Booklist for 1998
White Noise (1/98)
by Don DeLillo
-- a witty and funny contemporary fiction about a middle-age man who
lived a unique yet unchallenging life who now faces a mid-life crisis
as mortality and an inevitable end to life face him. He tries to cope
in a society bombarded with "white noise", the messages, data,
information, advertisements from the TV, radio, billboards, and
other media and tries to deal with it as a man with a materialist
and metaphysical philosophy. Great book, one of the better
contemporary fictions around.
Where Wizards Stay Up Late (1/98)
by Katie Hafner and Mathew Lyon
-- a good history of how the Internet got started from an ARPA research
project. It complemented the technical knowledge I received from my
Computer Networks class in college.
The Sun Also Rises (2/98)
by Ernest Hemingway
-- the most pithy review I've seen wrt this novel was "Bulls, broads, and beer."
The highlight is when the famous matador does an estocada recibiendo.
I first read this in college and reread it after touring Spain.
Madrid sure has changed since the times of Jake and Brett.
Primary Colors (3/98)
by Anonymous (Joel Klein)
-- a funny, sharp, and at the same time, prophetic fiction based loosely
on Clinton's 1992 campaign. Although the book was written back in 1993,
some of the "fictional" parts have become real-life events. The candidate
in the book is disturbing but the real candidate (Clinton) in real life
is even more disturbing.
Addendum: This guy knew Clinton very well. Compare the fictional
governor to the current POTUS when both expressed "remorse."
Ringworld (4/98)
by Larry Niven
-- a sci-fi about a trip to Ringworld....not that memorable
The Count of Monte Cristo (5/98)
by Alexandre Dumas
-- a story of naivete, injustice, crushed dreams, love forsaken, a tortured
soul, salvation, and REVENGE! Just as good this time
as the first time I read it.
"And now, farewell to kindness, humanity, and gratitude. Farewell
to all sentiments that gladden the heart. I have substituted myself
for Providence in rewarding the good; may the God of vengeance now
yield me His place to punish the wicked!" -- the Count of Monte Cristo
Cod, A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World (6/98)
by Mark Kurlansky
-- slightly off-the-wall but I like books about history that bend towards
the school of determinism when it comes to history. The book starts out
with the current overfishing of cod and then goes into the history of
cod fishing. The story is easy to read but too fluid and it
isn't easy to distinguish between the main points in history that cod has
changed and the tangential points that are just interesting but
irrelevant.
London (8/98)
by Edward Rutherford
-- traces the lives of a couple of families from the time of the
Celts to the Romans to the Norman all the way down to today. The
story is contrived and the chapters get shorter as you get closer
to modern times (did he want to finish the book?). As fiction,
not so great, but the history and stories about London are quite
interesting. A waste of my time but it made me want to visit
London.
The Stranger (9/98)
by Albert Camus
-- a definately interesting book. 2nd time I read it. About
Mersault, so detached and so INDIFFERENT to the world. And he
realizes that the world's indifference to his imminent execution
is like his indifference.....and that brings him joy. Weird,
thought-provoking.
A Farewell to Arms (10/98)
by Ernest Hemingway
-- A sad and poignant story about a man who almost loses his life
in war, endures a painful recovery from his wound, falls in love with
a nurse, gets more and more disillusioned about war and its supposed
purpose, almost gets executed by his own army after being mistaken for
a spy, deserts and runs away with his lover, and then witnesses his lover
die as she gives birth to their stillbornchild. No happy ending with
this story.
The Hobbit (11/98)
by JRR Tolkien
-- Go to a faraway land where there are Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves,
Trolls, and Dragons. The author spins a tail about the
adventures of one Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, as he joins with a group
of dwarves to slay a dragon and take back stolen treasure.
This book was for pure enjoyment.
D-Day (11/98)
by Stephen Ambrose
-- a continuation of The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan.
Unlike Ryan, Ambrose goes into some military analysis of the
D-Day invasion. It was an enjoyable read but the book is
more of a storybook about D-Day, not an analysis.
The Winter of Our Discontent (12/98)
by John Steinbeck
-- a great novel about the internal conflict of one Ethan
Allen Hawley, a who must decide between retaining his
sense of honor and remain poor or violate his standards to
make material gains and provide for his family. A
definate 'must-read.'
Reviews from Past Years
1995 Books
1996 Books
1997 Books
1998 Books