Recent reading..
July 6, 2006I haven’t done a lot of reading this year, I read a LOT last year, 46 books for the year, but this year so far i’m around 10 books for the year. Part of the reason for the large number of books last year was that I was riding bart to SF every day so i had LOTS of time on my hands. I’m now working in Concord and i’ve started riding my bike to work so there’s not a lot of time to read on the commute.
I had a few Dean Koontz books sitting around that I hadn’t read yet, so i started reading those. After he started writing his Christopher Snow series i swore i wouldn’t read another book of his until he finished that series, at this point i”m not sure he’s ever going to finish that series so I’ve sorta given up on it. Unfortunately I’ve picked up book 1 of his new series Frankenstein the second book in the series is already published, but i’ll probably end up waiting forever for book 3 of these as well. Who knows.
Aside from that, the Frankenstein book is really good, i’ve enjoyed what i’ve read so far. I know it was cowritten with Kevin Anderson, but I have to think that the writing that is done from the point of view of an autistic is pure Koontz. He’s adept at delivering stories from the point of view of a wide range of observers. Anyways, worth the read if you enjoy koontz. I read Velocity as well, it was a quick read ( no pun intended ), well written, although I thought some parts were a little flat.
The other book i’ve been reading is Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, a guy from the junto picked the book for this month’s read and it’s been really interesting. There’s a lot more to comics than meets the eye when you really get down close and look at them. It’s been a very fun read. When I was younger I used to collect comics not a lot but a couple, so it was sorta nostalgic to read the book. I went down to the local shop and picked up a handful of comics with characters that I recognized and read through them. It was fun. I had forgotten how much fun they can be. It is funny to watch people’s reaction when you mention comic books though. The funnier thing to me is that much of what people consider cutting edge cinematograhy these days is a direct translation of stuff that has been done in comics for years. I would hazard to say that comics are certainly a far more intellectual pursuit than watching television, at least you have to actively participate when reading comics. Yet, people who don’t read, but do watch an excess of television, will be the first in line to criticize comic books, very odd.
