We saw a review of "Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson on the First Tuesday Book Club, then saw it for sale cheaply at a book shop and thought "Why not?".
It is interestingly written, and the writer has given much thought to details - how the big secret will be gradually revealed, how to make it shocking.
However, it is all a bit ruined by its famousness, sadly. Everyone knows the plot twist. I'm sure Looney Tunes even did a cartoon where someone turned evil and needed a potion to turn back to normal.
I did enjoy it, though, and it's a quick read. The book contains other short stories by the same author, so hopefully I can review them too in the future.
Showing posts with label cult books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cult books. Show all posts
Monday, August 09, 2010
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Back with nose in book...
Seems it has been ages since I've had the time or energy (?) to get into a book, but recently I was sick, spent a large part of a day in bed, and I have had a nose in a book of some kind ever since! Yihar! Doesn't leave me with the same feeling of wasted time that I get when I sit in front of the telly.
1) Spook Country - William Gibson
While I always find William Gibson writes well and about interesting, different subjects, this novel lost me a bit. The art scene in this novel involves geo-hacking - where people hack into coordinates on GPS's and put in things that aren't there, but if you are wearing a helmet (virtual reality style?), you can see their artwork - eg an image of River Phoenix's body lying on the spot where he actually died. This was written in his frequently used style with 3-4 converging storylines, written in turns in different chapters. There were bits where the writing just got bogged down, I felt, where the author described in detail things that I just couldn't picture, so I ended up skimming through paragraphs.
But still, Gibson's writing was noticably superior and easier to read than the book I had been reading prior to this. If you are thinking of reading a Gibson novel, I'd try "Pattern Recognition" (his last novel) instead.
3 out of 5 stars
2) Raising Boys - Steve Biddulph
While I never take these books too literally, and this has slighly dumbed-down case studies just like many self-help/pop psychology books, this book provides food for thought. Discusses stages of boyhood, importance of role models (parents or other, female or male), testosterone levels and how they fluctuate throughout childhood and its effect amongst other things. Good for helping me to think from my son's perspective, and it may just be a book I drag out again when he approaches teenagerhood...
3) Also read "T is for Trespass". Easy to read, and good to get through on a single rainy day - nuff said.
1) Spook Country - William Gibson
While I always find William Gibson writes well and about interesting, different subjects, this novel lost me a bit. The art scene in this novel involves geo-hacking - where people hack into coordinates on GPS's and put in things that aren't there, but if you are wearing a helmet (virtual reality style?), you can see their artwork - eg an image of River Phoenix's body lying on the spot where he actually died. This was written in his frequently used style with 3-4 converging storylines, written in turns in different chapters. There were bits where the writing just got bogged down, I felt, where the author described in detail things that I just couldn't picture, so I ended up skimming through paragraphs.
But still, Gibson's writing was noticably superior and easier to read than the book I had been reading prior to this. If you are thinking of reading a Gibson novel, I'd try "Pattern Recognition" (his last novel) instead.
3 out of 5 stars
2) Raising Boys - Steve Biddulph
While I never take these books too literally, and this has slighly dumbed-down case studies just like many self-help/pop psychology books, this book provides food for thought. Discusses stages of boyhood, importance of role models (parents or other, female or male), testosterone levels and how they fluctuate throughout childhood and its effect amongst other things. Good for helping me to think from my son's perspective, and it may just be a book I drag out again when he approaches teenagerhood...
3) Also read "T is for Trespass". Easy to read, and good to get through on a single rainy day - nuff said.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Groovy book club in Melbourne
Books @ Fed Square - Cult Book Group
Interested in reading and discussing books that have caused a stir or attracted a cult following? Fed Square’s free new book group is a chance to talk about controversial and challenging literature in a relaxed informal environment. The group meets once a month at Café Beer Deluxe in the Atrium at Fed Square. For more information email books@fedsquare.com
Sessions will be held at 10am on the first Saturday of every month, commencing 1 December 2007.
Reading list:
January: The Complete Maus, Art Spiegalman
February: A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
March: Catch-22, Joseph Heller
April: Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
May: Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
June: 1984, George Orwell
July: Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut
Interested in reading and discussing books that have caused a stir or attracted a cult following? Fed Square’s free new book group is a chance to talk about controversial and challenging literature in a relaxed informal environment. The group meets once a month at Café Beer Deluxe in the Atrium at Fed Square. For more information email books@fedsquare.com
Sessions will be held at 10am on the first Saturday of every month, commencing 1 December 2007.
Reading list:
January: The Complete Maus, Art Spiegalman
February: A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
March: Catch-22, Joseph Heller
April: Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
May: Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
June: 1984, George Orwell
July: Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)