DarrenBarefoot.com

Apologies for the light posting–it’s been a busy week. I flew to Edmonton and back. It was what I call a ‘no coat trip’. It goes: apartment –> SkyTrain –> airport –> plane –> taxi –> hotel –> taxi –> client’s offices –> taxi –> airport –> SkyTrain –> apartment. I’m basically never outside for more than a minute, so I don’t bring a coat.

In any case, I’ve recently finished several books, so here are some quick reviews.

Under the Dome by Steven King – This was touted as a return to form after several lousy books, and I’d tend to agree. It’s a close cousin to “The Stand”, in that it’s a long (nearly 1100 pages), sprawling narrative with huge cast of characters. It’s typical King, so if you like his approach–one friend who’s new to King aptly called him “merciless”–then you’ll like this book. I actually listened to it as an audio book, expertly read by stage actor Raúl Esparza. Esparza’s use of character voices in his reading simplified the problem of keeping all the characters straight.

Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne – A meandering book about Byrne’s experiences of art, architecture and cycling through the cities of the world. It’s taken largely from his online journal, I gather. It’s moderately interesting if you’re into Byrne’s artwork and music, or like to travel.

The British Museum is Falling Down by David Lodge – A friend recommended this slim little novel to me as the funniest book she’d ever read. I can’t get behind that assessment, but it’s definitely in my top twenty. Written in 1965, it recounts the day in the life of a struggling Catholic academic. That doesn’t sound all that promising, but our hero, Arthur Appleby, is the mincing uncle to Adrian Mole and Arthur Dent. It’s a little strawberry tart of a book at 160 pages, but well worth it if you like dry British humour.