exlibris

Manchmal muss man einfach nur ans Meer fahren, Rosalie Tavernier, 1/2010

2010-01-16T10:15:00.001Z

Aphorismen zum Glueck und vor Allem zur Langsamkeit. Banal und trotzdem nicht selbstverstaendlich. Stimmungsvoll und sensibel bebildert.

Das Spiel des Engels, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, 1/2010

2010-01-03T23:11:00.001Z

Eine duestere, deprimierende und brutale Geschichte, wahrhaft "gothic", nur selten und viel zu kurz von menschlichen Lichtblicken erhellt. Den passenden Hintergrund bilden Kaelte und Regen eines industriellen Barcelonas der 20-er und 30-er Jahre, in dem die faschistischen Horden schon auf ihren Auftritt lauern. Der Epilog ist zwar kompromisslos mystisch, aber wenigstens erholsam langsam und sensibel. Doch im Rueckblick ueberwiegen bei weitem Horror und Gewalt - wenn nicht Zafon der Autor waere haette ich dieses Buch niemals gelesen.

RESTful Java with JAX-RS, Bill Burke, 12/2009

2009-12-25T16:19:00.001Z

A delightful book on RESTful design principles and JAX-RS because 1. it uses a concise, no-nonsense style that explains and discusses (and this includes stating disadvantages - how old-fashioned is that!) rather than sells or preaches; 2. it is written with the vast background knowledge of someone who knows most of Java EE like his backyard and has written his own JAX-RS implementation (RESTEasy); 3. it uses code-heavy examples throughout for what is best explained through code; 4. it goes beyond the spec to explain the choices for client-side REST APIs; 5. it spares us the WS-* vs. REST debate. JSR 299/CDI has added its bit of magic on top of the release of JAX-RS described in this book, but that's trivial to learn from the spec. I wish it had given WADL a bit more consideration.

Nachtzug nach Lissabon, Pascal Mercier, 10/2009

2009-11-06T08:03:00.001Z

Raimung "Mundus" "Papyrus" Gregorius, ein vertrockneter Berner Altphilologe erwacht durch die Begegnung mit einer mysterioesen Portugiesin. Er bricht sein korrektest geordnetes Leben als Gymnasiallehrer abrupt ab und stuerzt sich in das Erforschen des Lebensweges eines vor 30 Jahren verstorbenen Lissaboner Adeligen und Arztes namens Prado, dessen Aphorismen Gregorius in einer Buchhandlung in Bern zufaellig in die Haende fallen und in seiner hypersensiblen Situation zutiefst bewegen. Der Hauptteil des Buches handelt von seinem Eintauchen in Lissabon und das Leben Prados - und von der Entwicklung die er dabei durchmacht und nachholt.

Prados Buch sind im wesentlichen kurze philosophische Abhandlungen, die Gregorius auf wundersame Weise aus der Seele sprechen und die das Rueckgrat des Buches bilden. Ich kann nicht behaupten dass sie bei mir einen besonderen Eindruck hinterlassen haben. Viel mehr bewegt hat mich die Feinfuehligkeit mit der Gregorius auf seine Entdeckungsreise geht, Beziehungen zu Personen aus Prados Leben aufbaut, und sich dabei veraendert. Diese (Selbst-) Beobachtungen machen dies zum wahrscheinlich sensibelsten Buch dass ich jemals gelesen habe, und sie sind es die mein Interesse wachgehalten haben. Auch ist der Leser sicher interessiert, wie sich Gregorius' Ausbruch aus seinem alten Leben aufloesen koennte. Doch darueber hinaus funktioniert das Buch als Roman und Geschichte nur relativ bedingt. Merkwuerdig sind auch die unzaehligen Wiederholungen von bereits Gelesenem oder Gehoertem, die wohl Gregorius' Reflexionen ausdruecken sollen, aber auch schlichtweg Spannung und Fluss aus der Handlung nehmen.

Matter, Ian M. Banks, 10/2009

2009-10-23T16:22:00.001+01:00

Ferbin and Holse from the shellworld Sursamen seek Ferbin's sister Anaplian who left many years ago to live with the Culture. Nothing if not imaginative and epic, but over long stretches i simply did not care to hear about yet another "historical" fact about this planet or that society. Although the main actors are drawn in quite a bit of detail, in the main i missed credible and - most of all - engaging emotions and behaviour. Most disturbingly, though, it occurred to me that Banks' approach must simply be called racist: with the exception of Culture citizens, almost every other being's attitude, motivation and actions are first-and-foremost determined by his/her/its race. Nariscene do this, Oct have that belief, Morthanveld respond like so, and so on, and so forth. Maybe this is inevitable in a novel that spans such enormous distances in time and space and biological diversity, but if that's so, then i must say i prefer the close-up view that exposes individual differences.

