Books 2007 (II)

Well, zero_zero_one did it, so I suppose I'll follow suit. I'm nothing like as organised (read: anal retentive) as him, though, so I never kept a list. This is based on memory. So:

My Top 5 Books of 2007

1. Gonzo, edited by Jann Wenner; a biography of the journalist/writer/alchoholic drug-addled visionary Hunter S. Thompson, made up of small segments of memory written by those who knew him best. An extraodinary portrait of an extraordinary man, the most interesting thing about it being its very stark portrayal of the line between genius and insanity. Thompson spent his life crossing from one side of the line to the other, it seems, and comes out of the book as something of a psychopath or extreme narcissist, actually - with the charm and charisma of somebody who doesn't care what other people think, but also the plain meanness and nastiness of somebody who just doesn't care that much about other people generally.

2. The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. Unselfconsciously pulpy historical novel about a Saxon boy in early 9th-century England who is raised by Vikings and ends up fighting against them. What the term 'rip-roaring yarn' was made for, basically, and I've always loved that kind of book. But Cornwell also has a kind of genius for making history come alive; he's no Proust, but the atmosphere is absolutely what you suspect 9th-century Britain to have been like.

3. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. An autobiography of sorts, which deals with the writer's early life in Des Moines, Iowa during the 1950s. Hilarious, like all his books are (I've read all of them, even the slightly boring ones about language). Literally laugh-out-loud-and-embarrass-yourself-on-the-bus-funny.

4. The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe. Real fantasy, for people who've sucked up all the fantasy canon and are now onto the harder stuff (we're like hopeless drunkards, we hard-core fantasy fans; we've gone from the beer of Tolkien and Weis & Hickman, to the whiskey of Leiber and Moorcock, and now all that can satisfy is the pure ethanol of guys like Wolfe and M. John Harrison, which we consume as if it is squeezed out of rags soaked in methalated spirits, myth and orc-blood). Anyone who's ever criticised fantasy for being childish, escapist and pulpy should read this and eat their words. About as close to 'great literature' as fantasy writing gets, basically.

5. Rivers of Gold by Hugh Thomas. An account of the first decades of the Spanish exploration and conquest in the Americas; notable for the way it refuses to patronise the reader and assumes they at least know the backdrop to what's happening, which elevates it above most 'popular history' fare. (I'm snobbish about popular history; what can I say, I'm a history graduate.) I also find that period impossibly romantic - it was the first and last time in history that the entire world became 'one'.

And, just for, fun, two Turkeys:

1. The Bear and the Dragon by Tom Clancy. I've never read much Clancy and now I know why. Awful, boring, silly nonsense, that only comes alive when explaining about various types of guns and instruments of war (those bits were quite good, actually).

2. The Catastrophist by Somebody Or Other (I can't find it, and have forgotten the name of the writer). A good reminder of why I shouldn't bother reading 'contemporary literature' with lines from reviews by The Guardian on the back. Irish writer goes to Zaire in the mid-60s to hook up with his exotic French/Italian lover who has become involved in the decolonisation process. Cue pages of florid description of Africa, weirdly po-faced and unrealistic sex-scenes, completely uninteresting 'action' sequences and lots of emoting and angst. I gave up half way through.

That's that. Music tomorrow maybe.

Books in 2007

So this is the list of books that I read in 2007; I was keeping this on my university webpage, I decided to just do it for no particular reason other than I wanted to. I started off writing quite short one line reviews, but every now and then I'd just say a little more. I'm planning to do the same thing this year, and as part of 101 Things in 1001 Days I think I'm going to write longer reviews for every book I read in that time (something to get me writing).

Here it is then (note: I decided to do this in May, and so January to April is, I think, I a complete list but probably not in chronological order).

