the book club: January 2005 Archives

Margaret Atwood is amazing. I listened to Oryx and Crake on tape a couple of months ago. Her view of how current trends in the bio-medical sciences could unfold are chilling. She's also got a keen vision on mass media. Downright creepy, most of it. fyi, John Clute hated it. His review reads like a personal attack - which I guess it is, since it's directed at Atwood's claims about her style of writing.

It's a bad sign when the semester begins today and I'm already tired!

Actually, the break was a real break until the last week when deadlines got a bit tight. Oh well, so it goes. I'm working (mentally, anyway) on my response to Stephen, but need a chunk of time to write it when I'm not distracted.

Meanwhile, a tidbit on one of the books I actually read for pleasure:

This science fiction book by John Barnes has been on my mind since the tsunami. I enjoyed it when I read it ... 4 or 5 years ago? Keen predictions on several trends, and spooky with the stuff about (attempting to) control the weather. At least, that's how I remember it, the reviewer describes it a bit differently but maybe it was a combination of an 'accident' and planned attempts at direct influence? The media stuff was creepy. Similar to media prediction in Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. Also intense, and awful grim.