My Nerdy Friend

Book 33 – Ready Player One

Fun! So much fun! A wealthy, virtual reality video game inventor leaves his entire, mind-bogglingly large fortune to whomever is first to solve a 3-stage puzzle that he embeds in said video game. Years go by before the first clue is found and the dominoes start to fall, and through it all we are treated to a nostalgic look back at 80’s movie and gaming culture. Pieces of the puzzle involve elements from movies and TV  such as War Games and Family Ties, and from arcade and role-playing games such as Pac Man, Dungeons and Dragons, and Adventure (ah, Adventure! I used to play this on a dial-up Honeywell Mainframe that charged us by the minute, so my father limited my sister and I to 10 minutes of playing time per day – ten minutes!! – and it is my fondest memory of 80’s “video” games. But I digress). Ernest Cline is obviously an 80’s gamer, and he has turned his passion into a wonderful story that I enjoyed immensely.

In a peculiar coincidence, I finished the book just before my sister-in-law and I took our kids to the local Barcadia, a blend of bar and video arcade featuring local beer and refurbished 80’s arcade games that can still be played for a quarter. Or maybe it’s not a coincidence at all. I am more inclined to attribute this kind of thing to confirmation bias than a random alignment of related events. In fact, had this been a week earlier, I would have said it was coincident with me installing a new Zork game emulator App on my iPhone 6 (how fun it is to type “go west” into a smartphone and have the app display “you are in a twisty maze with passages in all directions” in courier font). 80’s nostalgia does seem to be at an all-time high right now. Perhaps it’s because last October was the date of Marty McFly’s arrival in the future, which lead to a resurgence of Back to the Future popularity. Or the fact that Star Wars was just released. Or that Pokemon is back. Whatever the case, Ready Player One fits right in. It’s also no surprise that a movie is already in the making. I certainly expect to be lined up with a lot of other 50-year-olds.

Rating: Buy it. If you are a lover of arcade or role playing games, you will really enjoy it, and you are going to want to read it again before you line up with me for the movie.

book 32 – They Left Us Everything

This started out as a promising book. It is Plum Johnson’s memoir about clearing out her family home and possessions after the death of her parents. I thought that her parents would be revealed as hoarders – full-on, reality-TV-style hoarders – and that the book would be a journey of self-discovery as she and her siblings faced the posthumous evidence of mental illness in their parents that I believe underlies hoarding behaviour. But it is not that at all. Her family is and was well-adjusted and supportive. There were no dramatic battles with her siblings over claims of ownership on the parents’ estate, and no financial conflicts resulting in siblings disowning each other and refusing to speak again. It was really nothing more than Plum and her brothers clearing out their childhood home.

It’s possible that I simply lack the sentiment needed to relate to Plum’s angst, because my parents moved out of our family home while I was at university and cleared out the house in the process, robbing me of the opportunity to live nostalgically for two years while I sorted through the minutiae of their belongings. I was, however, given the chance to help a close friend with this process after her parents were moved into care homes. In her case, the parents were, in fact, hoarders. Not in a reality-TV kind of way, but in a stuff-crap-in-every-crevasse-possible-and-leave-it-there-forever kind of way. Excavating the house was like one of those dehydrated cloth pucks, where you add water and the puck magically expands to 5 times its original size until it forms a T-shirt. Her parents’ house was a puck that expanded to several times its original capacity as you emptied closets and crawl spaces. There was real emotion in the exercise of dividing or selling the family belongings (much of which was humour mixed with astonishment), and it was time-consuming and exhausting. Would reading this book have helped my friend and her siblings through this process? No. I don’t think it would have made any difference at all. Possible it might have helped them feel like they weren’t alone, but I don’t think any of them ever felt that they were to begin with.

I do believe there are people who would love, and greatly benefit, from this book. But I am more practical than sentimental, and my preference would have been a more helpful guide on how to expect the unexpected and how to prepare in advance for what is likely to be a very challenging time for the siblings. I really liked the approach of giving each sibling a virtual “stipend” which they could then use to “purchase” their desired household items in turn. However, in order to do this effectively, they had to appraise the value of each and every item in the house. How did they do this? This would have been good information. They also seemed to have access to funds for things like renovations, painting, yardwork and not selling the house for a couple of years, a luxury that not all people would have. Finally, there was little to no conflict between the siblings during the whole process. And while I don’t wish conflict upon Plum and her family, the lack of any real struggle beyond separation anxiety did make the book feel self-indulgent to me.

