American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis

 OK, this book. Ugh.

Spoilers!

Pat Bateman is a psycho. Really disgusting. 

But the book doesn't start that way. It starts interestingly. He knows fashion. He's constantly commenting on what people are wearing, and specifying exactly "who" they're wearing. And Ellis is very detailed about this.

Also, the album reviews. The first one, I can't remember which album (not Huey Lewis...Whitney?), was so detailed and perfect that I thought that maybe the author just copied an album review from Rolling Stones. Pat Bateman did three, IIRC, during this book. All well written. 

The restaurants. So many. And the meals they ordered. I really wonder a few things: Are the restaurants real? Are the meals real? Some of them sounded so damn good. 

Then the murders began. About halfway. A bit past that, I started to wonder if Bateman actually did kill some of the many victims. By the end, I was really unsure.

But let's talk the writing about the murders. F^cking disgusting. I skipped lots of it, pushing the +30 sec button a lot, like during the sex scenes in Fourth Wing. 

I didn't like the book at all (like Lolita) until I listened to the 15-min audio interview at the end of the Audible. Ellis was very interesting. He admitted that he never confirmed if Bateman actually killed all those people or not. 

Spoilers complete!

But that was the last 3 minutes of the interview. In the first 12 minutes I learned that Ellis wrote Less Than Zero, one of my favorite movies in my late-teens/early 20s. And he wrote it when he was 19! After publishing two other novels! Holy crap.

King Rat, by China Mieville

 Another cool one from Mr. Miéville.

Spoilers \/

King Rat is, well, king of the rats. But in history rat kings are tangles of rats, their tails tied together somehow. Some say they're frauds, some say they occur naturally. The pictures are intriguing. 

In this book, however, King Rat is the king of the rats. He's human, but rat-capable. Very much like a superhero. Who smells of the sewer and has bad manners. And who rapes young women.

Saul is a college student who is unsure how he feels about his father. Doesn't mean he killed him. (Doesn't mean that guy was his father, either.) The police, however, are pretty sure Saul is the murderer. No worries, King Rat is here to help Saul escape. 

Along the way we meet Loplop, king of the birds, and Anansi, king of the spiders, with capabilities to match their kingdom. 

The real problem though, is Pete. Known to history as the Pied Piper. Yep, that guy. He's out to kill the kings. And he's quite good, not just with a flute. Although he's really, really good with his flute. 

Saul's friend Kay doesn't make it, and dies horribly. Natasha and Fabian are possibly next, but are saved in the end. Not without lots of injuries. And in the end, not even Saul remains as King Rat.

Spoilers complete. ^

An interesting read from China Miéville, his first? (1998.) 

True Grit, by Charles Portis

 Great read! Been wanting to read this one for a while, finally picked by accident. 

You see, the wife chose American Psycho for the family book club. I found that book from Libby and downloaded it. Finished The Once and Future King then decided to start American Psycho. Unfortunately, the book was in Spanish. Nowhere in the picture or even the Libby description did it say anything about this audiobook being in Spanish. I needed something to listen to, and True Grit was in the immediate list, so picked it. Loved it.

Everyone has seen the movie (except, apparently, me) so no spoilers now. But great revenge book. The woman who read the book was pretty good, except that she'd often slurp some of her words, which got annoying after a while. But she did do the accent of an Arkansan very well. 

Rooster Cogburn and The Texan, LeBoeuf (I'm guessing on the spelling since I listened, not read), fun characters. Mattie Ross was great. I believe the actress who plays her in the original movie (John Wayne-version) was in one of my least favorite Star Trek: Original episodes (the one where the kids are in charge...bleck). Just checked IMDB, yep, Kim Darby. The best movie mom ever (Better Off Dead...brilliant). John Wayne wins his only Oscar from this movie. 

The book. So great. I really was sad at the end. Missed him by a couple days. Truly heartbreaking. 

Three good reads, one crapper

 No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy. Loved the movies from years ago. Javier Bardem. Is there any better actor out there? Incredible. Anyway, have wanted to read the book for a while. So worth it. This is an incredible book in a neat style. Not a damn quotation mark anywhere, but I never had an issue figuring out who was speaking. If you've seen the movie or not, this book is worth it. Very short read. Said it was 300-something pages but the style he wrote in it flies by. Bottom line: don't steal a drug corp's money or drugs.

