Book Review: 'The Green Metropolis' and HCMC

David Owen’s amazingly prescient and clear-eyed book from 2009, The Green Metropolis, deconstructs exactly what city planners, environmentalists, and the general population get right about cities… and what they get very, very wrong.

His book offers staggeringly simple reasons to rethink how we approach the twin questions of:

1. “Are cities good or bad for the environment?” and
2. “Cars… OMG?”

His answers boil down to:

1. Very, very, very good, and
2. Yes, cars, OMG.

His arguments, citing a veritable mountain of statistical evidence laid bare in his clear, concise writing, chronicles the rise, fall, rebirth, and future of human cities since the invention of the automobile. He argues that these high-density urban environments are not only more environmentally green, but actually shift the entire conversation from cars and drivers back to fundamental quality-of-life issues for all humans, from the very young to the elderly, and how best to satisfy them.

Owens’ three basic themes are clear: live smaller, live closer, and drive less.

Book Review: Helliconia Trilogy

The Helliconia trilogy, by Brian W. Aldiss, is an epic microcosm of a story - a tale of civilizations trapped by circumstances and directed by forces larger and more implacable than any human construct - their environment. It reminds us that we're part of a larger fabric, that we have a place in our habitat, our planet, and the stars themselves.

I initially didn't see any value in picking this book apart as part of my One Person Book Club (to contrast, the only previous book I've reviewed through this lens, The Dispossessed, had several obviously relevant themes wrapped in a much less epic bow). I didn't see how it could relate to either sustainable cities or my time in Vietnam, but I'd heard it was considered a Masterwork, and (completed) sci-fi series are kind of my jam. So, what the hell. I gave it a shot. I'd been reading way too much news recently, anyway.

It wasn't until partially through the second book that I came to see the connections between the larger themes and how they related to my own interests. The enormous, detailed environmental canvas provides a cosmic level of context for the actions of the characters (a context that we humans can easily forget we're a part of), letting us see the natural, sociological, and psychic ramifications of a cataclysm that shook nature itself to the core.

The themes of natural change are all-important. The unusual phenomena which created this environment dominates everything in this story. The three stories detail the fallout of a solar system's disastrous encounter with a second star, which causes the climates, evolution, and civilizations of a planet to spin wildly out of control, colliding in fascinating and mind-expanding ways over the course of centuries and eons.

Book Review: Dispossessed in Vietnam

The other day I picked up Ursula K Le Guin's science fiction masterpiece The Dispossessed. It was the only novel of her Hainish cycle that I'd never read (for shame!!), although it's been on my radar for years. My friend Misty warned me after I was a few pages into it that her copy was seriously underlined (she's a great highlighter of quotes) and that I was going to enjoy it.

I loved it much more than I could have anticipated. In fact, at many points during the second half of the novel, I literally found myself thinking, "This book is about ME!," like some teenage girl finding her first pop-music love. In this case it was clear I'd stumbled upon exactly the book I needed at this moment in time. As I finished the final exhilarating chapters, I was already composing this post in my head: what would become the first entry in my One Person Book Club. If you like reading, go ahead and join me, and come back to this post later! If not, read on for my reactions, thoughts, and analysis of the themes and characters. Or don't, I'm not your mom. But I do hope you find this interesting and relevant. I know I did.

Read on!... and on!... and on! (It's a long one, folks!):

Call for Science Fiction Books About the Developing World

There's not a lot I can say about this book that hasn't been said, except that you should read it (which has
also been said, many, many times before) as soon as possible. And that I walk under trees like that every day now.

So you're probably aware my literary world basically consists of Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction (and, more recently, all things Game of Thrones-related) and little else. Some would construe this narrowness as a weakness - I say... oh, whatever, I don't care what the haters think! I live for excellent science fiction, and I've enjoyed/been horrified to see many science fictional concepts and values come into their own IRL (Mom/Dad: IRL = In Real Life).

Now I'm in a genuine Third World country (albeit a rapidly improving/modernizing one) and I've got a different perspective on life staring me in the face. And not only that, but Vietnam is a communist regime as well. I'm playing around with starting a series of blog posts that review/talk about books in light of my experiences in this new setting.