Be Cool by Elmore Leonard

In this sequel to the highly enjoyable Get Shorty, we are re-introduced to the affable former loan shark turned film producer Chili Palmer. After witnessing his friend (and record company owner) Tommy Athens get executed, Chili helps his Athens' widow Edie resurrect the company by signing a female singer / songwriter named Linda Moon.

Along the way, Chili has to hide from the Russian mob (who killed Athens and are now looking for Chili, who witnessed the crime), as well as Linda Moon's former manager, who also wants to kill Chili for having stolen Linda from him. Other notable characters include the hitman Joe Loop, Elliot the gay Samoan bodyguard and the rock group Aerosmith.

Elmore Leonard is an excellent writer who can craft brilliant dialogue and quirky, memorable characters. For these reasons I enjoyed reading this book. At the same time, however, I felt that Be Cool rehashed a lot of the material from Get Shorty. To use an analogy, reading Be Cool was like eating an excellent meal for the second straight day in a row. The dinner is still good, but not as enjoyable as the first time you ate it, for leftovers are rarely -- if ever -- as good as the original meal.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

Pagan Babies by Elmore Leonard

Days after arriving in Rwanda, Father Terry Dunn watches his congregation butchered to death inside his church. The massacre is part of the Rwandan Genocide that tears apart this African country. Five years later, Father Dunn -- or "Terry" to his one-armed housekeeper -- has to return home to Detroit, with a tax-fraud indictment hanging over his head.

While in the States, Terry is forced to come to terms with a criminal past, while falling for an ex-con named Debbie who has just been released from prison for running over her ex-boyfriend with a car. Amidst all of this chaos, he trades wits with a series of mafioso characters (e.g. a Capo boss; a dumb as rocks hit man; a wannabe gangster), while seeking to raise money for Rwandan orphans, in an a fundraising operation that may or may not be a scam.

With brilliant writing, Elmore Leonard introduces a seres of wonderful characters and fantastic plot twists in this great book. Reading through this excellent novel I was reminded why he is one of the best contemporary fiction writers

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics by Norton Juster

There was once a sensible straight line who fell in love with a dot. Unfortunately, the dot was a frivolous creature who preferred the chaos of a squiggly line. Heartbroken, the straight line decided to transform itself into countless shapes (e.g fractals, spider web, a maze, numerous geometric shapes, etc.) to win the affection of the dot.

What can one say about this tiny, cute, novel and strange book? I think it's best to quote from the book's jacket cover, "Some may call [this story] a poignant and sensitive evocation of an eternal theme. Other may see it as a sensitive, soul-searching examination of a heart-wrenching dilemma.

"Or, in these uncertain times, we we seem to stand alienated from the meaning of life itself, it is a shining beacon illumination the pat to some higher understanding? 

"We doubt it."

3 out of 5 stars

Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension by Rudy Rucker

Joe Cube is a high-tech worker living in Silicon Valley who wants to develop a 3-D TV. On New Year's Eve, while working on his prototype, he is visited by a creature from the fourth-dimension named Momo who tells him that he can give him an advanced new technology.

In the ensuing pages, the reader is taken on a screwball sci-fi adventure involving Joe Cube (the names in this novel are awful), his wife Jena, and other characters with such names as Spazz, Tulip and the strange Wackles. As Joe works towards attaining this strange new technology, he is caught up in a geopolitical struggle between two different fourth-dimensional worlds, while having his body "augmented" so he can leave Spaceland (i.e. the three-dimensional world where humans live) in order to be able see into the hyperspace of 4-D.

This book is a modern rendition of the sci-fi classic Flatland, the 19th century story of a two dimensional creature that is introduced to the third dimension. Unlike the original story, however, Spaceland is hampered by some terrible writing. The dialogue is particularly horrific, while the cheesy humor throughout Spaceland comes across as a weak attempt to hide wooden characters that are (if I can use the expression) one-dimensional.

This is the second book by Rudy Rucker that I have read and, once again, I have not been impressed. It's true that Rucker's ideas are interesting, and that his background as a mathematician, computer scientist and professor give him a lot of legitimacy. As a novelist, however, I find him quite weak, and I am still not sure why he is held in such high esteem by some science fiction fans.

If you are interested in stories about multi-dimensional space, you should forego this book and read instead such works as Flatland, Sphereland and the Planiverse.

1 out of 5 stars

The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzensberger

This delightful children's book is an ingenious way of teaching young people about the wonders of mathematics. In this imaginative tale, a young boy named Robert falls asleep and in his dream meets an impish, elderly man who calls himself the Number Devil. Over a series of nights (and dreams), the Number Devil teaches Robert such concepts as prime numbers, infinity, the Fibonacci numbers, pi, imaginary numbers and square roots. Along the way, Robert is introduced to such famous mathematicians as Bertrand Russell, Georg Cantor, Friedrich Gauss and Pythagoras.

