a trip worth taking

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America by Bill Bryson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

the quote on the cover sucked me in:

". . . the kind of book Steinbeck might have written if he'd traveled with David Letterman instead of Charlie the poodle." - New York magazine. (sic)

"The Lost Continent" is a hilarious, irreverent, yet thoughtful trek around the mainland US during the mid 1980s. If you have ever read anything by Bill Bryson, you know what a wonderfully entertaining smart-ass he can be. Well what better traveling companion on a jaunt literally around the entire US in an aging Chevrolet Chevette shit-wagon?

This book is a wild, thoroughly entertaining 14,000 mile ride, taking the back roads (hats off to William Least Heat-Moon's "Blue Highways" and Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley") and stopping to smell the roses along the way. I really enjoyed this journey, particularly because my wife and i have traveled a good portion of it over the last 4 years. Having taken three driving trips to Colorado, New Mexico, California, Missouri and Kansas, we actually saw and stopped at many of the same places Mr. Bryson writes about. I can't say that my comments are the same as his, but it was great to hear his clever sense of humor narrating the places we've visited so recently. All in all, this book is a trip worth taking!

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a beautifully told tale

My Ántonia by Willa Cather
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Ántonia is a beautifully told tale of life on the prairies and small towns of southern Nebraska around the turn of the 20th century. The characters, plot and setting all come alive and leave the reader feeling as if they have taken a living part in the story. One can't help but feel strongly for characters who are so real and tangible. This is a moving and powerful story about real people in a real place and time. I come away from the story deeply moved, and feeling more alive for having taken part in their story. Wow, this novel definitely deserves its place on the must-read lists.

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engaging and moving and thought provoking

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This collection of short stories is so much more than simply science fiction. It explores the nature of humankind when faced with the destruction of their home and the migration to a new home, Mars. Fascinating and philosophical, these tales are engaging and moving and thought provoking. This is my second Ray Bradbury book, but not my last!

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largely empty framework

Foundation by Isaac Asimov
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I recently read an article online (theverge.com) saying that Apple had announced plans to create a TV series based upon the Foundation book series by Isaac Asimov. I had never heard of the books, and had some dangling BandN gift card credit, so i picked up this title to read. Just from this first installment in this seven book series, i was not impressed. While Asimov introduces some interesting concepts in this story, psychohistory being one, the tale itself is nothing more than a largely empty framework for a galactic empire's fall and the plan to recover and build anew. I think that the overall framework is interesting but leaves much potential for others to fill in the multitude of missing details. There is almost no character development possible, mainly due to the accelerated pace of the tale. Many generations pass in these fewer than 300 pages. But i think perhaps the greatest contribution of this book (series?) is the fact that it creates a large scale framework on which to build and the inspiration to do so. Having watched hundreds of episodes of the many Star Trek episodes, as well as the many Star Wars films, i can see that these series and films probably drew much of their inspiration from the Foundation series. Asimov was visionary and when this was published in 1951, it provided a rich and fertile field on which to build some of the really great science fiction that has been created in my lifetime.

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more adventures of Tom and Huck

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a great continuation of the story started with Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Through the adventures laid down in this book, we get more depth into the characters of both Tom and Huck. They become more three dimensional and real. In it we also get a sampling of the culture and people who live along Old Man River, the Mississippi. Although parts of the book became tedious, overall the story was well done and engaging. This particular edition is a literary critics version, and provides approximately 120 pages of related commentary and writings to help understand the story as well as the context. I'm glad i went back to this book anew after all these decades!

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