Happy New Year!

2009 is gone, 2010 here we come!!

Another year and another lazy book blogger looks back and realizes he hasn't done much blogging lately... oh well. This post is just to wish my fellow book lovers a happy new year! Back when I had spare time on my hands I had grand thoughts about all the year end posts I was going to write (top 10’s, the year in review, the year by the numbers, what I’m looking forward to in 2010, etc.), but 2009 has ended a lot busier than it began, so this is it... however, I can, thanks to the wonder that is LibraryThing, quickly share what I added to my ever growing (and mostly unread) accumulation of books this year - as long as I didn’t miss anything, it looks like 251 books were added to my shelves and storage boxes in 2009 - there were books that left my possession as well (donations and sold), but I did not keep any kind of count of those, just deleted them from the database. Next year I plan on keeping better track of everything (let's call it a resolution) and figuring out the true cost of what I buy - the majority of the books bought in 2009 were purchased at book sales for little money (plus a few freebies from friends, lovers, and the postman), so I’d be slightly surprised if my total spend was over $1,000 (not counting the signed limited edition of Stephen King’s Under the Dome and a couple other bigger purchases). With any luck I'll be back up and book blogging within a few months - and I'm really looking forward to it -- I have read lots of good books this year that I haven't had a chance to mention here (plus there are a whole lot of good looking books on my to read pile - which is bound to get bigger soon as I start cashing in my Christmas gift cards) and there are always lots of book buying experiences and other bookish things I want to talk about. OK, that’s enough rambling. Have a great year!!!

Giving Thanks

No, this is not to let the people of earth know I've returned to the world of book blogging (I'm just too damn busy right now), but rather this is a quick post to do what you are suppose to do on thanksgiving - give thanks! Yes, I'm a thankful guy - thankful for my family, thankful for my friends, and thankful for the wonderful life those two groups of people help me live! And in the spirit of the holiday, I am also willing to say I am thankful for my job - even if the hours limit my reading time, and has nearly shut down my blogging dreams for the time being, it does allow me to continue to buy books whenever I choose to do so... and that ain't a bad thing!

Have a great holiday!!

(I'll be back book blogging sometime soon, so do check back from time to time)

System Fail

How do you shut up a book blogger for a couple weeks? Well, typically, all you need to do is give me a stack of good books to read, and the next thing you know... zip, zilch, nadda, nothin’, mum’s the word, and there you have it - no blog posts for a little while. Add to that a couple important family obligations, a job that is busting my ass (yes, I concur, in today’s economy that is a good thing - it is way better than busting my ass looking for work) and a brokedown computer, and I wonder how I even have the time to write this.

Of course, the computer situation was fixed, after a few angry days, by a short trip to Best Buy to buy a new one (a sony vaio as if anyone really gives a crap) and all of a sudden I am out of excuses. The good thing is; after this upcoming long weekend, followed by a crazy week at work, I plan on being back and better than ever - well, I seriously do have a couple good posts ruminating around in this mixed up mind of mine anyway.

Update Complete: book blogging to resume shortly!

I got a deal

One of the original ideas I had for this space was to share my book buying experiences... sure, there is even a periodic post or two where I do just that, but there really hasn’t been very much talk on my part about buying books lately - and since I just got such wonderful deal (in my mind anyway) I figured I would share. Additionally, this post relates pretty closely to my underused (only once until this point) tag “Remainder Rack Chronicles”.

Well, it was a GRRM kind of evening:

So, last night I head out to the local big box bookstore to unload a 40% off any paperback coupon they were kind of enough to email me (you know the one, you got it too I’m sure). As I head into the store the first thing that catches my eye on the remainder rack in the entryway was a bright white hardcover with a name on it that I am quite a fan of - George R.R. Martin. The book being Dreamsongs: Volume I. Now, this is a book I should have bought new - don’t really know why I didn’t buy it new - and, being a wannabe GRRM completist, one which I would have searched out to purchase eventually anyway I am sure - but here it was for the bargain bin price of $5.99... picking up the first copy in the stack and looking over it, I found it was unmarked, which made the decision to buy automatic.

I looked around at the other stacks of books, lamenting the fact that I didn’t see the second volume, and set about going through the stack to find the best condition copy available (the second one I picked was flawless). But wait... what is that at the back of the stack with the black cover?? Yes! A lone copy (also unmarked in great condition) of Dreamsongs: Volume II hiding behind seven or so copies of the first volume... well, consider that sold. What a deal - both volumes of George R.R. Martin’s Dreamsongs for six bucks a pop! These are books which will be read (if in small portion over time) and will most likely have choice spots on my shelf for quite some time.