The Breast, by Philip Roth. What. The. Fuck did I just read. Seriously? This is a campus novel (according to Rose City Reader's list)? Weird. The main character is a professor, okay. But turning into a breast? Too crazy. 

The Once and Future King, by T.H. White. Awesome book, till the last 10% or so. Ugh. OK, I get it. Communism bad. Enough with the geese. Otherwise this book was great. I loved The Sword in the Stone as a kid, and the first third of this book was all of that. The second third was basically Excalibur (one of my favorite movies in high school [love love love Helen Mirren]). 33 frigging hours. Took forever. Listened to the Anthony Burgess Foundation's podcast on this, lots of fun, except the professor they found was more concerned telling us about all the Arthurian books and novels out there where Merlin was gay or Morgana was or Arthur was non-binary. Really horrible. First podcast from the Foundation where I did not want to read any of the discussed books. #99Novels 

System Collapse, by Martha Wells. Dammit all to hell. I love Murderbot. Loved the first six novels. Bought this one before it was even out based on loving the first six. Got 18 or so percent into this one and here comes that pronoun nonsense (this shit will not stand the test of time). No, vi and vir are not pronouns and no I don't want to read your stupid books anymore. /insert sad emoticon/

Earthly Powers, by Anthony Burgess

 Another great one from Burgess. Opus, of the magnum type.

Spoilers:

I guess I'd put this one into the priest story along with the two J.F. Powers novels, Greene's The Power and the Glory. Although the priest of Earthly Powers isn't the protagonist, he certainly is a central character and frankly the reason for the protagonist to tell the reader about his (the protagonist's) life.

Carlo Campanati, as Pope Gregory XVII, is being considered for canonization. The Church has come to Ken Toomey, famous author, playwright, librettist, to research and write in favor of his sister's brother-in-law's sainthood. He knows through direct experience that Carlo had, possibly, cured a child of tuberculosis. But, we have to learn about Toomey first.

From the very first line, (one of the best in literature, IMHO) the reader knows what sort of person Toomey is:

It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.

Old, gay, somehow connected to the Catholic church. The book is full of Toomey's liaisons, along with name-dropping other authors, actual real-life authors (Toomey is modeled on Somerset Maugham) and their sexual lives. But Toomey's sexual orientation is not the main point of the story, except that Carlo prays that Toomey will someday "give up" his way of life for the health of his soul.

I seriously can't imagine how long it took Burgess to write this one (I will research this) and how much of his wall was used to map out the story. So many intertwined lives in these 600+ large-sized, small-fonted pages. The vocabulary. I can't remember the last time I had to look up so many words (shofar, pedicate [don't look that one up at work], endogamy, cecity, tonitruate, crapulous, inesculent). Words, words, wonderful words. Always the right one for the situation. 

The child which Carlo cured, orphan, dying alone down the hall from Carlo's brother, also dying, would become a David Koresh or Jim Jones type cult leader. Like many of the characters in the book, this Godfrey Manning (who goes by the name God), is connected to Toomey in the form of Toomey's great- (or grand-) niece, Evie. You can guess the end: All God's almost 2000 followers die a horrible death while their leader is arrested trying to escape the country. And of course, Godfrey Manning was the little boy which Carlo had miraculously cured. (Toomey, after the archbishop in charge of the canonization of the late Pope decides to not include this info, suggests that it become part of the Devil's Advocate input. That idea is declined.)

Spoilers above ^^^^

Loved the book. This is my fifth, not including his 99 Novels. I will be reading more.

October 2023

 Books read:

• The Pumpkin Eater, by Penelope Mortimer. This book was so weird. 
• About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior, by COL David Hackworth, USA Ret. Formerly the most-decorated U.S. military person. Great soldier and leader. RIP, Hack.
• The Zone of Interest, by Martin Amis. Great book, about WWII and the Holocaust. 
• Time for a Tiger, by Anthony Burgess. Can't read enough Burgess.
• In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, by John Gribben. If you understand quantum mechanics, you probably don't. Got great ideas for my stories.
• Diamond Dogs, by Alastair Reynolds. Continuing my Revelation Space reading.
• The Cuckoo's Calling, by Robert Galbraith. SIL's choice for family book club. Very good detective novel.

