[***] ISBN: 1401384862 (abridged CD) 1401302467 (hardcover)
I love Bob Newhart. My dad shared his humor with me, so I shared this book with him for his birthday and then downloaded the audio version from the library. It had me giggling in the car. Even routines that are as old as I am (since both my life and Bob's career started in the 1950's) brought at least a smile. They're no longer fresh. But they are still funny.
What's richer is hearing Bob tell them in the context of the story of his career. Sometimes he let's us in on where the idea came from, or how much work it was to create or how someone stole his material. His life has been interesting, but not overly so (other than being a celebrity). He's just this guy from Chicago.
There's nothing shocking here. Yes, he smoked and quit. Yes, he drank and still does. But, thank God, neither has led to real tragedy. He courted and stayed married. He raised kids. He has not renounced his faith or church. He kept working and still does. I still like Bob Newhart.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Tyrannosaur Canyon (Douglas Preston)
[**] ISBN: 0765311046
I thought this would have everything I could want in a thriller: a mysteriously missing moon rock sample (which is ignored between the prologue and the last few chapters), an indecipherable treasure map, a murder, a trail of mystery with more questions than answers, men and women at odds with nature and each other - plus dinosaurs and a moon landing (!). Based on his track record, I guess the author should have been able to pull this off. He didn't.
Much of the story is admirable enough and full of suspense. The first few chapters had me really going. And for a while the mystery was somewhat interesting. But then it turned into a simple kidnapping story on the one hand and an oversimplified "CSI:Cretaceous" on the other. Followed up by the return of the moon rock by way of a rogue NSA black op.
On top of that, the storytelling was not up to my expectations of a best-selling author. I do not expect a potboiler like this to also be a piece of fine literature But I would like the story to move forward by means other than structure and inertia. I don't want the story constantly chopped up with irrelevant detail, description and storytelling (rather than showing). And I'd like chapters to be more than a half a scene, chopped up just for the sake of creating suspense.
While the characters were more than cardboard cutouts, they were fraught with cliché (the murderer is an ex-con, his boss is a fop, the ex-CIA monk is grizzled, etc.) and convenient coincidences (the wife knows how to handle guns as well as horses, the ex-CIA monk is a cryptographer, the geologist is also skilled at paleontology).
This is not a complete disaster. In many ways it was a fun read (er... listen). But I learned just as much about how not to tell a story than how to do it.
I thought this would have everything I could want in a thriller: a mysteriously missing moon rock sample (which is ignored between the prologue and the last few chapters), an indecipherable treasure map, a murder, a trail of mystery with more questions than answers, men and women at odds with nature and each other - plus dinosaurs and a moon landing (!). Based on his track record, I guess the author should have been able to pull this off. He didn't.
Much of the story is admirable enough and full of suspense. The first few chapters had me really going. And for a while the mystery was somewhat interesting. But then it turned into a simple kidnapping story on the one hand and an oversimplified "CSI:Cretaceous" on the other. Followed up by the return of the moon rock by way of a rogue NSA black op.
On top of that, the storytelling was not up to my expectations of a best-selling author. I do not expect a potboiler like this to also be a piece of fine literature But I would like the story to move forward by means other than structure and inertia. I don't want the story constantly chopped up with irrelevant detail, description and storytelling (rather than showing). And I'd like chapters to be more than a half a scene, chopped up just for the sake of creating suspense.
While the characters were more than cardboard cutouts, they were fraught with cliché (the murderer is an ex-con, his boss is a fop, the ex-CIA monk is grizzled, etc.) and convenient coincidences (the wife knows how to handle guns as well as horses, the ex-CIA monk is a cryptographer, the geologist is also skilled at paleontology).
This is not a complete disaster. In many ways it was a fun read (er... listen). But I learned just as much about how not to tell a story than how to do it.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (Cory Doctorow)
[***] ISBN: 0765304368
It was interesting reading this book right on the heals of Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge. Both books cover some of the same territory: in the not too distant future (a century or two) on Earth, medical technology is extending and enhancing life (indefinitely, in the case of Doctorow's Bitchun Society), computing and networking has become even more ubiquitous (to the point that most or all folks 'wear' or have implanted devices). But the two books are quite different. I liked them both.
Whereas Mr. Vinge went for depth and detail and epic sweep, Cory went for outrageousness, fun and personal intrigue. This is emphasized by the first-person perspective and locating most of the story in and around Disney World. Cory's rendering is much more approachable and fun to read, as well. I was able to jump right into the story and enjoyed almost every single page. Then again, I'm also a Disney-phile and probably have at least as much knowledge about the park (well, at least Disneyland) as the author. It's likely that those without such background or leanings would not be able to fill in as much detail and not enjoy it as much. For them, perhaps Mr. Doctorow could have spent a bit more time coloring in the whole picture. But that might have slowed things down to much.
I am looking forward to reading more stories by Cory Doctorow.
It was interesting reading this book right on the heals of Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge. Both books cover some of the same territory: in the not too distant future (a century or two) on Earth, medical technology is extending and enhancing life (indefinitely, in the case of Doctorow's Bitchun Society), computing and networking has become even more ubiquitous (to the point that most or all folks 'wear' or have implanted devices). But the two books are quite different. I liked them both.
Whereas Mr. Vinge went for depth and detail and epic sweep, Cory went for outrageousness, fun and personal intrigue. This is emphasized by the first-person perspective and locating most of the story in and around Disney World. Cory's rendering is much more approachable and fun to read, as well. I was able to jump right into the story and enjoyed almost every single page. Then again, I'm also a Disney-phile and probably have at least as much knowledge about the park (well, at least Disneyland) as the author. It's likely that those without such background or leanings would not be able to fill in as much detail and not enjoy it as much. For them, perhaps Mr. Doctorow could have spent a bit more time coloring in the whole picture. But that might have slowed things down to much.
I am looking forward to reading more stories by Cory Doctorow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