Der blinde Masseur, Catalin Dorian Florescu, 10/2009

2009-10-11T21:19:00.001+01:00

Teodor, Ion Palatinus, Marius, Elena, Valeria: Ein gebuertiger
Rumaene, der als junger Erwachsener von der kommunistischen Diktatur
in die Schweiz gefluechtet ist, macht sich 20 Jahre spaeter auf die
Suche nach seiner rumaenischen Identitaet - und das scheint fuer den
Romanheld so zuzutreffen wie scheinbar fuer den Autor auch. Die
rumaenische Gesellschaft wir sehr ernuechternd geschildert: Armut,
Korruption, Hinterlist, emotionale Unehrlichkeit und alles
durchdringende Geldgier. Hier und da glimmt etwas schwermuetige Poesie
und Zertlichkeit auf. Doch das rumaenische Leben hat harte Geschoepfe
hervorgebracht, und der "Schweizer" ist weich... Ein ernnuechterndes
Buch.

Man in the Dark, Paul Auster, 9/2009

2009-10-03T06:01:00.002+01:00

Numerous stories and short episodes, all somehow intertwined, and at the centre lies 70-year-old August Brill awake in the dark, mostly also in a dark mood, and - this is Paul Auster, after all - politics. For quite a long time it seems as if this were the somewhat bizarre story of Owen Brick, as imagined by Brill, but then the narrative web becomes more complicated, is enriched by seemingly irrelevant details about a hapless writers life, goes on what seem like tangents about Brill's daughter Miriam and her daughter Katya, only to gravitate to what happened to Titus, Katya's former boyfriend, and how he died in Iraq. The actions of a few "fascists" (his words; not that i object) at the helm of political power are contrasted with a stream of intensely personal actions, how the former shapes the latter but can not quite control it, inflicts pain but can not extinguish the positive energy that flows whenever people how love each other interact. The "weird world rolls on". A very positive message, in the end, despite of the negative preconditions and all the suffering involved. (How good to read again for the soul and not the intellect.)

What I Loved, Siri Hustvedt, 8/2009

2009-08-08T16:50:00.001+01:00

(This book provided the much-needed sensuous escape from a recent concentration on neuroscience papers.)

Set amongst artists and scholars of the arts in Manhattan, the plot follows the very personal life of the narrator Leo over several decades. The dominant topic is the relationship between Leo, Bill, Erica and Violet and their children Matt and Mark. The children are an important source of sorrow and pain and Mark's adventures give the last third of the book a significant tension.But most important to me was the depiction of the very thoughtful, tender yet immensely strong social web that ties the adults together and is woven by a myriad of small, in themselves mostly insignificant events and social interactions.

The book is dedicated to Paul Auster and i can't help but notice the similarity in style: an incredibly fluent, unassuming and seemingly detached prose that succeeds in being analytical and emotional at the same time.

Lemmings Himmelfahrt, Stefan Slupetzky, 6/2009

2009-06-10T20:33:00.002+01:00

Lemming "Unter den Ulmen" (Gugging?), nachdem er am Naschmarkt in eine Schiesserei verwickelt wird. Ein wirklich exzellenter, vielseitiger Krimi, mit vor Allem wunderschoenen sprachlichen Bildern. Einige Figuren sind evtl. etwas oberflaechlich gezeichnet. All meine Kritikpunkte am ersten Band sind beseitigt: die Story speilt zwar natuerlich nach-wie-vor in Wien, und betont dies auch durchaus, aber das Touristische ist verschwunden und der Ort gliedert sich harmonisch in die Handlung ein.

Der Fall des Lemming, Stefan Slupetzky, 5/2009

2009-05-30T17:16:00.001+01:00

Vielseitiger wiener Kriminalroman. Der Protagonist ist natuerlich ein Antiheld - aber nicht in so grotesker Weise wie oft typisch fuer oesterreichische Machwerke sondern eher subtil und sympathisch. Der Roman hat eine humoristische Seite - aber sie ist zart und nicht schenkelklopfend. Er ist gesellschaftskritisch - aber nicht in deprimierend-nihilistischer Weise. Und er ist spannend - aber definitiv kein Thriller. Der einzige Aspekt der mich wirklich gestoert hat ist eine oft in die Sprache der Tourismuswerbung abgleitende Erklaerung wiener Eigenarten.

