... of books I've recently read.

• Neil Stephenson -Anathem. Society on an Earthlike planet has split in two: the everyday people, and an organization of secluded, atheistic, philosophers which has persevered and thrived over millennia. For the first 250 pages, we learn all about the customs and history of the latter, which seem to parallel Earth's history of philosophy and knowledge except all the names, famous parables, and analogies, are different; and there are dozens of new words to describe it all. You start to hope something will happen, because you still have 650 pages left and are afraid you've inadvertently signed up for a Survey of Philosophy course. Then it accelerates, rapidly. And soon it's veering and careening all over the planet, at times moving so quickly the plot seems in danger of flying apart. And then it's done and you're left wondering if what happened really makes sense, given the philosophical foundation it's all supposedly based upon. It's a dense and thought-provoking book which starts slow, builds to a wild ride, but ends with somewhat of an anti-climax.
  Three raquos: »»».

• China Mieville - Un Lun Dun. Two British schoolgirls discover a hidden, fantastic, magical, parallel London. They quickly learn that one of them is the Chosen One, who has been prophecized to beat the forces of evil which are threatening both cities. In the biggest surprise of the book, she immediately fails. That leaves the other to complete the quest, which she does, in short order. Because this book is aimed at younger readers Mieville has dialed-back a lot of the politics, magical arcana, and attention to detail that you see in his other books. Instead, this one zips right along, with the main character unsurprisingly hitting each of the sub-quest milestones with the help of the rag-tag companions she collects along the way. There are a lot of imaginative and interesting scenery and characters in the book, but the plot felt a bit lightweight and predictable - especially compared to his other novels. But, I suppose I'm not the target audience.
  Two raquos: »».

• Micheal Chabon - Maps And Legends. A collection of his essays, dealing with everything from his childhood to comic books, movies and Jewish legends. Few of them really grabbed me.
  Two raquos: »».

• Jeff VanderMeer - Strange Tales Of Secret Lives. As I understand it, some people who bought his previous book were asked by the publisher to submit short descriptions of themselves, and then VanderMeer dreamed-up a secret life for them. They range in length from a couple of paragraphs to a few pages, and all are surreal, absurd, imaginative and often hilarious - just what you'd expect from a VanderMeer book.
  Four raquos: »»»» .

• Iain Gately - Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol. The author traces the history of alcoholic beverages from the bronze age to the modern age, from Egyptian beer and Roman wine to the invention of distillation and the mass production of beer in the modern age. As the title says, it's about the cultural history of alcohol, so the focus isn't on the technology of producing it or the bio-chemistry involved in consuming it, though there is some of that. Instead, it's a survey of the ever-changing public attitudes towards alcohol and the never-ending efforts of governments throughout history to tax and regulate it. The book is heavily weighted towards Anglo-American culture and history: I'd guess that it spends more time on the history of alcohol taxation in the American colonies than it does on the histories of French wine and German beer, combined - and somehow, he manages to go two hundred pages or so before the first mention of alcoholism. But, still it's an interesting read, overflowing with historic detail and well-written.
  Three raquos: »»».