It’s getting towards winter down here in the southern hemisphere of the world. Last week the weather took a welcome dip from the thirties into the low twenties, and we all started layering extra blankets onto our beds and pulling out scarves, beanies, brollies and boots. For me, this time of year is marked by … Continue reading »
1. The Time Machine – H.G. Wells Why not kick off Part 3 with a classic? Years ago, I read an abridged version of the Time Machine without realising it was an abridged version until I finished it and thought, that was really short. (Hey, I’m clever.) To be honest, the complete text didn’t add … Continue reading »
Part Two of my Summer Reading List has unintentionally given me a title that in turn gives me the giggles. Immaturity aside, on to the reviews! 1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick This is a funny little book with a funny long title. I think I fell in love with … Continue reading »
So I thought I’d carry on my one-year-long tradition of reviewing the books I’ve read over the summer. Last year, while travelling around Malaysia, Hong Kong and Samoa, I read my first China Mieville and Chuck Palahniuk, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, two books on the brain (Ramachandran and John Medina), the delightful Wicked by Gregory Maguire, … Continue reading »
I have a lovely copy of Arkham Asylum. It’s a softcover 15th anniversary edition, with beautiful glossy pages and a section at the back that includes the full script plus annotations by the author. The experience of leafing through those slippery, deeply-inked pages had me totally encapsulated in Grant Morrison’s eerie, mad world. I didn’t … Continue reading »
Factoid of the Day: The invented word “scientifiction” was coined by Hugo Gernsback, editor of Amazing Stories magazine, in the 1920s, to describe the science-influenced adventure stories he was publishing. It was quickly superseded by the more practical sounding “science fiction.” The term “sci-fi” emerged in 1955. A few weeks ago I finished the course … Continue reading »
What is this book? This Cory Doctorow, who himself sounds like a sci-fi character? This funky cartoon on the cover? The tagline that promises a thrilling chronicle of techno-geek rebellion? Science fiction for young adults, for the modern generation, for the post September 11 world. Young hacker kids defying the US of A’s Department of … Continue reading »
I am very much a newcomer to Batman. I read The Killing Joke a while ago, which I expected to enjoy, being the brainchild of the wickedly unpredictable Alan Moore–and enjoy it I did. Then I bought four hardcover Batman books, which are sitting on my shelf: Killing Joke, Year One, Arkham Asylum, and The Dark Knight … Continue reading »
I wrote this review a long time ago and never posted it. I have only read three Murakami books and had very different opinions of each. Hard-Boiled Wonderland is definitely my favourite so far. First off, I think the English translator of HBW did a much better job than the one for Norwegian Wood. The … Continue reading »
I guess this is an interesting choice of reading material right after C.S. Lewis, especially since Pullman wrote His Dark Materials as a direct rebuttal to The Chronicles of Narnia, which he considered to be religious propaganda. I heard about this book years ago from Chris and recently bought it on a whim. Basically, Pullman, a well-known … Continue reading »
