Lots o' books

So yesterday I got a little present in the mail from the US... directly from Mr. Orson Scott Card himself... a signed, 1st edition copy of "Shadow of the Giant" which is the last book in the Ender's Game / Ender's Shadow series (8 books). I still have a few non-Card books I have to finish before I get to it, but it's moving closer to the top of the list.

I have less than 300 pages (or maybe 200) left in The Three Muskateers. It's not the best book, but I can see how it was so popular back in the day. It's a lot less battling than I imagined, but more about the changing lives of the muskateers, political intrigue and mystery. It's an interesting read, but there seems to be a lot of... this guy gets money, this guy spends /gambles away all his money... and this guy drinks himself into a drunken stupor (these things happen quite frequently).

At work, I've been reading Hemingway's complete short stories. There are over 50 of them, including the popular "First Forty-Nine." There was a great one about a man hunting a lion... and about the power of fear, and how an inciting event can turn-off this sensation of fear. The second story I read was about a kid pretending to be a bullfighter, and not being afraid of moving as the bull came out him... some interesting tidbits about bullfighters, but not all that enlightening.

Anyhow, that's all for the books...

The Art of War | Sun Tzu

Interesting note about The Art of War. The direct translation of the title of Sun Tzu's book from in english is "Strategy." Not sure how many people know that, but it definitely makes more sense after reading this book.


The thing I most enjoyed about this novel, was it's structure. If you get a good translation, the prose is not flowery or filled with symbolism. It is like math. One plus One is Two. It is like physics. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Now, I will concede that this makes for rather boring writing, but you cannot deny it's efficiency and it's brilliance. I have no doubt Sun Tzu was a brilliant man, but the writing won't capture you the way Salinger, Hemingway, Fitzgerald will.

I will agree with Nick, that you don't really 'learn' anything from the book. My largest take-away is simply that, I would have thought the book would be far different than it is. So, now I know the ...TRUTH. It wasn't what I expected, and I think I enjoy being surprised. Anyhow, it is worth a read... but the most important thing to do is to get a good translation. While there will inevitably be lost meaning in translation, there are some books that lose less than others. Make it a point to buy the right copy.