Books in November

Only four books read in November (but wait until you see December...)

First off, I capped off my China Miéville marathon with his latest, Kraken. While this doesn't quite nudge Un Lun Dun off as my personal fave, it comes pretty close. Very readable prose, with such detail to the worldbuilding. I particularly like the magic-wielders who use sci-fi tropes for their magic. Who doesn't want a sonic screwdriver for a magic wand? It's so much cooler than a willow branch.

Behemoth is Scott Westerfeld's sequel to Leviathan, this time set in Istanbul. A fun read, the illustrations are quite good. All the talk of spices was making me hungry. And in the next book they are heading further east; should be interesting.

The Secret History of Moscow by Ekaterina Sedia is another book that's been around the house for ages in various To Be Read stacks. I loved the Russian details (particularly Father Frost, whom I've adored since the movie), but the story itself didn't quite suck me in as much as I'd hoped.

Drive by Daniel H. Pink also wasn't as engrossing as I'd hoped, mostly because a lot of his ideas come from Dan Ariely, and I've already read him. Not enough new here. On the other hand, if you've not read Ariely, this look at people's relationship to their work and what motivates us might be interesting (on the other, other hand, I'd really just recommend reading Ariely).

It's back to work for me; these stories don't write themselves, you know. In the meantime, a few of my favorite quotes:

Living a satisfying life requires more than simply meeting the demands of those in control. Yet in our offices and our classrooms we have way too much compliance and way too little engagement. The former might get you through the day, but only the latter will get you through the night. - Drive

She didn’t know what it was about subways – perhaps the fact that they were carved into a dark wet heart of the earth – that made them so magical. But she used to have an unshakeable conviction that they were the way to a hidden world where she could escape. – The Secret History of Moscow

“Sometimes you can’t get bogged down in the how,” Baron said. “Sometimes things happen that shouldn’t, and you can’t let that detain you. But the why? We can make headway with.” – Kraken

“My name’s not Rosencratz,” Eddie Malone said. “I wasn’t going to carry a message I didn’t understsand.” – Behemoth