Dmitri's Garden: Book Log 2003

Reading this book has been a sheer delight -- I felt like I was one of those people who never read Neuromancer or Lord of the Rings, and was discovering it for the first time, even though it's a canonical classic. Not that I would say that Snow Crash is as quality or as influential as those two, but it was just as much fun to read. Highly recommended (especially in audiobook format).

Notes on "Re-Enchantment..."
I did not finish the book. I truly like the subject matter - the filling of everyday life with holiness and enchantment. And the various ideas and topics that Moore brought up were certainly interesting, and made me think. However, the tone and execution of the book were, for me, unbearable. Forget tight, muscular prose, or any notion of active versus passive voice. Over half of the book's sentences were of the format "If we'd only ..., then we'd ... (have more happiness, live in a better world, etc, etc, at considerable nauseum)". This structure, combined with the reader's (this was read by the author) mild white male psychotherapist voice, made me want to mistreat kittens, pollute the world's water supplies, or, finally, turn off the audio recording and return the book to the library.

Notes on "Redefining Work"
I have read many excellent books over my lifetime. This is the first one that forced me to stop the tape every couple of sentences to digest, to let the words sink in, or to just shout with glee like a madman. This guy Gets It(tm). This guy cares. I'm buying this book immediately and checking back with it every month or so. Wow.