Galaxy Blues and Spindrift by Allen Steele

I few months ago I read Allen Steele's Galaxy Blues. It was my first Allen Steele novel and I enjoyed it. Steele introduced the novel and his main character with a detailed description of a well-thought out his escape from a starship. The narration was light and straight forward, interesting and easy to follow while giving solid depiction of the main character's personality. Not only did I want to read more, I wanted to emulate that narrative style in my own writing. Steele maintained the light narrative style throughout the novel, revealing the characters through their interaction with their environment, which made the book a light, easy read.

Because I enjoyed Galaxy Blues, I was looking forward to reading more of Steele's Coyote series. So when I saw Spindrift on the library shelf, I snatched it up. For most of this book, Steele again does an excellent job of revealing his characters through their actions. However, for the frame character (prolog and epilog), the narration failed to accomplish this.

Spindrift is told in a 'frame' style. The prologue and epilogue relate events 53 years after the main story. From the description on the inside cover, you'd expect Shillinglaw to be a main character, but he only appears in the prologue and epilogue and his chapters seem to be more of an afterthought, filler to make sure the novel meets word-length requirements.

Spindrift is not a particularly thought provoking or challenging novel. There are no plot twists or surprises. There also isn't much world building. (I assume most of it is done in the earlier Coyote novels, which I haven't read.) And some of the characters are a bit one dimensional. But Steele mostly does a good job of developing distinct and engaging view point characters and of revealing characters through their actions.

Since this book chronicles first contact with alien races, it represents a total change in direction for the Coyote series. So if you're a Steele fan, you'll want to read Spindrift first in spite of it's flaws. If you're not a fan, you can skip Spindrift (though I would still recommend Galaxy Blues).

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

I rarely read books written before 1960, and I rarely have access to science fiction from non-English writers. So when I saw We on the library shelf, I thought it would be a good opportunity to expand my horizons.

We is a social satire written in 1921 by Russian satirist Yevgeny Zamyatin. The main character, D-503 is a mathematician who lives in the One State, where all live for the common good and there is no concept of individual freedom. According to the back cover, D-503's life is disrupted when he experiences love. But that's not the way it read for me. Reading D-503's description of his feelings reminded me more of the obsession described in Maugham's Of Human Bondage.

The character is totally out of control. His actions and feelings are totally foreign to him and contrary to everything he believes. Yet, he insists on maintaining his beliefs in spite of his new experience, which reminded me of Voltaire's Candide.

Satire can be difficult to read if you don't know the subject(s)  being spoofed. And I confess that I know so little about Socialist philosophy that most of the book's references probably went passed  without notice. But I still found the narrative interesting. The view point character, D-503, is a mathematician, and he often describes people and places in mathematical or geometrical terms; something I haven't seen in any other novel. The narrative style also incorporated stream-of-consciousness elements. Sentences were often left incomplete, and the subject of the narrative often jumped without transition. This made the book difficult to read.

Personally, I wouldn't have classified this book as a classic. The story wasn't anything special. But some of the narrative choices were interesting. So the book may be worth studying if you're an aspiring author.

Belkin Cushdesk

I got the Belkin Cushdesk (Pitch Black/Soft Gray) for xmas, and I like it... mostly. The primary reason for getting a lapdesk is to prevent the my laptop computer from burning my legs. The cushdesk is thick enough to prevent the computer's heat from reaching my legs, even when watching online TV shows or playing games that really work the graphics card. The top is solid enough to keep the computer flat, and the bottom is soft enough to be comfortable on my legs.

The Cushdesk is about 3 inches wider than my 15" Macbook Pro, and wider than the piece of wood I had been using. So it took me a few days to get used to its size. But I did. The bottom is angled, so that the computer is almost level when my legs are crossed, which works well for continuous typing.

My only complaint is when I slouch to a nearly laying position. Yea, I know I shouldn't. But I often sit in a bean bag chair, and end up sliding down to the point where I'm almost laying flat. Then I raise my knees so I can see the computer. When I'm in that position, the raised rubber stopper isn't raised high enough to stop the computer from sliding off the cushdesk and into my stomach.

But when I'm siting up, like I'm supposed to, it's quite comfortable.  Had I been shopping for this, I would have balked at the price. But it was an xmas gift, and I like it. Thanks, mom.

 

Update Feb 2023: 12 years  and I'm still using the same one.

My Cage Year One

My Cage was a comic strip that I enjoyed reading on the King Features' web site. The problem with King Features is they only permit you to read seven strips each month (unless you buy a subscription). And they only syndicated this strip for 2 1/2 years before canceling it.

So I was happy to learn that the authors have published this anthology of the first year's strips. My Cage is about Norm Platypus, an aspiring writer who sells out and takes a job as a cog in the corporate machine. Most of the supporting characters are a bit one dimensional, almost like they're representative of archetypes instead of people. But the interaction between these archetypes is really well done and makes for some great humor. The humor comes on a range of topics, from light & friendly insults to nerd culture and even a bit of existentialism. One of my favorite strips poked fun at the anthropomorphic nature of the comic strip characters while explaining why a mouse would keep a dog for a pet.

Two disappointments: 1) I was disappointed in the print quality of the book. The original strips were in color, but the book is in black and white (only the cover is in color). Also, the print quality is bit grainy. 2) Also in the second year, some strips suggested that the My Cage take place after the disappearance of humans. I wasn't able to access enough strips to find out the real story. So I was hoping the book would shed some more light on the mystery. No such luck.

Still My Cage Year One is a good collection of enjoyably funny strips. So it's worth the price. 

Magic of the Guitar

A collection of thirteen classical guitar songs from various composers, including Bach, Beethoven, Debussy and Pachelbel. (The performers are not identified.)

The music is gentle, soothing, and beautiful. It's not quite meditation music, but relaxing enough to serve as such. It's also a great CD to play while preparing for bed at night. It will help you sleep.

I also learned from this CD that Bach's Bourré can be played much slower than I had been playing it and still sound quite lovely.

I recommend Magic of the Guitar to anyone who enjoys meditation or classical music, or to anyone who just wants to relax for an hour. For guitar students, the CD also provides excellent examples of how these songs should sound.