter flipping between them. Lucy Khan, a member of the Peerage disgraced by marrying a Jew, and Inspector Carmichael, a lowborn detective at Scotland Yard. While ostensibly only one story, each character is actually telling a slightly different one: Carmichael goes about solving the mystery, but Khan is really describing the slide of England into fascism. The characterization was weak, with most people falling into one of three categories: good, evil, or stupid. This made the whodunnit aspect fairly straightforward; I thought it was obvious what happened only a few chapters in. The politics are what makes the book interesting, however, and are presented in such a fashion that a fascist Britain becomes a very believable thing.

One throw-away line that made me smile was when it was mentioned that Guy Philby became junior minister at the Foreign Office. The name Guy Philby is a mashup of Guy Burgess and Kim Philby of the Cambridge Five, the most successful espionage ring ever uncovered. Walton also refers to the famous “scientifiction” book Nineteen Seventy-Four; ironically it was purchased as a gift for the framed suspect to take his mind off the situation. If the content was similar to our Nineteen Eighty-Four then I suspect it won’t be much of a distraction!

Overall I enjoyed the book, although it was a bit heavy-handed in places. The ending was really good, however, with the author not taking the easy way out by granting the protagonists happy endings and having the villains exposed. Instead, we get a more realistic yet disturbing finish, setting up the next book in the series.

First Sentence:

It started when David came in from the lawn absolutely furious.

Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi

2009-06-13T12:24:00.000-05:00

Set in the near future where Earth is involved in an interstellar war, our hero joins the Colonial Defense Forces when he turns seventy-five. The Fountain of Youth hasn’t been found and neither has technology or medicine extended life-spans to hundreds of years, so what the army wants with the elder generation is the mystery explored in part I. Parts II is more straightforward space military fiction, and part III gives a closer look at the aliens along with a satisfying conclusion.

Scalzi writes in a fashion that is both engaging and smart, something I treasure in pulp fiction. For instance, part I ends with an excellent foreshadowing of what happens at the conclusion of part II, but is subtle enough so that you don’t realize it until it hits you in the face. Humor is prevalent as well, with the main character cracking jokes at which nobody laughs throughout. One of my favorite parts was when we find out the names our band of friends give to their personalized AIs: Asshole, Dipshit, Bitch, Dickwad, Fuckhead, Satan, and Sweetie. Clearly one of the crew wasn’t as disturbed as the rest when the AI was activated! I quite enjoyed this book and look forward to the sequel, The Ghost Brigades.

First Sentence:

I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday.

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, by Lauren Willig

2009-06-03T21:40:00.000-05:00

I read the other day that Brad Meltzer said it is okay for men to read chick-lit so I’m not embarrassed at all to say I loved The Secret History of the Pink Carnation! Using the device of a book-within-a-book, this is set in both present day and in 18th century Europe in a world where the Scarlet Pimpernel was a real secret agent. We are introduced to Eloise, a modern grad student investigating the successors to the Pimpernel: the Purple Gentian and the Pink Carnation. She is interesting, but the historical figures are where the book shines.

While a lot of fun, this doesn’t even try to be historically accurate. The women from the 18th century are sassy, well-educated, and would fit in to today’s society without any trouble; the men from all era are generally arrogant cads but eventually revealed to have hearts of gold. The inner monologues are quite modern and funny: “Kissing Amy. Bad idea. What the devil had he been thinking? He hadn’t been thinking at all; that was the problem. At least, he hadn’t been thinking with any part of him that worked in a logical manner.” Another bit I enjoyed: “Like? What an incredibly inadequate word like was. To say that he liked the idea of Amy dressed up as a dancing girl would be like saying Midas liked gold, or Epicurus liked food, or Miss Gwen liked poking her parasol at people.” And from the modern era, an affliction that Merck will surely have a pill for soon: “Unfortunately, I knew exactly what I was suffering from. LIPID (Last Idiot Person I Dated) syndrome: a largely undiagnosed but pervasive disease that afflicts single women.” Funny stuff.

Comedy, historical fiction, and contemporary chick lit are an interesting mix. While I wouldn’t call this overly intellectual, I would call it fun. I think I’ll try the next few in the series and see if they hold my interest.

First Sentence:

“...The city of your birth awaits your return.”

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne

2009-05-31T14:14:00.001-05:00

The plot is split into two halves: first is the hunt for a mysterious and deadly sea creature, and then an adventure on Captain Nemo’s famous submarine, the Nautilus. The early part is exciting, even though because of the book’s fame the reader already knows the sea monster is really the Nautilus. Once the narrator is on board the sub, the excitement fades quickly. The ship travels around the world, visiting sunken ships, underwater forests, and battling giant squids; this half of the book felt more like a collection of short stories than a cohesive narrative. Some of these vignettes dragged on too long, and the catalogs of sea creatures were interminable. The conclusion was a deus ex machina that I found quite unsatisfying; disappointing for such a promising start.

One thing I found fascinating was that there was no villain in the book, no mission to accomplish, no quest to complete. Everyone has a sense of honor that governs their actions, and there are no one-dimensional characters. Nemo kidnaps the narrator and his party, but did so to save their lives. Ned wants to escape, but doesn’t hesitate to join the crew to fight off attackers and returning the weapon he used when successful. This depth makes the story more interesting, even in the slow parts.

