novels Archives - Chris Hardie

June 25, 2012June 27, 2012

Mini reviews: Brave, Quiet, Reamde, Freedom and more

Some mini reviews of books (and one movie) I've had a chance to take in lately. For most items I’ve linked to an online purchase option, but please consider buying from your locally-owned bookseller or visiting your local library first:

Brave (2012), Pixar
I can't say that Brave, Pixar's latest feature film, is anywhere close to my favorite from this studio. It's not that the animation isn't stunning (it is) or that the watching experience isn't enjoyable (it was), and it's certainly great to see a strong female main character whose departure from limiting traditional roles is largely uncompromised. But the world wrought by the story feels somehow smaller and more forgettable than other Pixar adventures. The nuanced and emotionally complex experiences of the characters mostly overcame the awkward dialog and sometimes dragging plot, and in the end it was observing their inner transformations that was most compelling,

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September 6, 2011February 18, 2020

Summer reading mini book reviews

It's been a decent summer of reading for me, and I thought I'd post some very brief reviews of some of what I've encountered along the way. For each book I’ve linked to an online purchase option, but please consider buying from your locally-owned bookseller or visiting your local library first. I've organized the reviews into three sections: Culture, Novels and Business & Politics:

Culture

Ghost in the Wires by Kevin Mitnick
Finally, Mitnick gets to tell his side of the story when it comes to his adventures in computer cracking and social engineering. Though his writing style isn't particularly compelling and his personal meditations on the interpersonal aspects of his adventures are a bit awkward, the details of how he pulled off some pretty technologically impressive (albeit illegal and sometimes destructive) hacks - and how law enforcement responded - make for compelling reading on their own. As someone who spent a fair number of hours in my childhood trying to deconstruct how the phone system and the emerging world of BBSes and Internet nodes worked, Mitnick's book is a great visit to the past and a reminder that humans continue to be the weakest link in all computer security.

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February 4, 2011

Mini-Book Reviews: Sex, Genius, Spying and Cyberwar

I haven't been reading at the pace I want to but I've still be able to squeeze in some books here and there. Here are some mini-reviews of a few of them:

Sex at Dawn
by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá

Sex at Dawn is an honest and thorough exploration of the history of human sexuality, and what that means for how we understand our sexuality today. Written by some folks who have clearly done their research, it's part anthropological study and part cultural critique, and it's got plenty of witty humor sprinkled throughout.

Let's be honest, it's easy to take the history and meaning of sexuality for granted in a society that throws images and talk of it in our faces left and right - "surely things have just always been done this way, right?" And there's so much pressure to understand, have and be good at sex while also maintaining an extremely nonchalant approach to being a sexual being. But whatever you think you know about why and how people have sex, why monogamy is held up as a moral imperative in modern culture, and how other cultures and species around the world treat sex and sexuality, you should be prepared to be challenged and entertained by this journey through human behavior. I certainly was! Continue reading "Mini-Book Reviews: Sex, Genius, Spying and Cyberwar" →

September 3, 2007June 21, 2008

Books From Vacation

Having some time to relax also meant lots of time to catch up on reading I've been meaning to do for a while now (though there's plenty more). Here's a quick run-through with my comments:

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. A great, compelling story that is so rich and enjoyable. Reminds me of how I felt reading A Prayer for Owen Meany or To Kill a Mockingbird. I can also recommend Monk Kidd's The Dance of the Dissident Daughter.
The Soul Tells A Story: Engaging Creativity With Spirituality In The Writing Life by Vinita Hampton Wright. I couldn't enjoy this one as much, perhaps because it seemed to define spirituality a little too differently than I do, and the resulting instructions/advice just didn't feel as applicable. It also wasn't as tightly structured as I would expect a book on creative writing to be.
Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World by Bruce Schneier. My review of Secrets and Lies is at the Summersault Weblog.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Another really fun book that will appeal to fans of the "Narnia" and "Harry Potter" style of adventure-telling. Also coming out in December on the big screen as a motion picture starring Dakota Blue Richards and Daniel Craig - worth a see.
The Assault on Reason by Al Gore. My review of The Assault on Reason is in my last weblog entry.

Now reading:

Thinking Points: Communicating Our American Values and Vision and Whose Freedom?: The Battle Over America's Most Important Idea, both by George Lakoff. If you read this blog with any regularity, you already know I'm a fan of his stuff.
Codes, Ciphers, Secrets and Cryptic Communication: Making and Breaking Sercet Messages from Hieroglyphocs to the Internet by Fred B. Wrixon. Nothing gets me up in the morning like a Bifid Cipher.
The Woman and the Ape by Peter Hoeg. Highly recommended by Anna Lisa, and I've always enjoyed books with large primates as main characters.

I'll post reviews of these as I can. Your own reviews, recommendations and comments welcome!