Summer Reading Program Book #9

The Watchmen, by Alan Moore

Considered to be a seminal work of graphic fiction (or any fiction, for that matter: Time named it one of its top 100 books of the 20th century), The Watchmen is a story of fear on the brink of apocalypse, of collateral damage in life as well as war. It takes place during an alternative 1980s, in which Richard Nixon is president, costumed heroes once fought crime, and a scientist who fell into a reactor is all that keeps the world from nuclear war. The picture is bleak, even in times of peace. But Moore's words, wonderfully illustrated by Dave Gibbons are as thought-provoking now as they were 20+ years ago when the book was published.

Summer Reading Program Book #8

On the Beach, by Nevil Shute

A Cold War classic from the late 50s, this is a novel about the horrors of war, being able to predict your death, and how individuals deal with the two. The book takes place in southern Australia in the early 1960s, 2 years after a nuclear holocaust has destroyed the Northern Hemisphere. Due to wind patterns, the radioactive particles are slowly making their way toward the South Pole, killing country by country, town by town as the cloud moves south. Among our cast of characters are an American submarine captain who was in the Pacific when disaster struck, an Aussie naval officer and his wife, a scientist, and a farmer's daughter who never got her opportunity to leave small-town life. As they and those around them wait for their inevitable doom, the reader has an incredible view into human nature and living in the face of death. And, hopefully we will all learn the book's lessons about the idiocy of nuclear war (though no one knows for sure, educated guesses are that the one that happens off-stage here was started accidentally, in what was basically an international pissing contest).

Summer Reading Program Book #7

Dog on It by Spencer Quinn

Dog on It's Chet joins Midnight Louie, Mrs. Murphy and Tee Tucker, Randolph, and a host of other four-legged clue sniffers in this mystery novel. Here, our canine narrator is a private detective (and failed police dog) with his human partner, Bernie, living in Arizona. A missing honors student leads us into a case that left me guessing until the end. Along the way, we meet a variety of characters, canine and human, and pick up some insight into topics ranging from the suburbanization of the desert to custody loss. The relationship between Chet and Bernie rings true, and the anthropomorphism (except for the thinking in complete sentences in English) is comparatively minimal. The worst part of the book were depictions of animal abuse and scenes from a kill animal shelter -- I had to skip over those parts, including a chapter in which Chet is separated unwillingly from Bernie. The next one should be coming out next year. I'm looking forward to it as much as Chet anticipates a visit to the barbecue shack.

Back from vacation

Returned on Sunday from my 7 days in Germany and Austria with Kevin. I meant to blog about it while I was there, but wireless access at hotels was fairly rare (the free kind, that is) and Kevin was too busy tending his Facebook farm to give me much time on his laptop. I have been too jetlagged and tired to string sentences together since I got back to post anything meaningful, but I hope to have some concrete details and photos up by the end of the weekend.

Suffice it to say that I had a very enjoyable time on my first visit to the Continent. I got to practice what little German I have, saw the beauty of Bavaria, drove through the Alps (literally, between the mountain passes and the tunnels), ate some wonderful and not-so-great food, got to experience similar but foreign cultures, drank a great deal of beer, and toured cities that go back 1,000 years.

Of course, there were some downsides. We were driving across 2 countries that make it transportation via auto rather difficult (to encourage public transit use), had various delays, and got lost on multiple occasions. Both trans-Atlantic flights made me think I was flying Screaming Baby Airways, and the differing travel styles between me and my spouse led to anxiety for me and some tension. But all in all, I'm glad I went. We're already planning our next trip over, which will have to wait until after Kevin graduates and finds gainful employment.