Tag Archives: book reviews

The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio

Posted by melydia on January 19, 2005 None comments

The Golden Ratio by Mario Livio: If you divide a line so that the ratio of the smaller to the larger is equal to the ratio of the larger to the whole, you have the golden ratio, phi. There has been an abundance of literature on the presence of phi in a number of unexpected locations, and this book addresses many of these appearances intelligently. It is organized more or less historically, starting with the Pythagoreans’ obsession with phi (due to its presence in the pentagon and other neat little number tricks) and continuing through the present. The author avoids doctoring numbers to fit phi into famous works of art and architecture, and indeed debunks several such cases. While some of the direct appearances of phi are pretty nifty (such as leaf growth patterns on plant stems), much of the book covers subjects that are only related to phi by a few generations, usually through the pentagon or the Fibonacci numbers. I do not fault the author for this; tangents are to be expected in books about such a narrow subject as a single number.

The final chapter, “Is God a Mathematician,” includes leading theories in response to that question (yes, no, and sort of) and Livio’s personal opinion. I understand the desire to address such a topic, since mathematics is pretty amazing and phi is no small example of this, but this chapter seemed sort of forced, like the author was at a loss on how to wrap up the book. The explanation of the dual nature of light was sort of random, and the rather unsubtle promotion of Stephen Wolfram’s then-unpublished book (which was not well received by the math community) was sort of irritating. I imagine that Livio’s desire was to instill a lingering thirst for knowledge in his reader, to encourage further study, but it felt more like an advertisement for a newfangled religion that will change the way you look at the world. Despite the final few pages, I found this book to be informative and quite readable, which is always high praise for a book about math. Perhaps if Livio had left out his personal opinion I would have finished it feeling more satisfied.

Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard

Posted by melydia on January 9, 2005 None comments

Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard: I’m still a little unclear on who Shorty is. Anyway, this is a rather convoluted story about loan shark Chili Palmer who goes to Hollywood to track down a guy who faked his own death (but still owes money), and ends up getting embroiled in a movie deal in the process. This is not a book I would have read had I not accidently purchased its sequel at a book sale, but I enjoyed it all the same. I was amused by a good bit of it, especially Chili’s no-bullshit way of looking at the inanity of the movie business. My only real complaint was that I had quite a bit of trouble following the story for about the first half. There were so many names that I kept forgetting who was who, but by the end I had it all straightened out. I’ll be curious to see what the movie is like.

Originally posted on Bookcrossing.

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

Posted by melydia on November 20, 2004 None comments

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff: The timing of this read was intentional. Mired in the chaos of NaNoWriMo, I knew I would need something that was not only calming, but nonfiction. There are those who prefer to read fiction to inspire or comfort them while in the midst of a major writing project, but I knew that it would be distracting – I’d either get caught up in the storyline (and forget where I was going with mine) or the writing style would serve as a constant reminder of what tripe I was producing. A gentle philosophy book starring a Bear of Little Brain seemed to be just what I was looking for.

And in that respect, it was. However, I was not so impressed with the ideas presented in this book. It seemed to spend too much time explaining why Confucianism (which it consistently referred to as “Confusion”), Knowledge, and Cleverness were not the correct paths in life. I disagree; I believe that everything has its proper place. Perhaps we put too much emphasis on the latter two, but shunning them completely is not the answer. Things do not magically fall into place by doing Nothing all the time. Trust me, I’ve tried it. It’s relaxing, to be sure, until things start falling apart and suddenly you have to become a “Busy Backson” to catch up.

This was not a bad book, to be sure, and I am open to the possibility that I missed the point entirely. It was light and fun and in fact quite Clever. Its biggest benefit, however, was to instill in me a desire to read the A. A. Milne tales that inspired Hoff to write this book in the first place.

Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam by Paul Clayton

Posted by melydia on November 7, 2004 None comments

Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam by Paul Clayton: I would summarize this book but the title does that job for me. It is the story of Carl Melcher, a recent high school graduate in the 1970s who gets drafted and sent to Vietnam. He makes some tenuous friendships, sort of falls in love, and seems at least vaguely affected by the war. This book would have been greatly improved had it been in a journal format, giving Clayton an excuse for being so trapped within Carl’s voice that things get lost. I often did not know how much time had passed between chapters, lost track of who was who, and missed what was going on because I did not understand the appropriate lingo. A diary format would have forgiven most of these problems as well as cleared up the time-jump confusion. If it was Clayton’s intent to paint a picture of pointlessness and bungling in the Vietnam War, he did a good job. But if he hoped to produce a thought-provoking critique of the war, a cast of sympathetic characters, or a moving tragedy, he did not accomplish his goals. Carl’s experiences in Vietnam were neither extraordinary nor detailed, and his limited use of adjectives (he felt only “scared,” “sad,” “happy,” or “angry” at any given moment) further distanced me from the story. In summary: this was not a bad book…just very forgettable.

Originally posted on Bookcrossing.

Zero to Lazy Eight by Alexander Humez, Nicholas Humez, and Joseph Maguire

Posted by melydia on October 23, 2004 None comments

Zero to Lazy Eight: The Romance of Numbers by Alexander Humez, Nicholas Humez, and Joseph Maguire: I like books about numbers. I like learning about origins of language. And, for the most part, I liked this book. You cannot read this expecting some overlying theme to it all, or even a nice neat conclusions section to wrap everything up. Each chapter is its own entity and is tenuously connected to a single number (zero through thirteen, plus an additional chapter on infinity). However, the narrative is tangential and digresses often into adjacent but not immediately applicable topics. For instance, chapter 5 is spent largely discussing the measurement of time. Is it an interesting collection of random information? No doubt. However, it’s nothing more than that. It is less a book than a collection of well-informed essays bordering on stream of consciousness. I had hoped for more explanation of common number-themed phrases, but I had no want for neat little facts on math and linguistics. If you’re just looking for some light nonfiction, this is a nice diversion.