Books bought:

• Spionoj, by Michael Frayn. Sounded good and price was good. 
• The Gun Seller, by Hugh Laurie. Yes, Wooster. Can't wait to read this.
• The Once and Future King, by T.H. White. Been wanting to read this for a while. Listening. This book is on Burgess's 99 Novels. 
• Observer, by Robert Lanza, Nancy Kress. Sounded good, two bucks.
• The Common Reader, by Virginia Woolf. Had this and her second one in pb years ago. Lots of great stuff to read in here. Two dollar Kindle deal.
• The Life of the Right Reverend Ronald Knox, by Evelyn Waugh. First ed. of my favorite author, only $25. Now only a few of his left for me to collect.
• Delillo: Mao II & Underworld (LOA edition). LOA sale, nice and inexpensive. Love the 3 or 4 of his I've read (especially Names).
• Roth: Novels 1967-1972 (LOA edition). Has The Breast, which is on my "Campus Novels" to-read list. Same sale.
• Earthly Powers, by Anthony Burgess. Reading it now. This man is a brilliant writer. 
• Historio de la Esperanta Literaturo, de Carlo Minnaja, Giorgio Silfer. History of Esperanto literature. Huge! Lots of great chapters, fun to flip through.
• Eseoj memore al Ivo Lapenna, red. de Carlo Minnaja. One of my favorite Esperantists. Looking forward to reading these essays in his memory.

The Cuckoo's Calling, by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)

 My SIL picked this book for our family book club. Wasn't sure what to expect, but it was great!

Spoilers (and they'll really spoil it, so turn back now!):

Cormoran Strike (5 pts to Ms. Rowling for character name choices in this book) is a private dick, recently out of the British Army missing part of a leg. He's also just dumped his lying-ass girlfriend and met his newest secretarial temp by grabbing her left breast. Hard. 

All of this as intro to this character. (No fears my lovely wife, it's in 3rd person.) Robin, his accidentally molested temp, turns out to be the best thing to happen to him (no, no love story there, thank goodness), work-wise. She's bright and helps him immeasurably throughout this story.

The story? So, model-of-the-moment Lula commits suicide, or so it seems. Her brother, John, doesn't believe it, so hires Strike to investigate. I'll get the spoiler out right away and if you're reading this and don't realize I'm about to tell you who the killer is, turn away now: It's John. But he's a psychopath. So figures.

Some very convincing scenes of the lifestyles of those with f^ck-you money, like the author, so it was a bit of fun to get a glimpse. Prissy designer, drugged-up models, family law firm-multimillionaires. Plenty of possible suspects, but Strike takes it all logically, contemplatively. I really did like this character. (Which means I may read more as she's written seven of these dang novels!) 

Who I really liked was Robin. Quite smart, initially smitten with her very new engagement ring, then slowly realizing her fiancé might be a weenie. Will we see a Strike-Ellacott engagement announcement in a future book? I hope to God not; I like them both better as an investigating pair. 

Spoilers complete.

I liked it. Kinda long for our bookclub (I think our limit was 400pp and this one was 550pp) but it really pulled me in; pretty much all I did this weekend was finish it. 

More recent reads

 The Zone of Interest, by Martin Amis. I need to read more of this Amis. I've read, now, I think 3 or 4, and 5 or 6 of his dad's. All good. This one was particularly good, and in one of my favorite themes: WWII and the Holocaust. This one based on three characters surrounding a particular extermination camp. Terrible. How close to the truth?

Time for a Tiger, by Anthony Burgess. A recent post in the Evelyn Waugh Society led me to the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, from which I learned about this book, part of his Malayan Trilogy. Found a great hb version of all three and read the first one. Right up my alley: British officer (police this time) overseas dealing with the locals, his leadership, drinking, women, other Brits, etc. Simply awesome and some great vocabulary. Burgess was an artist. I look forward to reading more of him. 

In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, by John Gribbin. I had read this decades ago and loved it. Decided to reread it since I'm writing again. Great ideas for my book (the Copenhagen Interpretation, for one). This Audible version includes updates in the back. 

Finally, more Revelation Space. I read Diamond Dogs, which was great, then when I finished that, the next story chronologically was "Monkey Suit," another great short story by the master, Alastair Reynolds. The next, if I can find it (in Belladonna Nights), is "Plague Music" (most likely about the Melding Plague, adrift in the Glitter Band, oy!).

About Face, by COL David Hackworth, USA Ret.

 I learned of this book years ago, maybe decades. It's a huge tome, so I decided to "read" it via Audible. I finished it relatively quick with the help of a 10-hour trip to Chattanooga this weekend.