I guess what I’m really trying to say is that I didn’t particularly like this book. I think people who are facing a similarly arduous task could have been better served, but then again, I’m not one to judge since I’ll never have to undertake it myself.

Rating: I say skip it. But that’s me.

book 31 – A Captain’s Duty

A Captain’s Duty was a difficult book to read. On the surface, it’s Richard Phillips’ story of the Somali pirate capture of the merchant ship Maersk Alabama – the first time an American ship was taken by pirates in over 200 years – while under his command. The book portrays Phillips as a courageous and visionary leader whose meticulous  adherence to preparation and and safety protocols saved the lives of his dedicated crew. However, details have emerged since the pirate incident to suggest that this is not entirely true. Several crew members have alleged that Phillips was a reckless leader who took the ship 300 miles inside a 600-mile safety perimeter in order to save time (and money) and that he was dismissive of risks and imminent dangers. Indeed, his ship was boarded by pirates just under 300 miles from the Somali coast, inside the 600 mile radius as alleged. Phillips also admits to having continued to execute a security drill even as the ship was being chased by a pirate skiff (they were not boarded on this occasion). Lastly, Phillips himself writes that the (enclosed) Maersk Alabama lifeboat had to be used to off-load the pirates rather than the (open deck) open-air boat because the batteries had drained leaving it unusable. Discovering that the batteries were drained during an emergency situation at sea doesn’t seem like diligent attention to detail.

However, to be fair, Phillips never claims to be a hero in the book and he does admit to being a “hard” captain, although he adds his temperament does earn him respect, if not popularity. And while he never admits to cutting inside the safety radius, he never denies it either. It is simply left unsaid. He also speaks very highly of his crew, crediting them with quick-thinking and bravery. The book certainly does not convey any feeling that Phillips is being self-congratulatory.

Judged on it’s own merits, I would say the book is a well-told story of Captain Phillips life and his experiences while being held hostage by Somali pirates. It’s not a particularly inspiring leadership book per se, but it does contain some tidbits that people looking to improve their leadership skills might find useful. Not a strong recommendation, I know.

Rating; Borrow it. If nothing else, it’s an entertaining read.

book 30 – Death Finds a Way

Death Finds a Way is the debut novel by genealogist/writer Lorine McGinnis Schulze. The story follows genealogist and accidental detective Janie Riley as she travels to Salt Lake City to research her family tree and finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery. Janie is, refreshingly, a middle-aged, happily married woman which is a nice change from the typical 30-year-old, single fitness buffs who seem to always feature in detective stories.

The story nicely blends a mystery from the past, uncovered by a fellow genealogist, with a modern day murder. Several clues, mixed with cleverly placed red herrings keep you guessing and re-guessing as you try to figure out “who dunnit”. I was pretty close in my initial guess as to the basic mystery, but kept changing my mind as new clues were revealed or as I followed wrong paths. Lorine cleverly uses these red herrings to draw parallels to the way genealogy research will often lead you down a road that ultimately turns out to be a dead end, forcing you to have to go back to the start and try again.

In all, this was a short but fun read. I especially appreciated the ending, where Lorine allows Janie to return to her true genealogist nature, offering comfort in the form of a family history that until that point was missing.

Rating: Well, to fully disclose, Lorine is my aunt, so I of course bought a copy. And so should you. You know, to support my aunt 🙂

Book 29 – Generation Loss

I can’t begin to describe how much I enjoyed this book! It’s an unconventional mystery novel that tells the story of Cassandra Neary, a gritty, middle-aged, single woman who is decidedly unapologetic about her addiction to drugs and alcohol and lack of any kind of normal life. She does, however, regret failing to capitalize on a potentially successful career as photographer.

Elizabeth Hand writes this novel using a first-person perspective, which is an interesting choice given how unsympathetic a character her protagonist is. Cass does some questionable things (to understate things a tad), but often doesn’t choose to explain her actions. When she hides a set of keys from one character for no apparent reason, we never really get to understand why she does it.

Just like Gillian Flynn, Hand seems to have incredible insight into the minds of damaged and dysfunctional people. Cass is morally reprehensible, but I liked her, and most of the time I was rooting for her, hoping she would find a way out of her darkness.

Rating: Borrow it, it’s definitely worth reading.

Book 28 – Sharp Objects

Sharp Objects is the debut book by the author of the better-known book, Gone Girl. I actually liked this book much better than Gone Girl, possibly because I hated the ending of Gone Girl so much that the book is forever ruined for me. Sharp Objects is another mystery, with a deeply flawed protagonist who is forced to return to her home town to cover the story of two young murder victims. Her homecoming places her face to face with her childhood demons, and she struggles to maintain some semblance of sanity even as the story she is covering drags her further into the dark events of her past.

