Book # 35 & Sci-Fi Book # 4 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - by Douglas Adams

I remember the first time I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was for a ninth grade book report. I wish I still had a copy of that paper so I could just use that instead... Then at some point, probably in college, I reread the first book in the series with the intention of reading the whole series but only succeeded in reading the first book once again. Then finally, probably at least ten years ago, I got through all five books. So obviously this is a book I really love. The name of my video game "rock band" is even inspired by the book... though how we ended up spelling Slartibartfast so so incorrectly is a mystery.

The story follows Arthur Dent, a pretty regular guy, and his friend and secret space alien Fort Prefect as they escape Earth moments before it is destroyed and wind up on a crazy adventure where they find out that Earth was created by aliens in order to figure out what the Ultimate Question of Life is... not the Answer of Life though, since they already know that it is 42.

The whole book is pretty ridiculous and funny the whole way through. It is very British and very absurd and also insightful. I like when I find a passage in a science fiction book that accurately predicts something that has happened...such as this-

"For years radios have been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as technology became more sophisticated the controls were made touch-sensitive- you merely had to brush the panels with your fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure, of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same program"

I'd recommend the book to just about anyone. Don't let the big budget movie version sway you away from reading the book. The book stays in my top 50 and gets an A.

Book #3 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Progress Book # 27 of 100

I didn't have a very high opinion of this novel.  I remember hating the story when we read it in high school.  It was all about abundance and wealth.  Since the movie was coming out I wanted to get reread this before it was released.  Being rather small, less than 200 pages I read it the week before it was released.  It wasn't as bad as I remembered, but still not my favorite story. 

It's sad and all about greed, money and obsession.  Gatsby has risen to wealth from nothing, being labeled as "new money." Nick is Gatsby's neighbor and one true friend.  He is working in New York studying the stocks to try and make it big.  Daisy is Nick's cousin.  She lives with her husband Tom across the bay from Gatsby's house and Tom is definitely from the "old money"set. Gatsby and Daisy were in love when they were younger and Gatsby has done everything to win her back.  There is also a love story with Nick and Daisy's friend Jordan.

The novel doesn't have a happy ending and exploits the lavish lifestyle of people with money in the roaring twenties. 

I'll give this book a B 85%

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly

In the year before we started this blog I had read eight Michael Connelly books. It isn't that they are the greatest books, but they are fun and enjoyable and don't require too much thought. Plus you can usually find them at library book sales for fifty cents. So after taking a break from Connelly I finally picked up the latest book in his Lincoln Lawyer series, The Fifth Witness. This time lawyer Mickey Haller has to defend a woman who is accused of murdering a banker that is foreclosing on her house.

The book was fairly enjoyable, but I kept waiting for some kind of twist in the case to make it a bit more interesting... and then in the last chapter we finally get the twist and find out how the crime was really committed... and it is pretty much the same "surprise" as in two other Lincoln Lawyer books, except this time it happens  after the case is closed. A bit of a disappointment. This one gets a C+. I do recommend the first book in the series though, The Lincoln Lawyer, or see the movie which follows it pretty closely.

Mystery Book # 71 - The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

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Reading The Talented Mr. Ripley got me thinking about the movie version with Matt Damon. First I'll say that while reading this book I couldn't not imagine Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow as Tom Ripley, Dickie Greenleaf and Marge. I didn't remember too many specifics from the film but had a general remembrance of the plot... and then while reading about the film version I saw that it came out way back in 1999! That was fourteen years ago! How has it been that long since? I would have guessed maybe seven or eight years. Time really does fly.

Anyway, the book is about this guy Tom Ripley who is sent to Italy by a business man to tr y and talk the man's son, Dickie, into returning home to America. Tom and Dickie become best pals and decide to have a good time spending Dickie's dad's money instead. This in itself doesn't sound like the most interesting plot... but Tom is also a sociopath and becomes jealous of Dickie and pretty much wants to become Dickie and live his life instead. So, *SPOILER* when Dickie tries to cut Tom loose, Tom murders Dickie and takes over his identity. The second half of the novel is Tom trying to fool the people that know Dickie into thinking that Dickie is still alive somewhere in Europe, and trying to convince people that don't know Dickie that he is actually Dickie. It all gets complicated.