David Hackworth was quite the U.S. soldier. Lied about his age during the end of WWII so he could join the Merchant Marines at 14. Found out and kicked out, then lied again and joined the Army at age 16. (Hired a homeless drunk for a dollar to pretend to be his father as he was enlisting at fake-age 17.) Served in Italy at the end of WWII, then served with distinction in Korea. Shot several times, the guy will end up with eight, EIGHT, Purple Hearts. Jiminy freaking Christmas.

His attempt to take out a North Korean sniper earned him a bullet wound in his head, as well as a battlefield commission. A great deal of this memoir involved Hackworth working on his bachelors so that he could remain in the Army. Even back then, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, bachelors were a thing. Hackworth has a great final section of the book where he talks about changes to his Army that he'd like to see, one of them being that a bachelors doesn't prove you can lead. Oh, so many examples in my own service. 

Hackworth was a leader. He led troops. He watched over his boys. He took care of them. But at some point during his 4 years in Vietnam, he realized we weren't waging the war to win it. Politics was involved, and the Army was no better than the politicians. He had had enough. Through Korea, he knew several reporters who he considered "studs" along with other warriors, so he took advantage of his contacts, and appeared on TV critiquing how we were prosecuting the Vietnam War and how bad the South Vietnamese fighters were. 

The Army wasn't having it, and tried to prevent Hackworth from retiring. He actually had to hide out and hire a civilian lawyer. The Army finally realized they should just let this old soldier (at 40, FFS) fade away. He spent his last years in Australia and the U.S. as a reporter. 

The man was probably the most highly decorated U.S. servicemember when he retired. His list of medals are beyond impressive, and he even mentions in this memoir that he ensured he got one removed after he was put in just for being the HQ gonk for a unit of his that did brave things. 

September 2023

 Books read this month:

• Cursed Bunny, by Bora Chung. One of the best books (short stories) this year.
• The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester. SIL's choice for family book club. Meh.
• The Ferryman, by Justin Cronin. Liked his book The Passage, great vampire book. This one completely different. Sci-fi, but you wouldn't know by the cover or even the jacket description. 
• The Prefect, by Alastair Reynolds. Continuing my chronological reading of his Revelation Space books/stories. This one was a re-read, but I didn't remember the ending until about 85% in, so that's good. 
• The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman. Wife's choice for family book club. So fun. Want to watch this on Britbox.
• Heir to the Empire, by Timothy Zahn. My choice. Thought I'd try a Star Wars book. Read one years ago in Moscow (Bloodline, by Claudia Gray, which I remember liking). This one was okay. Pretty simple and obvious story. Probably won't read any more. Like Thrawn as a character. 

Books bought this month: 

• The Zone of Interest, by Martin Amis. I'll always buy an Amis (father or son) for $1.99.
• You'll Enjoy It When You Get There: The Stories of Elizabeth Taylor. Loved her Palfrey novel. Saw this on Twitter and had to get it.
• Fixing Your Feet: Injury Prevention and Treatment for Athletes, by John Vonhof, Tonya Olson. Needed this after the Rogaine last month. Will need it in the future.
• The Thursday Murder Club.
• Angel, by Elizabeth Taylor. Love this author. Again, only $1.99.
• A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962, by Alistair Horne. Knew next to nothing about this war until I read On Leave by Daniel Anselme, which was a great read. Looking forward to reading this one.

Latest reads

 The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester. This was my SIL's choice for family book club. From the '50s and obvious. Women lesser. Males the best. "The stars" barely even came up. Not as bad as some recent "classic" re-reads (I liked it better than any of the Heinlein I re-read recently), but still: won't be rereading this...ever.

The Ferryman, by Justin Cronin. Read this author's The Passage recently, which was a great take on vampirism. This one is pretty good. Imagine, if you will (spoilers hence), you are in a ship which will take hundreds of years to get to a planet you have targeted for landing. Well, what do you dream about in cryo-sleep? This book tackles this question. About 100 pages too long, but otherwise pretty good. 

The Prefect, by Alastair Reynolds. Continuing on my Revelation Space reading (chronological). I had read this many years ago, and barely remembered it, till certain areas came up. Really good, like all Reynolds (so far). Right after this, I read the next story in the sequence, "Open and Shut." This story is not published anywhere, but is available from the publisher here. Next up is Elysium Fire, which I read back in 2019. Reread it or just move on?

Started my wife's choice for the family book club, Thursday Murder Club. Good so far.

Middle Egyptian still on-going. Fun language.