book reviews
Jun. 23rd, 2006 03:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluegargantuaHi,
Haven't done any book reviews in awhile. And that's wrong because I have actually been reading stuff.
So, uh, what are the last couple?
First up: Playing With Trains: A Passion Beyond Scale by Sam Posey. It's a non-fiction book about Mr. Posey's model train experiences and about the wider world of model railroaders in general. I like model trains, what can I say? So this book was fun and has me thinking about building a small layout. Very small -- there's no room in the apartment for a lot of hobby space. I'd have to make a small N-scale shelf layout. But the book got me to pick up this guide to model railroad operation and that book got me to thinking that it might be possible to model the small rail yard in my hometown of Ravenna, NE. I'd have to make a few changes -- since I was a kid, most of the traffic that comes through Ravenna consists of 2-mile-long trains hauling coal to power plants in the East. There is some other rail traffic on the line (agricultural products mostly), but the track exists these days to run coal. Even in N-scale, that's too much train to deal with, but with a little re-imagination, it'd be a start.
So go model railroading!
Next up: Forever Man By Gordon R. Dickson. The basic premise? If you love your things enough, you can become one with them. There's this starfighter pilot. He gets used as a guinea pig in one of the most unscientific experiements imaginable but it transfers his consciousness to his spaceship. Then he flies off to investigate the alien enemy. Stuff happens. It's all magic. I was kinda underwhelmed.
Finally: The Pathless Trail by Arthur O. Friel. It's long out of print. I have an early 70's paperback reprint. This is adventure fantasy set in the jungles of South America. It's very much like Heart of Darkness or King Solomon's Mines and the like. You've got these three Americans on the hunt for a lost heir who's gone loco in the jungle. There's an evil German guy and lots of cannibals and deadly animals and the like. It's pretty...well...pulpy. The ending is a bit choppy as well. They spend quite a bit of time going up the river, but only a chapter or two getting the heir and polishing off the German. Still, it's been awhile since I've read a book all agog at the mystery and wonders of places here on Earth so it was good for that.
But you can't go wrong with trains!
Tom
Haven't done any book reviews in awhile. And that's wrong because I have actually been reading stuff.
So, uh, what are the last couple?
First up: Playing With Trains: A Passion Beyond Scale by Sam Posey. It's a non-fiction book about Mr. Posey's model train experiences and about the wider world of model railroaders in general. I like model trains, what can I say? So this book was fun and has me thinking about building a small layout. Very small -- there's no room in the apartment for a lot of hobby space. I'd have to make a small N-scale shelf layout. But the book got me to pick up this guide to model railroad operation and that book got me to thinking that it might be possible to model the small rail yard in my hometown of Ravenna, NE. I'd have to make a few changes -- since I was a kid, most of the traffic that comes through Ravenna consists of 2-mile-long trains hauling coal to power plants in the East. There is some other rail traffic on the line (agricultural products mostly), but the track exists these days to run coal. Even in N-scale, that's too much train to deal with, but with a little re-imagination, it'd be a start.
So go model railroading!
Next up: Forever Man By Gordon R. Dickson. The basic premise? If you love your things enough, you can become one with them. There's this starfighter pilot. He gets used as a guinea pig in one of the most unscientific experiements imaginable but it transfers his consciousness to his spaceship. Then he flies off to investigate the alien enemy. Stuff happens. It's all magic. I was kinda underwhelmed.
Finally: The Pathless Trail by Arthur O. Friel. It's long out of print. I have an early 70's paperback reprint. This is adventure fantasy set in the jungles of South America. It's very much like Heart of Darkness or King Solomon's Mines and the like. You've got these three Americans on the hunt for a lost heir who's gone loco in the jungle. There's an evil German guy and lots of cannibals and deadly animals and the like. It's pretty...well...pulpy. The ending is a bit choppy as well. They spend quite a bit of time going up the river, but only a chapter or two getting the heir and polishing off the German. Still, it's been awhile since I've read a book all agog at the mystery and wonders of places here on Earth so it was good for that.
But you can't go wrong with trains!
Tom
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-06-23 08:03 pm (UTC)Thankfully, you're not clumsy, but you're still a big guy. And them N trains are small.
For true comedy affect, I suggest you try a Z scale layout.