Periodic Hella Backdated Book Post

[roadrunnertwice]

Haven't thrown up any book reviews in a while, may as well shovel out the back of the queue a bit. Here's some stuff from 2013.

René Daumal - Mount Analogue

July 2013

"It isn't easy to explain-- there's a book called Mount Analogue by René Daumal that tells all about it. Just take my word for it."

I always did just take the Chicken Man's word for it, but it looks like I didn't have to, because Mount Analogue turns out to be completely real. (Shout out to rushthatspeaks for the tip.)

The book is unfinished, which is frustrating and which also makes it somehow eternal.

There's a fragment from the endmatter that gets stuck in my head from time to time. "There at the summit sharper than the sharpest needle, alone stands he who fills all space." And when it starts echoing back and forth in there, I'm like: Ah. I get it. I think I see what you're saying about mountains.

Paul Krugman - End This Depression Now

Nov. 24, 2013

I read this because econ's a longstanding hole in my education, and I wanted to know more about Krugman's economics than can come across in a column.

Mission accomplished! Learned a lot. Forgot a bunch of it. Could probably stand to flip back through.

Kazu Kibuishi - Amulet, vols. 1 thru 5

Comics. Nov. 2013

This series is excellent. I read book 1 ages ago and promptly lost track of Kibuishi, but he's been plugging away on this transdimensional fantasy story ever since. (And a bunch of other things, including covers for a Harry Potter re-release.)

Kibuishi works at a very fluid and cinematic pace, and the five books (so far—oh, wait, hold on, looks like #6 just came out this year) go by in a flash. (All the better to re-read and absorb more of the atmosphere.) Also, WOW his art is delicious. Expressive faces, powerful sense of motion, great color sense.

Sara Ryan and Carla Speed McNeil - Bad Houses

Comics. Nov. 25, 2013

Well, it's been a while and my neighbor is borrowing it, but I remember this being a pointy little story about several different ways of being stuck. Claustrophobic and itchy all the way through. (A good thing, since it's what the book sets out to do.)

I also remember the omniscient narration, which is an unusual thing to see in a comic and which added some interesting texture.

Richard Rhodes - Hedy's Folly

August 11, 2013

The material was hella interesting. (Thanks for the wifi, Hedy Lamarr!) The writing was pretty forgettable.