There I am, barely in the store in the store, having come with the intention of buying a cheap paperback at 40% off, and I’ve already got two fat hardcovers (a total of over 1,400 pages) in my hands, which I am quite excited about - OK, on to why I am here (and this really goes to show it was a GRRM kind of night)... Picking my way through shelves - first the mysteries, then the horror section, then fiction, nothing is grabbing my attention (I was looking for something that would somehow make it to the top of my to be read pile), and then low and behold out of nowhere I pick up Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner (a book I have glanced at a few times over the years at various used and new bookstores and at more than one book sale) and here I see a generous blurb from George R.R. Martin I had not noticed before. Swordspoint may not have made it to the top of my to be read pile, but it did (thanks to the serendipity of the moment) leave the store with me and is now part of that ever increasing pile (OK, more of rough list in my head) that will be read sometime in the future.

A total of $17 and change out the door...

Yep, I got a deal.

An Update of Sorts

Yeah, well, work is kicking my ass lately... I’m good with that -- work = money, money = books. I do like my job well enough, but it is causing my reading schedule to become a hell of a mess (it hasn’t stopped me from buying books though).

While for the foreseeable future it seems my employer will be doing its best to prevent me from reading as much as I’d like (after putting in 10 to 12 hours a day staring at spreadsheets, my ability to unwind with a book becomes harder as the weeks wear on), there have been two recent books which have excited me just enough that, even though I might only read 20 pages a day, I know I will be carrying them around with me until they have been read. Typically, during busy times, a light and fun book (i.e. little thinking involved) is what I search out, but these two aren’t, in my mind, really "light" - fun maybe, but I should probably do my best to pay attention while reading them. Anyway, these two book really have me eager to read...

One... Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon - I just picked this one up over the weekend. A stoner detective yarn written by a literary genius - genre fiction that is bound confuse me - hell yeah, count me in! I may have mentioned this already, but I am Pynchon geek (sure, it was a rather rare occurrence while reading Gravity’s Rainbow that I knew what the heck was going on, but the words somehow still made sense in a grand and stimulating way ultimately providing a unique and rewarding experience) and a new Pynchon book is something to look forward to.

Two... A Fiery Peace in a Cold War - I received an ARC of this in the mail the other day and I am dying to dive in. This really looks to be a fascinating history of the postwar American/Soviet arms race. What is billed as “a magnificent, long-awaited new epic, fifteen years in the making”, I am really looking forward to digging in and getting a good nonfiction fix (something which I enjoy more of as I get older I am learning).

So there you have it - I am bound to be back with some good book blogging talk soon (as soon as my pay masters give me a minute to breath, that is)... with any luck, I will even be able to finish both of the above books and to definitively let you know if they are worth your hard earned buck.

A Missed Milestone

So it's a birthday of sorts here at Madness Abides... one year ago yesterday there was a small "coming soon" post which marked my entry into the book blogging world (my “official” first post came on the 10th). Sure, this blog has changed from what I originally envisioned it would be, but it has been a whole year of somewhat regular posts, and that is something I am oddly proud of. A while back I had grand thoughts of celebrating this week with giveaways and special posts, but alas that lazy book blogger has snuck his way into my head as of late (OK, I'll admit it, I’ve been busy at work, which, while a good excuse, is also a rather lousy excuse). Those unexecuted plans do provide material for the future, so a shiny silver lining is present. All in all, this year has flown by and it has been extremely enjoyable to keep Madness Abides... well... abiding, as it were.

As there are a whole lot of things I wanted Madness Abides to be, and many of my ideas have yet to come to pass, I am looking forward to both more of the same and having this blog evolve further... wish me luck - and on to year two we go!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is one of those writers who I should have read more of by this time, but never have. I have dabbled in Sandman (I read the first trade anyway) and some of his other comic book work, but somehow I just never got around to reading any of his books. Now, I am quite happy, that situation has been rectified!

On one hand, this is a rather simple review - and I’ll lay it out plainly - you should read American Gods. Being equal parts wonder and horror, with some road trip adventure thrown in for good measure, American Gods is a god's honest great American novel (no, no, not "the" great American novel, but a damned good one for sure). Populated with interesting characters that you actually care about, it is a wild ride through America. More than all that, it touches upon what America is... although, here I am slightly perplexed - somehow we have left it to a Brit to write such a quality piece American fiction? Sure, Gaiman now calls Minnesota home, but wow, this book actually "gets" a lot about what I think America is.

Then again (here’s my “on the other hand”) this is an incredibly tough review - there is so much to like, that it often seemed while reading it, I wanted this book to be multiple books. Gaiman does an admirable job of pulling it all together (and he does pull it all off as well), but I very much wish he could have spent more time exploring some of the more esoteric ideas (as with much of Speculative Fiction, ideas are important), places (the real and imaginary), and gods (oh boy, the gods make this book fun). So for me to get into one of the many many aspects (yep, there is a bunch I am not mentioning) of this book, I feel I should give equal time discussing too many things... this, to me, seems like such a monumental prospect that I am just going to leave it by saying - this is a book that will leave readers dreaming of more (and very likely different readers will find themselves wanting more of different elements present in this book), and that is a good thing.

