Book Review!

Now that school’s out (mostly) and the summer has begun, I’ve started reading some fun books.

Here’s the tally so far:

The Brothers Bulger – Howie Carr

This is an extremely destructive tale of corruption and mob work in Boston by Whitey and Billy Bulger. It’s a very interesting read. The Author writes it like a history book, though there’s a definite feeling of bias. And as the book deals with Billy Bulger and the Senate, one can’t help but wonder if his bias results in any exaggerations. Even still, the book is an eye opener to those of us with a more innocent view of the world. There are definitely some bad people out there, and even the most steadfast of Billy Bulger supporters would likely have some questions after finishing the book.

Rock climbing rating: chossy 5.7
interesting, but hard to get through at times… not because of difficulty so much as loose rock


Shutter Island – Dennis LeHane

Described by the author as “Gothic Noir,” Shutter Island is a story about a detective sent to an island turned rehab facility to investigate the escape of a mental institute patient. The back of the book describes it as ‘chilling.’ I’m not so sure. The book was creepy at times and mildly captivating, but rarely did I get a real sense of being there with the characters. It was also a little too weird to understand. Come the end of the book I had no idea what happened.

Rock climbing rating: 5.4 lead.
fun, easy, but probably skippable

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting – Milan Kundera
in process

This is a collection of fictional stories that all revolve around the past, memories, laughter, and self worth. The text goes back and forth between a third person story of unique characters and the author talking directly to the reader* explaining the history of the story or why he used a particular descriptive word.

It’s powerful and seems to force introspective thinking. Some of the stories are depressing, so don’t go to this book if you need a pick-me-up. But Kundera’s writing is wonderful and, so far, I love it.

Rock climbing rating: 5.10c toprope
Flat face, not overly exciting from the ground, but the holds are tight… and it’s rewarding.

*I think there’s a word for this, but it escapes me at the moment.

10 thoughts on “Book Review!

  • 8/15/2007 at 10:32 pm
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    Milan Kundera is my favorite, but I’m a little apalled that you’re reading howie carr

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  • 8/15/2007 at 10:42 pm
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    I’ve also finished tons of summer reading recently. My favorite have been some Terry Prachet books that I’ve got through. Fantasy world humor similar to Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy, excellent for the summertime.

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  • 8/16/2007 at 8:34 am
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    Three good books this summer: Rant (Chuck Palahniuk), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling), and Next (Michael Crichton). Three completely unrelated yet intriguing books.

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  • 8/16/2007 at 10:50 am
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    I’m still working on books that have been sitting on my shelves. I have a nice mix this summer.

    Silas Marner by George Eliot
    The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
    Over on the Dry Side by Louis L’Amour
    Monument Rock by Louis L’Amour
    To the Far Blue Mountains by Louis L’Amour
    The Deford Chronicles Part I by Kate Warren

    As you can see, I like westerns. I’m actually still reading the last two on that list, and I have another western I’m planning to read that I’ve read about 20 times already. It’s my absolute favorite.

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  • 8/16/2007 at 11:41 am
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    I just read Jurasic Park, it was great!

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  • 8/16/2007 at 2:00 pm
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    Roughly a bazillion and one times better than the movie

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  • 8/16/2007 at 2:17 pm
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    Agreed. Lost World also falls under that category.

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  • 8/16/2007 at 7:31 pm
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    I was a big fan of Terminal Man, which if you consider that it was written in the 70’s, is pretty amazing when you think of it now.

    I think that, of all of the major motion pictures based on Crichton novels, Jurassic Park is the best. Definitely wasn’t Lost World, or Sphere, or Congo (ugggh!). Rising Sun and Disclosure weren’t really all that tech-y, so I won’t include them.

    There’s going to be an Andromeda Strain mini-series out soon, too!

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