First Sentence:

The year 1866 was signalized by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten.

Myths for the Modern Age, edited by Win Scott Eckert

2009-05-24T17:15:00.000-05:00

Philip José Farmer believes that the meteor which landed near a small village in England in 1795 irradiated roughly eighteen people and changed their genetic makeup. These mutated genes were passed on to their descendants, many of whom became extraordinary individuals. These amazing people have been the real-world models for some of the most popular fictional characters through the years, such as Sherlock Holmes, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Allan Quatermain, and James Bond. Myths for the Modern Age is a collection of faux-scholarly essays exploring this concept.

As with many anthologies, the various authors here are hit and miss with their efforts. The Arms of Tarzan by Farmer goes into excruciating detail about the coat of arms of Lord Greystoke, better known as Tarzan; this is easily the least interesting essay in the collection. Brad Mengel’s Watching the Detectives was my favorite, where we learn that Simon Templar, Lara Croft, Ellery Queen, Barnaby Jones, Archie Goodwin, and Robert Goren are all descendants of Sherlock Holmes. He also postulates that Holmes nemesis Moriarty had well-known offspring, such as “Howling Mad” Murdock, better known as the helicopter pilot for the commando unit known as the A-Team. “Intriguingly, the leader of the A-Team, John ‘Hannibal’ Smith, is the great-nephew of Sherlock Holmes making this perhaps the first time that a member of the Holmes family and a member of the Moriarty family worked together.” Connections like this make this concept a lot of fun!

At nearly 400 pages, this can be a long read—especially for the less interesting chapters. There is an excellent set of endnotes throughout the essays that give sources and hints as to who some of the more obscure characters are (Lew Archer, anyone?) but somewhere in the 200’s the numbers get out of sync, with the text and the reference mismatched; this led to quite a bit of confusion for me until I realized what had happened. All in all, I was disappointed by this book. The idea of a shared genealogy crossing fictional boundaries I love, but feel it fell short of its potential here. If you are a die-hard lover of conspiracy and literary humor then pick this up, but otherwise just go spend some time on Thom Holbrook’s crossover site.

First Sentence (from the introduction):

The Wold Newton Family is a group of heroic and villainous literary figures that science fiction author Philip José Farmer postulated belonged to the same genetic family.

Mage-Guard of Hamor, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

2009-05-24T15:46:00.004-05:00

This book picks up immediately after Natural Ordermage, with our hero returning home to Recluce. Rahl is one of the whinier heroes Modesitt has given us, but we see him mature into a leader under the hard gaze of his mentor. I thought the twists were telegraphed and way too obvious, but the magic-and-military campaign kept me interested. The plot is as formulaic as all the other adventures in this universe, but I still enjoyed it. This is an entertaining read, perfect for a rainy afternoon or a crowded airplane.

First Sentence:

Rahl stood on the port wing of the fast frigate’s bridge, looking out at the seemingly endless gray-blue waters of the Eastern Ocean.

Implementing Lean Software Development, by Mary and Tom Poppendieck

2009-04-30T02:41:00.001-05:00

This book examines the lean manufacturing approach pioneered by Toyota and how it can apply to software development. Lean boils down to seven principles: eliminate waste, build quality in, create knowledge, defer commitment, deliver fast, respect people, and optimize the whole. Many of these are familiar to agile proponents, but not all. Of particular interest to me was the last principle, optimize the whole. Developers have a strong tendency to suboptimize a problem, to “perfect” a small block of code without considering the bigger picture. Optimizing the whole means that instead of looking at an individual step you look at the entire value stream. When combined with a stop-the-line mentality that forces teams to solve problems rather than work around them, there is a lot of potential for not only higher throughput but for higher quality.

Another interesting idea presented here was set-based design: multiple teams solving the same problems at the same time in different ways. The thought here is you can have several groups all tackle the same issue, each taking a different approach or accepting a different amount of risk. They all work simultaneously, and at the end the best one of the solutions can be taken forward. I’ve never worked at a company that was willing to put this many resources towards a single problem but it is an intriguing concept.

Overall, a good book that any agile enthusiast should read. The writing isn’t as compelling as Tabeka or as interesting as Angus, but still well worth your time. Another winner from the Addison-Wesley Signature Series of books.

First Sentence:

Paris, France, July 1785.

Sister Time, by John Ringo and Julie Cochrane

2009-04-28T21:26:00.002-05:00

I picked this book up out of the bargain bin not knowing anything about it. Turns out it is the tenth book of a series, so I was thrown into the middle of an epic without any back story. Ringo and Cochrane are good enough writers where I stayed enthralled with the plot even when I didn’t understand the many references to previous events. The several alien species all have broad traits that both underscore the alienness and give the reader a good visual: Darhels are elf-like businessmen, Indowy are small green furry engineers, Tchpth are philosopher crabs, and Posleen are reptile warriors. I got the idea that previous books in the series give a much more thorough look at the aliens, but these high-level descriptions allowed the story to progress without chapters of exposition.