Early 2007

Inversions by Iain M. Banks (strange and mysterious, a Culture novel disguised!)
Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick (not his best, but definitely worth a read)
The Algrebraist by Iain M. Banks (interesting, takes a long time to get where it is going)
The Prestige by Christopher Priest (a great book that is the basis for an even better film)
Air by Geoff Ryman (an odd tale, well told)
Look To Windward by Iain M. Banks (another thoughtful and moving Culture book)
The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling (strange... Enjoyable, but at the same time difficult)
Neuromancer by William Gibson (re-read for the fourth time I think; a vision of the future that still seems possible)
The Mike Hammer Omnibus Volume 1 by Mickey Spillane (pretty much the birth of a genre, and very, very good)
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time by Mark Haddon (an exceptional story)
Cell by Stephen King (I was left quite bemused... Read it in a few hours, and felt like I'd wasted my time)
Already Dead by Charlie Huston (a solid urban horror noir, 21st century vampire Mike Hammer)
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (I was inspired to read this because I love the film so much! I wasn't disappointed)
Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds (grim and gritty near future sci-fi... Or is it?! Fantastic story)
The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz by L. Frank Baum (better and worse than the classic film)
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (my favourite book ever, re-read for the tenth time at least; the last man on earth, when everyone else is a vampire...)
Little, Big by John Crowley (I'd heard a lot about this book, and it was voted many years ago as the greatest fantasy novel ever written by a magazine I read. While it was interesting I have to say that I didn't think it was all that good)
Mad Night by Richard Sala (an interesting graphic novel, with murder, pirates, puppets and a quest for eternal youth)
Blankets by Craig Thompson (heartbreakingly wonderful graphic novel about first love and faith)
Lint by Steve Aylett (surreal tale about the greatest and worst pulp writer that never was)
Complete Prose by Woody Allen (a superb collection of funny stories and essays)
Coraline by Neil Gaiman (a children's book that I find very scary... Everything you could possibly want in a bedtime story for children, and a fantastic read for adults too)

May 2007

Glasshouse by Charles Stross (juggling mindblowing concept after mindblowing concept, and seemingly with ease... Deflates a bit towards the end, but the sheer number and intensity of his ideas will keep you reading on)
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (the story where Bond began; an interesting read, but I wonder how Bond became so popular based on a story like this...)
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (I read the book in one sitting, I was completely gripped by the mystery. A must read!)
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell (utterly brilliant, funny and heartwarming tale about a thirteen year old stammerer's experience of 1982)
Emma by Jane Austen (a bit slow in places, but full of wonderfully drawn characters and a charming conclusion)
Scar Night by Alan Campbell (an interesting debut novel, a city suspended above a great abyss, angels, immortality and the end of the world... Looking forward to the next volume)
Less Than Heroes by David Yurkovitch (absurdist superhero graphic novel, funny, intelligent and thought-provoking)
The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose (all in all quite an interesting read about physics and consciousness, although some chapters were much more difficult to get through than others)

June 2007

Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks (great far future story with some interesting concepts)
The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway (harrowing and uplifting true story about the persecution of a Chinese Church leader)
The State of the Art by Iain M. Banks (diverse mix of short stories that are well worth a look)
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction edited by George Mann (fantastic collection of short stories overflowing with brilliant ideas)
Against A Dark Background by Iain M. Banks (his best non-Culture novel by far, a complex and awesome space opera)
Lord of the Flies by William Golding (how did I get to the age of 26 without reading this work of utter brilliance?)
JPod by Douglas Coupland (one funny, funny novel about geeks in the early 21st century. I was sorry that it was only 550 or so pages long, it seemed far too short)
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (a brilliantly observed family drama, and a terrific black comedy as well)
Humble Pie by Gordon Ramsay (quite enjoyable and very interesting to see how Gordon Ramsay got to where he is today)
The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (I'm glad that I've read it, but probably wouldn't say that I overly enjoyed it; it has its moments)

