All Consuming : Darren Chamberlain

Why I want to consume "I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:16:09 GMT

I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll

by Leona Naess

Via Adam Salsman.

A story about "Hoot"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Sun, 29 Jan 2006 01:38:56 GMT

Hoot

by CARL HIAASEN

It looks like this is going to be made into a movie.

Typical Union Station... (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 03:12:38 GMT

Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live

by Alison Krauss & Union Station

The thing about every live Union Station show I’ve ever seen or heard is: They sound just like they do on their studio albums. There is very little improvisation, even vocally, but they are very tight, and the songs are beautifully and masterfully executed.

A review of "A Box of Matches"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 20:33:09 GMT

A Box of Matches

by Nicholson Baker

I read Vox, and I liked it a lot. I read Checkpoint, and liked it. I read this, and, while it had some good ideas, I’m undecided. If these three books are indicative of Baker’s style, it is very low-key and laid-back, dialog-heavy, and fairly slow-paced. That just wasn’t what I needed when I started this point. I will definitely come back to it in the future, though; I didn’t dislike it, it just didn’t grab me like I hoped it would.

A story about "Fade to Bluegrass: The Bluegrass Tribute to Metallica"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 02:58:56 GMT

Fade to Bluegrass: The Bluegrass Tribute to Metallica

by Various Artists

This caught my eye, and I almost didn’t get it, but the temptation was too much. It’s actually pretty good, and it does a good job of showing that some of Metallica’s songs are actually good songs, not just good metal songs. The songs are mostly older, with quite a few from before the Black album.

A story about "Mr. Paradise: A Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 02:55:20 GMT

Mr. Paradise: A Novel

by Elmore Leonard

I don’t know anything about this one yet, but every time I see something new by Elmore Leonard, I grab it.

A story about "Operation: Mindcrime"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 19:21:32 GMT

Operation: Mindcrime

by Queensrÿche

Operation: Mindcrime is the story of Nikki, a kid who aligns himself with an underground revolutionary group. This order is lead the mysterious Doctor X, peddler of anarchy and heroine. Nikki becomes a hitman for the order, and falls in love with Sister Mary, a prostitute-turned-nun who works for the order. When album opens, Nikki is in a hospital bed, heavily drugged, after having been caught by the police next to Mary’s dead body.

A story about "Forever: A Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:19:08 GMT

Forever: A Novel

by Pete Hamill

Forever offers an interesting view of New York through the ages. I don’t know how much of the history is accurate (some of it, at least, seems to be fairly so), but it definitely is entertaining, and manages to bring to life people and events that might otherwise be simply names and dates to memorize.

A story about "Cherry"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:52 GMT

Cherry

by Mary Karr

This book was reviewed by The Patriot Ledger a few months ago, and it sounded interesting. I enjoyed it, and I think I’m going to go back and read her other book as well.

A story about "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:48 GMT

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

by Gregory Maguire

I really enjoyed this book, and have reread it a few times.

A story about "Perl Template Toolkit"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:47 GMT

Perl Template Toolkit

by Darren Chamberlain

I’m a little biased, since I co-wrote the book.

A story about "Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower, Book 5)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:47 GMT

Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower, Book 5)

by Stephen King

I’m finding this book harder to get into than the previous Dark Tower books.

A story about "Diary: A Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:47 GMT

Diary: A Novel

by CHUCK PALAHNIUK

Very nice. Not really what I expected, based on what I know about his other books. This is the first of his books that I’ve read, but it won’t be the last.

A story about "Buddhism: The Religion of No-Religion, the Edited Transcripts (Alan Watts Love of Wisdom Library)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:46 GMT

Buddhism: The Religion of No-Religion, the Edited Transcripts (Alan Watts Love of Wisdom Library)

by Alan Watts

Interesting, provacative, streamlined, clear, and, um, enlightening, like all of Alan Watts’ writings.

A story about "A Coyote's in the House (Leonard, Elmore)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:45 GMT

A Coyote's in the House (Leonard, Elmore)

by Elmore Leonard

Very nice. It’s billed as a kids book, and I’m going to try it out on my kids pretty soon.

A story about "The Code Book : The Evolution Of Secrecy From Mary, To Queen Of Scots To Quantum Crytography"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:45 GMT

The Code Book : The Evolution Of Secrecy From Mary, To Queen Of Scots To Quantum Crytography

by SIMON SINGH

This fascinating and easy to read book covers lots of diverse disciplines ~~- history, archaeology, math -~~ while it explains cryptography. The coverage of Bletchly Park and Enigma dovetail very nicely with Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon,
providing the history underlying the fiction. My main gripe is that the coverage of PGP and Phil Zimmerman is incomplete: It omits one of the most interesting and important parts of PGP, the web of trust, and how it addresses message integrity, identification, and relationships.

A story about "Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:44 GMT

Quicksilver (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 1)

by Neal Stephenson

This is a huge book, and slow, complete with lengthy flashbacks and staggering amounts of detail. I’ve been reading it a section at a time, which means it’s going to take me forever to finish, but I’m enjoying taking my time; there’s a lot to digest.

I really want Stephenson to start writing real history books. I find his style to be very engaging, and if my any of my textbooks were this good, I would have done a lot better in school.

A story about "Ex-Libris"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:44 GMT

Ex-Libris

by Ross King

Gets more interesting the further along I get. It’s not a quick read, though.

A story about "The Da Vinci Code"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:43 GMT

The Da Vinci Code

by Dan Brown

Interesting and informative, even to someone with a degree in religion.

A story about "The Little Prince"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:43 GMT

The Little Prince

Reading this with my kids.

A story about "Checkpoint: A Novel"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Darren Chamberlain) — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:04:42 GMT

Checkpoint: A Novel

by Nicholson Baker

Interesting, and thought-provoking. A very quick read.