Bookshelf

  1. Cover of The Brothers Karamazov

    The Brothers Karamazov

    by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    ★ ★

    The Brothers Karamazov

    by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

    My book club chose this one to read and I was relatively interested to see how Dostoyevsky’s work stands up to my high school memories of Crime and Punishment and fragments of The Grand Inquisitor section of this book. The answer is not so good. The book is rambling in the extreme and most of the plot involves around a quasi-incestuous, middle school style game of he-said-she-said romance melodrama. It does explore philosophical themes, but the central question of whether a person can be moral without faith seems to me (as a humanist atheist) to be pretty well answered and not particularly germane to contemporary readers.

  2. Cover of Antony and Cleopatra

    Antony and Cleopatra

    by William Shakespeare
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

    Antony and Cleopatra

    by William Shakespeare
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

    Continuing my Shakespeare reading project, this particular play has always been a personal favorite. The titular characters are so fully realized, mercurial and tragic, that I really love them for all their flaws. Reading it this time, I kept picturing it filmed as a space opera with larger than life production design!

  3. Cover of The Best of Greg Egan

    The Best of Greg Egan

    by Greg Egan
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

    The Best of Greg Egan

    by Greg Egan
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

    A brilliant imagination, full of big ideas!

  4. Cover of Atomic Design

    Atomic Design

    by Brad Frost
    ★ ★ ★

    Atomic Design

    by Brad Frost
    ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

    I think this book would have been mind blowing if I had read it when it was new. But so many of its ideas are now mainstream in the design and development world that it feels very old hat. Something of a victim of its own success as far as the reading experience goes.

  5. Cover of The Winter's Tale

    The Winter's Tale

    by William Shakespeare
    ★ ★ ★

    The Winter's Tale

    by William Shakespeare
    ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

    This is an interesting one. The first half is almost all drama and the second half mostly comedy, with a big time jump in the middle. I prefer the former, a portrait of someone mad with jealousy destroying himself and all he holds dear.

  6. Cover of The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes, #2)

    The Sign of Four (Sherlock Holmes, #2)

    by Arthur Conan Doyle
  7. Cover of King Henry VI, Part 3

    King Henry VI, Part 3

    by William Shakespeare
  8. Cover of Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 1: Walking the Path

    Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 1: Walking the Path

    by G. Willow Wilson
    ★ ★
  9. Cover of Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

    Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

    by Damian Duffy
    ★ ★ ★ ★
  10. Cover of The Anthropocene Reviewed

    The Anthropocene Reviewed

    by John Green
    ★ ★ ★ ★
  11. Cover of Letterforms: Typeface Design from Past to Future

    Letterforms: Typeface Design from Past to Future

    by Timothy Samara
    ★ ★ ★ ★
  12. Cover of Measure for Measure

    Measure for Measure

    by William Shakespeare
  13. Cover of Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Spider-Geddon

    Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Spider-Geddon

    by Seanan McGuire
    ★ ★
  14. Cover of Project Hail Mary

    Project Hail Mary

    by Andy Weir
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  15. Cover of Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead

    Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead

    by Kieron Gillen
    ★ ★
  16. Cover of Type, Form & Function: A Handbook on the Fundamentals of Typography

    Type, Form & Function: A Handbook on the Fundamentals of Typography

    by Jason Tselentis
    ★ ★ ★
  17. Cover of Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild

    Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild

    by Marjorie M. Liu
    ★ ★ ★
  18. Cover of Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

    Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

    by David Grann
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  19. Cover of The New Mutants Classic, Vol. 1

    The New Mutants Classic, Vol. 1

    by Chris Claremont
    ★ ★ ★
  20. Cover of Julius Caesar

    Julius Caesar

    by William Shakespeare
  21. Cover of Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek

    Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek

    by Manu Saadia
    ★ ★ ★ ★

    Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek

    by Manu Saadia
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

    A lovely little book that takes a serious look at the post-scarcity economics portrayed in Star Trek. This is my kind of work of science fiction analysis, one that sees past the space battles and catchphrases and focusses on the deeper questions the scifi poses about our society, our future, and our selves.

  22. Cover of Cræft: An Inquiry Into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts

    Cræft: An Inquiry Into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts

    by Alex Langlands
    ★ ★ ★ ★
  23. Cover of A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)

    A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)

    by Arthur Conan Doyle
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  24. Cover of King Henry VI, Part 2

    King Henry VI, Part 2

    by William Shakespeare
    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★