First books read of 2008
Feb. 5th, 2008 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dagibbsI've added still more comics to my regular list, though a few have dropped off due to not updating. I think, though, I've undergone a net increase. Still reading the economist, and all the stuff my friends write on LJ, too. We'll see how many books I get through this year.
Book 1: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. On loan to gabriel_le by green_ogre, I got permission to give these a read, too. They're clearly YA books, and I found the first one a bit annoying. gabriel_le assured me the others were better (though she hadn't read the first), so I persisted.
Book 2: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, translated by Clifford E. Landers. I had heard a lot of people talk well of this, and talk about doing spiritual/emotional work based on this story. gabriel_le had a copy around, and it didn't look too heavy, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I've seen this labeled as fantasy, but I don't feel that is correct -- there are fantastic elements, but it doesn't read like fantasy. I would say, more, that it is fable -- it feels to strongly like it is told to make a point, and that the point is belaboured to death. I kept feeling like says, "ok, I get it already". And, also too strongly Judeo-Christian-Islamic god based, as well. I'm glad I read it, but I don't understand why all the fuss.
Book 3: Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer. Still YA, but definitely better than the first one.
Book 4: Artemis Fowl: The Infinity Code by Eoin Colfer. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as AF:TAI, but still better than the first. I think this series goes on, if another one is laying around I might read it, but not going to try and chase them down.
Book 5: When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron (with double dots over both the os). Subtitled "Heart Advice for Difficult Times", and with cover text like "The advice Chodron offers is radically different from other self-help prescriptions on the market...", I expected something like a self-help book. What this book read like, in many ways, was an introduction to the practice of Buddhism, though possibly with a bit of a focus on dealing with difficult times, and how Buddhist philosophy and practice can help with that. In some ways, it left me feeling that of the world religions I've had much exposure to, Buddhism is the one that I might feel closest to. And, this one too came to me by way of gabriel_le -- it had been a present to her from horsetraveller.
Oddly, all five came to me btw of gabriel_le -- none were from my own collection.
Book 1: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. On loan to gabriel_le by green_ogre, I got permission to give these a read, too. They're clearly YA books, and I found the first one a bit annoying. gabriel_le assured me the others were better (though she hadn't read the first), so I persisted.
Book 2: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, translated by Clifford E. Landers. I had heard a lot of people talk well of this, and talk about doing spiritual/emotional work based on this story. gabriel_le had a copy around, and it didn't look too heavy, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I've seen this labeled as fantasy, but I don't feel that is correct -- there are fantastic elements, but it doesn't read like fantasy. I would say, more, that it is fable -- it feels to strongly like it is told to make a point, and that the point is belaboured to death. I kept feeling like says, "ok, I get it already". And, also too strongly Judeo-Christian-Islamic god based, as well. I'm glad I read it, but I don't understand why all the fuss.
Book 3: Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer. Still YA, but definitely better than the first one.
Book 4: Artemis Fowl: The Infinity Code by Eoin Colfer. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as AF:TAI, but still better than the first. I think this series goes on, if another one is laying around I might read it, but not going to try and chase them down.
Book 5: When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron (with double dots over both the os). Subtitled "Heart Advice for Difficult Times", and with cover text like "The advice Chodron offers is radically different from other self-help prescriptions on the market...", I expected something like a self-help book. What this book read like, in many ways, was an introduction to the practice of Buddhism, though possibly with a bit of a focus on dealing with difficult times, and how Buddhist philosophy and practice can help with that. In some ways, it left me feeling that of the world religions I've had much exposure to, Buddhism is the one that I might feel closest to. And, this one too came to me by way of gabriel_le -- it had been a present to her from horsetraveller.
Oddly, all five came to me btw of gabriel_le -- none were from my own collection.
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