up down and all around

Oh man, I totally forgot to mention that I am the worlds newest John Cheaver fan and absolutely the last one to the party. The Wapshot Chronicle is my new favorite book and I just got the Wapshot Scandal. They are hilarious and make me cringe at the same time. Sometimes you read a book, and hear a piece of music and think, no one is ever going to be able to do this better. It makes you want to write as well as that but you know that it won't be possible and that every contemporary author/composer of any merit is trying to do it too and now you can see where they get it.

Also, I finished The Crystal World but I think I have to read it again because I was reading it for plot and I don't think that was the point. Also, I never knew there were so many synonyms for crystal.

keepin calm and carryin on

One thing about not working full time besides the no money part, is that I have been able to read a lot, and I had a stack of books ready to go. Since this is supposed to be a blog about books as well as Utica, here is a list of books I have been reading.

Tiger Tiger. Alfred Bester. A classic period sci fi. Supposedly a precursor of cyberpunk. A pre pre pre curser I would say. It's a real stretch. Space age Count of Monte Christo. Teleportation. I'm going to look for the Demolished Man.

The Auctioneer, Joan Samson. Didn't finish, too depressing. Rural farmers get fleeced out of their heirlooms by wicked big city huckster who sets up police state.

Dhalgren, Samuel Delany, long but worth it for the sheer weirdness. Way more guy on guy sex than I expected. Very 70's vibe and many levels of meaning and the ending loops to the beginning. I enjoyed it.

Altered Carbon, Richard Morgan. Humanity has colonized the star by digitizing humans and beaming them in to new bodies (sleeves) in other places. Cyberpunk noir. Surprisingly tepid. I liked the AI Hotels that just want people to stay in them the best, but the story went nowhere with that. I also find it hard to believe that people wouldn't want to live many lives but according to Morgan, people just get tired of getting old and give up after two or three go arounds. I probably won't read the next one in the series.

Holy Fire, Bruce Sterling. In the future, old people rule the world and live nearly forever due to advances to medical science that are only available to old people. Young people get the shaft. No shit.

Blindness, Jose Saramago- I had to put this one side when they started to shoot the blind internees in the camp. I need to be in a better frame of mind.

The Crystal World, J. B. Ballard, just started but am interested. The main character has not made it into the jungle yet.