Category: books

review – A Fraction of the Whole

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Kate insisted I get this book, though I’d not heard of it listed as part of the Dune Universe. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2008.

It’s fantastic.

Epic.

One of the great works of literature.

… At the heart of this sprawling, dizzying debut from a quirky, assured Australian writer are two men: Jasper Dean, a judgmental but forgiving son, and Martin, his brilliant but dysfunctional father. …

As philosophical as Confederacy of Dunces.

Laugh out loud funny. Black humour.

The downside? It’s far too long. The sections narrated by the father are much stronger than those narrated by the son.

My best advice is that you get A Fraction of the Whole as an audio book read by Aussies Craig Baldwin and Colin McPhillamy.

… Voicing the character of the father, Colin McPhillamy steals the show with a performance that engages listeners from the start. Everything about his narration seems underplayed and true. This is the perfect mix of comedy and drama …

I feel certain the book is twice as good delivered in a superb Aussie accent.

Amazon lists the audio version at about $39-$51. Crazy. Only stupid newbies pay retail.

Audio books cost about $16. They average about $13 for me, an Audible.com member taking advantage of every “special” that comes along.

______

In contrast, the audio version of Dune is gawd awful.

Rather than have it read by Scott Brick, some idiot decided on an ensemble cast of readers. A blunder.

Dune: House Corrino

On By Rick McIn books, movies, product endorsements2 Comments

Corrino is the 3rd in the prequel trilogy of books leading up to the original novel, Dune.

Dune: House Corrino

Amazon

I enjoyed it so much that I’ll continue with the audio version of the master work, itself.

I see a huge future film epic something like Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, the acting and story more important than special effects.

Paramount, I expect, wants to make another Avatar 3D, but … you know, … in the desert.

Chase Palmer has been hired to write director Pierre Morel’s (Taken, From Paris With Love) version of Dune at Paramount. According to THR, Palmer will be working with Morel to stick close to the original source material, which is the 1965 classic book by Frank Herbert. As most of you know, David Lynch took a crack at Dune back in 1984 at Universal.

It’s important to note while Palmer has been hired to write the script, that doesn’t mean Dune is moving in front of the cameras anytime soon. With what has to be a huge budget and complicated source material to adapt, many have tried to get Dune off the ground with little success (Peter Berg). Just because a hot director wants to make the film, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. It’s going to take a lot of happy studio executives and some big name stars to get this thing rolling. More as we hear it.

Collider

Dune: House Harkonnen

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Prelude to Dune is a prequel trilogy of novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe.

The series takes place in the years leading up to the events in the original novel Dune.


* Dune: House Atreides (1999)
* Dune: House Harkonnen (2000)
* Dune: House Corrino (2001)

I’ve just finished the second, Harkonnen, as an audio book read by the masterful Scott Brick.

It’s superb, though not as good as Atreides. There are a few questionable plot points.

Amazon

Highly recommended to any fan of Dune. I can hardly wait for Corrino.

A New History of Gospel Music

On By Rick McIn books, music, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Kate and I were impressed by author Bob Darden interviewed on the CBC radio program Tapestry. (I immediately went and subscribed to the show as an audiocast.)

People Get Ready!: A New History of Gospel Music (2004) is a passionate, celebratory, and carefully researched chronology of one of America’s greatest treasures. From Africa through the spirituals, from minstrel music through jubilee, and from traditional to contemporary gospel, People Get Ready! shows the links between styles, social patterns, and artists.

The emphasis is on the stories behind the songs and musicians. …

Amazon

Tales of the Alhambra

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Last summer while in Spain I listened to this classic as a book on tape. Highly recommended. I’s not “dated” at all.

This book, implemental in reintroducing the Alhambra to the Western world, was published initially in the beginning of the 19th century. It consists of a series of essays and short fiction pieces. …

Amazon

… The Alhambra (Arabic: الْحَمْرَاء‎, Al-Ḥamrā’ , literally “the red one”), the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra (الْقَلْعَةُ ٱلْحَمْرَاءُ, Al-Qal’at al-Ḥamrā’ , “the red fortress”), is a palace and fortress complex constructed during the mid 14th century by the Moorish rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus, occupying a hilly terrace on the southeastern border of the city of Granada, now in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.

Once the residence of the Muslim rulers of Granada and their court, the site became a Christian palace. Within the Alhambra, the Palace of Charles V was erected by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1527. After being allowed to fall into disrepair, the Alhambra was “rediscovered” in the 19th century. It is now one of Spain’s major tourist attractions and exhibits the country’s most famous Islamic architecture, together with Christian 16th-century and later interventions in buildings and gardens. …

Wikipedia – Alhambra

book review – The Hunger Games

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The Hunger Games (2008) is a young-adult science fiction novel written by Suzanne Collins.