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, Richard P. Feynman, 4/2009

2009-05-01T11:35:00.001+01:00

A collection of mainly transcripts of interviews with and talks by the great physicist. Focuses rather too much on the person than on his work, for my taste. So we read only a tiny bit about high-energy physics and hardly anything at all about quantum electrodynamics, but quite a bit about his relationship with his father and his scientific world view. The latter is really interesting and inspiring, though, as he argues very passionately and with varying degrees of sophistication and eloquence for what one could call an orthodox, personalized scientific approach: internalizing doubt; always questioning, always arguing rationally; categorizing theories and "knowledge" on a scale of (un)certainty that does not include the extremes on that scale; the value of the repeatable, carefully controlled experiment; the power of generalization and the need to look at "enough" detail. The good old-fashioned scientific approach, of course, but without any of the philosophy-of-science self-importance.

There is a small piece on the relationship of science and religion, that contains this quote, which i really liked because it applies so well to many areas, from "best-practices" in software development to the theory and practice of economics and finance over the last decades:

"It is true that if you have a tyranny of ideas, so that you know exactly what has to be true, you act very decisively, and it looks good - for a while. But soon the ship is heading in the wrong direction, and no one can modify the direction anymore."

Physiology of Behavior, Neil R. Carlson, 4/2009

2009-04-24T14:43:00.001+01:00

(OK - i'm not through with this yet, but then i probably never will be entirely, so this is a good a time as any to jot down my impressions.)

A representative of the astonishing class of absolutely brilliant American text books in the life sciences: a truly great American tradition. This is one of the most important text books on physiological (biological) psychology. It discusses this subject from several perspectives, with copious use of figures and diagrams, and even a CD-ROM with animations. The presentation thus really succeeds in being accessible - which is very welcome given the complexity of the content. The German equivalent would shroud the content in Latin and oh-so-educated language...

Clean Code, Robert C. Martin, 3/2009

2009-04-24T14:32:00.001+01:00

Micro-design guidelines in the Software Craftsmanship tradition. Very thorough and well-argued; step-by-step refactorings. Design at this level really matters - but does it matter that much? And does consistency maybe matter more than the actual style that is being aspired to? One may call this the Object Mentor school of micro-design, which is closely related to the Kent Beck school.

Enterprise Architecture as Strategy, Jeanne W. Ross et al., 3/2009

2009-04-24T14:22:00.001+01:00

A discussion of and framework for enterprise architecture originating at MIT Sloan School. Plausible, based on empirical research - but the problems in enterprise architecture are not in coherently reasoning about it...

Wie ein Staubkorn auf der Erde. Thailand erzaehlt, 3/2009

2009-03-19T14:00:00.001Z

Eine Anthologie moderner thailaendischer Autoren mit den vorscherrschenden Themen Rolle der Frau, Armut und (Ueber-) Lebenskampf. Nicht gerade aufbauend. Teilweise recht holpriges Deutsch - man fragt sich wie viel hier "lost in translation" ist...

Die Form des Wassers, Andrea Camilleri, 2/2009

2009-02-02T13:58:00.001Z

Comissario Montalbano schlawinert sich durch die Ermittlungen im Fall Luparello.

Leben macht muede, Jean-Claude Izzo, 1/2009

2009-01-30T20:15:00.002Z

Ein kleines Buechlein mit sehr kurzen Geschichten in typischer Izzo-Manier: einfache Leute, auf der Suche nach Liebe, mit einer Ueberdosis Melancholie, oft schlichtweg depressiv.

Software Craftsmanship, Pete McBreen, 1/2009

2009-01-26T14:24:00.001Z

Software craftsmen: are proud of their work and hence sign it; value quality; deliver value to the users; take full responsibility for their work; work in small teams of craftsmen (apprentices/journeymen/masters); interact directly with the users; continuously maintain and develop broad and specific skills; build-up a portfolio that showcases their achievements; focus on the long-term life of applications; chose technologies wisely; are paid according to their skills and paid well.

