Tal Cohen's Bookshelf: A Collection of Personal Opinions about Books

Fiction

Science Fiction

Non-Fiction

Computer Science

Book In-Jokes
The Fiction Collection
“I wonder... What's in a book while it's closed... Because as soon as I open it, there's a whole story with people I don't know yet and all kinds of adventure and deeds and battles... All those things are somehow shut up in a book. But it's already there, that's the funny thing. I just wish I knew how it could be.”
Michael Ende, The Neverending Story

The Science Fiction Collection
“A wild dream and a far one -- but no wilder and no farther than some of the dreams of man.”
Clifford D. Simak, City

The Non-Fiction Collection
“That's the reason they're called lessons: because they lessen from day to day.”
Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

The Computer Science Collection
“Think of a computer program. Somewhere, there is one key instruction, and everything else is just functions calling themselves, or brackets billowing out endlessly through an infinite address space. What happens when the brackets collapse? Where's the final “END IF”? Is any of this making sense?”
Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless

Book In-Jokes

Here I try to maintain a list of book in-jokes: little jokes that most readers won't notice, hidden in otherwise serious books (for more about what "in-jokes" are, see at the end of the list).

I'll need your help: if you find any such in-jokes, let me know. Please include the word “injoke” in the subject.

The books are listed in no particular order.


Book Reviews / Read Log Book Reviews: Fiction Science-Fiction Book Reviews Non-Fiction Book Reviews Computer Science Book Reviews
[2002-12-23]

Why read a science book written about 150 years ago when there are newer, more up-to-date books on the very same subject? Because The Origin of Species is an important and very well written book, that’s why.
[Non-Fiction]
Read more...

[2002-12-23]

It saddens me to say so, but the sequel to Ender’s Shadow, namely Shadow of the Hegemon, is a pathetic book.
[Science Fiction]
Read more... Comments so far: 10

[2002-12-13]

The master-storyteller of espionage, John Le Carre, takes his reader for a chilling tour in the land of the pharmaceutical giants in The Constant Gardener.
[Fiction]
Read more... Comments so far: 2

[2001-11-26]

In a book that people involved in SETI did not like, authors Ward and Brownlee claim that in all likelihood, complex life (let alone intelligent one) is uncommon in the universe, maybe even unique to Earth. The book Rare Earth is an important reading for anyone interested in astrobiology.
[Non-Fiction]
Read more... Comments so far: 2

[2000-12-30]

Patrick O’Brian’s novels do an amazing work of brining back to life the early 19th century. This review of O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series talks about the unique atmosphere of these books, covering the first two volumes - Master and Commander and Post Captain.
[Fiction]
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[See earlier reviews]
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