Dan Shiovitz's Journal
[Most Recent Entries]
[Calendar View]
[Friends]
Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Dan Shiovitz's LiveJournal:
[ << Previous 20 ]
| Sunday, February 17th, 2008 | | 2:17 am |
miscellanea So I'm not exactly sure what is up with the bookclub this year, but here's what I've been reading. ( Various books )In addition to reading books, I recently got a review copy of Le Réprobateur which is an interesting interactive digital media thing. My review of that is here. | | Monday, December 31st, 2007 | | 3:11 pm |
Dresden Files, Best of 2007 Ok, this is my last review post of the year, so I guess I'm obliged to list my top books reviewed this year. But first one more review squeaks across the line: ( The Dresden Files (books 1-5) )Now then, the best-of for the year. It looks like I did 107 book reviews, so I should probably pick a top couple. Here are nine, not taken from non-books or re-reads: - Blankets: This graphic novel is the best argument I have seen for the existence of graphic novels as a genre.
- The Company series (finishing with The Sons of Heaven): An sf series about time travel, immortal cyborgs, and all that good stuff. Long but worth it.
- The Porcelain Dove: A fairy-tale version of the French Revolution, with magic, but if this makes you think it is all spun-sugar and nice you are reading the wrong fairy tales.
- Prince of Foxes: This is a romance in the Prisoner-of-Zenda sense of the term, set in Renaissance Italy and with all the machinations, heroics, and art that implies.
- Scott Pilgrim series (and book 4): A charming set of graphic novels that blends a variety of genres together into a romance/comedy/slacker/videogame thing, drawn in a Western style but heavy manga influence.
- Second Person: A collection of theories, how-tos, and surveys of the field in some of my favorite areas — interactive fiction, RPGs, and videogames — by both critics and authors.
- Stumbling on Happiness: A discussion of the nature of happiness, what it means to be happy and how to get there (or why we don't get there). It has philosophy for the philosophers, psychology for the psychologists, and stories about people in psychological experiments for everyone else.
- The Time Traveler's Wife: An sf novel written by someone who's not an sf author, but working out way better than that makes you think. Similarly better than what you think of if I describe it as a predestined romance. Just read it, seriously.
- The Visual Display of Quantitative Information: Graph porn is its own reward.
In addition, I wrote some reviews that I thought were funny or insightful or charmingly meandering or something, even if the book didn't make my best-of list. My top five of those: And that was 2007! | | Thursday, December 27th, 2007 | | 1:08 am |
Watchtower, Singularity Sky, Should You Leave? Couple of books. Also, I saw Charlie Wilson's War, which is recommended and is kind of like a Heinlein novel as written by Aaron Sorkin. ( Watchtower )( Singularity Sky )( Should You Leave? )Next up: The Dresden Files, I think. | | Saturday, December 15th, 2007 | | 2:54 pm |
| | Thursday, November 29th, 2007 | | 12:26 am |
| | Friday, November 16th, 2007 | | 12:48 am |
Chinatown Beat, Feersum Endjinn Another couple. ( Chinatown Beat )( Feersum Endjinn )Next up: A Walk in the Woods, The Shape of Water, The Sword-edged Blonde | | Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 | | 7:32 pm |
Souls and Bodies, The Sons of Heaven Just two this time, but they're on the long side. I have otherwise been busy reading unidentified research materials and writing IF comp reviews (it's conceivable some of them will be amusing even without familiarity with the games/IF community, but I dunno). ( Souls and Bodies )( The Sons of Heaven )Next up: I don't actually have anything scheduled to read next, but for those few of you not from ifmud, I should point out Rob has a web comic. | | Sunday, October 14th, 2007 | | 11:01 pm |
| | Friday, October 5th, 2007 | | 12:21 am |
New Amsterdam, Imaro, Consider the Lobster I have some other things coming up but I figure I'd get these out there now. ( New Amsterdam )( Imaro / Imaro 2 )( Consider the Lobster )Currently: Was; next up: White Teeth and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. (This is my contribution to the 106 books meme.) | | Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 | | 7:32 pm |
Classic adventure week wrap-up As you recall, this has been Classic Adventure Novel week. Or more like Classic Adventure Novel Twenty Days Or So, but close enough. Since there are a bunch of these, I have provided some helpful summary notes at the beginning of each review. I think if I had to summarize the main difference between these books and the movie versions of them I've seen, it would be way less swordfighting. I don't know why this is -- it could be because the authors didn't know enough about swordfighting to write an accurate scene, or because there's a modern fashion for it in period movies, or because on the page it's just as easy to convey a tense conflict between two guys, but on-screen you can't do the same emotional stuff as easily with just talking. ( The Mark of Zorro )( The Scarlet Pimpernel )( The Sea Hawk )( Prince of Foxes )( Ashenden )( The Count of Monte Cristo )Next up: I collapse after finishing Count of Monte Cristo. Then I read New Amsterdam. | | Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 | | 11:03 pm |
| | Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 | | 10:38 pm |
Majestrum, Red Seas Under Red Skies, etc Trivia note: two of the three books I took on my trip involved archons. (The third was the first Dresden files book, which I think I am going to wait to review until I've read a few more.) ( Majestrum )( Red Seas Under Red Skies )( etc. )Next up: man, who knows. | | Saturday, August 25th, 2007 | | 12:15 pm |
| | Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 | | 7:08 pm |
Dhlagren, 1066 and All That, Precious Dragon, Blighted Isle Steadily working my way through the pile. Here's what's up now: ( Dhalgren )( 1066 and All That )( Precious Dragon )( Blighted Isle )Up next: the Lies of Locke Lamora sequel, which I am assured is thoroughly gripping. | | Friday, August 3rd, 2007 | | 10:22 pm |
The Ghost Brigades, Winnetou, Island of the Sequined Love Nun More books. Also, I saw The Bourne Ultimatum tonight. I've gone back and forth on whether I like the tropes in this series (there's always a corrupt superior officer, Bourne never loses conflicts, the action sequences are almost entirely dialogueless and paced too fast to fully comprehend them), but with this one I think I'm a convert and willing to accept this as a viable style on its own. Also, man, the security camera setup in London is such a gift to this kind of movie. ( The Ghost Brigades )( Winnetou )( Island of the Sequined Love Nun )Next up: Dhalgren, 1066 And All That, the Lies of Locke Lamora sequel. Possibly even in that order. | | Thursday, July 26th, 2007 | | 9:52 pm |
Oh Pure and Radiant Heart, Delany talk, Soon I Will Be Invincible Well, uh, here are some books. ( Oh Pure and Radiant Heart )( Samuel R. Delany talk )( Soon I Will Be Invincible )Up next: The Ghost Brigades and then Winnetou. At the Delany reading, I also saw that the last Company book is out, and there's something by Ted Chiang so, yeah, expect those in the near future. | | Saturday, July 21st, 2007 | | 10:58 pm |
Patrick Nielsen Hayden talk, The Pleasures of Counting, Peril in the Jungle! Just one book review this week, but I have a few other things to put up, so I'm calling it a set. ( Patrick Nielsen Hayden )( The Pleasures of Counting )( Peril in the Jungle! )Next time: well, I'm almost finished with Oh Pure and Radiant Heart, so that. Probably also at least one of The Ghost Brigades and Soon I Will Be Invincible, too. | | Sunday, July 15th, 2007 | | 12:23 am |
The Sundering, Conventions of War, The Name of the Wind Just a couple this time. In addition to these, I read The Deep Blue Good-by, the first Travis McGee novel. It is like a pleasant combination of the first Fletch book and the first James Bond book -- gentle investigation and sleeping around and social commentary that shift into a brutal mission. I gather there are a kazillion of these, so I may read a few more. ( The Sundering and Conventions of War )( The Name of the Wind )Next time: I am informed there is another Inspector Chen book out already. This has a high likelihood of being awesome. | | Sunday, July 8th, 2007 | | 9:51 pm |
Ballad of Halo Jones, General History of the Pyrates, Bridge of Dreams This is kind of an eclectic selection but that's the way it goes sometimes. ( The Ballad of Halo Jones )( A General History of the Pyrates )( Bridge of Dreams )Next time: well, I'm finishing up the Praxis trilogy, and then I must steel myself to read The Pleasures of Counting and find out I am less intelligent than a fourteen-year-old. Also: The Name of the Wind, Oh Pure and Radiant Heart, and The Deep Blue Good-by. | | Sunday, June 24th, 2007 | | 11:27 pm |
Go Play '07 I went to my first RPG con this weekend with ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) lpsmith. It was seven blocks away so it seemed like I didn't have much of an excuse, even if I didn't really know anyone there or anything. We got there a little late; I figured that even though officially signups were at 8, we could get there at 9 when the games started and find something. In retrospect that was dumb, since I'm kind of picky about what I'm looking for and this was for indie RPGs, which in practice means there's a lot of narrativist stuff and family drama/personal introspection stuff, none of which I'm big on. ( Blood and Bronze )( Spirit of Serenity )( 1001 Nights )So, yeah, I had a good time. If I go to another of these, though, I'll have to plan things better; it felt too much like the games I was in were ones that people were only running because I was standing around looking lost and sad and that is a little discomfiting. |
[ << Previous 20 ]
|