Der fernste Ort, Daniel Kehlmann, 1/2009

2009-01-17T10:29:00.001Z

Ein kleiner Text ueber das verwirrte Leben von Julian. Wunderschoene sprachliche Bilder, leicht dahererzaehlt. Ein Buch ueber verschiedene und inkompatible Sichtweisen auf das Leben, ueber Zwaenge und den vergeblichen Versuch sie zu ueberwinden und aus dem Gefaengnis, das sie um uns herum errichten, auszubrechen, ueber die scheinbare Vorherbestimmtheit allen Tuns. All das vor dem Hintergrund deutscher Kleinstadt-Tristesse, allgegenwaertiger Angepasstheit und Mittelmaessigkeit. Und immer wieder die ueberwaeltigende Schoenheit von Sprache, sei es die von Spinoza oder die von Vetering.

Programming in Scala, Martin Odersky, Lex Spoon and Bill Venners, 1/2009

2009-01-16T10:57:00.003Z

There is so much to say about Scala the language - but this is "just" about the book.

The book outright oozes the huge amount of hard work that has gone into it. I've never read a tutorial-style book before that accomplishes to be introductory yet comprehensive: in their (misguided) attempt to be approachable and not "confuse" the reader, most tutorials silently ignore aspects of a subject that are too advanced for the current discussion. This leaves a very bad taste, as one can never be sure as to the understanding one has achieved. There is always some residual "magic" that hasn't been explained and can not be judged at all by the reader. This book never does that, it never takes anything for granted: every detail is either sufficiently explained or a reference to a later explanation is given. Indeed, the text is extensively cross-referenced and indexed, so that forming a complete picture of a complex topic is relatively easy.

Since this book is a tutorial, it sometimes leaves a residual doubt whether a topic has been discussed in its full breadth and depth. Cross-referencing helps a lot, but related content is still somewhat spread all over the book. However, there is always the Scala language spec to satisfy that need for cohesion and comprehensiveness...

I quite liked the subtle and nerdy (but not too nerdy) humour, especially in the first part of the book. For instance, section 8.9 discusses tail recursion and ends in "If you don't fully understand tail recursion yet, see Section 8.9." It gives the text (at least the first half of it) an almost light appearance. Later parts of the book are more dense and definitely more serious, but nevertheless quite accessible.

As an aside, this book contains the best treatment of the mess that is equals() i've read so far. And the solution is applicable not only to Scala but also to good old Java.

The only subject that hasn't been covered exhaustively is annotations: there is a bit about how Java-defined annotations can be used in Scala, but there is nothing on defining annotations in Scala in the first place.

All-in-all my favourite language-book so far!

City of Glass, Paul Auster, adaptation by Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli, 1/2009

2009-01-03T09:46:00.001Z

This is an adaptation of Auster's City of Glass as a graphic novel. I've read the New York Trilogy (including City of Glass) when i was in New York in 1999 and it opened my eyes to Auster's writing. I'm not into graphic novels at all, but this one is obviously a piece of art: it's black-and-white throughout and makes good use of shadow effects to underline the surreal aspects of the story. There are several sequences where the images zoom-in or out, starting or ending with some innocuous detail in an image. This is very effective in illustrating the questions of identity that the story explores. The text is obviously strongly based on Auster's, although it is condensed to fit the new format. It still shows some of the beauty of the original, though. As is so often the case when images are involved, it's very hard to forget them, and i'm sure that when i re-read the New York Trilogy (as i intend to do soon) i'll be haunted by the impressions left by this adaptation. A very interesting experience.

Effective Java, Second Edition, Joshua Bloch, 1/2009

2009-01-02T16:26:00.001Z

The Classic 2.0. Important, comprehensive, carefully argued items ranging from the mundane through the well-known to a few genuinely surprising nuggets. Sheer beauty (constant-specifc method implementations in enums) next to utter ugliness (Cloneable). Reading a book that is just about the Java language itself (rather than about any higher-level frameworks or technologies) exposes what an unholy mess the Java platform has become. A threading model that's largely obsolete, mutable Dates, ill-conceived Calendar's, grotesque Cloneable, arrays that don't work with generics, a type system can can infer some but not all type information ... and just the general burden of methods and types that can't be removed or sanitized for compatibility reasons. It's amazing how many mistakes were made in the early days of Java (in addition to all the far-sighted decisions, of course) - but what is even more amazing is the increasingly ugly cage this makes for a present-day Java programmers and how we somehow learned to live in it. Scala to the resuce?

