Thursday, April 12, 2007

A Day Late
Happy birthday (yesterday) to K. Steeze! I'm sorry I'm late, buddy, and I hope your birthday earned the prestigious O.K. Steeze Seal of Approval!

The Queue
Tuesday evening, I was overcome by a queer sensation. I know not the catalyst, but I was seized by a mighty desire to read the first few pages of The Legacy of Heorot, a science fiction novel I first read in middle school, when my literary selections were dominated by my father's library of sci fi paperbacks. The Legacy of Heorot is superb and eventually I added it to my own far more modest science fiction library. And it is a fast paced, engaging read; so, it is no surprise that once I let it get its hooks in me I plunged wholeheartedly, but the question remains as to why I felt such a need to set aside The Arms of Krupp, however temporarily. I adore reading The Arms of Krupp! The rise and fall of the House of Krupp is a sublimely fascinating subject and William Manchester is a superlative craftsman of the English language. His prose is a joy. Hmmm, perhaps I am attempting to draw out the time required for The Arms of Krupp, to savor its splendors all the longer. I shall in all likelihood finish The Legacy of Heorot before the weekend is out and while I cannot say that its sequel, Beowulf's Children, an admirable tale on its own merits but ultimately inferior to the progenitor, won't jump the queue, I am determined to suffer no further interruptions to The Arms of Krupp. Boy howdy, I love books.

Alan Dershowitz, The Case for Peace
Natan Sharanksy, The Case for Democracy

Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, & Steven Barnes, The Legacy of Heorot ***in progress***
William Manchester, The Arms of Krupp ***standby***
Simon Hawke, The Merchant of Vengeance
??? Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, & Steven Barnes, Beowulf's Children ???
Jung Chang, Mao: The Unknown Story
Herman Melville, Moby-Dick
Harrison E. Salisbury, The 900 Days

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