July 2007

Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan (future noir, a 26th century mystery that reels you in and leaves you wanting more)
Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling (I had to re-read it in anticipation of the last book! Oh, and it's good!)
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling (not the book that I thought it would be, but a good end to the series nonetheless)
Stravaganza: City of Stars by Mary Hoffman (a young adults book, but a good one. An interesting story set in the present day and a parallel 16th century Italy)
Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Volume 1 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (words can't do it justice, some of the most groundbreaking comics ever written. 45 years later these comics still resonate with the reader and inspire and effect comic book creators)
No Dominion by Charlie Huston (more vampire noir; a great mystery which gives the reader a great feeling of 'being there')

August 2007

The Devil In Amber by Mark Gatiss (the second Lucifer Box novel: James Bond if James Bond were a middle-aged, upper class, bisexual assassin/spy. A cracking read)
Un Lun Dun by China Miéville (a brilliant and wonderfully inventive novel: a skewed and fantastic city, incredible characters and a great, fast-paced story)
The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton (the first part in another galaxy-spanning epic trilogy, with extra added fantasy to make it even better)
Looking For Jake (and other stories) by China Miéville (interesting collection of short fiction; in some ways better than most of his longer works)
The Mike Hammer Omnibus Volume 2 by Mickey Spillane (utterly riveting thrillers, fast-paced hard-boiled fiction that is still brilliant fifty years on)

September 2007

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (an absolute joy to read; a beautiful and well-written classic - why had I never read this before?)
A Pretty Face by Rafael Reig (an interesting mystery story set in a parallel Madrid, and told in an unusual way; not as good as the author's first novel though...)
Year's Best SF 11 edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (a good short story anthology, with many good stories)
Pulp Idol 2007 by various (a small collection of short stories written by the readers of SFX magazine)
Market Forces by Richard Morgan (excellent sci-fi thriller with a message)

October 2007

Broken Angels by Richard Morgan (discards the future noir of Altered Carbon, but serves a great far future story in the same universe)
Woken Furies by Richard Morgan (hard sci-fi, revolution, future noir - an irresistible blend and an excellent novel)
To Say Nothing Of The Dog by Connie Willis (a time travelling comedy of errors and manners; very, very funny and a cracking read)
The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett (classic 30s detective novel; pretty good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the Mike Hammer novels I've read this year)

November 2007

NOTHING! I was writing my second novel during National Novel Writing Month.

December 2007

JPod by Douglas Coupland (a re-read; a great, funny and thought-provoking novel)
Sidetracked by Henning Mankel (great crime novel by a master of suspense, building to an electrifying conclusion; he really gets you under the skin of the various characters)
The Stone Canal by Ken Macleod (an interesting alternate history - and alternate future history - from an author I will probably read more of)
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (re-read for the second time this year... Stunning, humourous, an examination of loneliness and more besides - a book that quite simply everyone should read)
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (an absolutely fascinating book... Gave me a lot of food for thought)
Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson (interesting alternative history - with some added extreme science fiction)
The Little Endless Storybook by Jill Thompson (beautifully illustrated short story of The Endless)
Wanted by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones (utterly brilliant graphic novel, Fight Club meets Watchmen)
Ghost World by Daniel Clowes (a graphic novel that I had wanted to read for a long time, and for reasons I can't explain was mildly disappointed by)

My favourite book of the year (which I've read for the first time)... Probably a three way tie between Already Dead, Jane Eyre and Market Forces.

Health Update: The amoxycillin seems to be working; my throat isn't sore at all now, and although I'm still coughing my ears aren't sore at all, and the muted hearing of my left ear seems to be going away. Slept right through last night and woke up feeling alright.

Oh, and my first book of 2008? Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware, which took me a while to get in to, but which is an absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking story. The titular character is heartbreaking in his awkwardness and inability to express himself. Go here to see more about it, and a list of the mainstream awards that it picked up when it was published.

Right, I should really do some work. Tomorrow: films of 2007.

A New Year

Happy New Year! So, 2008... Back in the office.

