Life of Pi by Yann Martel is just plain fun to read. It’s both deep and light, and walks the balance between darkness and levity with the deftness of a tiger stalking his prey. It’s not until almost halfway into the book that the plot advertised on the dust cover begins – yet I never once found myself bored by the introductory material.

In fact, very few essential plot elements were introduced in those opening chapters, that first part of the book. We see how a young man gains an unusual, yet highly accessible understanding of the world – but we don’t gain any real insight into his indomitable survival instinct, or his almost instinctive resourcefulness. What we do get is a deep, yet entertaining fable about the nature of truth, assembled by a fictional editor, and written mostly in first-person from the main character’s perspective (and partly in first-person from the editor’s perspective).

It’s brutal, yet light; subtle, yet straightforward; spiritual, yet grounded. The story will sometimes alternate between these extremes, and sometimes fit them all into a single paragraph, or a single sentence. The words “Instant classic” get used too frequently, but I do think this book will last, and be remembered. I’m pretty certain I’ll remember it, anyway.

I haven’t found a single review that truly captures the spirit of this book, including this review. The book, however, captures its own spirit exceptionally well – better, in fact, than most books do. Read it, enjoy it, and let me know what you think.

If you have the same name as a nationally-recognized thinktank’s world famous project, I defy you not to think it’s cool.  So, I must confess that I think that the NCSE’s Project Steve is wicked cool.  First, and most important, it has my name on it!

But I also agree with its goals.  Science is a tool for human thought, carefully crafted over the centuries to limit the effects of individual bias.  Whether or not it has universal applicability is a separate question.  If science cannot give us all the answers, it still is not served by having ideological views imposed on it.

I’ll step off the soap box.  The NCSE make the case for themselves quite well without my help.  Project Steve compiles a list of scientists, artificially limited by requiring them to be named Steve, who believe that no form of creationism should be taught as science in our nation’s public schools.

Because the Steves have to be scientists, generally with PhD credentials, I do not, alas, qualify to have my name added to their list.  But I can buy the T-shirt if I want.  They’re working on a new one even as I write this.  They also have FAQs, a press release, and even a Steve Song.  They sing my name over and over again!  Once again, how could I not think this is cool?

 Will this tongue-in-cheek project change any minds?  I really don’t know — but I’ll be rooting for my little namesake project all the same.

Read your daily Dilbert without opening a newspaper.  Put together by United Media, the people who bring you Comics.Com, Dilbert.Com has personal touches by Dilbert author Scott Adams, not least of which is the Dilbert Blog.

The Dilbert Blog is a nearly-daily sampling of Scott Adams’s writing, more similar to the non-cartoon text in his books than to the cartoons themselves.  He allows himself more artistic freedom than his comics permit, and the results are many and varied.  You can get analyses of political thought (though he rarely admits writing anything that actually is political), philosophical explorations about the nature of life and thought, and the occasional post entirely centered around penis jokes.  If you don’t like one day’s post, wait until the next one.  You may not like it any better, but it will be different.

Accomplished Las Vegas musician Dan Trinter enters the world of Flash animation with his wickedly humorous piece, Naughty Noel.  The graphics and animation are as tongue-in-cheek as the lyrics, but pay attention to the creativity, especially in the accompanying music.  View it on YouTube here.

 A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is not for everyone.  If you need a likable protagonist, or you need your less likable characters to get what’s coming to them, this book will frustrate you to no end.

The very first paragraph of the book may turn your stomach, describing Ignatius J. Reilly, our decidedly unlikable protagonist, in obnoxiously distasteful detail.  But, as I got to know Ignatius, he grew on me.  The way he used language, circumstance, and his fellow humans was so outrageous, it could not help but make a darkly mischievous part of me smile.

Along with the outrageous Mr. Reilly, the author presents a cast of characters, some off-center in their own right, some just ordinary, off-the-street types, but all credible, showing a deep understanding of humanity in their construction.  These characters are swept up in a plot beyond their own control or design, with preposterous coincidences tying disparate story elements together in ways I found highly entertaining.

People tend to love this book or hate it. I love it.

Click here to buy this book from Amazon.com.