Books
Lord of Chaos (Wheel of Time 6)– It had a few lulls, but the developing action was compelling and kept me interested throughout. Wow, the ending. The world is dramatically different as the book closes.
A Crown of Swords (Wheel of Time 7) — Much stronger than I remembered, thrown off by a weak confrontation at the end of the book. I think that must have soured the whole book in my memory, undeservedly. Mat’s story feels like filler too, until it finally isn’t near the book’s end. Oh, the Seanchan’s return is well telegraphed, and scary.
The Path of Daggers (Wheel of Time 8) — The series is still going pretty strong, though the Rand channeling sickness is a weird development I hadn’t remembered. The guerrilla war with the Seanchan continues strong; so far, all of the plots are holding up. [I’m currently about 2/3rd through.] In this book it becomes clear that there are enough major characters that just updating everyone’s story slows the advancement of the overall story substantially–even when it’s not diluted with “who was that again?” extraneous characters.
Overall, the books are holding up when read straight through. I do remember the next book [Winter’s Heart] being painful, but maybe with momentum it’ll also be good!
Podcasts
Fear the Boot 318, 319: About “PAUS” [precious and unique snowflakes]. Interesting discussion so far. I’m looking forward to the third (and final) part on my drive home tonight.
Independent Insurgency 31 — A little less focus; Robert had a goal, but didn’t get enough engagement.
This American Life 477 was a repeat that I enjoyed enough to listen to all through.
TAL 511 –The 7 things you’re not supposed to talk about. It’s a good guideline; the show may have revealed a corner case or two, but also reaffirmed the wisdom of the rules. Six boring stories; a good rule about polite conversation, and stories to contradict the rule.
Dice Tower 329 — Lots of discussion of good kids games. We should stock our store with these…
Dice Tower 330 — A more conventional episode; good, balanced, not terribly memorable.
Ken and Robin 64-66: Interesting as always.
TJ Hour 1048– An interesting examination of wealth concentration, and Jefferson’s musings inspired by the French Revolution… how do you keep accumulation of wealth from stealing the subsistance from the poorest? Delves in Lockian state of nature… interesting.
TJ Hour 1049– Jefferson’s interaction and life in Paris; how it affects him.
TJ Hour 1050– Founding Fathers; Jefferson’s opinions of the other founding fathers. Not a lot of surprises, but a good restatement of his opinions.
Movies and TV
Talking with Chris, it sounds like there are several more series that would be great to catch. In particular, Arrow sounds well done and actually interesting.
Cloud Atlas also sounds like a great movie for me; I’ll have to Netflix it with Jennifer one of these nights.
We also discussed Ender’s Game, which he recommends as a theater only experience, mostly for great special effects. So, if I’m going to see it, it sounds like the clock is ticking. (He expressly advised against it as a watch at home movie due to the truncation of the story.)
One reply on “Books, Podcasts, and Such”
1- Arrow does a better job with its series episodes that Marvel SHIELD. I happen to love Whedon, but SHIELD comes across as the step child of the Marvel universe, whereas Arrow (based on DC’s Green Arrow comic series) has reimagined the hero and yet paid homage to the rest of the DC universe. There series is chock full of references to things you would recognize from other DC movie franchises (Batman, Flash) as well as references to things that come only from the Comics. SHIELD has done the same, but lacks the same chemistry between its main characters (which is unfortunate, because Whedon is known for excellence in casting.)
2. Cloud Atlas (http://amzn.to/1j1BPus) was fantastic. Although the first 20 minutes is very confusing, and it takes great concentration to unravel the mystery of the series, by the conclusion you a pattern emerges and the final scenes are emotionally impactful. I was tenuously interested when it was in the theatre, but opted to skip. While it’s not the kind of movie that suffers greatly from that decision (and is still an excellent watch at home or via online streaming), I think it was worth the price of theatre admission.
3. Ender’s Game, on the other hand, greatly abbreviates the plot. While it is essentially true to the essence of the novel, the novel is quite literally too big a story for the big screen. They render the epic story down to a watery plot that omits much of the moral weight of the novel, as well as reducing the impact of Battle School on Ender (reducing his stay from years, in the novel, down to a mere 28 days in Battle School, in the movie…) Despite the loss of critical world building scenes, the movie still highlights the essential elements from the novel, remains true in spirit and provides a visual spectacle that one can appreciate.