Things That I Read:

This Week: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Grade: A+

Oh my god!! I mean OH MY GOD!!! Ok, this book is amazing. It's kind of hard not to geek out about it because it is like the ultimate book to geek out about. So remember that dream you had in high school where you were defeating the armies of Mordor during the Battle of Pelennor Fields but then all of a sudden you turned into a giant robot and blew up all the orcs with your laser vision? Or that time you imagined you were defending your coworkers from Magneto because really all along you were a former member of the X-Men but like hiding incognito so that nobody would find you? Ok... maybe not. But do you have fond memories of watching 80s movies, of reciting Monty Python by heart, of late night games of D+D, of old school video games? This is that book. This books is like... it's like a mash up of everything wonderful that you've ever remembered.

Alright down to to the plot. Combine the Star Trek holodeck, Comic Con, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and add equal parts War Games and The Wizard and stir. In the not to distant future, the world is connected to one another via an amazing virtual reality world called OASIS. People live almost their entire lives in OASIS: get married, go on adventures to various planets, go to high school, fight in P2P deathmatches. The creator of OASIS James Halliday has died, and instead of leaving his billions to an heir he creates an ultimate scavenger hunt for easter eggs hidden within the virtual world. But the thing is, James Halliday was OBSESSED with the 1980s. So even though the year is 2044, people have become crazy about the 80s again trying to find clues to Halliday's treasure. References to old movies, TV shows, and especially video games abound. This is not particularly a book for the completely uninitiated, though encyclopedic knowledge is not necessary (the reader isn't a "gunter" or egg-hunter after all). We follow a young high school student named Wade, or as his friends online know him "Parzival," as he attempts to solve the mystery of the game. Along the way he is aided by the help of his online friends and thwarted by an evil corporation whose minions are attempting to win the game in order to take over the OASIS.

Is it contrived? At times. Does it read like the notebook of a 17 year old boy? Yes, yes it does. That's its appeal. Because if you WERE that 17 year old boy (or girl) once, if you drew pictures of Transformers or half-elven mages in the margins of your Chemistry textbook, then this book IS you. It really does read like every awesome dream I've ever had, except it doesn't have that part where Indiana Jones comes swinging through my closet (unfortunately). It is epic and funny and exciting, and damn if it is a trip. Like nothing else. Truly worth the ride

Things That I Read

This Week: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K Jemisin

Grade: >A for... A really really good book

WOW! Ok, I haven't written a book review in a while, but I really felt like I need to gush about how wonderful this book is. I haven't felt this strongly about a book since I first read Name of the Wind. Something about the writing, the world building, the characters, really connected to me. So hear we go...

Basic synopsis:

Yeine is screwed. Ok, back up. Yeine is a young woman from the "barbarian" tribe of Darre. She is leader of her people, though she is not always accepted because her mother is of the Arameri, who are the ruling class and control pretty much the whole world. Physically she is different: she has her mother's green eyes, but her father's dark skin and hair. Mentally, her personality doesn't quite fit in either: she is too impulsive and reckless, of somewhat ill-manners and bearing, and also somewhat manipulative. Her grandfather, who is leader of the Arameri, has invited her to his palace in Sky for reasons that aren't quite clear. Her mother abdicated the throne and is now dead under murky circumstances, so what does he want with her? She couldn't possibly be of any value, she is sure, given that the Arameri already have everything, including control of the Enefadeh, gods who are enslaved to the Arameri because of a war they lost to Itempas, god of the day. After reluctantly becoming involved with the gods in the palace, Yeine is forced to confront harsh realities of politics, and her true destiny. What follows is a really rich and fascinating story of political maneuvering, mystery, and myth.

Characters:

