february's reading material!
11 science fiction stories, by philip k. dick (a long time ago my uncle matt recommended philip k. dick short stories as something i'd probably enjoy reading, and he wasn't wrong! thanks, uncle matt! this collection of short stories is one that amazon.com put together for the kindle and sold me for $0.99. let me just say that philip k. dick entertains me and this book was worth every one of those 99 pennies and then some. there is one story in here that is a science fiction christ story. try to wrap your brain around THAT. [this story is called "the skull," and it is totally worth reading - and is out of copyright, so you should be able to read for free.] several stories involve the cold war never ending, and one of these stories has each side building robots to join in - you can definitely tell that he's writing in the 50s and 60s. i'd definitely recommend these stories as perfect ones to read before you fall asleep!)
in the garden of beasts, by erik larson (attention: do not attempt to read this book as your relaxing-while-getting-ready-to-fall-asleep book. this book requires CONCENTRATION and APPRECIATION for all larson's researching. the premise: the experiences of the american ambassador to germany [and his daughter] from 1933-1937. hitler's starting to go crazy. the ambassador tries to warn FDR. FDR and his peeps do not want to listen. while i really did enjoy this book, it is tedious at times - the author's research has resulted in copious details that will start to annoy you [or, they started to annoy me]. i read this for book club - which i led - and was glad that i had that to push me through to the end. a very interesting and well-written story, but not a relaxing read.)
the night circus, by erin morgenstern (this book was good and all, but as i read it all i could think about was another circus book that beats the pants off this one: water for elephants. i read the last 50 pages of water for elephants at a dead sprint because i HAD to know what would happen; i then re-read them at a normal pace so i could appreciate the details of what was happening. [all of a sudden this book review turned into a review of another book. oops. here i am, back on topic!] so THIS book is about a magical circus, and it was entertaining but i never felt like i really got to know any of the characters. the circus itself was developed as a character, but the people working there? not so much. i give this a luke warm review. don't rush out to buy it. there was no speeding through the last pages to find out the ending - i wasn't that invested. but i didn't dislike the book, either.)
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