Reading this book reminded me of Sophie's World, the wonderful novel by Jostein Gaarder that provides an excellent summary of the history of western philosophy. Like Gaarder (who is able to convey a wide array of ideas with a brilliant tale), Hans Magnus Enzensberger finds a way to explain a wide range of mathematical ideas to his young audience, while simultaneously entertaining them. This is a great book for any parent who wants to teach their young children math.

4 out of 5 stars

Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem by Simon Singh

This book is a wonderful recount of how Fermat's last theorem, one of the world's most (in)famous math problems that eluded mathematicians for more than 350 years, was finally solved by the British mathematician Andrew Wiles in the 1990s.

Written in easy to understand prose, Singh not only describes the amazing intellectual breakthroughs that were required to solve this problem, but in the process also recounts the tale of such mathematicians as Sophie Germain, the tragic boy-genius Evariste Galois and the Japanese duo of Taniyama and Yutaka that helped set the stage for Wiles historic and brilliant solution.

4 out of 5 stars

Love and Rockets: Human Diastrophism v. 4 (Love & Rockets 4): Human Diastrophism v. 4 (Love & Rockets 4) by Gilbert Hernandez

For several years now, I have been meaning to read the Love and Rockets comic book series by the Hernandez brothers. I finally took the plunge by going to my local library and picking up this collection of stories that are collected in a graphic novel format.

Based in a Central American town called Palomar, this book contain tales of love, death, art and family with a magic-realist feel. We are introduced to such characters as the passionate and headstrong Luba (along with her numerous lovers, both past and present), the mysterious Tomaso and the semi-crazed artist Humberto.

On paper, this series is exactly the type of story that I enjoy. For some strange reason, however, I was not captivated by this book. I will definitely borrow other volumes of this series from the library (the stories good), but that being said, I wasn't left with an urge to go out and purchase a copy -- as I do with my favorite books or graphic novels -- so I can re-read it again.

3 out of 5 stars

The Unfinished Canadian: The People We Are by Andrew Cohen

Andrew Cohen likes to point out that Canadians are sometimes smug, envious and petty. Based on his arrogant writing style, Cohen makes a perfect Canadian.

This book was a big disappointment. In terms of subject matter, the book is quite interesting: i.e. Cohen analyses the Canadian identity from various angle, from Canada's relationship to the U.S., to the Canadian identity formed by multiculturalism, to the borderline disdain that many Canadians have for the capital Ottawa.

Cohen's interesting analysis, however, is undermined by a literary tone that is, to be frank, right down snooty. It is ironic to hear Cohen complain about how Canadians can sometimes be smug, while engaging in a form of prose that is incredibly arrogant.

By the end of the book I was left with a bitter-taste in my mouth. On the one hand, I was impressed with the depth and variety of Cohen's ideas and analysis. On the other hand, I was not impressed by how much of an arrogant ass he was. All in all, reading this book is like going to a lecture of a brilliant professor who is also pompous and at times insufferable.

2 1/ 2 out of 5 stars

Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game (Sporting) by David Wangerin

An interesting history of how soccer developed in the United States. Beginning with the the sport's early start in North America in the 19th century, to the repeated attempts to launch a professional league -- i.e. the American Soccer League (1921-32), the infamous NASL (1968-84) and the current-day MLS -- this book is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in knowing the history of footie in the U.S.


3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Why The Leafs Suck And How They Can Be Fixed by Al Strachan

I hate the Toronto Maple Leafs. Part of this is due to being a Senator fan. If truth be told, however, I mostly hate the Leafs because they have insulted, mocked, screwed over, abused and flipped the bird to their fans for decades, while their sadomasochistic fans continue to cheer them on.

In this book, Al Strachan chronicles the horror that is the Toronto Maple Leafs. Whether it's blowing a chance to have Wayne Gretzky as a player (unbelievable), Scotty Bowman as part of management (amazing) or Don Cherry as a coach (OK, that wasn't such a bad outcome), the Leafs have, time and again, chosen poorly.

The scouting team and drafting choices of the Leafs have also been abysmal. Here are just some of the players that the Leafs overlooked in the draft over the past 30 years: Bobby Clarke, Billy Smith, Bryan Trottier Mike Bossy, Darryl Sutter, Jarri Jurri, Grant Fuhr, Dominik Hasek, Luc Robitaille, Joe Nieuwendyk, Joe Sakic, Teemu Selanne, Martin Brodeur, Scott Niedermayer, Saku Koivu, Evgeni Nabokov, Miikka Kiprusoff, Zdeno Chara and Martin Havlat .

