A book for popular reading. I started this back in 2005, completely forgot about it for a while, picked it up on and off since. Only this time, I managed to finish it off with no distractions.
It starts off really well, and I like the humor. The authors have done a pretty good job in dispelling several seemingly obvious "facts".
The book takes a turn for the worse at the end, where it just feels a little rushed. I thought the chapter on Infinities was interesting, but not quite as well put as Gamov's 1,2,3...Infinity.
Still a good read, if you're into popular science/popular math books. (note the distinction between popular science and popular math)
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
The heart is a lonely hunter -- SPOILER!
By Carson Smith McCullers
Its a depressing book, to say the least. She makes PKD and Murphy(of Murphy's Law fame) seem optimistic. Its not that I didnt like the writer's style. The description, though at times boring, can still be imbibed favorably.
The writing is quite effective. The part that really gets my goat is that there's not even a glimmer of hope for anyone at the end. Clouds upon clouds with nary a sliver of silver lining.
There seems to have been deliberate effort to quash each hope that each character had built over the first 3/4ths of the book. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that the author tracked every hope that she built up from the beginning, so she could systematically quash every one of them.
Luckily for me, I watched the movie adaptation before reading the book. Alan Arkin is at his best as John Singer, one of the key characters in the book.
On the whole, its still a book worth reading. That is, if you're on cloud 18 and don't know how to get back to Earth.
Its a depressing book, to say the least. She makes PKD and Murphy(of Murphy's Law fame) seem optimistic. Its not that I didnt like the writer's style. The description, though at times boring, can still be imbibed favorably.
The writing is quite effective. The part that really gets my goat is that there's not even a glimmer of hope for anyone at the end. Clouds upon clouds with nary a sliver of silver lining.
There seems to have been deliberate effort to quash each hope that each character had built over the first 3/4ths of the book. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that the author tracked every hope that she built up from the beginning, so she could systematically quash every one of them.
Luckily for me, I watched the movie adaptation before reading the book. Alan Arkin is at his best as John Singer, one of the key characters in the book.
On the whole, its still a book worth reading. That is, if you're on cloud 18 and don't know how to get back to Earth.
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