Recently read…

Just read Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys at high speed. Loved it. Couldn’t put it down. (Unlike his “American Gods” which I never finished). Will be trying to get the audio book read by Lenny Henry. This, of course, might be the result of fond childhood memories of Anansi stories - though I have no idea at all where I would have heard them.

I read “Wolves in the Walls” for the first time to my two older boys last night. By the end of the story the three other adults here were listening intently too. They were gripped with tension and laughing at the same time. I wish I could get to the stage show.

Also just finished Peter F. Hamilton’s Commonwealth Saga (Pandora’s Star / Judas Unchained). Hamilton’s picture of the future is in essence transhumanist with longevity and the practical elimination of death. Having said that it’s a fairly uniform picture of posthuman existance - unlike the work of Alastair Reynolds, whose work has included the tensions and interrelations between a post-humanity fragmented by the ways different groups applied technology to augment the human person. I found Hamilton’s work quite readable, while the ideas in Reynold’s are more interesting (though harder to read, I found).

Somewhere along the way I also read J.D. Frazer’s “Money For Content and Your Clicks For Free : Turning Web Sites, Blogs, and Podcasts Into Cash” - which had some good material in it - especially about building online communities.

And I finished Richard’s Burridge’s “Faith Odyssey: A Journey Through Lent”. (Greenflame: Star Lent) It was okay - though I found that the same sources (e.g. 2001, Narnia (SF?), Harry Potter (SF?)) tended to get used repeatedly. I really wanted the science fiction net cast wider (and I was probably grumpy that my favourite books, shows and films weren’t used often (or at all)) - but the weekly themes worked reasonably well to tie the science fiction references, biblical texts and reflections together.

And finally I had a quick skim through the list of 200 “top” science fiction books looked for in academic libraries to see how many I’d read. Quite a few it turns out. See Kevin P. Mulcahy, “Science Fiction Collections in ARL Academic Libraries”, College and Research Libraries. January 2006, Vol. 67, No. 1. Abstract below,

This study assesses the extent to which ARL academic libraries collect science fiction novels. A core list of 200 novels, published between 1950 and 2000, that have either won science fiction awards or been cited on “best” lists were checked against the holdings of 112 ARL libraries. Findings suggest that science fiction is not extensively collected at most libraries studied. The study also assesses differences in how novels are collected by date and by nationality and gender of author. To support in-depth and serious research in a field of increasing scholarly interest, libraries may need to reconsider their collecting practices.

Oh, and I read Arthur C. Clark’s “3001″ because Burridge kept referring to it and the other 2001 books - but it wasn’t really worth the effort.

Anyway, the bedside table is now looking a little bare.