Since my last post, two Pratchett novels, a classic book of SF, and an interesting work on sociology.

The Last Continent is Pratchett's spoof of Australia. It wasn't his best, but was worth reading. It reminded me I'd like to have the Luggage. Wee Free Men was set on Discworld and had some of the familiar characters (briefly) but is meant for younger readers than your average Discworld book. I still enjoyed it though.

Walter Tevis' The Man Who Fell to Earth was a quick read over the weekend. Humanoid comes to Earth and tries blending in. The movie is now in my netflix queue.

I picked up Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone after hearing him on OPB. The book is on the decline of social capitol at the end of the twentieth century. Part of the book details all of the ways in which it has declined (voting rates, club membership, church-going, etc). The next part speculates on why this is. The end talks a little bit about why we should care and starts to propose some ways to reverse the trend.
posted by Kristin Buxton at 2:37 PM