The Enefadeh are very similar to the Greek gods: their power and "magic" are unfortunately coupled with a penchant for meddling (and having sex). Of course, since they are slaves to the Arameri, their power is muted, but not so much that they aren't a danger. They also have very distinct, very mythological, personalities. The characterizations of the Enefadeh were just wonderful, in particular the child-like Sieh. Nahadoth, the night lord, is both creepily attractive and incredibly dangerous. Unlike some of the popular (and terrible) vampire stories of late (::cough::twilight::cough::), the danger of Nahadoth is very real and Yeine's growing attraction to him throughout the book puts her in genuine peril. Yeine is not a "Mary Sue," but she definitely is a stand in for the reader with her limited knowledge of politics, a lack of self control, and a drive to uncover the mystery. My only criticism of the book, and it really is the only one, is that there is a bit too much exposition at times because Yeine doesn't quite understand how things work. If anything the book could have been longer and spent more time explaining things in a natural or gradual way rather than info dumping at certain points to move the story along. Part of the problem, though in general I think this was an asset of the book, was that the story is told through first person narration. I found this to be very appealing compared to some of the convoluted, multiple storyline fantasies that are popular, but the lack of an omniscient narrator meant that everything had to be told in dialog that at times was a bit too "tell-y." That really is my only criticism because the book itself is very well written and exciting. I really enjoyed the fact that the protagonist was female, and yet not a woman who is impossibly gorgeous and talented or falling over waiting to be saved by somebody. She might be unsure of herself in her new environment, but she is still a powerful woman who can hold her own in a fight.

To some up:

Fans of epic fantasy and science fiction will definitely enjoy this book, but I also think it is accessible to readers who like good world building and story, but who otherwise might be turned off by genre fiction. Oh, and just as a side note not that it has really anything to do with the book, but it is so super rare to read a scifi/ fantasy book by an African American author, not to mention an African American woman. I really think I liked the characters more because they were written by somebody who wasn't a white dude. Just saying.

So go read it. You'll like it. Promise. In fact, you can even read the first three chapters on the author's website

Why Didn't I Know About This Before?

This week: Making Stuff

So lately I've gotten to be rather crafty. I've made armies of crocheted amigurumi animals for starters, not to mention all the things I color and build for the library. But me making stuff is sort of a new, though sort of a not so new phenomenon. I say sort of new because I only started making things a few years ago, and I say sort of not so new because when I was a kid I actually enjoyed making things a lot. Until I didn't. Let me explain by telling the famous robot story. It is a story that my father insists I never tell and gets very angry when I go into it. It is a family tale best left untold. But here it is. When I was 12 my dad bought this really cool robot kit for us to build together. I kept putting off when we would start making it, and when I came back from summer camp I found that he had built it with my brother. I forgive you, dad. But I didn't for a long time. I've been thinking lately, why it was that this bothered me so much. Was it just spending time with my father that I missed out on? That's what I had been thinking for the longest time, but now I'm not so sure. No, what I think I missed was learning about mechanical engineering and building stuff in general.

When I was a kid, I've mentioned that one of my favorite things to do was invent bizarre imaginary stories to act out in my room. But if we are talking about actual toys, my favorite thing was my Domino Rally set. I used to build these crazy arrangements of dominoes so they would slide down the slide and all other sorts of cool things. Have you seen the new OK Go video yet? Well you should:



My dominoes never looked like that. Instead they looked like this


Anyway, it was super fun, albeit a completely lame thing for an 10year old girl to do in her room.

So in addition to playing with stupid plastic dominoes I also took shop in 6th grade. I actually didn't suck at it. It was fun. I made a hardwood marble tic tac toe game, and bent a bunch of plastic to make keychains, and a pinewood derby racer that I actually came in 2nd place in my class I think, and some other crap I don't remember. But I actually made stuff. I got a sense of satisfaction going into the shop each day and building things. I also "helped" my dad make my model of the Parthenon which came out completely awesome. I really was never good at art, but I really enjoyed putting models and things together.

And then I didn't make that robot. Now I'm not saying if I had made the stupid robot that I would have ended up as a mechanical engineer or something. I'm just starting to realize that what happened was I didn't make the robot, and I sort of lost interest in engineering or building or anything like that in general. What I lost was a hobby. Now maybe my interest in building stuff started to wane and that was why I kept putting off the project. All I can say is that I realize now that the reason why I was so bitter about this for such a long time is because I really liked building things and I kind of forgot it until I was an adult. Also, by making it with my brother, my dad kind of reinforced the idea that making models and building things was for boys. School didn't really offer me any more opportunities to take classes like shop, and I had always been pretty bad at drawing (though that's improved too) so I never took any art classes. I totally wish they taught us crochet or origami in class because I've discovered recently that I'm super great at them. But no. My school didn't offer cool art classes like that and they didn't give me any other opportunities to build things. So because my school didn't offer any other opportunities for me to do any kind of building, and because my parents (love them though I do) are completely clueless about doing home repairs so I could never learn from them, that robot was kinda the nail in the coffin. Actually the nail in the coffin was the fact that my high school did not require basic physics, and AP Physics required more math than I had, so any HOPE I had about learning about how things work or building things sort of went away.

