Made of Library

I am a huge fan of Toothpaste for Dinner . I have been reading it since about 2006 and I’ll give a go to pretty much anything that Drew creates. I wasn’t too sure what to expect from Veins but I was hoping for some laughs and that warped yet honest way of viewing the world that TPFD has. Veins certainly delivered. The story went to some darker places than I was expecting, definitely, but it was still funny and made plenty of astute observations. I don’t know if I can say that I enjoyed the book. There was a lot in there that was uncomfortable or squirmy or just downright sad. It wasn’t a happy story, but it was compelling and I couldn’t put it down. The story is really a series of anecdotes from the main character, M.R. He is a weird guy and does some weird, weird things. He can explain most of the weird things he does though. He tells you the steps that lead to this situation and how each step leads to another to eventually end up with this completely bizarre outcome. M.R...

I’ll admit that I judged this book by its cover before I even started reading it. I do this all the time, and I know I shouldn’t. To me, this book just looked cheesy and lame and I knew I was going to have some serious problems with the pouty, I’m-so-hardcore girl on the cover.   Sometimes it’s nice to be surprised when you’re expectations are shattered. I just don’t like Kate Daniels though. It just feels like she’s forcing that attitude too much. Sure, sure, the attitude is her defence mechanism and her way of not getting crushed by the weight of the world on her shoulders. It still feels too ‘put on’ though, and if it was really a defence mechanism it would need to be a lot more solid than it is.   I could just be being really picky though. I have a problem with finding any female characters believable, whether it’s in books, movies, TV shows or games. I hold female characters up to a much closer scrutiny than I do any male character. Perhaps it’s a role model thin...

The novel is based on a really interesting “what if” premise. What if there was an earthquake big enough to cause the city of San Francisco to break off from the mainland of America? I enjoy survival stories. I like seeing what people do without their usual conveniences, their routines, the new ways they find to do things and the interpersonal dynamics that arise when people are taken out of their ordinary roles. This book addressed more of the technical and practical difficulties the characters had to overcome. No phones, no vehicles, limited food and water, transporting people off the new island. It dealt really well with these facets of the problem. The solutions all made sense and were believable. On a practical level you could learn a lot from this book on the best actions to take if you’re ever in an earthquake. I had difficulty connecting with the characters. There are a couple of possible reasons for this. Firstly, I found the two families to be a bit too perfect. ...

Good fantasy is my favourite genre. I love the escapism it provides. It can be full of epic wars and battles between gods and men, or just between men and other men. There’s usually magic, which is always cool. So many fantasy stories use the same story – a poor farm boy discovers that his parents aren’t really his parents and that he has some very important, fate-of-the-world type destiny to fulfil. With magic. It’s a good story. That’s why I’m still reading fantasy after all these years. The Fires of Heaven is book five in The Wheel of Time series. I’m almost half way through the twelve book series and I’m not starting to tire of it at all. The story has branched into so many sub plots that it wasn’t until half way through that I realised we hadn’t heard from one of the main characters at all yet. This book followed 3 main story arcs. Rand and the Aiel; Min, Siuan and Leanne; Nynaeve and Elayne. I was a little disappointed not to have more of Perrin’s story, but I’m hopi...

I agree that we need to change the way we're living. From both a sustainability and a humanitarian perspective. But I'm not sure that Fresco's vision is the solution. It's a long, long way between where we are now and having underwater cities where everyone walks around naked and no one is ever sad. I think Fresco should put more effort into affecting the transition than explaining how we'll still be able to express our individuality through our mix 'n' match domicile pods. I feel like a jerk for saying what he's doing is pretty much useless because,   well,   what am I doing to ensure the future doesn't suck? Nothing.   And I certainly don't have any better solutions to offer. I just think that his passion and energy could be redirected into something that's more tangibly useful to us right now. So much of the technology that Fresco's future depends on is technology that, as far as I'm aware, doesn't exist yet. I...