Quotations Weblog

Another book binge has me excited about science fiction again. Extras by Scott Westerfeld is the fourth book of his Uglies series. When he finished with Specials, he had tied everything up in the universe so neatly that I truly thought there was no where else he could go, but I loved the series, so I bought the hardcover of Extras without even reading the blurb on dust jacket. I trust Scott Westerfeld to give me a good story enough to buy his books sight unseen.

I wasn’t disappointed.

I really related to Aya Fuse, the main character of Extras. She is a Kicker. She films stories of things going on around her and puts them up for all to see. She doesn’t do it for survival. She has a room, food and medicine if she is sick. She does it for fame. She is always accompanied by her hovercam, Moggle, and she is always filming. Just like me, everything she does is something she could be telling the world about on her feed.

While following a story about rogue girls mag-surfing a train, a dangerous stunt, she falls into an even bigger story. Something that just might consume her. If the fame from her story doesn’t suffocate her, the fallout from its implications just might.

It’s an amazing romp through the Uglies world that was fresh and new. Aya’s world is based on whuffie, or fame. The more famous you are, the more luxuries you are allowed. Even though I was familiar with a version of this world from Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Scott Westerfeld took it to a more imaginative level than Cory Doctorow.

Here are my favorite quotes gleaned from Extras:

These quotes have to do with the new trend in brain surgery, Radical Honesty, where you cannot lie, even if you want to. It’s an interesting look into the meaning of being human, right down to lying. Extras is an excellent addition to the Uglies series.

If you would like to read Scott Westerfeld’s blog, you can do so here:

• westerblog

More reviews of Scott Westerfeld’s books:

• Quotations Weblog » Archive » Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

• Quotations Weblog » Archive » Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

• Quotations Weblog » Archive » Specials by Scott Westerfeld

• Quotations Weblog » Archive » Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Back in 1967, Fidel Castro believed that retirement should come at an early age. Well, he has finally has resigned as Cuba’s leader.

• Fidel Castro Steps Down As Cuba’s Leader, Ailing Communist Leader Resigns Post Held Since 1959; U.S. Will Keep Embargo Intact – CBS News

You can see the video from CBS News here:

Do any of us consider 81 years old to be relatively young?

Here is a link to quotes from every U.S. President:

• Journey Inside My Mind Blog: Happy Presidents Day – February 17, 2003

Happy President’s Day! If you have the day off, enjoy it while the rest of the working world wishes they were you.

Virgil Griffith took the favorite books on Facebook and linked them to the SAT/ACT scores. In the end, he came up with the books that make you dumb!

• Books That Make You Dumb by Virgil Griffith

Here is some information from his Frequently Asked Questions file:

What are some notable things about the data?

• Harry Potter is the most popular book. The Bible is the second most popular book. At least among college students, Harry Potter is, like the Beatles, indeed bigger than Jesus.

• Although I had no idea at the beginning of this project, I was ever so pleased to discover that Caltech is the smartest school in the country (on average).

• The smartest religious book is the Book of Mormon. The dumbest religious book is The Holy Bible. I’m sure this pleases the Mormons immensely.

• The dumbest philosophy book is “The Five People You Meet In Heaven” and the smartest philosophy book is “Atlas Shrugged”.

• Erotica spans the entire distribution, being both the smartest book in the entire dataset (Lolita) as well as the dumbest (Zane).

• The top/bottom 20 books are remarkably stable. I tried 5 different weighting algorithms and their only variation was in the middle. The dumbest books were always at the bottom, and the smartest books were always on top. This is even further corroborated by the fact that the extremes change remarkably little.

I love to see people looking at different ways to group books. Should Harry Potter be at the top of the list of reading because almost everyone has read it? Should Lolita because it has been read by more smart students? This opens up a huge line of discussion about literature and I’m excited to see it!

Via: Using “favorite books” data from Facebook and the average SAT/ACT scores… kottke.org

I love graphic novels. Garth Ennis’ War Stories, Vol. 1 is the start of a series about World War II from alternate points of view:

• Unshelved comic strip – Garth Ennis’ War Stories, Vol. 1

Ennis reinvents the war comic for current sensibilities. Four long stories, each illustrated by a different artist, present World War II from various viewpoints. An exhausted German tank crew in the war’s last days tries to be captured by Americans rather than vengeful Russians. The “D-Day Dodgers” fighting in Italy are accused of cowardice for escaping the “real” war. Jaded veterans sent to reconnoiter a remote chateau on the German front discover a cache of Nazi plunder. The crewmen of a British escort ship seek redemption after they’re shunned as sole survivors of a brutal German attack. The stories are inspired by real events; Ennis’ meticulous research guarantees verisimilitude, while his forceful characterization gives them remarkable power.

The best part is that they are almost true! Don’t forget to read Unshelved every day!