Dragon and Thief

Posted: December 29, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Book of Sand | Leave a comment

by Timothy Zahn

{ 2003 | Tor Books | 256 pgs }

I’ve never been so embarrassed to admit liking a book.

Dragon and Thief is the first book in Zahn’s Dragonback series. From the first page, it was laughably bad. The writing really is atrocious and I read several passages to the Romgi so he could shudder, too. And yet…I hate to say it…once I got past the poor quality of the writing, the plot was actually interesting. In fact, it was so engrossing that (please forgive me) I want to read the other books in the series now.

The plot doesn’t save everything: one of the major problems with any sci-fi/fantasy novel is the inability of the author to effectively communicate their own unique sci-fi/fantasy elements. For example, in Dragon and Thief, one of the main characters, Draycos (yes, Draycos), belongs to a race called the K’Da; the K’Da are three-dimensional beings who require a host on whom they can become two-dimensional. Does that make sense? If it does, I’ve done a better job explaining the concept than the author did. Draycos is the first character to be introduced in the book and until the second main character, Jack Morgan, comes along, there’s not much more explanation about the 2D/3D thing. Confusing. And, like so many books of the same genre, Dragon and Thief is not very imaginative (apart from the K’Da and their strange properties).

That being said, I stand by my enjoyment. Once I was able to more or less tune out the bad writing, it was a quick, fun read.

But in all honesty, I’m still embarrassed to recommend it…

The Good Women of China

Posted: December 14, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Book of Sand | 2 Comments

by Xinran

{ 2002 | Pantheon | 256 pgs }

As the only nonfiction book I’ve read this year, The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices already stood out. But the author’s exceptional writing, in addition to her captivating subject matter, made the book unforgettable.

Xinran was a radio broadcaster in China during the 1980s and 1990s; she wrote The Good Women of China – which recounts some of the stories she collected through interviews on and off her radio program – after leaving the country. One of her goals was explore how Chinese women perceive themselves and their place in society, particularly at a time when social dynamics seemed to be rapidly changing. Most of the stories directly or indirectly involve the Cultural Revolution. Many are heartbreaking.

I admit I know relatively little about China, or Chinese culture and society. Xinran patiently explained so that I could follow along and understand (with the help of my great sociological mind) enough to form a mental framework in which to place her stories. The Good Women of China earns a strong recommendation from me, with a word of caution: this is not light, cheerful reading. The book contains mature themes and, in my opinion, requires a certain degree of solemnity from the reader.

Me, me, me! …Updates on my life.

Posted: December 13, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: All's Well That Ends Well | 5 Comments

My brain is worn out. You get bullet points instead of a real post today.

  • I started an independent study class this past weekend (Rel C 393R: Latter-Day Saint Temples). I’ve finished 2 of the 7 lessons. I intend to complete the rest of the lessons in the next few weeks and take the final before we’re very far into this next semester, because…
  • …I’ll be doing 3 classes on campus instead of 2 as previously planned. Now I’ve got Soc 311 (Contemporary Sociological Theory), Soc 380 (Deviance and Social Control), and WS 222 (Introduction to Women’s Studies). The first is a required core class for the sociology major and the other two each count as electives for a different sociology requirement. The deviance class sounds like it will be interesting – and we’ll be participating as jurors in the law school’s moot court competition, as well as attending some court sessions in SLC. The women’s studies class just fit into my schedule and is supposed to be fairly easy. And, again, I can’t wait for the theory class. Seriously. I eat that stuff up. Weird?
  • Oh yeah, I’ll be graduating in April 2012 – finally! The Romgi will finish law school at the same time, which is a slightly more impressive accomplishment, but I think that for switching my major 3 or 4 times and having two kids, 10 years to complete a bachelor’s degree is not bad…holy hannah, will it really be 10 years by then?!
  • I came up with an idea for great Christmas cards. But then I decided maybe it wasn’t such a fabulous idea after all. I started making the cards anyway. About halfway through the stamp I made broke (poor planning), so I had to come up with a new idea. (Alternatively, I could have just gone to the store and bought a new linoleum block, but it’s amazing how little I feel like loading both kids up and carting them around in public. So it wasn’t much of an option in my mind.) That means half of you get the first design and half of you get the replacement design. Just tell me you like yours regardless.
  • My perfect baby jr slept almost nonstop until she was a month old. Now she enjoys being awake and screaming from about 1-2:30am. Interesting enough, I do not enjoy being awake at that time – maybe because I don’t get to scream. Sometimes fatigue and frustration get the better of me and I do whimper and pout and a little bit sob until it wakes the Romgi up. Then we both get to suffer. True love!
  • The Bwun is amazing. He’s also a messy guy. Recently he’s started using 3-word sentences, which is probably not a big deal to anyone but the Romgi and I. Pretty cool, though. The Bwun’s most common sentences are “Pa gone school” and “Baby sad eat” (which, if you couldn’t figure them out, mean “Pa is gone at school” and “Baby is sad because she wants to eat,” respectively).
  • Today was a long day. The Bwun didn’t take a nap, and didn’t take a nap, and didn’t take a nap. But he needed one badly. I sent him with the Romgi to get dinner so that he (the Bwun) would fall asleep in the car. It worked – but it also meant he had a very late nap, and is still awake now, when it’s nearly midnight. Good news: he’s not making much of a mess.
  • I finished reading an incredible book last week, The Good Women of China. Normally I don’t read much non-fiction, as a single subject seldom captures my attention long enough to read a whole book on it. This was different. Watch for a review later this week.
  • Now I’m reading one of my Christmas gifts from the Romgi – a collection of Perry Mason stories! The book he got me has The Case of the Sulky Girl, The Case of the Careless Kitten, and The Case of the Fiery Fingers. We’d already watched two of those in season 1 of the tv show, so it’s especially interesting to see how the adaptation differs from the original story.
  • Fun-size Snickers are the best.
  • Life with two kids:

Tears of joy.

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