First--Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I had heard good things about this book so when I saw it in a used bookstore I decided to snag it and see what it was all about. For some reason I had a sort of vague, unfounded impression that it was about Boy Scouts starting forest fires...Turns out it's a frightfully accurate commentary on intellectual and emotional apathy in our society. You win either way, really.
I won't ruin the book for anyone who hasn't read it by telling the story, but it's a good one. The most amazing thing about it is that it was written 50 years ago, before iPods, flat screen plasma TV's, and cell phones, yet Bradbury describes our modern culture with chilling accuracy. The book is about censorship--not from a dictatorial government but from a citizenship that wants everything to be quick, simple, fun, and require a minimal amount of thinking. In other words, Hollywood. Very interesting read, I highly recommend it.
One more quick note before the next review--The second half of the book (50th anniversery addition) has commentary and an interview with Ray Bradbury himself. This guy is pure entertainment. Here's his take on censorship in the modern day:
"...The main problem is the idiot TV. If you watch local news, your head will turn to mush."
And his solution for getting children to read:
"...Give one of my books to a twelve-year-old boy who doesn't like to read, and that boy will fall in love and start to read."
If that statement doesn't spark your interest in this book, I don't know what will.
Next up is Deception Point by Dan Brown. Someday I shall write a letter to Dan Brown, and this is what it will say:
Dear Dan-
Curse you Dan Brown, curse you for your fascinating, fast-paced, controversial and well-researched thrillers. Curse you for the hooks and cliff-hangers which populate nearly every chapter in every book you write. When I was first introduced to you, as most of us were, through The Da Vinci Code, I experienced an enthrallment and literary captivation that I hadn't thought possible. I couldn't function as a normal adult until I had finished it. Then I picked up Angels and Demons. While it was merely a rougher, unpolished version of Code, I was unable to wrest myself from it's vice-like clutches as well. I spent a good part of the next three days finishing it, much to the chagrin of loved ones. Then I picked up Deception Point, and found that Robert Langdon isn't your only protaganist who can cause me to lose all common sense. Your books should come with a warning on the cover: Only to be read when you have a large amount of open time and nothing better to do.
So a pox upon you Dan Brown, a pox on you for writing your addictive novels and wresting my sense of moderation from me.
Sincerely,
themickel
PS- When does the next one come out?
Deception Point is a good read, another one I would highly recommend even though it has the most boring main character in all the Dan Brown novels. A gister? Come now. What good is a gister going to do when you're fighting a global conspiracy? I think there was only one part in the entire book where she actually used her professional skills. Might as well have made her a clogger.
Anyways, good book, pick it up when you get a chance. You can usually find Dan Brown books that aren't The Da Vinci Code at used bookstores. That reminds me--here's an insightful book review on The Da Vinci Code done by Osama bin Laden. Classic.
Next up is Eragon, or as my wife calls it, "The Blue Dinosaur Book." My buddy Nick recommended this to me right after I had finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and in a way it was a rebound book for me. You know, like a rebound relationship where you go out with someone immediately after breaking up with your girl/boyfriend just to keep your mind off the first person and to spite them. That's what Eragon was for me.
Anyways, this is a good book about a boy who finds a mysterious blue rock that later turns out to be a dragon. It's your typical fantasy/boy-finds-dragon-and-becomes-a-world-power book, but is interesting and has some good plot devices in it. The first half was really good but the second half seemed to lag. That could be because I found out half-way through that the guy who wrote it is only 21 years old and from Montana, causing me not to take the book as seriously.
Anyways, great book. I would recommend it to anyone that's into the fantasy thing.
Next on the list is H.M.S. Surprise by Patrick O'Brian. See my review on Post Captain. Basically the same stuff except this time Aubrey has a half-decent ship to knock the French around in. Great books, each one has been fascinating. Pick one up when you get a chance. Just make sure you have a nautical dictionary handy.
And finally,
Inkheart, by some german lady. I was a little bit disappointed in this book, as I think it could have been much better than it actually was. If you don't know the premise--There's a man who has the ability to read characters and objects from books into real life. He can read a book and the characters from it will randomly leap into the real world, with the same personality and attributes they had in their own story. The tricky part is everytime this happens something or someone from the real world gets sucked into the story, effectually trading places with the fictional person. 10 years or so before the man read a book called Inkheart and unwittingly read the villian out of the story and his wife into it. The rest of the book follows the man and his daughter tracking down the villian and reuniting with his wife.
How could you go wrong with that, right? This is how: Make the book twice as long as it needs to be, fill it with chapters where nothing much happens and the plot doesn't really progress (I swear half this book was about traveling or hiding from the bad-guys), and, most important of all, never have the man with the amazing talent to read things out of books actually use his ability.
The book wasn't bad, it just could have been so much better. Kind of like Vince Carter's career. The author could have done so much with it, as the premise is a very creative idea, but it doesn't really go anywhere. They read Tinkerbell into real life, that was about it.
Anyways, a decent book, I know other people have liked it. Don't not read it because of me.
In Phoenix we stayed at the Arizona Golf Resort, a beast of a nice place full of sun, golf, and old people. 
While in Portland, participants of Regional Meetings will stay at the fabulous Windgate Inn. Amenities include a workout room, heated indoor pool, full breakfast bar, and B.O. free rooms and sheets.
Here's a group shot. I think this compartment may have been bigger than mine and Amy's first apartment...
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