Rediscovering Pleasure Reading
A few weeks ago we were in the hospital for the induction of our third child. As forced deliveries often go, things were taking a lot longer than expected. By late afternoon I had exhausted my stash of magazines and so I made my way to the hospital gift shop. Except for one pro-wrestling magazine and another about southeastern basketball, everything on the rack was written for a female audience. So instead I turned my attention to the paperback novels. It had been a while since I read any fiction. Too often I feel compelled to read something important or, when it comes to novels, something written before 1960. Surely, I thought, I could find something entertaining that would not be a complete waste of my time.
After sifting through the love stories and multiple Da Vinci Code look-a-likes, I picked up a book with a dinosaur fossil emblazoned on the front cover. The first thing I did was read the reviewer’s snippets: “If John Grisham had written Jurassic Park, he couldn’t do better than Tyrannosaur Canyon;” “Greatly entertaining…Intelligently told and never less than fun;” “Preston’s exhilirating and absorbing science-based effort will thrill readers from the first page to the last. Michael Crichton wishes he could write half as well.” Happily, I can report that Douglas Preston’s Tyrannosaur Canyon lived up to the hype.
That book got me through the first few sleepless nights, so I then turned my attention to one that was already in our collection. Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown, was not filled with the quality writing of Douglas Preston, but it was still entertaining. I thought I had it figured out, but there was still enough of a twist at the very end. When dealing with a newborn you often end up with down time in the middle of the night. You need a book that is stimulating to the mind, but not so heady that the reader becomes easily lost. With that in mind, I picked up another Brown novel, Deception Point, which came recommended.
Unfortunately, the scientific surprise in Deception Point is very similar to the one in Tyrannosaur Canyon. It also comes much earlier in the story. Preston’s novel was published four years after Brown’s book, but I think that the former is a better read. Considering the book’s title, the campaign strategy press release and actions of the Delta Force team; I can see exactly where Brown is headed. Even if the plot were not so transparent, it still feels like a letdown. Had I read this book first, then I might be more excited about it.
I will still finish Deception Point, but for my next read I would like to move away from such formulaic and predictable works—essentially the written equivalent of Hollywood melodrama—and on to something slightly meatier and more original. What contemporary books of fiction can you recommend for an insomnia suffering father of small children?
Have you read any Douglas Coupland? I really enjoyed Microserfs and am looking forward to getting JPod someday soon.
No, I’ve not heard of him. I was a huge Sci-Fi/Fantasy reader in high school. I read a little of the genre after college, but I’m not really up on the contemporary writers. Other than the books and authors mentioned, the only other novel I’ve read recently is The Rule of Four.
Ok, you should really read Microserfs. You can borrow it from me if you want.
I haven’t heard Douglas Copeland brought up in like 12 years – except for when Mary McCampbell recently claimed that he kissed her at a book signing or something in the UK.
Anyway, Carl Hiassen is worth checking out too. He’s on the bestseller list, is a newspaper-writer turned novelist but, isn’t science fiction. All his books are about Florida, mostly South Florida. It’s dark comedy/crime fiction.
Scott, here’s something else I found after looking up stuff on the internet after seeing the novels on your office desk.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/rankings.htm
I’ve rediscovered pleasure reading too. Though, to be fair, I don’t think I ever discovered it to begin with. Anyway, I read Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative which was fantastic. Now I’ve moved to DroidMaker but, sadly, it’s going really slow because of all the other things I have going (papers, tests etc). It seems I can’t do what I want to do. So goes life.
Then I’m going to read iWoz. We’ll see how that goes.
@mrscrumley: I’d love to borrow it, thanks!
@Chris: I’ll check those out, too.
@Kyle: I know what you mean. I barely had time to read my assignments…what, with all the billiards and foosball there was to be played in the evenings.
I just read “matchstick men” which I picked up on a whim at the library, recognizing the name from the movie (which I havent seen). quick read, pretty cool stuff, but kinda depressing.
Scott, I actually read Deception Point on my last deployment: A quarter of the way through it I felt nautious…half way through and I couldn’t stomach any more…so I guess I didn’t actaully read it but I can say that it is the WORST book that I’ve ever seriously tried to read…they lost me when the daring hero gets in the jet black f-14 and flies direct to Greenland…I read that before DaVinci and it’s the reason I’m confinced most Christians worried about Davinci code just needed to read his novels and all concern would fade away in laughter…Clive Cussler in INCA GOLD…that was a good one.
[quote comment="7301"]I just read “matchstick men” which I picked up on a whim at the library, recognizing the name from the movie (which I havent seen). quick read, pretty cool stuff, but kinda depressing.[/quote]
bobw, I found the movie enjoyable.
As of late, if I try to set aside ‘pleasure reading’ time (really just about any kind of reading – I fall asleep.
@bob: Matchstick Men depressing, huh? Hope it’s in a “the crooks aren’t the heros” kind of way (i.e., something bad happens to them in the end). I’m a little tired of the whole Robin Hood movie scene these days, which is why I’m not itching to see Ocean’s 13 (in spite of it having a great cast).
@obscene gene: I’m not surprised about that being the beginning of the end for you in the book, since you’re a “____ ____”…am I allowed to say it?
@stelmodad: Sleep. Lucky!
Do yourself a favor and watch it anyway (Ocean’s 13). Granted, Ocean’s 12 wasn’t as good as Ocean’s 11 but, the plot really had a lot of potential. They either overdid it with all the flashback effects or got tied up with the individual characters…not sure which. It was hard to tell what really happened and at what point, they got a leg up on that French thief. But, I’m thinking Ocean’s 13 will be a lot better than 12.
BTW, these guys in Ocean’s 12 are cons and not so much garden variety outlaws as in Robin Hood.
[quote post="745"]BTW, these guys in Ocean’s 12 are cons and not so much garden variety outlaws as in Robin Hood. [/quote]
I use the term “Robin Hood” to describe what amounts to an on screen portrayal that stealing can be justified. In other words, there have been a lot of movies lately in which criminals are portrayed as the heros, while the police are often shown as fools. I think that one of the worst examples of it was Entrapment. Also, is it still a crime when one criminal steals from another (e.g., Oceans #)?
I’m also not saying that I haven’t been entertained by the genre, but that I’m just tired of it. Maybe this is one of the reasons that I like the movie Suicide Kings, because the people who pull off the con-job end up getting what they deserve (though not at the hands of the cops).