The plot here reads like a James Bond story where MI6 has been replaced by an Irish clan, Q is an alien, and Bond looks like Pamela Anderson. It rolls along quickly while still providing enough exposition that a new reader (like me) doesn’t get lost with the rich history. The action sequences were exciting, although the conclusion was a bit abrupt in my opinion. The hints at the larger scope the series covers, though, are intriguing enough that I suspect this won’t be my last trip to Ringo’s universe.

First Sentence:

The dark figure dropping over the edge of the building could have given lessons in camouflage to a Himmit.

Links for 2009-05-14 [del.icio.us]

2009-05-15T00:00:00-07:00

One Div Zero: A Brief, Incomplete, and Mostly Wrong History of Programming Languages
"It is a syntax error to write FORTRAN while not wearing a blue tie." Funny stuff.

Tell Me Where It Hurts, by Dr. Nick Trout

2009-03-28T11:44:00.004-05:00

As a kid I found James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small on my mother’s bookshelf, and after reading it quickly devoured the rest of the set. When my brother-in-law offered to lend me Tell Me Where It Hurts by a different English vet (albeit one living in Boston), I eagerly accepted. While this more recent book didn’t quite live up to my memory of Herriot’s work, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The writing was extremely witty; Trout’s use of language had me in stitches more than once. For instance, in his early days as a vet he was nervous talking to clients and he “would begin to itch. If you took a binge-drinking frat boy, stripped him naked, and hazed him with a gallon bucket full of ravenous fire ants poured over his entire body including his nether regions, I believe you would have a reasonable approximation of the degree of itchiness that ensued.” Trout also has a knack for anthropomorphizing the animals we meet in his clinic. A wired, nervous dog in the waiting room is described as “scanning the crowd for potential assassins as part of a Secret Service detail.” The book is riddled with funny and effective phrases like these.

The stories Trout tells do a great job of relating what it must be like to be a veterinarian. He captures both the joy of successfully treating a sick animal and the heartache and grief of a passing family pet equally well. I also got a good idea of what this profession means to the author and what being a vet is all about: “striving for a connection and collaboration between two completely different species ... trying to help a frightened, sick animal with their unequivocal acceptance of your intentions ... unlike human medicine, this exchange transpires in respectful silence, in a world of tacit, clueless tolerance.” I took delight in reading this work, and if you have a well-loved pet and spend any time at the local animal clinic, you probably will too.

First Sentence:

This might seem strange, coming from an Englishman, but sometimes emergency surgery in the middle of the night can play out like a synopsis of a perfect season for the Boston Red Sox.

Trace, by Patricia Cornwell

2009-03-01T15:34:00.000-06:00

Cornwell is just going through the motions these days. Blow Fly was bad, but Trace was truly awful. Besides a ridiculous plot and characters that are continually unhappy and unpleasant, the writing is repetitive to the point of boredom. In one chapter, an alcoholic neighbor is described as such: “She has left the station and is halfway to drunk.” A mere two paragraphs later, “She stretches her words the way people do when they’ve left the station and are happily on their way to drunk.” On the next page, the same character is “pronouncing her French extremely well for one almost at her destination of drunk.” That is a lot of metaphor for such a short passage. Bah.

Trace is an ironic name for this book, because there isn’t a trace of enjoyment to be found here. Personalities I’d liked in previous novels were angry shells of themselves, and it had a lackluster plot with so many coincidences and holes it should have been a Murder She Wrote episode. I find it hard to believe that the same author that wrote Postmortem wrote this drivel.

First Sentence:

Yellow bulldozers hack earth and stone in an old city block that has seen more death than most modern wars, and Kay Scarpetta slows her rental SUV almost to a stop.

Links for 2009-01-21 [del.icio.us]

2009-01-22T00:00:00-08:00

Palo Duro Records Nominee for Record Label of the Year
This label is putting out some of the best music anywhere: Walt Wilkins, Two Tons of Steel, the Derailers, Buzz Cason... and plenty more. Go vote!

Links for 2009-01-01 [del.icio.us]

2009-01-02T00:00:00-08:00

World Gone Mad Drum and Bugle Corps
An Austin based brass and percussion rock band - Keep Austin Loud!

Links for 2008-11-07 [del.icio.us]

2008-11-08T00:00:00-08:00

"Star Wars" - an a capella tribute to John Williams
One guy doing four different parts, fairly amusing.

Links for 2008-10-16 [del.icio.us]

2008-10-17T00:00:00-07:00

Using Sex for Weight Loss
Now this is my idea of a diet!

Links for 2008-10-02 [del.icio.us]

2008-10-03T00:00:00-07:00

DebateDrink.com: Presidential Debate Drinking Game
A drinking game playable during the 2008 debates. VP debate is tonight and drinking may be required to make it through what I expect to be utterly ridiculous answers from both candidates.

Links for 2008-09-26 [del.icio.us]

2008-09-27T00:00:00-07:00

The Muppet Newsflash: Statler & Waldorf Get Political
After being depressed at being told I need to choose between the welfare state and another Bush-like term, at least this made me smile.