I’M READING AS FAST AS I CAN (NOVEMBER 2011 EDITION)

I read stuff. I blog about it. The end.

Or rather ...

JUST FINISHED

The Other End by John Shirley
In which Shirley concocts an alternative Judgment Day for humanity. Rather than the right-wing Dominionist Christian vision of the Apocalypse – where the right-wing Christians all get Raptured to Heaven and everyone else is left behind to suffer through the ensuing Tribulation until Jesus comes back – Shirley imagines a secular Judgment Day that deals a more liberal brand of justice to humanity for crimes against each other and the Earth. Shirley wears his liberal politics on his sleeve, but admirably devises a judgment process that doesn’t automatically grant salvation to liberals or whatever. The narrative gets clunky at times, and perhaps necessarily relies on stereotypes for some of the characters. But as thought experiments go, it’s quite well-done and thought-provoking. If nothing else, it's one of the more original books I’ve read in awhile.

JUST STARTED

My Friend Maigret by Georges Simenon
In which Chief Inspector Maigret looks into the murder of a crook who was last seen in a bar on a small village island boasting about Maigret being his good friend. I need to read more Simenon, but not a lot of his books are in print, so I take it when I can get it. Like now.

( Stross! Modesty! The Depression! Sexbots! And Castro! )

I will survive,

This is dF