Project Pope
{4.5/5} “They came here because they had been denied religious experience elsewhere, had been read out of that part of human life that had a strong appeal to them. You have to know a robot well to understand his instinctive drive toward religious experience.” Project Pope by Clifford D. Simak, published in 1981 The planet […]
Ape House
{4.5/5} “He’d had a two-way conversation with great apes. He’d spoken to them in English, and they’d responded using American Sign Language… He’d looked into their eyes and recognized without a shadow of a doubt that sentient, intelligent beings were looking back.” Ape House by Sara Gruen, published in 2010 This novel tells the story […]
Redwall
I started reading Redwall by Brian Jacques because it was on the list. But I’m not going to finish it — it’s not doing it for me, so I’m moving on. There are a number of books marketed to younger readers on the fantasy list. Some of them, like The Golden Compass and Artemis Fowl, […]
Get Low
{4.5/5} “We like to imagine that good and bad, right and wrong, are miles apart. But the truth is, very often they are all tangled up with each other.” Get Low, released in 2010 In the 1930s Felix is a hermit who puts up “no trespassing” signs and scares kids away by shooting his rifle […]
The Aliens Among Us
{4.5/5} “Stephens had an idea fixed in his mind that the Earth was about to be invaded, and it was the kind of exciting idea that a young man of Stephens’ temperament would not give up easily.” The Aliens Among Us by James White, published in 1969 Robert J. Sawyer mentioned in his blog that […]
The Way Back
{5/5} “Kindness… That can kill you here.” The Way Back, released in 2010 It’s 1940 and in the Soviet Union political prisoners are sent to Siberia. Janusz, who is Polish, is sent there because after his wife was tortured she accused him of being a spy. The prisoners are made to cut down trees and […]
Moonwalking With Einstein
{4.5/5} “Our ability to find humor in the world, to make connections between previously unconnected notions, to create new ideas, to share in a common culture: All these essentially human acts depend on memory.” Moonwalking With Einstein by Josh Foer, published in 2011 The subtitle of this book is: The Art and Science of Remembering […]
A Single Man
{4/5} “If there’s going to be a world where there’s no time for sentiment, then that’s a world I don’t want to live in.” A Single Man, released in 2009 George’s partner of 16 years, Jim, has died and he’s been drifting through life ever since. We follow George through his interactions with various people […]
Napoleon Dynamite (season 1)
{4.5/5} “I’m still technically the mayor until 5:00, so if there’s anything illegal you want to do I can pardon you.” Napoleon Dynamite season 1, aired in 2012 I thought that the movie Napoleon Dynamite was hilarious. If you thought so too, then you might be interested in the animated TV show based on it. […]
The Wackness
{4/5} “Sometimes it’s right to do the wrong thing, and right now is one of those times.” The Wackness, released in 2008 I never understood the desire to do drugs. I don’t want to be someone else — I want to be myself. The friends I hang out with, I like who they are — […]