Our Forgetfulness

Our ability to remember is often reduced to a dream influenced by taste. 

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book is a great one. It takes place in a valley of despair, but shows how the Arts can shine through the darkness. A good book will give you an appreciation of the world you live in. This book is one of those books that in its bleakness and strange settings, illustrates what is important in our loud world. Sometimes we need to see our worlds stripped clean of all the bells and whistles, and see the undercurrent of hope that abounds in our eternal symphony.



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Replay is a Companion to Ready Player One

Replay: The History of Video Games by Tristan Donovan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Replay was a fascinating look into the computer game world that I missed out on. After reading it,  I wish I would have made more time for video games. But, this book showed me the creative construction of "ready player one" like worlds. I am thankful that Tristan Donovan took his time to research this world so thoroughly and engaging. The book overall was interesting as a side view on the setting that I grew up in.  There were memories that came back to me as I listened: I remembered my aunt's Pac Man fever in Breckenridge Colorado.  She just had to find the game, and she did find the game at the basement of the ski chalet.  I remembered being a teenager in Boulder Colorado, and seeing my first view of virtual reality.  I remember the smell of the video game palaces. The palaces had the smell of sweat and victory over the space invaders.  I also felt led by the narrative in a way that I could expect what was coming next.  The author deftly led me to key moments in the narrative.  I did like the first part better than the last part, that of starting from nothing to create something.  Overall this book was a movement in time, and I was never a video game junkie.  I think I would have enjoyed this book had I had time with the games described. But this book has a strong enough narrative to bring the general reader along for a ride.  The audio performance by Gary Furlong was just right, not interfering with the history being laid out; yet interesting enough to keep you listening.   I listened to this book  while spraying trees and shrubs at Bella Trae in Davanport Florida.


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