still here!

Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm still here!  This book I'm currently working on, The Emperor of All Maladies, is a beast (in an extremely good way) and I'm not done yet.  :o)  As soon as I've finished you can be sure that I'll let you all know what I think (I'm about 3/4 of the way through and it's fantastic thus far).

Stay tuned!

Seems like there's not enough hours in the day sometimes...

I just finished up Robopocalpyse and it was awesome (and terrifying).  The thought that machines could rise up against the human race and nearly obliterate us doesn't seem all that hard to believe.  It wasn't a particularly long or arduous read and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  The structure of the book reads like diary entries except they are told from the point of view of various Robs (robots).  The descriptive prose made the story come alive and had me practially blowing through the pages.

After that fun read I decided to head down a completely different path and picked up The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee which chronicles the disease that is cancer.  I have lost quite a few people to this heinous disease and a book that essentially breaks it down to a narrative format intrigued me.  It just came out and so I had to place it on hold to make sure that I got it.  I only have 3 days to read it and it's 470 pages long.  This a true test, people!  Here I go!!

EDIT: I was able to renew the book so now I can read at my leisure (and a good thing too as I haven’t even broken 100!).

Whoooops!

Here I was thinking that I had updated this yesterday!!  Well, I finished World War Z.  I have mixed feelings about it.  It was very imaginative and well-written.  The sheer enormity of the event that Brooks was creating is staggering when you think about it.  First, he had to make the reader believe that the living dead actually walked the earth (or dragged themselves along as the case may be).  Second, he had to create entirely new civilizations that resulted from the huge war that occurred as a result of the zombie infestation.  Third, he had to pull all of this information together in such a way that it wasn't just hard "facts" but a narration of events.  So for this, I applaud him.  However, I am one of those people who really shy away from the use of "coarse language".  One could argue that it makes the tale more believable as the particular cast of characters in this book would likely use such language.  For me, I don't think that it would have detracted from the story if these words were cut down if not eliminated entirely.  Of course, if this doesn't bother you (which it probably doesn't cause I'm really nitpicky sometimes) then pick up this book and dive into a story that just might knock you dead (ha ha ha).

I guess I must be in a mood for war because I'm now reading Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson.  I think you can figure out what this book is about by the title but just in case...The basic premise is that technology rebels against us.  All of those handy gadgets that the human race depends on to get us through everyday tasks (cell phones, toasters, cars, etc.) turn against their makers and...  Well, I'm not sure what happens yet but (without giving too many details) I'll read it and let you know what I think!!

I hope you guys are getting something out of these posts.  If you're enjoying them (or not) please feel free to offer feedback.  Also, if you're looking for a recommendation I'd be happy to scour my vast library and find something for you. :o)