Christmas at home with my family was actually really nice. I thought that I'd be climbing the walls by the 23rd, but we just had a really nice time. Which was good, because I've been sick since the evening of Christmas Day: I've had a procession of sore throats and earaches - I finally went to the doctor on New Year's Eve, who told me that he thought it was viral but gave me a prescription for amoxycillin to fill today in case I was feeling no better (and it was some kind of mysterious infection). Went and got them this morning and am hoping that they will do some good soon.

Too busy over the next three months to be sick.

Today is all about looking through things, replying to any emails that came in while I was away from the computer and starting to think about exactly what I need to do and when I need to do it by; I think that things are going to come easier if I plot something out, a timetable of targets. Came in late today, leaving early, and tomorrow is the first proper day of work.

I think the next two days are going to be little media reviews of 2007; on my university website I kept a record of the books I read with one line reviews, so I'm going to crosspost that completed list to here tomorrow. On Friday I'll do the same for films (that I saw at the cinema), though I've only got a list for that and so will have to come up with little reviews for them.

And then next week... Who knows...

(postscript: I wish I hadn't just read about the side effects of amoxycillin)

Democracy

I find it hard to feel the sense of tragedy and injustice at Benazir Bhutto's death that newsreaders and world leaders are asking us to feel. I feel sad for Pakistan, because this can only lead to more trouble. But Bhutto was a terrible leader of the country both times she was in power, presiding over corrupt and nepotistic governments, and I think that she was more likely to be a barrier to democracy than a spur; if a leader pays lip service to democracy while making billions out of fraudulent deals with companies in France, Switzerland and Poland and populating the judiciary with sympathetic judges, it only serves to give the whole concept a bad name. But bad habits die hard and our leaders still persist in supporting such people, as they did for years during the cold war and the decolonisation process: countless lunatic African leaders made a pretense at democracy, but they only served to make matters worse. You would think we would have learned by now.

The answer of course lies in the people of Pakistan as a whole. Do they want democracy or don't they? It's their choice, and we should treat them like the grownups that they are in letting them make it for themselves.

Festive Song

I'm offline for the next two weeks more or less, and any posts I make will be from my phone, so just the odd random thoughts that occur to me (not that different to the regular posts then).

So then, all I want to do today is share the following video with you, and in case I don't post before Christmas I hope that you have a great time with friends and family, and wish you a very Happy Christmas, however you celebrate it.

Be back soon.

Another Quote

No great insights today (as if there ever are!); just, on the subject of favourite quotes, I recently came across this one, from the former UN Secretary General, Dag Hammerskjold:

I don't know Who - or What - put the question. I don't even know when it was put. I don't remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone - or Something - and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a goal.

I like that. It strikes me as an extremely elegant description of a 'calling'. I sometimes wish that I had a calling; but then again part of me also likes the idea that I can do whatever I want with my life. I suppose if I did have a calling, I wouldn't regret that loss of freedom - but I'll never really know. Anyway, like I said, no great insights!

Little Black Books

According to the Telegraph, match.com and facebook are to unite in creating a 'Little Black Book' application, whereby users of the madly popular social networking site can search for dates. (I always suspected that the main motivation behind the social networking phenomenon is sex, and I feel that this confims my suspicions.) Apparently internet dating websites are terrified by facebook, because it threatens to be able to do what they do, better, and for free; this is their first move to fight back.

I'm in two minds about internet dating. My initial reaction is always to think, "Get a life." People managed perfectly well to get dates before the internet came along, and at least part of me sees the whole thing as yet another means by which we are coming to rely on technology far too much. I also worry that the whole thing is so deeply alienating and childish: I don't like the idea of being able to refine parameters and perform advanced searches for an 'ideal' partner - for me the whole point of dating is the element of surprise and adventure, and it kind of spoils things to be able to know all about a prospective partner from the get go (and even to be able to dismiss potential dates on the basis of their not meeting some pre-defined conditions when they might in fact be perfect for you). I suppose I see it as yet another example of how 'convenience' and technology just take so much of the fun and magic out of life. I also know that I would never have ended up engaged to Mamiko if I'd left it to internet dating. She's hardly the 'type' of woman I'd search for actively - our interests are completely different, she's four years older than me, and she's a total sadist. (Then again all women are, I suppose.) But we just happened to meet by chance and, hey presto, for some reason we're perfect for each other. By resorting to the internet, aren't people ruining their chances of that sort of meeting?