OK, so here you are saying “great, but what’s the book about”? No? Good, because this is a very good book - it is about a lot, and it deserves you pick it up for gander and not let some book blogger tell you what it is all about.

A Lazy Blogger Weekend

Yep, your friendly lazy book blogger is back at the controls to share some other people’s posts with you... sure, after a busy week of work, I could sit down to write out an in-depth review of a good book, or possibly some well thought out commentary on a recent book news tidbit, but instead I think I will just let the unlazy shine. So here is some good reading I think you should check out...

First and foremost, I hope everyone got to read last weekend’s wonderful New York Times’ article on Jack Vance - great stuff.

It started a little while ago, but has everyone been keeping up with Cory Doctorow’s Makers? Me? I’m waiting for the book.

Here’s a good article on upcoming books.

Want to watch a book blogger pull an author out of hiding? Check out Library Dad’s S.M. Stirling post (makes sure to read the comments).

A non-book blogger chimes in on the Kindle/1984 controversy... the funny thing is that I agree with just about everything thing this natural health dude has got to say (and I am NOT a natural health kind of guy).

I highly recommend you read this fabulous Author Profile of Tad Williams - damn, I have to hand it to Adam of The Wertzone... he writes some in-depth posts that are always enlightening.

I am still continuously amused by bad book covers, thank you Judge a Book by its Cover! Yeah, I know the link is over there on my blogroll (which desperately needs to be updated and expanded), but maybe you missed it.

And lastly, in honor of San Diego Comic Con - I just saw a new way to read comic books on the iPhone thanks to Comixology... although I am actually a fan of the ComicZeal app by Bitolithic, I think this new app with its in app purchase ability is a nice step forward for digital comics (yep, I am a contradiction waiting to happen - I believe ebooks should be ignored, yet I do support digital comics - the difference between the two being... well, that’s more writing than I can handle right now).

OK, that’ll be it for now; this lazy book blogger is off to spend some quality time on the couch with a book...

The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

Being the Tenth Post of my Project Reread...
This is the longest I have taken to read a book in quite some time... in many aspects it was an exhausting, yet rewarding and entertaining, reread. Part of the problem with this reread is that during the process of reading this book I read three other books, returning to the Fires of Heaven at different times, generally making a mess of reading mind - I typically only read one book at a time limiting the confusion that comes along with reading multiple books at once, but over the past month I have been bouncing back and forth between books as if it were a contest of sorts. Oh well, my reading habits seem to be back to normal now and I do have a few words to share about The Fires of Heaven now...

The Fires of Heaven is a fine middle book to a series - stuff happens that matters to the story as a whole, it expands the world, adds complexity, and entertains - but it does also drag a bit in parts. The Fires of Heaven is sometimes the book (but definitely not the most frequent) that readers who give up on the series point to as the last book they read. There were certain sections that were slow, so I can understand that point of view, but for me, I just really enjoying spending time in Robert Jordan’s world, so these slower parts are pleasant from that perspective.

It seems almost a shame for me to have spent so long rereading The Fires of Heaven that I now have so few words to share about it, but so be it, lots more rereading to go before this project ends. The Fires of Heaven adds to the series (both in the complexity level of the going-ons, and the scope) and I enjoyed it very much...

Was it worth a reread? Yes, to me The Fires of Heaven was almost as enjoyable the second time around as it was the first (OK, I admit, it is more like the fourth time around). For anyone reading the series for the first time, I highly recommend it. For those of you who may be preparing to read the final books of the series, well I guess it all depends on your feelings of this book the first time around.
. . .
Collector’s note - if you look around the internet you will most likely see more than a few sellers trying to sell unsigned first editions of The Fires of Heaven for well over the cover the price - do not buy anything from these people... plan to spend no more than the cover price for a nice copy - and in my mind that is good purchase. In this portion of my previous Project Reread post, I mentioned I would be talking about the signed limited editions of the Wheel of Time books, but alas, I have slacked on this subject, and that must wait for a later post (hey, I got to keep readers coming back somehow).
. . .
What’s next on my Project Reread - pretty sure I am sticking with RJ again, so on to the Lord of Chaos I will be shortly. I will likely be holding off on rereading the rest of A Song of Ice and Fire series until the fall - just too much going on this summer with work and whatnot to devote my mental energy to really paying attention to George R.R. Martin’s saga... yes, I know that sounds weak, but ASoIaF is a series that deserves my full attention, and considering my love of the series, I want to devote my full attention to, and get the most out of, my reread of it.