Just got off a plane reading The Curious Incident Of A Dog At The Night-Time. Bought it at an airport and then ploughed through it for the duration of the flight.

I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should’ve. A whole party of kids were raising a cacophony and the guy sitting next to me was humming. It was horrible: noisy and claustrophobic, plus the little girl behind me was kicking every few seconds.

A note about the aforementioned book: it was hilarious the first time around (I read the first few pages in Amazon early last year). But as the flight wore on the book grew less and less funny … I’m not sure if that was the way it was meant to be, or if it was the horrible reading conditions on that plane. I guess I’ll never know.

I’ve found a possible equivalent online, though. Horton’s Folly is written so tongue in cheek you can’t help but laugh. A delight to read, nevermind if you never know if it’s fiction or not.

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It’s funny what gems can crop up when immigration is concerned. 2006’s Booker Prize Winner, The Inheritance of Loss, dealt with the issue fairly heavily, and look where it got? Nevermind that i don’t like the book - i’ll run a review sometime later.

The Joy Luck Club, however, written by Amy Tan and published in 1989, is one of those books that remain as relevant today as it was a decade ago. I like it. A lot.

The premise

Joy Luck can almost be called a book of short stories, and if the author’s note is anything to go by some of the stories have been published in woman’s magazines. The book opens with one from Jing-Mei Woo (”June”)’s perspective, just after her mother’s death, and we’re quickly ushered into their world of clashing cultures, and of the tender and sometimes fragile bond linking mother to daughter.

There are four families in the book, four sections, and four stories per section. The first and last sections of the book are written by the mothers (with the exception of June, since her mother has passed away) and the middle two written by the daughters. It’s nicely structured and the interlocking stories give a sense of balance to the narrative.

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Offline

War and Peace. It’s nearly finished now, and boy they weren’t kidding when they said that there are no main characters in the book. Over 500 characters, and no main ones. Wow. That being so, i tend to pick which characters i like and then root for them, though the storyline’s so long and convoluted its hard to see what Tolstoy’s got coming for some of them. It’s well planned alright - War and Peace is not a compact, waterproof plot kind of thing - you’ve no idea what’s going to happen in the next chapter, the next volume or to your favourite character who seems to finally have things going for him (mine’s Prince Andrew Bolkonkski, just in case you’re wondering). What Tolstoy excels in, however, is the characters - all believable in actions and thoughts. More on this when i finally finish the book.

Online

I’m currently reading Hackoff.com, which i had read halfway through a year ago but forgot. So i’m revisiting it, and i must say i’m rediscovering the humour in some of the episodes. The chat room sections of the blook are echoingly funny of real world internet lingo. And while it’s eating up most of my online time, i must say things are looking promising. Other reads: The Agency Delta, though i’ve only just started and am not sure how good it’ll be.

Unfree

Am also checking out The Open Laboratory, published earlier this year. Probably non-fiction, but if you’re interested in science blogs (this is, afterall, an anthology) buy it here at $8.69 for a download and $19.95 for the physical copy.

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