dem books

four weeks, four books: (1) Baudolino by Umberto Eco is easily his best since In the Name of the Rose and much more lighthearted than anything he's done before. I definitely recommend it. (2) Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams deals with probability, being and time, other humorous topics. I love everything Adams ever wrote. (3) In Our Time by Ernest Hemmingway. I have to admit I really don't enjoy most Hemmingway. Even before I knew anything about his life, I could tell he was a drunk in the repetitiveness of his writing and his morose candor about every conceivable topic. In Our Time is a collection of short and short-short fiction that rivals anything out there today in its serenely hopeless outlook and erudite writing. I did enjoy it, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it. (4) Teaching as a Conserving Activity by Neil Postman. Before Postman was a household name in cultural criticism, he was a household name in educational theory. Teaching as a Conserving Activity was a follow-up and rejoinder to Teaching as a Subversive Activity--primarily because Postman felt that post-Vietnam War era education misinterpreted "subversive" to mean "contentless" or "entertainment-driven." still on the slate: Life of Pi Dream of Scipio by I. Pears Fast Food nation (thanks jnf) The Once and Future King by T.H. White (I never finished it in college) Ender's Game