January's Reading

The Magicians--This was my book group's selection for January. It's billed as an adult Harry Potter, which indicates how completely the speaker missed the attraction of Rowling's world. True, there is magic and even a magic school, but it's a magic school inhabited by apathetic young adults with no sense of direction. And yet, although I had a hard time caring about the characters, I found myself picking up the book again and again. Grossman is a brilliant writer, with subtle cultural references reminiscent of Stephen King.

This is a great book for anyone who has ever wished to go into a book, and for anyone who has ever looked around and wondered where all the promise of youth has gone.

"I will stop being a mouse, Quentin. I will take some chances. If you will, for just one second, look at your life and see how perfect it is. Stop looking for the next secret door that is going to lead you to your read life. Stop waiting. This is it" there's nothing else. It's here, and you'd better decide to enjoy it or you're going to be miserable for the rest of your life, forever." page 333

2001: A Space Odyssey--Like Childhood's End by the same author, which I read last year, 2001 has sparse language and intriguing ideas. I enjoy reading Clarke's predictions with the advantage of hindsight. He foresaw greater advances in space exploration than we have achieved, but he did not envision the media spread of the last twenty years. His 2001 lacks cell phones, the Internet, and iPods, although it does have the Newspad, a folio-sized device which allows you to read newspapers from around the world. But the biggest argument I have with Clarke is his view of food:

"More food was produced by chemical processing systems and algae culture. Although the green scum circulating through yards of transparent plastic tubes would scarcely have appealed to a gourmet, the biochemists could convert it into chops and steaks only an expert could distinguish from the real thing." page 59

I side with Michael Pollan. Give me some real food, please.

The Lightning Thief--NB and IM have been wanting me to read this book for years, and I finally got around to it. Eh. Unlike Harry Potter or The Hunger Games, this is not a book that grabbed me. I see why the kids like it, and I like the references to mythology, but I won't be continuing the series.

Like Water for Chocolate--I missed this one back when everyone else was reading it. Another eh. I'm not a fan of magical realism. (And yes, sometimes I do think my literary tastes are too Anglo-centric.)

I'm continuing to plod slowly through The Brothers Karamazov. My target completion date is imitating a software release date and slipping steadily back. I have to finish it by the middle of April because I refuse to have this be my beach read in Costa Rica.