Well, not dead exactly, but just marginally unemployed. July and August are the months in which your students decide that instead of having classes, it would be better if they went to the beach, or the jungle, or Las Vegas to buy a new iPad. Their justifications are unimportant, I had nothing to do. Since, for the time being, I was an ersatz ward of the state, and since my SNES had not yet to arrive, I read. In the following paragraphs I will recount a small review of the books I read.
Lies INC. - Phillip K. Dick
Well, what can you say that hasn't already been said about a book that places a 100 page,non-sequitur acid trip smack dab in the middle? Skip it. Apparently, the book was originally published without the middle section. Read that book.
Player Piano - Kurt Vonnegut
One man's revolt against a glittering tomorrow, so says the cover. In this story machines have taken over all industry, save for the managers and the engineers. It's kinda like in the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when Charlie's father, who screws in toothpaste caps, is replaced by a robot that does the same task. I suppose that's where the similarities end as, much to the chagrin of me and everyone else, Player Piano does not, in fact, have a chocolate factory. Very different from Vonnegut's later works, but a good read nonetheless.
Slapstick - Kurt Vonnegut
The protagonist of Slapstick is a two meter tall, neanderthal ex-president. The book is written as his memoirs. It's a non-linear non-plot. But, it's thoughtful and funny and interesting. When you can't sufficiently explain what a book is about yet you can't stop reading it, that's a good indication that the writer knows what he's doing.
Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut
Jury's out on this one. I certainly liked it, but I'm not sure what he was trying to say with this novel. Every character in this novel has been used by a force greater than themselves for a purpose to which they were wholly indifferent or adversarial. Beyond that.....? Read it, it's good.
Anthem - Ayn Rand
I'll admit, I went into reading this book with preconceived notions. I have a cursory understanding of Ayn Rand and her "philosophy", and that possibly tainted my experience. That said, this book was the most self-important pile of drivel I have ever read. The protagonist is homo superior, or something, I've only ventured to guess, who lives in the ideal of a communal society. Everyone is forced to be equal, but he's not equal, you see, he can't be, get it? The word 'I' is forbidden and people refer to themselves as 'WE'. How can I possibly express how facile this book was. The protagonist might as well have been a 14-year-old kid, "I'm so great and nobody understands me." Anyway, the protagonist escapes, with the greatest of ease, along with his mate who "gets him" and they run away through the woods and live in a derelict cabin. He discovers 'I' and decides he's going to return to society and bring back those who agreed with him, even though he's a self-involved tool, and no previous motive is expressed for why he would want to do such a thing. Nevertheless.... When I read Kurt Vonnegut's books I can tell he had an insight into something and he's thinking about the issues that were concerning him. Evidently the only thing Ayn Rand thought about was Ayn Rand. Alas, I have promised myself I would read her works, and I am currently 30 pages into her (rather long) novel We The Living. Pray. For. Mojo.
Dracula - Bram Stoker
This book gets an honorable mention as I haven't actually finished it, though Lord knows I've tried. To whom it may concern, this book is about a vampire. His name is Count Dracula. He lives in Transylvania. He's rather pale. The first chapter of the book is very exciting, the rest is, well, not that exciting. Dracula would be, by my estimation, 26 pages long if you were to remove the endless paragraphs of Victorian genuflecting. Look, I understand that so-and-so is a goodly woman, honest and noble, and that what-his-face is truly a steadfast friend....... so, if it's not too much to ask, can we please talk about vampires now? The ending is going to have to involve a lightsaber battle for me not to be disappointed. I don't think it will.
That's all for the moment,
-Ryan