I really enjoyed the novel. Highsmith really brings the reader into Ripley's head and it was interesting to see a murder mystery from the point of view of the murderer. From his viewpoint it seems funny that no one is able to figure out the mystery when really it is so simple. He is able to fool Dickie's girlfriend into thinking that Dickie has left her to travel and at one point meets the same detective as Dickie and later as himself. Somehow nobody figures it out. Tom Ripley is a fascinating character, totally without empathy or guilt, and I might have to read some of the other books in this series someday. This one gets and A.

Oh yeah... it also mentions one of our top 100 books, The Ambassadors.

Book # 41 A Passage To India by E.M. Forster

Progress Book #26 of 100

I loved the movie A Room With A View also by E.M. Forster and was looking forward to reading this book.  So many of the novels and Masterpiece movies talk about British Imperialism in India.  A Little Princess starts in India, in Vanity Fair- Ameila's brother works in India and I'm sure there are hundreds of other stories that in some way or another mention British Imperialism.  This novel takes place completely in India and addresses the prejudices of the the two cultures clashing.  Forster doesn't hold back in addressing the issues that must have happened. 

The story centers around an Indian Dr. Aziz and his attempt to befriend a few British people.  Forster has a character for each level of prejudice the English have towards the Indians.  Ralph Moore is an officer that looks down on the Indians, he is happy to work and spend his free time in the English country club.  Mrs. Moore is his older mother that accompanies Ralph's fiancee to India and is very tolerant and understanding towards the Indian culture.  When she meets Dr. Aziz they have a good discussion and she wants to take in all the sights and traditions in that she can.  Adela is Ralph's intended, she is young and impressionable.  She is the middle ground.  Dr. Aziz doesn't think too highly of the English at first, but Mrs. Moore and Cyril Fielding change that.  He goes to great lengths, spending a lot of his money and time to impress the English.

As with most plots there is a big misunderstanding and all the progress made by Dr. Aziz, Mrs. Moore and Cyril to move forward and become friends in a less than tolerant society are set back.  Overall it was actually a pretty sad story.  Then there is an even bigger misunderstanding that causes Dr. Aziz to become bitter towards the English.  In the end Forster gives hope, but it just shows how much hate can take over and ruin your life.  How holding a grudge isn't the best way to live your life.  I'm looking forward to watching the movie adaptation.

I'll give this book an A 94%

Sci-Fi Book # 1 - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

In anticipation of the movie, I figured I'd reread Ender's Game now. I first read it about five years ago for school (the class was Young Adult Literature) and ended up reading all of the book in the series up to that point (which I think there were at least 8). The first book and second book in the series (Speaker for the Dead) are by far the best and then they slowly diminish in quality. And I guess now there are also a bunch of prequel books too... which I'm sure I'll never read.  But... Ender's Game started the whole series and I won't argue too much about whether or not it deserves to be number one on the Sci-Fi book list. It is one of the better science fiction books I've read, and I'll place it in my top 50 overall.

The story is set sometime in the future where Earth has already withstood two alien invasions. At the age of six Ender Wiggin is recruited to Battle School so that he can train to become a commander in the Earth's space fleet. Why they recruit so young is never really clear... but I'm guessing it is similar to why Jedi training also starts so young... so that the kids don't have attachments to other people and can be shaped into whatever the school needs them to be. The adults that brought him to the school think he is by far the most talented kid and they push him to succeed to the point where it is basically child abuse... but the teachers justify it since Ender is needed to save the world from aliens. So most of the book is about how Ender copes with all the pressures at Battle (and later Command) School. It really gets into his emotions and thoughts and the reader feels really bad for Ender. While there are space aliens and spaceship battles in the story, most of the action happens in either of the two schools with just Ender, his schoolmates and his teachers. 

I don't want to give anything away but there is also a twist near the end. It seemed kind of obvious to me the first time I read it and the most surprising thing is that Ender himself doesn't realize what is really going on until everyone tells him. (As a side note, in the book Ender's Shadow, which focuses on Bean a fellow classmate during the same time, Bean does figure out everything and isn't fooled at all). I'll give the book an A, while it is about the usual sci-fi type things it focuses the story on characters and their psychological issues.