The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more

Book Review: Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson

Book #30 of 2017:

Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson

A great collection of short stories and novellas in the cosmere, the larger setting that links many of Brandon Sanderson’s individual book series like Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive. Sanderson plans for these series to eventually intersect directly, and there have been growing hints of the behind-the-scenes cosmere business in his latest novels, but this collection openly canonizes for the first time the fact that so many of his stories take place in one larger shared universe. Most of these stories have been published individually before, but it’s nice to have them collected in one place, and reading them all together emphasizes the cosmere connections that they share (helped along with new introductory materials from the perspective of a cosmere inhabitant exploring the various worlds).

As a whole, Arcanum Unbounded is not a good introduction to Sanderson or the cosmere, as several of the stories either require context from his finished novels or spoil major plot elements thereto. The individual stories White Sand, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, Sixth of the Dusk, and The Emperor’s Soul stand alone just fine, and in fact I still consider the last of these to be one of Sanderson’s finest, most moving pieces. But the other stories in this anthology should only be read after Elantris, the first Mistborn trilogy, and the first two Stormlight books at a minimum. For any Sanderson fan who is caught up on those cosmere novels, this collection is an essential addition to our understanding of the larger plot, filled with Brandon’s trademark inventive worldbuilding and magical systems in addition to important Mistborn and Stormlight happenings. It may only be for hardcore fans, but it certainly delivers to that audience.

★★★★☆

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Book Review: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey

Book #29 of 2017:

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey

This self-help book is a tad jargon-heavy, and there are a lot of parts that should be taken with a grain of salt (if not discounted entirely). But overall it was a good read for prompting reflection on what does and doesn’t work in my current personal and professional situations.

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket

Book #28 of 2017:

The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events #11)

I’m glad this series is now mostly done playing coy over VFD, which by this point has been firmly established as a secretive group the Baudelaire parents used to belong to. They use a lot of codes, they come up with a lot of things that their three-letter name could stand for, and at some point there was a schism in the group between people like Count Olaf who like setting fires and people like the Baudelaires who oppose him. These details are nice for illuminating the larger story, but as usual, it feels like not much happens in the actual plot of this particular book. We are very near the overall end of the series, but it’s only in the last few pages that there’s much story progression here. (It was also strange to not get resolution on where Captain Widdershins went, even if his style of speaking made him one of the most irritating guardians the Baudelaire children have had yet.) Hopefully things pick up soon, since there are only two volumes left in which they could.

★★★☆☆

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Book Review: How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain by Gregory Berns

Book #27 of 2017:

How Dogs Love Us: A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain by Gregory Berns

The science is interesting, but the writing is stilted and the author frequently comes off as arrogant. Plus, as he admits, the fMRI research on dogs really just confirms what pet-owners have known about the social intelligence of these animals for centuries. It’s cool that canine brain activity is being studied, and I appreciate that Berns and his team are going about it so ethically, but this was not an essential read.

★★☆☆☆

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Book Review: Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In by Bernie Sanders

Book #26 of 2017:

Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In by Bernie Sanders

The first third of this book is essentially a play-by-play of Bernie’s recent presidential campaign, which is less interesting for someone who followed it closely to begin with, but effectively establishes the popular support behind the senator’s ideas. The remainder of the book expounds more on those proposals, many of which hinge on Bernie’s signature issues of getting money out of politics and reforming the American economy to help the lower classes. As he did on the campaign trail, Sanders puts forward a profound moral and economic argument for increasing the scope of our country’s social safety net.

The elephant in the room is Donald Trump, who is only glancingly discussed in terms of his presidential campaign and not as a dominant figure in national politics. This book, which was published just after the general election in 2016, was clearly written in anticipation of another Clinton White House, and several of its arguments fall a little flat given how the election actually turned out. Nevertheless, Trump’s ascendancy does echo the Sanders primary campaign in showing the potential for grassroots activism to buck the political status quo. In that sense, Our Revolution offers a valuable road map for liberals seeking to emulate the success of the Trump campaign in service of a more progressive and humane agenda.

★★★★☆

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Book Review: The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman

Book #25 of 2017:

The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman (The Magicians #3)

An improvement over the first two novels, and a satisfying end to this loose adult fantasy trilogy. Both protagonist Quentin Coldwater and writer Lev Grossman feel like they’ve grown up a lot for this novel, and both approach their tasks here as though they have less to prove. For Quentin, that means a more mature and honest acceptance of his own shortcomings as a magician and a person; for Grossman it means that Fillory finally feels like a distinct creation worthy of defending, rather than an edgy Narnian parody. Even the uncomfortable sexual aspects of the previous novels are firmly set aside here, and Quentin’s new friendship with a precocious female undergrad is blessedly allowed to be a mentor-mentee relation rather than a romance (much to the surprise of several other characters who hang a lampshade on how Quentin and the series have treated women in the past). The apocalyptic elements of the plot form a worthy send-off for these books, and it’s great to see everything rise to the occasion.

This book: ★★★★☆

Overall series: ★★★☆☆

Book ranking: 3 > 1 > 2

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Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Movie #2 of 2017:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

I saw this movie for the first time in ages, and it was better than I had remembered. The digital aging / de-aging effects are neat, and the script taps into some grand poetic longing of the Anne Rice variety. It’s still way too long, though — especially given the scant length of the original story it’s supposedly based on — and the characters make some really absurd decisions without enough establishing motivations. I think I’d view it more charitably at a fraction of the runtime, or perhaps as a novel with more insight into everyone’s interiority.

★★★☆☆

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TV Review: Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, season 1

TV #7 of 2017:

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, season 1

A very smart, very funny adaptation of the beginning of this book series. (This first season covers the first four novels, out of a total of 13. The movie adaptation only spanned the first three.) Neil Patrick Harris and Patrick Warburton are both pitch-perfect in their roles, and the rest of the cast all get the job done. The writing is really great, though, especially at bringing forward certain plot elements that didn’t become evident until late in the book series. The plot in the books sort of feels like it was all being made up as the writer went along, so it’s a refreshing change to see stuff being subtly laid out so early on in the show. The diversity was also a pleasant surprise; it’s still a pretty white show in the main cast, but there was a lot of minority casting in the supporting roles that I really appreciated. This was a show that I wasn’t expecting great things from, but I ended up really liking it and am really looking forward to season 2.

★★★★☆

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Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell

Book #24 of 2017:

1984 by George Orwell

1984’s vision of a dystopian future has only grown more eerily prescient since I first read it back in high school, foretelling a rise in the surveillance state and government efforts to repress reality through propaganda. The storyline and the characters are honestly not so great, but Orwell’s worldbuilding is instantly believable and distinct, even after so many years and so many subsequent imitators. It would be facile to draw exact parallels between our modern society and that of 1984, but the book certainly has poignant echoes in our current political climate of truthiness and alternative facts

★★★★☆

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Book Review: A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

Book #23 of 2017:

A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd (The Madman’s Daughter #3)

This final book in the Madman’s Daughter trilogy is a welcome return to form after a disappointing middle volume. Restricting the action to an isolated estate in the Scottish highlands helps bring back the tight focus of the first book, and the Frankenstein variety of mad science here is as delightful as the Dr. Moreau business was before. Juliet’s tired love triangle is also finally gone for good, which significantly elevates this novel above its predecessors.

This book: ★★★★☆

Overall series: ★★★☆☆

Book ranking: 3 > 1 > 2

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