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.

2016 Reading: Night

#19 A book from Oprah's Book Club

This book has been floating around the library a lot lately. It was on the summer reading list for the high schools this passed summer and it was also the subject of a book club a few weeks ago and I thought it might be worth taking a look at. It was a very short read, I think it only took me a few hours, but wow... Intense.

Usually, when I read something about WWII, it is from a military standpoint; where the tropps are headed, men fighting in the trenches, troops marching on towns in France and Germany, but this is the first time (other than Anne Frank) that I have read something from the Jewish side.

The view on religion near the beginning of the book spoke to me greatly. I think that if I were the type of person to believe in a religion (I, myself, am not really decided on the front. I wouldn't consider myself an atheist, not entirely anyway. I just don't think that any particular religion is the RIGHT one that has all the answers that I look for when focusing on life and what, if anything, comes after it.) I think that this passage spoke to me the most:

"There are a thousand and one gates

allowing entry into the orchard of mystical truth. Every human

being has his own gate. He must not err and wish to enter the orchard

through a gate other than his own." (pg 5)

As the book progresses, the views on religion turn. The journey through the camps is so emotionally draining and utterly devastating and at the same time, you are going on this ride with the main characters as he slowly but surely begins to lose his own religion and has to deal with the fact that God basically abandoned him and those around him in the camps. It is very difficult to keep faith in a situation like that (I can only imagine).

Short as this book was, it was also a very good read and I am glad that I was able to pick this up and read it.

2016 Reading: The Vampire Lestat (Graphic Novel)

#22 A graphic novel

I had this graphic novel sitting on the shelf for the longest time and I always ended up putting it off because I figured since I've already read the book that the graphic novel would just be a disappointment. This was the perfect opportunity to tic that book off my unread list so that I can finally turn it the right way on my shelf. (Me and my brilliant ideas to turn the books that are still unread over on their sides still haunts my OCD to this day.)

The drawings were horrible. They made all of the vampires look old and ugly. No one would ever want to be a vampire if they saw these people walking down the street. I mean, look at Lestat...

Srs vmpyr bsns iz srs

2016 Reading: Gone Girl

#10 A New York Times bestseller

This book was never going to be much of a surprise to me since I saw the movie first, but I still think it is a really interesting story and I wanted to get a feel for this author's writing style because I wanted to know whether I should read Dark Places before I see the movie. Because I am definitely going to see the movie (mainly because my wife, Charlize Theron, is in it and I love my wife).

I love this book. The way it was written, going back and forth between the two main characters, skipping from different points in time. Usually, that kind of thing would bother me, but for this book, it fit so well with the style and with the suspense of the story. It NEEDED to be written like that.

The utter insanity of Amy, and Nick too when you think about it, is astounding. You all know that I love books, or anything really, about mental disorders and murder and serial killers, anything like that. This was amazing. To go through this story with Nick and watch him go through so many mental changes as time went on, from loving Amy, to resenting her, to hating her so completely, but then going back to loving her however briefly it was, and then just total and utter fear and pure hatred only to end up at tolerant with a hint of smugness that he thinks if he just waits long enough that she will slip. And then with her being so delusional about everything, knowing that as long as she keeps him afraid, she can keep him forever that way she wants him; compliant and loving even if it is fake.

This book was fantastic.

2016 Reading: Dad is Fat

#28 A book written by a comedian

I love Jim Gaffigan. I remember watching his half hour comedy special on Comedy Central and thinking that he was hilarious. Fast forward a bunch of years and he's gotten more comedy specials and he's in movies and TV shows and I still think he is so damned funny.

This book isn't really a story or anything. It's mainly a series of short essays that are all centered around his life and kids. It's pretty funny and he puts most of the jokes that he tells in his specials into writing for the essays (or it might even be the other way around, I don't know).

He has this dry wit that I find amusing and his writing is exactly the same as his speaking voice.

The guy has five kids! FIVE!

Hilarious.