The Weekend...

[stoutfellow]

was pretty much wasted. The sore throat had subsided by Friday evening (though I still had a cough), but it was succeeded by sinusitis, congestion and headache. I didn't get much sleep Friday night, and spent most of Saturday in bed. When I wasn't in bed, I was eating. (I always overeat when I have a cold; I justify it as "stoking the furnaces".) Oh, I spent a fair amount of time in the bathtub, too; colds tend to make me feel cold, and the tub is one of the few places I'm comfortable. But the worst was over by this morning. I still spent a lot of time napping, but I did walk the dogs and run over to Shop'n'Save for groceries. Tomorrow I'll get to the yardwork I was planning to do on Thursday...

I finished The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun, and have started on The Robots of Dawn. I don't have much to say about The Naked Sun; I toyed briefly with an analogy between Asimov's picture of Solaria and today's  e-world as it's developing, keying on rfmcdpei's post on the social disabilities of people with their own webpages, but I think the analogy is superficial. Asimov's attempt at depicting culture clash - e.g., Lije's reaction to the mores associated with "viewing" as opposed to "seeing", and the general Solarian reaction to Lije's casual use of words like "children" and "affection" - was interesting, but rather obvious. Compare, e.g., Miller and Lee in Local Custom; the reader gets to see the misunderstandings developing, while the characters remain unaware of them. (sunlizzard, is it a matter of the type of POV, or just that M&L use multiple POVs where Asimov stays with Lije throughout? Could this kind of effect be achieved, using a single POV?)

I also finished Moneyball. Now I have to pick a new bus book. Waiting to be read are Ryoma, a biography of one of the leading figures in the Meiji Restoration, and Power and Profit: The Merchant in Medieval Europe. The latter actually looks more interesting to me, but I know it'll be more demanding; I tried it once before and, after about twenty pages, was already losing track of the various economic concepts involved. Or I could just pull something else off the shelves; I've read less than a third of the nonfiction in my library.

Ah, well. I don't have to make that decision before Tuesday. Tomorrow's Labor Day, so the university is closed. I'm thinking I'll watch "Norma Rae" to celebrate - or, hmm, do I have a tape of "Matewan"? That would be another good possibility.

Comments

[toraks.livejournal.com]

Now I have to pick a new bus book.

You read more demanding books on the bus? Or just something nonfic?

Just wondering how the "bus book" varies from you other reading selections!

I never seem to get into reading non-fiction. Then again, I'm always having to read up on stuff for work, and never getting it all done, so my tolerance for reading stuff that takes brain power outside of what I have to for work is very low.

I tend to only read nice entertaining fiction. Nothing I have to think about too much to read, though I can't say that it's not thought provoking on occasion!! :-)

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

My daily bus ride(s) each represent a block of half an hour or so during which there are very few distractions. (Yes, I might chat with the driver or other riders, but I generally don't.) Reading at home, I have many excuses to set the book down - the computer, the dogs, TV, the kitchen - and if I'm reading something that takes work to understand, I'm likely to seize on those excuses. So, I tend to use bus-time for my heavier reading, and stick to lighter stuff at home. I didn't plan it that way, but that's how it seems to work.

[toraks.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see! Thanks for the explanation! I really oughta try to read more "real" stuff, or at least read some of the books I've got -- something you seem to understand! :-)

It's unusual to see public transport used in the US, other than the big cities. Cool that you can!?