Library Book

The No Asshole Rule by Stanford business professor Robert Sutton was recommended to me and it does have some worthwhile points to make - a key one being that although a few certified assholes may appear to be extremely successful, almost all of them cost a company more than they're worth. And that, economics aside, life's too short to work with assholes. Sutton also cites several interesting social research studies. But the book has a lot of padding and repetition - worth a quick peruse, but don't pay for it!

Cakes and Ale

Just re-read Cakes and Ale by Somerset Maugham. Delightful, wonderfully written book! Easy to describe the plot, but a little tougher to say what the book's "about". The book is told in flashbacks and certainly there's a major change in the narrator's maturity and life views as the book progresses. Also, there are some very interesting insights into the way authors view the world. But mainly, the characters, especially the key character Rosie, are extremely vivid and interesting. Quick read and highly recommended!

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

"The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch" (1965) was the last Philip K. Dick novel I read this summer, and I liked it the most.

I will paraphrase excerpts from the wikipedia page's "Plot introduction":

The setting is some time in the 21st century. Global climatic disruption has rendered Earth inhabitable and to cope with this humans have colonized throughout the solar system. No one wants to be a colonist since it's hard and boring so the UN has to draft people to become colonists. Colonists entertain themselves by playing with "Perky Pat" dolls and accessories manufactured by P.P. Layouts. The real attraction of Perky Pat is using the layouts with Can-D, an illegal hallucinogen that allows the user to "translate" into Perky Pat (if the user is female) or her boyfriend Walt (if male), allowing colonists to experience an idealized version of life on Earth in a collective unconscious hallucination. P.P. Layouts employs several "precogs" to determine if new Perky Pat accessories will be popular. Barney Mayerson, a precog, is the protagonist of this novel.

The plot gets a bit bizarre towards the end of the book, and a few parts are unconvincing, but on the whole I really enjoyed this book.

A Scanner Darkly

Another Phillip K. Dick book I read this summer was "A Scanner Darkly" (1977). It took me a little while to get into it because the main character was so vulgar and hard to sympathize with, but I did end up liking it.

The story revolves around a group of friends who are all addicted to "Substance D," or "Death." The book did a very good job in my opinion of realistically depicting the brutality of drug dependence, in real contrast to movies like Trainspotting. I made the mistake of reading the book jacket, which I think gives a lot away, so I won't say a great deal about the plot here, only that it is a real page turner and gives a powerful view of a seamy drug culture in a futuristic Orange County, California.

VALIS

Earlier this summer I read Philip K. Dick for the first time. VALIS was good and thought-provoking, but very strange.

The protagonist is named Horselover Fat, and is possibly or likely an author surrogate (according to the VALIS wikipedia page: "Horselover" echoes the Greek etymology of the name Philip, while in German, Dick's surname means "fat").

Fat is hit with a beam of pink light which blasts a dense stream of information into his head. He becomes obsessed with the "religious" information he has gained, and begins to write a treatise. His band of friends is unusually sarcastic and bitter, and there is a lot of interesting tension as a result.

Many of the more philosophical aspects of the book were of great interest to me. I returned it to the library so I don't remember exactly what was on these pages, but I wrote down page numbers of sections that interested me: 69, 118, 136, and 170. If anyone reads this soon (same edition!) we can discuss.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames

Finished reading David Sedaris' "When You Are Engulfed In Flames." If you are a Sedaris fan, as I am, then this is a good book for you. The last book of his that I read was "Me Talk Pretty One Day," which I recall as being side-splittingly funny. This one didn't have me rolling on the floor, but it was pleasurable and funny with his characteristic sense of offbeat, awkward humor.

Sedaris describes his life in France and in Tokyo and his language misadventures. He humorously chronicles his struggles to come out as gay and to quit smoking. The NYT Book Review on the jacket fairly calls it "A delightful compilation of essays circling the theme of death and dying, with nods to the French countryside, art collecting, and feces."

I would reccommend.

