Weekend Wrapup

It’s been a week and the internet demands fresh content. First a couple random updates, then some book reviews. Because this is my blog, and “I do what I want!”

  1. I finally started drums on Guitar Hero: Metallica. Pretty fun, though my thumb threatens to blister every session now. Preventative taping will commence, but the hockey tape I have is kinda sticky on the outside too.
  2. The boys have branched out from squash to sweet potatoes and avocado. So far so good. And messy.
  3. Frickin’ Sharks.
  4. Still playing Unreal World, a wilderness survival rouge-like. Yes, I’m weird.
  5. Future Sailors by The Mighty Boosh. Too bad Adult Swim is butchering the episodes, and they started on season 3 for some reason.

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

I’ve been meaning to read this ever since the A&E miniseries came out last year. I DVR’d it and have been sitting on it for months. Well, I finally got around to it, and the verdict is: okay. I wasn’t aware that it was written in 1969, though that didn’t necessarily detract from it. Actually, I thought the science held up fairly well, 40 years on. It read smoothly and kept my interest, but here are my gripes:

  1. It seemed that a full third of the book was descriptions of scientific tests and the machines that ran them. It wasn’t boring, but it wasn’t exactly gripping, either.
  2. The ending was… anti-climactic. ‘Nuff said without spoilers.

Now I can finally watch the 4 hour miniseries and see what they did with it.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

While poking around on that internet thing, I came across a message board thread where people were talking about which books had a profound influence on them as kids or teens. I noticed that A Wizard of Earthsea came up on many people’s lists, so I snagged it from the library. It is apparently an acclaimed novel and frequently compared to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Well, I was underwhelmed to say the least. The writing seemed flat and just not that interesting. The story itself was fine as a whole, but I guess I wasn’t hooked by her writing style. I will not be reading anything else by her voluntarily. I do not care what happens to Ged going forward.

Bonus Review: Just After Sunset by Stephen King

I finally finished this Christmas present recently as well. Some really good stories in this collection, I highly recommend it, if you like Stephen King’s style. Inlcuded is “N.”, which was made into a comic book and a downloadable narrated comic book-like video series. Overall a great read!

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