books: catch-up entry
Apr. 28th, 2009 05:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winterbadgerI should do a separate entry for some of these, but I wanted to mark them down before I forgot.
16/50: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Yes, again. One day I'd like to read HP and the Philosopher's Stone and see what the differences are. There are things that look to me as if they've been changed for American readers, but there are also references that I think will baffle anyone who isn't an Anglophile.
17/50: The Case of the Silver Egg. I think I read and reviewed this last year as well. It's a quick read, and it starts out fun, but it's one of the few books I read as a pre-teen that is not as satisfying and enjoyable as an adult. I think the part about the kids is handled well, but the bumblingness of all the adults is overplayed, and the villains are simply preposterous and repetitive, like a bad Tintin character. People as foolish as this wouldn't have been able to carry out the crime that's the center of the plot.
18/50: To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign. The second of Stephen Sears's (so far) four campaign histories. Really, really enjoyable; a good read, good detail, well written, a nice introduction to some of the pivotal characters of the war. It appears well researched and gives (IMO) a clear account of the campaign, the conditions, the personalities, and the events. I've been reading this on and off for a while, but not for want of enjoyment. I will be sure and reread Landscape Turned Red (which I haven't read for many years) and look out his books on Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. My only wish would have been for somewhat less amateurish maps (and maybe a few more of them) and maybe not quite so much comparative statistics (I don't really feel I learn much by being told which regiment and brigade suffered the highest percentage of losses in each engagement).
19/50: The Gammage Cup: Another book from my childhood, and still a favourite. A nice story, well told, with a point to it but that doesn't beat you over the head. Good characters, enjoyable writing.
20/50: Crush the Cell: How to Defeat Terrorism Without Terrorizing Ourselves. Michael Sheehan. This needs a proper entry all its own.
16/50: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Yes, again. One day I'd like to read HP and the Philosopher's Stone and see what the differences are. There are things that look to me as if they've been changed for American readers, but there are also references that I think will baffle anyone who isn't an Anglophile.
17/50: The Case of the Silver Egg. I think I read and reviewed this last year as well. It's a quick read, and it starts out fun, but it's one of the few books I read as a pre-teen that is not as satisfying and enjoyable as an adult. I think the part about the kids is handled well, but the bumblingness of all the adults is overplayed, and the villains are simply preposterous and repetitive, like a bad Tintin character. People as foolish as this wouldn't have been able to carry out the crime that's the center of the plot.
18/50: To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign. The second of Stephen Sears's (so far) four campaign histories. Really, really enjoyable; a good read, good detail, well written, a nice introduction to some of the pivotal characters of the war. It appears well researched and gives (IMO) a clear account of the campaign, the conditions, the personalities, and the events. I've been reading this on and off for a while, but not for want of enjoyment. I will be sure and reread Landscape Turned Red (which I haven't read for many years) and look out his books on Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. My only wish would have been for somewhat less amateurish maps (and maybe a few more of them) and maybe not quite so much comparative statistics (I don't really feel I learn much by being told which regiment and brigade suffered the highest percentage of losses in each engagement).
19/50: The Gammage Cup: Another book from my childhood, and still a favourite. A nice story, well told, with a point to it but that doesn't beat you over the head. Good characters, enjoyable writing.
20/50: Crush the Cell: How to Defeat Terrorism Without Terrorizing Ourselves. Michael Sheehan. This needs a proper entry all its own.