How would things have been different for the Leafs if they had picked one or more of these players in the draft? Considering how incompetent the Leafs have been with trades, they probably would have traded them for a 32-year-old over the hill player!

By the end of the book I felt something that I had never felt before for Leafs fans, namely, pity. For how can you be angry at a group of people who been abused, kicked down, laughed at and treated like garbage by their own team for so long. Which made me ask yet again, why does anybody cheer for Toronto?

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Long-Range Goals: The Success Story of Major League Soccer by Beau Dure

A sports tale can be written in many different ways. Among the most common: the unimaginative stats dump (e.g., “the Yankees won 5-6 with nine hits and two errors for their third straight win"); the superlative (e.g., “the heavens opened and the angels sang when Messi scored with his exquisite right foot”); and the academic-cum-fan analysis, which consists of discussing sports in a political, social, historical and/or cultural context

In this book, Beau Dure makes use of all three of the above techniques. At its best, this book provides a convincing analysis of how Major League Soccer has not only survived but also started to thrive in the North American landscape. At its worst, however, this book contains too many passages that are pure, 100 per cent boring stats dump, coupled with the odd superlative that overstates the role of MLS.

If you are a fan of soccer (like me) then you will find this book interesting. For those who are not enamoured with footie, however, this work is likely not for you.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

Star-Spangled Soccer: The Selling, Marketing and Management of Soccer in the USA by Gary Hopkins

This book reminds me of MLS soccer games: flashes of brilliance here, a little show of fervent passion there, but way, way too many mistakes to be considered a top-rate work. At his best, Gary Hopkins makes a convincing case that soccer has a very bright future in the United States. For instance, in one part of the book, he argues that if a super league was formed in the United States with such clubs as Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester United and Boca Juniors, it would likely rival the attendance figures -- though not TV audience -- of the NFL, and surpass the audience for MLB, NBA and the NHL. For proof of this, one simply has to look at the phenomenal attendance figures for friendly matches by super clubs that have become a regular fixture during the North American summer. With this and other arguments, Hopkins makes a convincing case that the U.S. already has a large soccer fan base. (It goes without saying, of course, that the MLS is still not tapping into this potential).

The key problem with this work, however, is its horrible editing. Intriguing charts and fascinating arguments are all too often undermined by numerous typos and incorrect figures. If this were a college thesis and I were the teacher, I would give it an A- for content, but an F for style due to all the spelling mistakes and other stylistic errors.

2 out of 5 stars

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

For years my friends have encouraged me to read Kurt Vonnegut. After choosing other authors for a long period of time, I finally decided to take the plunge and was not disappointed. This highly-enjoyable book reminded me of the first time I read Tom Robbins, or Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49". Like the work of these latter two authors, the plot for Cat's Cradle is fairly silly, and in the hands of a weaker author could come across as slightly stupid. But with great skill, Vonnegut is able to craft a profound book from a group of eccentric characters who live in the strange island state of San Lorenzo. Among others, their is Newt the midget, Bokonon (a holy man who is also a calypso singer), and one of the fathers of the atomic bomb.


4 out of 5 stars

The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America by Grant Wahl

In 2007, David Beckham (former captain of the English national team, and star player for Manchester United and Real Madrid), shocked the sports world by announcing that he had signed a multi-million dollar contract with the LA Galaxy of MLS. The ensuing circus saw the Galaxy rake in millions and millions of dollars in ticket and jersey sales, while the actual team collapsed on the playing field. This intriguing book details the absurdity of the Beckham Experiment, while raising the omnipresent question of whether Beckham's move to the U.S. had anything to do with soccer at all.


4 out of 5 stars

Flyboy Action Figure Comes with Gasmask by Jim Munroe

Ryan is a university student who can turn into a fly, while Cassandra is a waitress that can make things disappear. Soon they begin to date (having met in the greasy spoon where Cassandra works) and start fighting corporate evil in Toronto under the superhero names of Flyboy and Ms. Place.

This quirky plot is the wonderful setting for this fun read. It also captures perfectly the student university ethos. (As I turned the pages I almost had a flashback of my days working in the student press in Toronto). That said, parts of this novel are uber politically correct. Not that two anti-corporate superheroes aren’t great (in fact, the idea is fantastic) but rather that the revolutionary spirit sometimes comes across as a cliché poster rather than as a natural evolution of the story. Putting this minor flaw aside, however, this is still a brilliant book that I highly recommend.