Originally posted on Bookcrossing

The Face by Dean Koontz

Posted by melydia on October 13, 2004 None comments

The Face by Dean Koontz (unabridged audiobook read by Dylan Baker): The two main characters here are Ethan Truman, chief of security for megastar Channing Manheim, and Fric, Manheim’s lonely but surprisingly normal 10-year-old son. Ethan begins the story by investigating some strange packages delivered to his employer, which earns him a fatal shot in the chest…only to wake up back in his truck, unharmed but with his own blood under his fingernails. Also lurking in the wings is Corky Laputa, self-proclaimed anarchist and servant of Chaos, spreading fear and discord however he can.

When it comes right down to it, I enjoyed this book very much, thanks in no small part to Dylan Baker, the reader. His voice acting was convincing, his narration was engaging, and he managed to keep me interested – even rapt in parts – all 19 hours. However, I had a few complaints even Baker’s massive talent could not quell. First, the sappy ending: this being Dean Koontz, I knew that Good would triumph over Evil in the end, but the overly saccharine fate granted a character I didn’t care very much about in the first place was tiresome. Second, the flowery description: most of it was fun and useful in setting the mood, but there’s only so many times you need to describe the rain. Third, there were lots of lengthy details and backstory that weren’t necessary to the story. I have a feeling Reader’s Digest could trim this down to a novella and lose nothing.

Certainly not my favorite Koontz novel, but I may have to track down more audiobooks read by Dylan Baker.

The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell by Harry Harrison

Posted by melydia on September 17, 2004 None comments

The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell by Harry Harrison: This is only my second Stainless Steel Rat novel, but I think I need to go back to the beginning and check out the first few in the series. Not only were there loads of characters and references to past events with which I was unfamiliar, this SSR story felt tired and forced. I felt like the author was just throwing in new twists and calamities for the heroes in order to boost his pagecount to novel length. There was no real flow to the plot and many of the events that either saved the day or ruined it seemed too convenient to be believable, even given a wide suspension of disbelief. Don’t get me wrong – I still enjoyed the SSR’s witty banter and sarcastic commentary, but overall I felt like the story was a little too aimless and random.

Originally posted on Bookcrossing.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Posted by melydia on September 6, 2004 None comments

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer: I read this out of an interest in popular children’s fantasy. The Artemis Fowl books had gained enough popularity to show up on my radar (and I am around children basically none of the time), so I figured I might as well check it out. Artemis is a 12-year-old criminal mastermind with a faithful bodyguard named Butler, a missing father, and a mother who has completely lost touch with reality. Despite this, there remains a good deal of humor in Artemis’s kidnapping of a fairy and her people’s attempts to retrieve her. Artemis, while believable as a criminal genius, is not very convincing as a 12-year-old boy. Holly the fairy is pretty one-dimensional, but her comrads Root and the centaur Foaly are entertaining enough to keep the plot moving forward. In short, this is a decent story for children but not engaging enough to convince this adult reader to check out the sequels.

Confessions of a Crap Artist by Philip K. Dick

Posted by melydia on August 19, 2004 None comments

Confessions of a Crap Artist by Philip K. Dick: Jack Isidore is a “crap artist” who collects crackpot theories and lives his life as though a scientific observer instead of an active player. Fay and Charley (Jack’s sister and brother-in-law) decide he is not capable of supporting himself in normal society, so take him in to live with them in their giant house in the country. Fay and Charley have problems of their own. While no single character in genuinely sympathetic, Jack’s naive observations of dramatic events entertained me in a way similar to Star Trek’s Data and his confusion when humans react differently than he expects.

It’s an initially confusing book, and takes a little while to get into its groove. It swaps point of view nearly every chapter, alternating between first-person Jack, first-person Fay, third-person Charley, or third-person Nat Anteil (their neighbor). (The fact that the back of the book incorrectly refers to Charley and Fay as Charlie and Judy didn’t help matters either.) Once you pick up on this it’s fairly easy to distinguish narrators and becomes an interesting study in different people’s opinions on the same events, and the effect these differences have on the outcome. You can see the tragedy coming a mile away but still can’t believe it when it actually happens, which is a feeling I hadn’t encountered in a book for a long time. The ending was somewhat abrupt but generally satisfying.

Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz

Posted by melydia on June 24, 2004 None comments

Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz: I have surprisingly little to say about this book. It kept my attention at a time when I had little else to do but read, but it was not a real page turner. The secrets that come out among the characters were worth the wait, the characters themselves were fairly three-dimensional, and the description of rural Wisconsin in the first half of the 20th century was compelling. The ending, however, was a bit of a letdown, even though it appeared to be implying a kind of happy ending. I think my problem was that I felt dislike for Amanda rather than the sympathy I imagine the author was attempting to invoke. I felt she was obsessive and selfish from the very beginning. Her remorse about the death of her sister was not convincing and I did not care much about what happened to her, even though she was basically the main character. The rest of the story was good, and perhaps another reader would empathize more with the posessive Amanda than I did.

Originally posted on Bookcrossing.

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