The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro

What a strange book.  Written by the guy that wrote "The Remains of the Day", I expected something very different than what I found.  Mr. Ryder, the main character, arrives in a European town that reamins unknown throughout the book.  He is a celebrated musician, and is clearly there to give a performance in a few days.  From the first page, which begins at his arrival, to the last page, which just ends, this book read like a dream.  Not like a dream as in, "oh, that was so amazing, it was like a dream!" but more like Mr. Ryder's whole time in the town seemed like it was taking place in a dream.  People, places, and things shift around him in a very unlinear way, and he moves within it, semi-conscious of its being strange, but taking it all in stride anyway---kind of.  That's all you need to know about the plot.  Each of the 38 chapters has the feel of a run-on sentence, and the 535 pages seem to get yourself and Mr. Ryder nowhere, but I found that I still wanted to read on.  If you like to spend very little money on entertainment, and if you are a slowish reader, this book could keep you company for up to a year.  Not bad, not bad. 

Oaksterdam

I want to sell pot. Legally. And grow it. Legally. And now I can, if I just move to California and take some classes at Oaksterdam University. Oaksterdam University is a trade school that teaches students how to grow and distribute marijuana.  If you don't live near one of the three cities where the campuses are located (Oakland, Los Angeles, or North Bay), or if you can't take time out from work to attend the regular semester classes, you can attend roughly fifteen hours over a weekend in the basic course.  The weekend course will only set you back $250.00, which I think is pretty reasonable.  I suppose it helps if you have someone in town that will let you crash at their place, like I do (sorry Jennifer).  Still.  The weekend course includes instruction on politics and legal issues, horticulture, extaction methods and what to do with the extractions (food and drink), and how to responsibly distribute your product.  They even offer a glass-blowing class.  I have been looking for a reason to visit California for a long time, and what better reason than this?  Eventually, Minnesota will legalize the use of medical marijuana, right?  And if not, what better reason to move to Oakland or Los Angeles (surely, Los Angeles) than to take the advanced classes at Oaksterdam University, and set up shop?

the girl with the dragon tattoo

Nothing happens in this book until approximately halfway through it. There was a lot of character development of the two main characters, and they both kind of annoyed me.  There were long lists of who begat whom that kind of reminded me of the first few books of the bible, and were quite confusing.  Mikael Blomkvist, the male lead, is an easy-going, unassuming kind of guy.  He is an honorable, honest man who doesn't think too much of himself, nor does he think too little of himself.  Naturally, every woman in the book wants to sleep with him.  Seriously?  If that's all it took, then a lot of people would be getting laid.  That's what I found irritating about him.  Lisbeth Salander, the female lead, is an arrogant, anti-social, type-cast punk at age twenty four.  But wait--she is also emotionally wounded, and has been taken advantage of by men, and  is very tender inside (of course).  That's what i found irrititating about her.  Here's the thing, though.  As annoying as these two are, I still wanted to know where their paths would take them, and hoped for a good ending.  Which is why I kept reading until three in the morning.  I'm glad I did, because in spite of itself, this book managed to be good.