Now this of course cannot be blamed on my father. Mostly it has to do with the teachers I had who sort of glossed over a lot of science and engineering, my high school which stupidly did not make physics a requirement but DID require chemistry for some unfathomable reason, and, of course, myself: so determined to get a good GPA that I wouldn't have dreamed of taking a non honors class like shop in high school or taking a class that I might get (gasp) a 'B-' in if I wasn't completely perfect at it. Also, if we are blaming parents, equal blame has to go to my mother (Love you!) who raised me to be afraid of getting hurt. Now I'm not saying that she takes all the blame, but I would never though of doing stuff like lighting crap on fire or building things with the rusty tools in the garage (which now seems like SUCH a fun idea) because I could hurt myself. So I've NEVER hurt myself. Except for the one time I tripped in the backyard and had to get stitches. That's it. No broken bones, no singed eyebrows letting off model rockets. Nada. My brother was raised by the same parents and he is completely fearless, so I suppose its just my nature to be hesitant. Still, even if my dad and I had built that robot, I might never have continued into engineering because my mom (and I) would be too afraid for me to use tools and hurt myself (even though I used saws and all kinds of things in shop class at school).

And now...

Boy do I wish Mythbusters was on TV when I was 12, that's all I can say. Because that sure makes building crazy things seem awfully cool. Yes, sometimes they use chemistry, but god they don't make it look so BORING, and a lot of times they just build a bunch of random contraptions. Of course, because I haven't taken a science class in over 10 years and I never took physics, I am COMPLETELY clueless on how stuff works. I watch the Discover Channel all the damn time and I still don't understand simple concepts that my husband rolls his eyes over. A few years ago I started getting interested in steampunk both for the aesthetic and the craft projects I saw people had done online with just some gears and things. It seemed so cool. So where I am right now is I have an unending fascination with looking at mechanical contraptions and neat little models and gadgets and gizmos and so on, but I have absolutely no idea how to make them or how I would even get started. Even more frustrating is the fact that my husband builds stuff for a living and knows all sorts of things about electricity and engineering and makes me feel completely stupid for not knowing how things work.

I also have discovered that getting hurt every now and then isn't so terrible. I learned that from my husband who gets more injuries than anybody I know. He also convinced me to go ATVing and all sorts of other things I would be afraid to do on my own. So thanks, hon.

And now I have decided that I'm going to get off my ass and build something. So I decided to start simple. I am already pretty good at doing origami following plans, so I'm moving on to some more advanced paper sculpture and engineering. Today I made a really cool paper rocket that shoots and a 3D mouse. My hope is to make this really crazy pirate ship and some paper automata I've seen online. From there I'd like to move on to some basic science projects like a trash bag hot air balloon and a putt-putt tea candle steam boat. I got a few books from the library, and I found a ton of stuff online, and I'm going to teach myself how to build something, dammit. Maybe from my little steam powered boat I could move on to a wind powered whirligig and maybe from there I could make some simple walking machine with a couple of batteries. And maybe, just maybe, if I learn enough, I just might be able to make a robot of my own.

Why Didn't Somebody Tell Me How Awesome This Was?!!


This week: Doctor Who

Ok, asking "why didn't somebody tell me how awesome this was" is a little unfair in the case of Doctor Who, because there are swarms of people on the internet who claim the awesomeness of this show. Fan clubs, societies, blogs, what have you. I guess I just didn't have so many friends who watched it and were like "omg you have to watch this right now!" Truth be told, even after I had heard all the great things about it I was really hesitant. Let me explain.

There is a reason why I primarily read comic books that have clearly defined, limited runs (Transmetropolitan, Sandman, Fables, Hellboy, and lately Y: The Last Man). I'm cool with starting at the bound graphic novel #1 and working my way through to like volume #10. There have been a few superhero comics I've read, but not that many. The reason behind this is mostly because I every time I pick up a superhero comic they reference events that happened in issues released like 10 years ago. Really? I'm supposed to keep track of all these ins and outs and who is whose son apparently? Anyway, so Doctor Who has been on TV for like a bajillion years and even though the most recent incarnation is only a few seasons old, I had this feeling like I couldn't just start watching in the middle because I'd have no idea what Daleks are or any of that other stuff. Would I need to start at the beginning beginning, like back in the 60s before I even started watching the recent version? I really had no idea how much back story I would miss. But, I decided to jump in head first and just deal with it.

