Difference Engine, Winter Moon, and Alterknits.

[snugglekitty]

I've been meaning to read The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling for a few years, after having read Distraction and the works of William Gibson and liked them.
You know those books you read, thinking, "If I can just make it to the end, it'll all make sense"?
Well, this was one of those books. Unfortunately, I did make it to the end, and it didn't all make sense. I'm still not really clear on what this book was about. There was a lot of English labor history, punchcards, and pollution. There was some paleontology and prostitution. (And honestly, when am I ever going to get to use that sentence again? Maybe it was worth it just for that.) But, in the end, it didn't seem to amount to much. I'd give it two stars, although it could just be that I wasn't smart enough to understand the book. Has anybody else who reads my journal read it? Did you understand it?

I had to request Winter Moon, an anthology featuring the works of Mercedes Lackey, Tanith Lee, and CE Murphy, multiple times from the library. Not really sure why. However, I did finally get it, and I read it in two days. I liked all three of the novellas a good deal, although probably "Winter's Heart" by Tanith Lee was my favorite. Nobody, but nobody, does short fantasy fiction (as in, less than novel-length) better than Lee. However, the other two stories, "Moontide" and "Banshee Cries" were also quite good. I liked that magic was not a primary focus of Lackey's story - she does sword-and-politics stories well, when she bothers to try. Murphy is an author I'm sure we'll be hearing more about. Her protagonist, dragged kicking and screaming into the world of shamanism, is extremely sympathetic, and even manages to overcome the cliche of being half Celtic, half native by wanting no part of her mystical heritage. I heartily recommend this book and would give it four stars.

Book nineteen was Alterknits by by Leigh Radford and John Rizzo. (I say that I read it - I looked at all the patterns, read the instructions for some of them, and read all of the descriptions. For a pattern book, I think that's good enough, although a purist might argue that I should MAKE each of the patterns before claiming knowledge.) I had glanced at this book in a knitting store in Michigan, and thought that it looked interesting. I don't really like pattern books - I don't usually make things that are in pattern books - but I thought I'd give it a look and see if it was inspiring. It sure was! It included knitting with unusual materials, knitting with unusual techniques, and doing crazy-ass stuff with yarn. I was most interested in the rug knitted out of T-shirts and the felted stuff - the felted blanket made from thrift-store sweaters (well, I would like that, wouldn't I?) and the tote bags. The sweater with a velvet neckline and cuffs also inspired me to alter a sweater of mine, in which the necks and cuffs just aren't quite right.
I definitely got what I wanted out of it, even though the "inspirational excercises" weren't very inspiring, and some of the patterns were just strange. For sheer originality, I have to give this four stars.

Comments

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

-I don't recall Engine making a lot of sense, no. But then, it's been a long time since I read it.

[hir0protagonist.livejournal.com]

I read Engine a couple years ago because I love Gibson. I also don't remember it making much sense in the end. If I recall correctly the (very)loose plot thread was focused on the journey of a batch of punchcards that had predictive abilities, at least as it was related to gambling. When it comes to Gibson I'll stick with Idoru.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

If I recall correctly the (very)loose plot thread was focused on the journey of a batch of punchcards that had predictive abilities, at least as it was related to gambling.

Yup, that's the one.

It could have been awesome, but... not so much.

[catskillz.livejournal.com]

I read about half of Difference Engine and then stopped because it felt like I was reading for the sake of reading, not out of enjoyment. I can't remember much about it except for wanting to like it more than I actually did.

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

I didn't think much of "Difference Engine", either.

better books on early computers

[trouble4hire.livejournal.com]

Have you read "Diamond Age" by Neal Stephanson? It has a story within a story that explains the evolution of computers, and I found it much easier to read than "Difference Engine." It also helped me understand what was happening in "Engine."

Re: better books on early computers

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Yup, I've read The Diamond Age three or four times. Great book.