More than a month ago, I finished The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton. It is a book about a violent man who undergoes a medical procedure to cure his seizures and eliminate his violent tendencies by implanting electrodes directly into his brain. It was originally published in 1972, so I was especially interested in the technological differences that 35+ years make.

Technology around the various medical fields is always interesting to me, but neurotechnology is absolutely fascinating. There is a bit of talk about the technology in this book, but it’s not particularly heavy, so you don’t have to worry about it getting in the way if you aren’t interested. There is a fair bit of medical terminology in the book though, and there were times when I felt like Crichton was showing off the vast amount of research he did for this book. As if he discovered some interesting nugget of information and couldn’t stand to not have it in the book.

The Terminal Man is a good book, but it’s not exceptionally great. Some of the philosophical questions that it raises were probably very relevant at the time it was originally published, but “brain pacemakers” aren’t quite as cutting-edge as they were, and people have come to accept and rely heavily on technology in their daily lives. Bottom line: If you’re interested in psychology, neurotechnology, or Crichton’s other books, you’ll probably like it.

When I actually manage to get a reasonable amount of sleep, I am able to stay awake on the bus and do quite a bit of reading. I recently finished the book Silent Thunder, written by Iris Johansen and her son, Roy. It’s about a lady named Hannah Bryson who is hired to prepare a decommissioned Russian submarine (named “Silent Thunder”) for a maritime museum. So, she has to carefully inspect the entire submarine for safety hazards and quickly stumbles upon an obscure message that results in a murder and sets up the rest of the novel.

I typically read books by male authors about men (meaning, at least in their 20′s) because I can relate to them more. Action and violence usually serves as the main course of the books I usually read with perhaps a dash of romance as a side dish. Add in some intellectual pondering and a bit of technology for dessert, and I’m set. Yet, Silent Thunder is about a female lead character (Hannah) and written in part by a female. Early on, Hannah is nagged by her brother about getting into a real relationship, and I was thinking of putting the book down at that point. I have to connect with a character before I care about his/her personal life, relationships, etc. But, I was on the bus with time to kill, so I kept reading.

Fortunately, the novel becomes a lot less about relationships and a lot more about the mystery of the message Hannah discovers on the submarine…. and the deaths that go along with it. I give this book three stars out of five. There is a bit of excitement and some cunning, but there are also times when I questioned the personality of Hannah and the explanations for certain parts of the plot (like the entire submersible section…).

The book is probably available in your local bookstore; otherwise, you can buy the hardcover edition of Silent Thunder ($10.78 as of this post)
or the paperback edition of Silent Thunder ($7.99) on Amazon.

Amazon affiliate links, silent thunder Russian name,

The first thing I noticed about this book was that it is small. It’s about 4.25″ by 7.5″ and less than a half-inch thick; it fit nicely into my cargo pockets. Next, I noticed the author (I’m trying to learn to pay more attention to names because I am terrible with names). The only other book I read by Orwell was 1984, which I enjoyed the first third of and thought the rest was okay. While reading Animal Farm, I could definitely see similarities between the books both in terms of plot and writing style. The plot is essentially that some animals take over a farm and run it in a socialist manner. Eventually, the socialism falls apart. It’s based partly on or inspired by Soviet communism, but I didn’t know enough about Stalin, Trotsky, etc. for it to affect the way I read or interpreted the novel. Like 1984, it did make me think of the previous U.S. presidential administration and the “necessary” erosion of rights.

Animal Farm is a good book and a fast read. It’s also very accessible with fairly simple vocabulary and sentence structure, so most people could read it. Whether most people would get it is another question.

My overall opinion is that it’s worth picking up and reading. You can usually get a copy for only a few dollars (even less if you get a used one), and you can carry it with you, since the book is so small. If you’re one of those people who can’t stand watching movies/reading books where the characters are doing things that they shouldn’t (“No, don’t go in that door!”), you might cringe at the passivity of the characters in this book. Then you’ll probably compare them to humans and mutter a lot. And then you’ll convince a friend to read the book.

The first one I read was by Matthew Baldwin. Here’s my favorite paragraph from his review:

Ed’s fantastic looks, it turns out, are a result of his deep dark secret which Belle figures out in about 30 minutes: he’s a vampire. He and his family (vampires all) live in Forks because it is perpetually cloudy, thus ensuring that they won’t be exposed to direct sunlight. And it’s imperative that Ed avoid direct sunlight because, when it hits him, he becomes EVEN MORE GORGEOUS. I am so totally not making this up. Also, he’s a good vampire, insofar as he doesn’t eat people. But he really, really wants to. Hence the brooding. And to make matters worse, he wants to eat Belle more than anyone, because apparently she has great smelling blood. But he’s also in love with her, you see. Oh my goodness, what a pickle! It’s as if you or I were dating an apple fritter.

Then, today, I read Luke Maciak’s review, Twilight: I read it so that you don’t have to. My favorite paragraph was this:

Anyways, plagiarism accusations wouldn’t stick because Meyer’s vampires sparkle in the sun. Yeah, they don’t actually burn like [they] are supposed to. If you see one of them in daylight, they will just look… gay-ish. Or rather they look as if they spent the whole night rolling around in a pile of strippers – they seem to be shit covered with glitter that can’t be washed off. That’s apparently why they don’t go out during the day much. Cause you know – glitter ain’t a joke. I shit you not! Fortunately the glitter thing can’t be seen when it’s cloudy so they can go to school on rainy days as normal. Conveniently, most days in the book are rainy days.