However, there is something churlish about criticising something that does apparently work for some people. Obviously internet dating has made some men and women really happy, so I shouldn't have such uncharitable thoughts. And I'm lucky enough never to have really been in a position where I've been desparate for a relationship but unable for whatever reason to get one - so who am I to judge?

Wordless Wednesday - Why So Serious?

Life Goes On

Is it really 3 years since the Indian Ocean tsunami? I suppose it is. I mention it because at the moment the cricket world is discussing the test match currently being played between Sri Lanka and England at Galle, a city which was devastated during the disaster and where thousands of people died. This is the first time that the stadium has been used since that day in late 2004 - it has taken that long to make it serviceable again - and it almost didn't happen, because some in the cricketing fraternity thought the pitch might not hold up for the full five days. I'm happy to say that the England cricket team have acknowledged the importance of the event for the people of Galle by refusing to even entertain the notion of postponing or moving the game. This match isn't about winning or losing or even the quality of cricket; it's about bringing back normality to a place that sorely needs it.

It seems like an utterly banal point to make, when you think about it: life goes on. What isn't banal is that it shows an important characteristic of human beings (and indeed life itself) - the refusal to lay down and die, to be a victim. The show must go on. Three years on and ordinary Sri Lankans are still dealing with the aftermath of the tsunami, but they're getting there, slowly but surely. Here's to them. I hope Sri Lanka win the test.

Austrian Writer Says Something Wise

One of my favourite quotes is by Peter Handke, the Austrian writer, who once said: An advertisement tells me that life is beautiful - a personal insult.

I think that what he was getting at was that we shouldn't need advertisements to tell us that life is beautiful. We shouldn't, in fact, need advertisements to tell us anything other than that a certain product is available and it's good. But for some awful reason, advertisements (certainly in Britain, which for some reason I've never understood has the best and most artistic advertising in the world) have begun to take on a greater meaning than just "please buy this". These days the whole industry is about co-opting even the most fundamental emotions - parenthood, love, friendship - and using them to not only sell but also, horribly, to associate. The perfect example is Mastercard, whose advertisements have the brilliant, but terrifying once you think about it, tagline "There are some things in life that money can't buy: for everything else, there's Mastercard." Terrifying because the tagline usually comes at the end of a beautiful thirty-second film about parental love and affection for a child - and how sweet it is to be able to buy that love through fishing trips, new computers, and bigger toys than the other kids in class.

Anyway, I agree with Handke. Life is beautiful, at least most of the time, but to have that explained to me by an ad-man, who is really just hawking something no matter how artistically, is like a slap in the face to my very humanity.

This is part of the reason why I don't buy McDonald's food, and have been to a McDonald's restaurant maybe once in the last five years: it's because of that awful "I'm loving it" ad campaign, which sought to somehow associate hamburgers and fries with being in love, for Christ's sake. That's an even bigger personal insult than an ad man telling me that life is beautiful: an ad man telling me what it is to be in love, and by the way, isn't being in love rather like eating a hamburger with a side order of fries?

It's also the reason why I won't be buying a Playstation 3. (Well, apart from the reason that I can't afford it.) I mean, their latest ad campaign, in the name of all that's holy, has the hook: This is Living. This is Living! It's almost like a sick joke. I mean, I like playing computer games as much as the next man. But I've never once convinced myself that the hours I've spent doing it have been anything other than a grotesque waste of the short time available to me on this earth. And I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I could convince myself of that. Yet here's Sony, telling me that, by buying a Playstation 3 and having a computer sprite under my control beat another computer sprite to death, I will be really living.

They must think we were born yesterday. What an insult. Now do you see what Handke was getting at?