Moscow Diary

Finished reading Benjamin's Moscow Diary. Very interesting and pleasurable to read. It is the chronicle of Benjamin's visit to Moscow and his frustrated desire for Asja Lacis, his internal struggle over whether or not to join the Communist party, and his attempts to get by in a difficult Soviet society despite speaking almost no Russian. It is also filled with colorful and beautiful descriptions of the city, its churches, museums, culture and inhabitants.

In one passage Benjamin records his friend Reich's observation that

"in great writing the proportion between the total number of sentences and those sentences whose formulation was especially striking or pregnant was about one to thirty - whereas it was more like one to two in my [Benjamin's] case."

This density of style is apparent in Benjamin's works, but I had not thought of it as a flaw in his writing...the style just requires more time spent decoding. However, I can see that it could discourage some from reading him. However, Moscow Diary is direct and fresh, as well as insightful and interesting, making it a good choice for someone who is interested in trying Benjamin but wants an easier read. I highly recommend.


Further reading: In my Russian lit class, The Soviet Experience, we read an essay Benjamin had written that was based on his Moscow diary. I don't remember the name of the essay, but we read an analysis of it by my prof Zhenya called "The Withering of Private Life: Walter Benjamin in Moscow." I recommend both.

Mysteries

Just recently have been reading mysteries - two by P.D. James and two more by Arthur Upfield. From James, read Death of an Expert Witness and Lighthouse. The first was entertaining, but the second was really outstanding - a gripping mystery with vivid, compelling characters and some very emotional human interactions. Wonderful.
I also read two more of the Napoleon Bonaparte (aka Bony), mysteries - Winds of Evil and The Bone is Pointed. Both excellent - very enjoyable and entertaining reads - highly recommended!

My Name is Will

When my mom and little brother came back from the state meet in July, they brought back with them a cute read from the Miami bookstore called My Name is Will, which they thought I would enjoy, as it had a lot to do with Shakespeare.

The book itself was funny and a good story. Essentially the book is a story about a boy named Willie/Will who is a UCSC college student who, instead of completing his master's thesis in the past two years, has instead gotten stoned and hooked up with all different sorts of girls. In short, a college degenerate.

Things start to take an interesting turn, however, after he finds the biggest "shroom" of his life when "cow-tripping"- essentially looking for mushrooms to get you high that grow off cow-manure. When his drug-dealing friend gets busted, it falls to him to deliver the drugs to the Renaissance Faire a ways up the California coast. The various misadventures he encounters on the way include no less than getting arrested, having a threesome with one girl he's never met and his Teacher's Assistant, and ruining a comedic production of Romeo and Juliet. Mingled in with all this, every other chapter is devoted to the real Will Shakespeare and his own life as a womanizer. The book reaches a climax when their two lives coincide, and both are changed forever.

The recommendation is a little harder here than for most of my reads. I really enjoyed this book because of the tons of Shakespeare quotes and Latin. I know that that isn't necessarily an enhancing factor for most people, so that's to consider. Also, the book has many, many references to drugs, and steamy sex scenes that rival hardcore romance novels. So, definitely not for small children (watch out for Henry), but for any other teenagers and adults, you could read a bit into it and then stop if you don't like it. Barring those things, the book is actually a really great read and has some interesting points to consider at the end, especially for teenage males.

Related reading

While in Rome, I tried to focus my reading on books of direct relevance. So among others, I read Room With a (Disappointing) View, The Leopard (an Italian classic that is more moody and introspective than I cared for), Heat (great fun in Mario Batali’s kitchen and footsteps), and numerous others. I’m just started reading Rubicon, about the final days of the Roman Republic.

Aside from Italian subject matter, I also picked up a book about the UN, Emergency Sex. It is more substantive than it sounds, covering the heady New World Order days, when the UN/US were prepared to send troops to support democracy and human rights in Somalia, Haiti, and elsewhere. Despite the titular, titling elements that helped it become a best seller, the book depressingly chronicles the deflation of this idealism.

Chain of Chance

Just finished reading Lem's mystery "The Chain of Chance," which I enjoyed. The tone was interesting and the main character, a former astronaut turned detective, was well developed. Part of the action takes place in Rome, for those members of the family who are reading Rome-related books. Somehow it wasn't quite what I expected, but I liked it nonetheless and would definitely read more by Lem. I would recommend.