This book is a great summer read, as is Gone Girl (if you can forgive the ending). I like Flynn’s writing, and I am definitely going to pick up her second book, Dark Places.

Rating: Borrow it.

Book 27 – The Robber Bride

Margaret Atwood is almost too good a writer. I want to consume each sentence, roll it around in my head, admire and savour it. I wonder if she meticulously crafts each sentence, choosing the words with care and precision or if the words just flow from her with such perfection? I wonder which is the greater gift?

This is such a beautifully written book about three women who’s lives are connected through their friendship with the destructive and (probably) sociopathic Zenia.  Despite being warned in turn about Zenia’s evil nature, each woman thinks they will be the one who can turn her around, who won’t be fooled by her pathological lying and who will ultimately be her saviour.

I think we all, women in particular, have found ourselves ensnared in at least one toxic friendship. The struggle is knowing when (and how) to separate from the person, and how to manage the inevitable feelings of guilt and doubt that follow.

We all know who these people are. There are the people who to try to squirrel us away, separating us from our other friends and our family; people who drain our energy through dramatics and histrionics but give nothing back when we are in need of support; people who diss us behind our back; people who diss us to our face; and people who are just plain jerks. We don’t need these people in our lives and they take time away from our friends who truly love and support us, or worse, they stand in that way of finding those friends. We need to be strong, and learn to recognize and part ways with these people, because life is too short. And as Margaret Atwood seems to know, they can destroy us. But our friends? They will always lift us up.

Rating: Buy it. Eventually you will read this again.

Book 26: Children of Earth and Sky

Book 25: Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice

This book was a clever choice by Sharl, a fellow book club member. Two of us in the club are big fans of Jane Austin, as I’m sure I mentioned in my Pride and Prejudice post, and once upon a time we decided to pick a Jane Austin novel to read as a group. We settled on Persuasion, primarily because it was the only one that neither of us had read yet, and let’s just say it is not the book that is going to make Jane Austin fans out of people who dislike period pieces. But despite likely ruining her forever on Jane Austin, Sharl agreed to read the great Pride and Prejudice prior to seeing the theatre production. While it is possible she didn’t hate the book, I feel pretty certain that it’s not in her top 10 list (or top 100).

With that in mind, this modern retelling of P and P was Sharl’s latest pick. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this modernization was extremely enjoyable, well thought-out and even quite funny. Sittenfeld has brought the story into the very modern world of millennials, although the main characters are actually in their mid- to late-40s. In fact, this was the biggest disconnect for me, that the ages of the eldest Bennett daughters don’t align with their behaviour. Otherwise, Sittenfeld has done a very clever job of crafting a story that takes all of the Victorian drama (girls running off with boys to whom they are not married, daughters with no prospects because of the inheritance laws of the time) and transposes it into relevant and believable modern-day drama. And all the while she manages to maintain the magic of the romance that blooms between Elizabeth and Darcy.

I thought things got a little out of hand at the end, with a reality show play that didn’t really resonate for me, but then again I am not much of a watcher of reality TV.

Rating: Borrow it, even if Pride and Prejudice is precious to you.

Book 24: The Illegal

Interestingly, The Illegal turned out to be a pseudo-fantasy in that it takes place on current-day earth, but in the made-up, neighouring, island countries of Freedom State and Zantoroland. The protagonist is a black long-distance runner who is living as an illegal resident in Freedom State after escaping a corrupt government regime in his Zantoroland home. He ends up on the run from an inordinate number of people  including the police who are rounding up illegals to deport them, his running coach/agent who only wishes to profit from his race victories, a corrupt Zantoroland government who has kidnapped his sister for ransom, a tenacious wheelchair bound reporter and a determined teenage prodigy film-maker.   I’m actually pretty sure there were more, but that sentence was getting overly long. In addition to being chased, he also manages to acquire an equally mismatched group of friends along the way who provide him with support and refuge.

There are lots of reasons to dislike this story. The coincidences are a bit unwieldy. The good and evil characters lack subtlety. The parallels to apartheid or, say, any number of societies that simultaneously fear and oppress minority cultures, are a little too in-your-face. The pace of the story starts like a marathon and ends like a sprint. However, I still liked it. In the end, I chose to just enjoy the story and ignore any morals, if delivering morals were even his intent. The story is a feel-good story where the good guys win and for that reason alone, it’s likeable enough. But it’s also well-written with good characters, which is a bonus.

Rating: Borrow it. I don’t see needing to read it a second time.