Es geht uns gut, Arno Geiger, 12/2008

2008-12-28T10:13:00.001Z

Die Geschichte Wiens im 20. Jahrhundert auf gesellschaftlicher und politischer Ebene, erlebt und erzaehlt durch 3 Generationen einer wiener Familie. Alma und Richard; Otto, Ingrid und ihr Mann Peter; Sissi, Phillip und seine Freundin Johanna. Die Erzaehlung geht von Philipp's ineffizienten Versuchen aus, das grosselterliche Haus auszuruempeln, und erfolgt in Rueckblicken auf einzelne Tage im Leben dieser Leute, von den 30-ern bis jetzt. In erster Linie erhalten wir so Einblick in ganz persoenliche Vorgaenge und Ueberlegungen, die aber natuerlich oft mehr oder weniger stark von den damals vorherrschenden politischen Ereignissen gepraegt sind. So werden die Staatsvertragsverhandlungen neben eitrigen Zaehnen behandelt - und die Zaehne bekommen deutlich mehr Bedeutung. Erfrischend (und dringend noetig) ist eine gehoerige Portion Respektlosigkeit im Umgang mit den Eckpfeilern der oesterreichischen Nachkriegsgeschichte. Immer praesent und bestimmend sind die gesellschaftlichen Zwaenge der Zeit - vom konservativen Patriarchat der Grosseltern ueber die beginnende aber frustrierende Emanzipation der Eltern bis zur Sorglosigkeit, Freizuegigkeit und teilweise auch Orientierungslosigkeit der Kinder. Viele Bilder sind amuesant oder skurril, vor allem wenn sie Philipp betreffen, immer wieder jedoch sind sie von zarter und dezenter Schoenheit, ganz besonders im Umgang der alten Alma mit dem greisen Richard.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid, 12/2008

2008-12-21T14:05:00.001Z

The book uses an interesting and original approach: the text is without exception the transcript of one half of the dialogue between a Pakistani and an American in a cafe in Lahore. It is the Pakistani's words that we read, but he is explicit enough about the American's actions and reactions that we nevertheless get a good understanding of the dynamics of the interaction. There are 3 levels to the story: one is an account of the time the Pakistani spent in the USA, first as a student in Princeton and then as a consultant in New York. This is the primary topic of the discussion. The second level is the environment in the Lahore cafe that the two people experience together: the meal they're sharing; the observations they make and discuss. The third level is the question of why this conversation takes place at all. The Pakistani introduced himself to the American and is obviously directing the evening towards an aim that we are beginning to glimpse as the discussion unfolds. But we are never actually sure of the motivation of the Pakistani and what it will lead to. It turns out to be a very cleverly constructed web of allusions of the Pakistani and reactions of the American that play with the reader's preconceptions, prejudices and the nascent ideas that he forms about the nature of the interchange.

The heart of the story is the transformation of the Pakistani from a well-oiled wheel in the machinery of American capitalism to an enemy of American imperialism and military aggression. That transformation took place while he was in the states, working as a consultant for a boutique valuation business in New York, and was precipitated by the 9/11 attacks and, most importantly, by the American reaction to it. In short, the Pakistani was politicized by these events and has made the conscious decision to break with his education, career and lifestyle and fight the Americans. The month leading to that personal crisis, and its resolution are recounted in enough detail to be believable. But the whole idea would be more realistic if the Pakistani where a bit less intelligent, successful and popular before he took the decision to change his life. The author overshoots in his obvious attempt to show that turning against the USA is possible even when one starts from a position of strength.

The language of the Pakistani is forcefully educated and British. Very pleasant to read but also a bit comic in its exaggeration.

I find the title strangely wrong and helpful at the same time: it is helpful because it clearly signposts (together with the cover image) that the book is somehow about the struggle of a Muslim against the USA. However, it is also plainly wrong because religion does not seem to have any part in this man's decision. He is not by any means an Islamic fundamentalist. Nor does he seem to take a fundamentalist's approach (religious or otherwise) to any questions that are raised in the book. On the contrary, his state of mind is that of an enlightened man that synthesizes the experiences he has made in Pakistan and the USA and draws the sober and conscious conclusion to fight the USA. Nor is he reluctant as the title seems to suggest. His acceptance of his personal transformation process was a reluctant one, but once he has made the step he seems to be fully behind it, without lingering doubts.

All in all a wonderfully elegant and engaging book.

Pushing Ice, Alastair Reynolds, 12/2008

2008-12-16T08:41:00.001Z

The backdrop for this story is nothing less than the development of humanity from 2057 to the most distant future. The foreground is a sociological study of a group of some 100 settlers and the epic struggle of their 2 leaders, Bella and Svetlana. The motives of these 2 women are quite different, but the results of their deeds often look very much alike. The end surprises with an ingenious idea for reconciliation that is truly worthy of a science fiction novel of this scale.