4 out of 5 stars

More Than Just a Game: Soccer vs. Apartheid: The Most Important Soccer Story Ever Told by Chuck Korr

During the dark, terrible days of apartheid in South Africa, numerous political prisoners (including Nelson Mandela) were imprisoned in Robben Island, located off the coast of Cape Town. This hell hole is now known the world over as an infamous symbol of the former racist white regime.

What is less known, however, is how the political prisoners at Robben Island were able to form (despite all the odds) a full functioning soccer league that provided hope to the imprisoned men. Fighting brutal and racist prison authorities, the inmates slowly won the right to form their own league, complete with a referees union, a football association, dedicated fans and most importantly full functioning football clubs. Among the leagues participants who were imprisoned at Robben Island were Jacob Zuma, the current president of South Africa, a couple of future cabinet ministers, a future constitutional judge, and numerous academics and business tycoons who rose to prominence in post-apartheid South Africa.

This remarkable organization, known as the Makana Football Association, would later be given honorary membership in FIFA in recognition of their courageous struggle against apartheid. This remarkable tale is truly breathtaking, and was an inspiration to the jailed men. (Thanks to the success of the soccer league, the prisoners eventually were able to organize other sports, such as a rugby league, tennis and athletics).

That being said, If there is one critique of this book it is that it has a slightly academic feel. Rather than allowing the characters to tell this wonderful story, this book reads at times like a university paper. Despite this small flaw, however, this story is a wonderful tale of how sport can be an empowering force in the fight for social justice.

3 out of 5 stars

Almost Transparent Blue by Ryu Murakami

This is the story of a group of young, lost friends in Japan during the 1970s who live near a U.S. military base. Told in an unconventional format (this novel is comprised of a string of drugged-out, sex-filled vignettes) it provides a hallucinatory vision of Japan.

Whether you enjoy this book will depend on your tastes. Newsweek called it, "A Japanese mix of Clockwork Orange and L'Etranger," in praise of its bleak commentary on
stoned-out, urban isolation. For other readers, however, this novel simple echoes a genre that has been milked to the death (see William Burroughs, Jean Genet, Henry Miller, etc.). In short, whether you find this book to be a gritty tale of tragic youth filled with worthwhile insights, or a cliche account of annoying, drugged out and stupid children, will depend on what you are looking for.

That being said, this book is very well written, and it succeeds in its goal of portraying a gloom and bleak reality. Nevertheless, for a reader in 2010, it does not offer that much of a fresh perspective, given the copious amount of books, music, movies and comics that discuss the theme of urban isolation and the tragic (or is it pathetic?) world of the drug addict.

3 out of 5 stars

How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot: The inside story behind the coalition by Brian Topp

This interesting memoir tells the story of the Canadian coalition crisis in November / December 2008, when the NDP and Liberal parties almost formed a coalition government with the support of the Bloc Quebecois. Written by Brian Topp, the NDP's national campaign director during the 2006 and 2008 federal elections, and one of the lead NDP negotiators during the coalition crisis, this book describes in careful detail how the Conservative Party was almost replaced by the opposition. Overall this is a good read for anybody who is interested in Canadian politics.


3 out of 5 stars

Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski

This is a delightful (and surprisingly insightful) look at the world of international soccer. Modeled on the bestseller Freakonomics, this book debunks numerous myths that exist in the football world. For instance, according to one popular folk tale, many distraught fans kill themselves after their team is eliminated from a major competition. In reality, international soccer tournaments actually decrease the number of suicides in participating countries. Then there is the myth of underachieving England whose national team repeatedly lets their country down. This "reality", however, hides the fact that England has been punching above its weight for a very long time.

Then there is the cliche prediction, which has been given for decades now, that an Africa team will one day win the world cup. According to the books authors, however, China, the United States, Japan and even Iraq -- yes Iraq -- are a better bet to win future world cups than any team from Africa. Like Freakonomics, Soccernomics is a captivating read that truly captures the imagination and the intellect, and is a very fun read.

4 out of 5 stars

A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park

This could be the worst book that I have read in the past five years. The plot seems straightforward enough: A teenage girl in the U.S. is suddenly transported to an alternate world with two of her friends where Romania (or Roumania is the parallel world) is a global power. With this interesting beginning -- and I did enjoy the first 50 pages or so -- the reader is taken through a fantasy ride. But then things completely fall apart. In fact, I wonder if the expression, "losing the plot," was not invented specifically for this novel. The main story is such a mess that the reader has no idea what is going on. I ended up forcing myself to finish this book out of principle, but in the end all I did was confirm that this book is just awful.

1 out of 5 stars