2016 Reading: Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship With a Remarkable Man

#15 A book written by a celebrity

I think one of the things that surprised me the most about this book was how little I actually knew about Leonard Nimoy. Now, I have read BOTH of his autobiographies (I Am Not Spock and I Am Spock respectively) but some of the stories featured in this book are completely new to me. Maybe that’s because it was some things that Leonard would have rather forgotten but the point is that it took someone ELSE writing about it for me to know these things.

I don’t really know what I expected about this book. Most of it was a compare and contrast between Shatner and Nimoy. Some of the comparisons were very interesting and others I think were merely so Bill could fill up some space. That sounds harsh. I don’t know. All I know is that some of the things in this book made me sad and some of them made me very happy. I always like to hear about anything that has to do with Star Trek and this was all of that and more. There was so much that I didn’t know about Leonard. I have never really gone and looked at his body of work before or after Star Trek, but from what I have since learned, it was vast and varied.

I love that there was so many things he did in his life besides acting and I hope that someday I can see his photography or even read some of his poetry. He was a very brilliant man and it was really sad when he just couldn’t hold on anymore.

2016 Reading: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

#29 A dystopian novel

I had no idea that this was the story that was the basis for Blade Runner. Not that I've ever seen Blade Runner, but still...

I usually don't like to read dystopian books, I don't really know why. They've never been my cup of tea. However, I am interested in reading books about the concept of androids and souls. I don't like watching the movies about them, but I like thinking about the possibility.

When I was in college, I took this philosophy class that was centered around  science fiction and the idea that robots could be considered "living" or that if a person was cloned, was that clone them or another person entirely. We watched a lot of Doctor Who and Star Trek and just generally thought about all the questions that one might ask if one happened to be in a situation that only seems to exist in the minds of sci-fi writers. It was a really fun class.

Well, this story certainly was interesting.

I don't think I quite grasped all of it. I know there's the question of what constitutes "human" and being alive, but there's also some religious themes in here as well with Mercer (whoever he is) and the devotion of his followers even when it is proven that he is fake.

Then there are the things about the animals and how they're sacred...

It was a good story, but I didn't get much out of it. Meh.

2016 Reading: Invisible Man

#2 A National Book Award winner

Okay, so, full disclosure: I thought this was the sci-fi story about the guy and science and he literally turned transparent.

WRONG.

So wrong. So very wrong. Just a book full of racism. But I found myself enjoying the story very much. There were times when I was reading and everything made sense to me. This feeling of manipulation about things that happened before my time (at least more prominently) and the way the races were treated not only by those of a different race, but also those of their own.

The idea of sliding through the world "invisible" while doing what you need to not only survive, but to prove that you can manipulate those around you and have none of the consequences. It reminds me of the Fermata book that I enjoyed so much.

And then you get to the middle of the book...

I am so confused. All of these speeches that seem to last chapters upon chapters at a time... they don't SAY anything. There is no substance whatsoever in ANYTHING they are saying. And people get all riled up and start mobs and stuff, but there's nothing there!

I think it's safe to say I have no idea what this book is supposed to be about. I think I am missing a giant factor here.

So, never believe in anything and become a crazy ranting hermit.

The End.