… It introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world where a powerful government called the Capitol has risen up after several devastating disasters.

In the book, the Hunger Games are an annual televised event where the ruthless and evil Capitol randomly selects one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts, who are then pitted against each other in a game of survival and forced to kill until only one remains. …

Wikipedia

This book was recommended to me by 16yr-old Sam. And, I have to admit, I did enjoy it … despite the grizzly plot.

It got generally good reviews. (Steven King gave it a “B”.) And a film is planned.

And it’s refreshing to have a female author and female protagonist in a book of this genre. I recommend the book for teens. Adults could take it or leave it.

I paid about $12 for the Audible MP3 version, as part of my monthly package and some “deals”. If a non-member buys that same version, it’s $20.98.

Other costs from Amazon:

Hard Cover = $10.52.
Kindle = $9.00
Paperback = $8.99
Audiobook CD = $26.37

Worst deal in 2010 is CD. Those spinning disks have to be phased out soon.

Long term the Kindle and audio versions will have to drop in price. Cost of production and distribution is much lower than dead tree.

Prelude to Dune

On By Rick McIn books, product endorsements2 Comments

Dune, by Frank Herbert, is considered by many to be the greatest Science Fiction novel of all time.

I loved Dune but found each of the five sequels to be weaker than the last.

When Dave Adlard recommended yet more books set in the Dune Universe, I was dubious.

Prelude to Dune is a “a prequel trilogy of novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.”

Brian is Frank’s son. The prequels were written after Frank’s death, based on original notes.

Dune: House Atreides chronicles the early life of Leto Atreides, prince of a minor House in the galactic Imperium. The novel begins on the planet of Arrakis, 35 years before the events of the original novel Dune.

We meet Duncan Idaho, only 7yrs-old. And learn more about the history of houses Atreides and Harkonnen, their bitter feud.

So far as I’m concerned, this prequel is as good or better than Dune itself. An impressive feat.

Thanks Dave.

The first film of Dune was adapted by David Lynch (1984). Frank Herbert liked it. As did I.

There’s another film version in the works. No date of release has yet been announced.

the Apple iPad intro video

On By Rick McIn Apple, books, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Watch it on Apple.

Price starts at $499. Cheap.

Most people will pay $30 / month for internet access.

Is it a good book reader?

On first impression, I thought kindle had nothing to worry about. But Mashable disagrees:

… given that iPad starts at $499 and iBooks offers such an impressive ebook experience, we have to wonder what Amazon could do at this point to stay competitive.

book review – Born to Run

On By Rick McIn books, health & fitness, product endorsements, sport - amateur, sport - pro4 Comments

On the insistence of my Adventure Racing buddy, Dave Adlard, I bought a book.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

A fantastic read, even for non-runners. The author, Christopher McDougall, (video) is a master story teller. I was gripped by this true life story.

Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong. …

It’s available on Audible.com, as well as in a Kindle edition.

Get it!

I listened to this book immediately after Dan Brown’s entertaining The Lost Symbol (my review).

It was crystal clear that Dan Brown is a hack compared with by Christopher Mcdougall.

Why is that?

I believe Brown is an old school author. Mcdougall an author of the future,

Mcdougall is a journalist, writing primarily magazine articles. This is his first book.

A magazine article must be instantly engaging. Otherwise the reader will flip ahead to the next story.

Christopher Mcdougall reminds me of Jon Krakauer, another magazine scribe turned author.

Bottom line: get Born to Run.

The Lost Symbol – book review

On By Rick McIn books, product endorsements1 Comment

Dan Brown, author of super popular blockbuster hit novels, has done it again.

The Lost Symbol, his most recent, is the best of his very, very similar books. They follow a formula.

Amazon review:

… The Lost Symbol begins with an ancient ritual, a shadowy enclave, and of course, a secret.

Readers know they are in Dan Brown territory when, by the end of the first chapter, a secret within a secret is revealed. …

Again, brilliant Harvard professor Robert Langdon finds himself in a predicament that requires his vast knowledge of symbology and superior problem-solving skills to save the day. The setting, unlike other Robert Langdon novels, is stateside, and in Brown’s hands Washington D.C. is as fascinating as Paris or Vatican City …

Brown is only an average wordsmith. But his plots are complex, interesting and entertaining.

The plot of The Lost Symbol is terrific. It had me guessing. The setting, Washington, D.C., is superb. I want to visit as a tourist now.

This book is highly recommended. Author Dave Adlard calls it one of his favourite books of all time.

Amazon

There’s one glaring problem. This book is perhaps 30% too long. Dan Brown, get an editor!