Part of the problem, aside from the whole "Ack! 40 years of backstory" thing was that BBC America for whatever reason very rarely shows prior season Doctor Who in reruns. Similarly Syfy for whatever reason does not air it half as much as it shows old episodes of Stargate: Atlantis (which I've pretty much seen all of by now). Watching shows in syndication was the only way I ever saw most of the first 2 seasons of Buffy, for example (I only started at the 3rd season when it was on the air) and I really didn't know if I felt like renting disc by disc for every episode. Luckily for me they are all available on Netflix On Demand! Yay technology.

Despite the fact that I had all these concerns about backstory etc, I decided on a whim to begin with season 2. Why? Because David Tennant is just so freaking adorable, that's why. I want to poke his nose. Also, I had the misfortune of seeing Christopher Eccleston on Heroes first and was not particularly a fan. I'll have to go back and watch eventually because I missed out on a lot of stuff, but now that I've realized I only need a passing knowledge of things (easily found on Wikipedia) I'm a lot less intimidated. For example, in one episode a previous companion of the Doctor (Sarah Jane Smith) shows up, but I only had to Google her name to get all I needed to know to understand the rest of the episode. The rest is really explained in context. Anyway, not going to go for an episode by episode summary, but suffice it to say, the show is really great. Buffy is the perfect analogy for people who have never seen it before. Snarky pop culture references + pretty hilariously bad special effects + escapism. Having only seen the second season and 3 episodes of the third season I'm not sure if future episodes stay as lovely and frothy but I hope so. Even the "dark" episodes manage more humor than some of the broody 7th season of Buffy, for example, and it certainly takes itself less seriously than half the shows on Syfy.

What I like in particular is how much joy the Doctor gets from what is presumably his every day life. Early episodes of Buffy (again with the analogy) had Willow so exuberant over her newly found magical ability that even lifting a pencil in the air was special. By later episodes magic had become so commonplace that nobody stopped to think about how super neat everything was. The Doctor, on the other hand, has been around for eons and yet still gets this childlike glee from say, meeting Queen Victoria or discovering some new life form. Even in its darker moments, when characters are in genuine peril, things just seem more... I don't know... fun. While I always liked the Scoobies, I never actually wanted to live in Sunnydale, whereas I would hop aboard the TARDIS in a heartbeat even if I knew I would be doomed to live on a planet full of sentient squids for 5 years (this is not an actual episode of the show... I don't think. If it really is, then I'm pretty talented).

Science is played with fast and loose, which wasn't a problem for me. I don't really need scientific explanations for time travel or glorpy monsters. I enjoyed the way the show bounces around in time and space and you aren't in any one location for very long. Reminds me a bit of Star Trek: Next Generation, but again, since the Doctor doesn't have to be all impartial and rational he can totally just go up to a squishy looking guy and poke him in the head or something. Even though he is great and wonderful Time Lord and everything, I like the fact that there are things that he doesn't know or understand. Mysteries wouldn't be mysteries of the character was TOO powerful. The TARDIS itself has this tendancy to break down a lot, which reminded me a bit of Farscape. I like the old Fonzi kind of whack to the side of a conduit to make it work again. Oh... and have I mentioned how cute David Tennant is yet?

So yeah, I'm officially a complete fangirl for this show now. What do fans call themselves? Who-ites? Who-kins? Whatever. I'm not going to start writing my own fan fiction or anything nuts like that, and I know that joining so late in the game will never make me "one" of the folks who have been watching forever, but I think it is safe to say that I'm a cheerleader.

For those of you who HAVE watched the show, should I start watching Torchwood now? I'm not sure where "Torchwood" the show ties in with Doctor Who in terms of chronology. Like at the end of Season 2 you actually see the Torchwood Institute and all that, but it doesn't have any of the characters in it. I guess Captain Jack was in 1st season stuff I should probably watch, but do I need to see that first? Keep in mind this is coming from someone who first started watching Angel before she'd seen the first two seasons of Buffy.

Oh wait, I didn't even mention the best part! I watched all these episodes in the span of a week. I'm either very proud or very, very sad.