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mountain_laurelnothing in particular i need to be doing. a whole weekend ahead of me. a shelf full of books yet to be read. gorgeous weather.
what could be better?
i finished "Stiff". an outstanding book, and so entertaining i finished it in record time. i think my favorite part was early on, when the author describes her experience visiting a plastic surgery seminar in which surgeons perform facelifts on a room full of decapitated heads in aluminum roasting pans. she asks one of the people who preps the heads how she deals with what she's doing, and is told "i try to think of them as wax." shortly thereafter, she encounters the woman who actually removes the heads, who seems displeased to find a journalist present. the author writes, "She doesn't look as if she wants to be my friend. I decide to think of her as wax."
the writer, Mary Roach, is local to the bay area. i bet she's hilarious at parties. and i bet i know someone who knows her. anyone?
right now i'm debating the relative merits of a couple of trashy military thrillers i picked up in a thrift store a few weeks ago. the storyline of "The Shark Mutiny" (Patrick Robinson) looked more interesting, but the writing is truly abysmal, and "advisor" (as in U.S. National Security Advisor) is consistently spelled "adviser" throughout (even on the back cover!), which grates on my nerves. (yes, i know it's technically not incorrect, but it's not the preferred spelling, dammit.)
a sample:
can i just say right now how personally offended i am by clumsy writing like the above? it doesn't flow, the information he's so inelegantly crammed in there isn't necessary (even i know who Pete Rose is, for christ's sake, and i've never watched a baseball game in my life) or relevant to the storyline, and even if it were necessary, this would be the worst possible way to present it. not to mention that last line, which is a complete non-sequitur.
so i'm thinking i won't be reading this one. i think i'll drop it off in the basement on the table that serves as an on-again, off-again informal book swap. possibly i'll include a note of apology for inflicting it on any hapless neighbor who foolishly picks it up.
so i guess instead i'll go with "America" by Stephen Coonts, which seems to be at least readable and includes two of my favorite things: pirates and submarines. i'm pretty sure it's still going to suck, but today i'm in the mood for trash, and this fits the bill. it's like junk food, only better, because it doesn't make you fat.
what could be better?
i finished "Stiff". an outstanding book, and so entertaining i finished it in record time. i think my favorite part was early on, when the author describes her experience visiting a plastic surgery seminar in which surgeons perform facelifts on a room full of decapitated heads in aluminum roasting pans. she asks one of the people who preps the heads how she deals with what she's doing, and is told "i try to think of them as wax." shortly thereafter, she encounters the woman who actually removes the heads, who seems displeased to find a journalist present. the author writes, "She doesn't look as if she wants to be my friend. I decide to think of her as wax."
the writer, Mary Roach, is local to the bay area. i bet she's hilarious at parties. and i bet i know someone who knows her. anyone?
right now i'm debating the relative merits of a couple of trashy military thrillers i picked up in a thrift store a few weeks ago. the storyline of "The Shark Mutiny" (Patrick Robinson) looked more interesting, but the writing is truly abysmal, and "advisor" (as in U.S. National Security Advisor) is consistently spelled "adviser" throughout (even on the back cover!), which grates on my nerves. (yes, i know it's technically not incorrect, but it's not the preferred spelling, dammit.)
a sample:
"You gotta concentrate, Danny."
"On what?"
"The baseball, stupid."
"How can I, when I can't even see it? Nobody could see it."
"Pete Rose coulda seen it," said Rick solemnly, referring to the former Cincinnati Reds legend.
"Pete Rose coulda seen a howitzer shell."
can i just say right now how personally offended i am by clumsy writing like the above? it doesn't flow, the information he's so inelegantly crammed in there isn't necessary (even i know who Pete Rose is, for christ's sake, and i've never watched a baseball game in my life) or relevant to the storyline, and even if it were necessary, this would be the worst possible way to present it. not to mention that last line, which is a complete non-sequitur.
so i'm thinking i won't be reading this one. i think i'll drop it off in the basement on the table that serves as an on-again, off-again informal book swap. possibly i'll include a note of apology for inflicting it on any hapless neighbor who foolishly picks it up.
so i guess instead i'll go with "America" by Stephen Coonts, which seems to be at least readable and includes two of my favorite things: pirates and submarines. i'm pretty sure it's still going to suck, but today i'm in the mood for trash, and this fits the bill. it's like junk food, only better, because it doesn't make you fat.
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Mary Roach
Date: 2003-09-13 04:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-13 05:24 pm (UTC)My favorite part, so far, is description of the "haciendas."