The Land of Laughs, Jonathan Carroll
A strange, strange little tale based on old, old themes - a broken professor with an obsession, misfit boy-meets-misfit girl, research and hijinx ensue, the written word comes true. Skillfully woven, and just a bit creepy in exactly the right kinds of ways. I continue to enjoy Carroll's storytelling.
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Lullaby, Chuck Palahniuk
I quite enjoyed this book - the concept of linking a 'culling song' to SIDS was clever; it tickled the parts of me that link mythology and science. The characters were definitely characitures of themselves; this amused rather than annoyed me. Russell and i spent a BART ride discussing it; R was quite annoyed by the book on a number of levels. We wound up agreeing to disagree on the matter. Weird - i just went looking for Palahniuk's website on Lullaby - he tells the story of why he wrote it, and his dad's murder. It's gone - i guess Random House took it down in the meantime. Nonethless, i would recommend Lullaby to you.
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The Wooden Sea, Jonathan Carroll
Time-twisting, alien-dropping, dogs-who-won't-die, and a formula that will change the world - The Wooden Sea has it all. I liked this so much that almost the minute i finished, i popped online and sent James a copy. It gets weirder and weirder as it gets tighter and tighter as a novel. Highly recommended.
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Lust, Geoff Ryman
I read the majority of this in the surreal space-time that was my flight back from Tokyo. This is a strange coming-of-age story of a late-30's gay scientist framed around a twist on a common time-travel theme. Our protaganist can call up a 'carbon-copy' of anyone he likes, provided he lusts after them. Honestly, i think the book went on a little long. I liked the characters, and the parallel weave of moral-telling through the scientific research storyline, even when it was a bit heavy-handed. Good reading when you're stuck on a long plane flight - i wonder what my neighbors thought of the cover.
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Time Out Tokyo
While i only had around 42 hours to spend in Tokyo, and was going to spend the majority of that in business meetings, i still wanted some information. So i read this great guide - on the plane ride there! When i get to go again (and stay longer, and spend some time doing things on my own), i'll have to see how the food recommendations pan out. Definitely an interesting read - it did make me a little more comfortable. The maps were the most useful thing for my journey.
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