I’M READING AS FAST AS I CAN: DECEMBER 2009 EDITION

Book reports! You want them. I has them.

JUST FINISHED

The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
I’ve not read much Asimov outside of a couple of Robot books, so I thought I’d try this – partly because it was his first book with aliens and sex, and partly because the premise – scientists discover free energy technology, but ignore warnings that it could blow up the sun because giving up free energy would be politically unpopular – resonates with current events. Unfortunately, Asimov is better at hard science than he is at dialogue, and the hard science (and the sex, for that matter) reads like a science journal. I think I’ll just stick to the Robot novels.

JUST STARTED

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
I’m a big fan of Moore, and Christmas is coming, so this is perfect seasonal reading – provided you associate Christmas with cannibalism and middle-aged sex. The book opens with a property developer hitting a Salvation Army Santa (his ex-wife) with a ten-pound bag of ice. If that doesn’t capture the true meaning of Christmas, what does?

( But wait! There's more! )

Meet the beatniks,

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CHICKS DIG EVIL CLOWNS

Because no one said life was fair.



Who’s laughing now,

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BEHOLD YR SPACESHIP

ITEM: Virgin Galactic reveals its SpaceShipTwo rocket plane for its suborbital space tourism business.





GOD I love being alive in the 21st Century.

On the other hand:

The price for a three-day space tour package, including training, is $200,000.

Is there enough of a market for space travel to allow Branson to recover his investment? "To be perfectly honest, I'm not too worried if I make money or not," he told our NBC News crew today during a tour of SpaceShipTwo's hangar in advance of tonight's ceremony. He said his prime concern was to create something he's proud of, and have faith that any venture that inspires his pride will end up attracting customers and making money.

Oh well. Extra points for the ship mascot.




I want to take you higher,

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