What’s better, reading a good book or not reading a crappy book but instead reading all the awesome reviews bashing it?

Synopsis
The story itself is fiction, but its roots are from an actual person named Elizabeth Whitman. She was a pregnant woman who died in a tavern, and, because she seemed to be upper class, talking about it became all the rage back then. People loved gossip so much that Hannah Foster was able to write a fictional book that paralleled the possibilities of Elizabeth’s life (with a character named Eliza, so original!) and actually have it published. The book is actually a series of letters among all the characters (epistolary novel).

My Thoughts
The excessively flowery language of the Victorian times is littered throughout the letters that make up the novel. Rather than saying, “I like you,” a character would instead say something like, “After we have spent such time together I can only hope that with the connection we have made you might give me the honor of considering our connection with much esteem.” I’m not a fan of the 18th century (no Internet, no knights, who cares?), so that didn’t help. I was also rather annoyed at the actions of the main character, Eliza, who acts as a child when she is, in fact, in her mid-thirties. The novel was a painful experience.

The Verdict
If you’ve found a way to force people to read (e.g., you’re a college professor teaching a course that is required for a degree), this would make a most excellent torture device. I’m sure that if people were tied to chairs with only the book and a fork present, they would choose to gouge out their eyes with the fork. You could replace the fork with a baby spoon if you were really cruel.

If you enjoy this time period and you absolutely love reading a book that is composed of letters, all from characters that you’re bound to hate, then this might be for you.

Most Memorable Quote
I’ve done my best to force the last remnants of this tormenting book from my mind, but I suppose the most memorable line is the over-used “I am undone!”

Synopsis
Bronx Masquerade is about a class that starts to have “Open Mic Fridays” where students can read their poetry. As the book progresses, the Open Mic days become more and more popular. The story does not follow just one person’s perspective, but rather, it shows a small slice (generally 1-4 pages) of each person’s life and thoughts, followed by that person’s Open Mic contribution. The poetry varies in style. Some of it is very concrete. Some is abstracted. Some is even rap.

My Thoughts
I felt like the first two people’s stories were a bit excessive in their use of slang, which started to turn me off from the reading. Yes, the style of writing did reflect the way that some people speak, but these pieces might have been better after being introduced to some of the characters I could relate to more (though maybe the initial two characters are who the intended audience would relate to the most). Tyrone did either ease up on the language or I just became used to it, because the rest of the book didn’t bother me, and Tyrone’s thoughts are shown quite a bit. He responds to each person’s poem (in his head), which is one of the most valuable aspects to the book. It keeps a consistent character who responds to and connects with each person’s words.

The Verdict
Bronx Masquerade is a good book that helped me reconnect with the thoughts and problems of teens (very valuable to one who is (going to be) a teacher). It’s a quick, easy read (it is a Young Adult book after all) with some a mixture of poetry. If you enjoy poetry, YA books in general, or a book that you can easily read a few minutes here and there, I would definitely recommend this book. If you’re into long narrative, character depth, complex plots, etc. this book probably isn’t for you.

Most Memorable Quote
There isn’t a whole lot of dialogue, but here’s an excerpt from Devon’s Black Box poem (my favorite of the bunch):

In case I forgot to tell you,
I’m allergic to boxes:
Black boxes, shoe boxes,
New boxes, you boxes—
Even cereal boxes
Boasting champions.

Background
Being the book that started the Young Adult genre, I figured I ought to read it. Firstly, I must say there is a difference between the books that are forced down your throat as a middle/high school student (e.g., The Scarlet Letter) and books in the Young Adult category. The former make you wonder why written language was ever invented. The latter can actually be interesting and enjoyable.

Synopsis
The main character, Ponyboy, is a young teen who prides himself on being part of the Greasers, a gang of sorts. His older brothers and friends are part of this gang and it has shaped the way he sees life. Being only 14, he’s the youngest member in the gang and he has grown accustomed to his buddies looking out for him. When he is jumped by the Socs (socials), he is rescued by other Greasers and we are introduced to the rivalry between the Socs and the Greasers. When things get really violent, he is forced to look at his life from another angle. Why is everyone fighting? Why is he fighting?

My Thoughts
Within the first few pages, Ponyboy is attacked by a group of the Socs. His buddies rescue him and we are introduced to them as characters. The intro is excellent because it starts out interesting and the book maintains that excitement throughout the novel (that’s especially good for a novel that might be read in school, because students are quick to judge books they are forced to read). The author might be female, but she does an excellent job of depicting both the masculine behavior of the boys and the softer side of their close bond. She also did great keeping with the voice of the story. It’s told from Ponyboy’s perspective and stays true to that. His perspective also keeps the reading quick and easy, which is definitely a plus. The message of this book is easy to pick up on, so I’d say the target audience is definitely younger (maybe 13, give or take three years), but it is an enjoyable book for adults as well.

The Verdict
If you never read this book when you were growing up, it’s worth picking up. Even if you’ve never been in a fight or even seen one, you can understand and relate to Ponyboy’s perspective.

Most Memorable Quote
“Stay gold, Ponyboy.”