Tagged: 2/5

Tread Lightly

tread lightly larson katovsky skyhorse 2012Tread Lightly: Form, Footwear, and the Quest for Injury-Free Running by Peter Larson and Bill Katovsky, 2/5

The authors are passionate about their topic but I feel this book contributes little to a discussion that is already very much lacking in scientific research and consensus among experts (or at least was in 2012, when it was written).  In an approach reminiscent of the average college essayist, Larson and Katovsky cite a steady stream of inconclusive scientific studies and often-contradictory information that they do not have the expertise to interpret.  Slap on some weak conclusions and the reader is left with a few interesting facts and no real guidance on how to apply them.

Why I read it: My dad mentioned it in conversation.

The Dispossessed

dispossessed le guin harper perennial modern classics 2014The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin, 2/5

Le Guin’s exploration of that inherently contradictory concept, an anarchist society, felt pointless and unbelievable, probably because anarchy itself (even the idealized, fictional version portrayed in this book) seems ridiculously illogical, unrealistic and childish, as I understand it.  Is the government oppressive?  Get rid of all forms of authority!  Do the rich exploit the poor?  Get rid of all possessions!  Is anarchy failing?  Apply more anarchy!

My main problem is not necessarily with Le Guin’s portrayal of anarchy in the book (though I did find that pretty implausible) but that when it inevitably starts to unravel, she falls back on more anarchy as the answer.  It’s as if rebellion was a cause itself, not something to be employed in the service of a cause.  Her attempts to extract some sort of deep philosophical meaning from the simple fact that a society of rebels will inevitably become a regime to be rebelled against itself did not resonate with me at all.

Another reason I didn’t enjoy reading this book is that I dislike feeling preached-at and reading fiction that contains fake science and sexual themes, all of which are prominent features of The Dispossessed and annoyed me enough to ruin any chance of achieving suspension of disbelief.

[Why I read it: Jan from choir recommended Le Guin to me a couple years ago and my friend Sarah mentioned on Facebook that she’s a huge fan.]