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April 28, 2005
Reading hour with Oz
I'm a pretty big reader, though admittedly the prolificness of my reading has declined lately. I used to read so much, in fact, that my mom once installed a timer in my room to make my lights go off at a certain time. But that was a long time ago, indeed. I've been trying to remedy that, and as such have taken up reading before I go to sleep at night.
I killed the book Assassination Vacation in about a week. It was an enjoyable book to read, because it has the perfect blend of history and pop culture minutae that I so unsuccessfully try to incorporate here on occasion. My only complaint with the book was that author Sarah Vowell (aka Violet from The Icredibles) spends just a little too much time decrying the war in Iraq and the asinine leadership of George W. Bush. Nonetheless, I recommend that one.
Now I've moved on to Mimi and Toutou's Big Adventure, which has a title strangely reminiscient of a chick-lit tearjerker (I'm talking to you, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood), but is actually about an attempt by the Royal Navy in World War I to transport two small ships by train, over mountains and through jungle to Lake Tanganiyka in Africa. There, they would challenge the Germans for control of the lake. This was important because if the Germans dominated the lake, they would then conceivably conscript the natives and send them to the Western Front, overpowering the hapless British.
I don't know how it ends yet, but I have a feeling it is not going to turn out favorably for the British. The expedition is led by a arrogant, buffoonish officer of the Navy named Spicer-Stimson. In reading the book so far, the man reminds me of David Brent, the maligned lead character on The Office. He thinks he knows all and in turn, all love him, but it is the opposite. For example, on the trip from England to South Africa, a passenger on their ship is pointing out constellations to his companions. Spicer approaches and tells him he is completely wrong, until eventually the passenger walks away rather than argue. As it turns out, he was the Astronomer Royal of Cape Town. Priceless!
Posted by oz115 at April 28, 2005 10:43 AM