Skip to content

Books

I am Joe's Hard Drive

I just finished Chuck Palahniuk breakthrough novel Fight Club. Yes, the novel that inspired the movie starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. (On a side note, I’ve mentioned to one of my friends that I don’t think Ed Norton has ever done a bad movie. Even that one with Robert DeNiro – not a good movie, but it had DeNiro.)

The book was amazing. It’s very short, just slightly longer than a novella. The movie was surprisingly closer to the book than I expected, but the book’s ending was better. I can see why the movie couldn’t go that direction and applaud the way the movie did end in keeping with the spirit of the book.

I am Joe’s impressed reader.

The book makes you question everything – how you live, American consumerism, and what matters. The prose’s style is quick and captures you. You quickly overcome the quirkiness of the prose itself and have a hard time putting the book down.

The book has been on my want to read list for years, and my wife got it for me for Christmas. Now to collect the rest. Unfortunately, most of his books are trade paperbacks, and are fairly small, so paying $10-$14 is a bit much. I’ll have to check half.com to see if regular paperbacks were ever published.

More Christmas Presents: Books

One of my favorite Christmas presents to receive is a Barnes & Noble gift card. And this year my sister hooked the family up with a dandy. Alex was able to purchase two nice hardcovers by Garth Nix, and I picked up a few.

On my list for quite a while is a few books by Lawrence Lessig, founder of Creative Commons, EFF board member, and a Stanford law professor. I bought The Future of Ideas and Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity.

In addition, I picked up We The Media, Grassroots Journalism By the People, For the People by Dan Gillmor, who recently put his money where his mouth is, and left his job at the San Jose Mercury News to found a grassroots journalism project.

And last, but not least, Geoffrey Stone’s Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the War on Terrorism. Mr. Stone had the opportunity to guest on, but who else’s, Lawrence Lessig’s blog in December. Fascinating thoughts, facts, and history behind the governments role in free speech regulation during wartime. I’m really looking forward to reading this book.

It feels good to be buying non-fiction, and topics I believe in: Free Speech, copyright reform, and journalism. Now to finish off the two novels I’m reading and tackle some real reading material.

A Breath(ed) of fresh air

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has an amusing interview with Berke Breathed, of Bloom County / Outland / Opus fame.

I love Bloom County, as I’ve commented before. Re-reading and collecting those 80s comic books reminds me not only of my childhood, but how topical Mr. Breathed’s cartooning is and was. So much of what he talked about then still applies to today.

He has a 25th anniverary book coming out of his favorite Sunday comics he wrote.

Random Goodness

Boing Boing is full of random goodness today.

First, BB has a link to Found Item Clothing, who has re-created the shirts from the movie Real Genius that Chris Knight (played by Val Kilmer wore).

Next, BB points out that William Gibson (of Neuromancer and other books’ fame) has started blogging again.

It looks like the current election cycle has gotten to him. Let me quote one of the jokes he has up on his site:

President Bush goes to an elementary school to talk about the war.

After his talk, he offers to answer questions. One little boy puts up his hand and the president asks him his name.

“I’m Billy, sir.”

“And what’s your question, Billy?”

“I have three questions, sir. Why did the US invade Iraq without the support of the UN? Why are you President when Al Gore got more votes? And whatever happened to Osama Bin Laden?”

Just then the bell rings for recess. Bush announces that they’ll continue after recess.

When they return, Bush asks, “OK, where were we? Question time! Who has a question?”

Another little boy raises his hand. The president asks his name.

“I’m Steve, sir.”

“And what’s your question, Steve?”

“I have five questions, sir. Why did the US invade Iraq without the support of the UN? Why are you President when Al Gore got more votes? Whatever happened to Osama Bin Laden? Why did the recess bell go off twenty minutes early? And what the heck happened to Billy?”