Book Review #5: Of Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters

Book 5: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams

Another crazy adventure with Arthur Dent. Zaphod Beeblebrox is looking for the ruler of the Universe, on a mission that he only recently remembered. At one point they end up at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, a very imaginative place, where people can go to see what happens at the End and enjoy a good supper at the same time. The plot seemed slightly contrived and just a bit confusing, but there were certainly funny parts, and is a good choice if you're just looking for laughs, not seriousness.

I enjoyed this one a bit more than the first, though that could have been because it took me a few times to get through the first one and the jokes were old by then. I especially like the ending scene, but I won't spoil it.

I've tried to get through the third book, to no avail. It's not holding my attention and I'm more in the mood for epic fantasy. Don't know if I'll continue this series, but if I do, I'll post my reviews here.

Building A PC: Part 1

I have recently decided to build a new computer. I have reasons for why I'm doing it before my exams are over, as well as reasons for why I'm building it myself, but I'd rather talk about the latter. I am aiming to write these posts about my new computer not only for tech-savvy readers, but for anyone who is interested. So I apologize if you know some of this already. This blog was partly inspired by Coding Horror's popular series of posts. Take a look at them if you want more pictures of pretty PC parts.

Building has many benefits over pre-built, if you're up to the task. If you learn about parts, you can choose exactly what you want--and then modify them when you change your mind, or when the technology for a particular part gets better. This way you don't have to buy a whole new computer when you want a new part, and you know exactly where it goes and whether it plays nice with your other parts. It can also be cheaper, but only if you're careful.

I did my best to be careful. I wanted a gaming PC that could play today's games at the highest graphics settings, as well as being a bit future-proof so that I won't have to rebuild for at least a few years. Problem was, I had to buy everything from the keyboard to the motherboard. All that I had already was a gaming laptop, which I couldn't take parts from.

To find parts, I had to do research. This is essential, and probably the most difficult part of building a computer. I was lucky, since I have lots of friends in computing science to bounce ideas off of, but most of my decisions were based on reading reviews, benchmarks (performance tests), and searching sites for the best prices. I wanted to make good choices, so I spent some time doing this. I ended up buying my parts online from Dabs and eBuyer, two major electronics retailers in the UK.

Here are my final specs, which I know many of you will skip the rest of this post to see:

Processor	£170	Intel Core i5-2500K
Motherboard	£95	Asus P8Z68-V LX
Graphics Card	£160	XFX Radeon HD6870 2GB
Memory	£45	Patriot 8GB Viper Xtreme DDR3 1866MHz
Case	£65	Coolermaster HAF 912 Plus Case
Power Supply	£37	Coolermaster GX 650W
Hard Drive	£83	Seagate 1TB Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s 7200RPM
DVD-RW Drive	£15	LiteOn iHAS124 24x
Speakers	£18	Logitech S220 2.1 Speakers
Keyboard	£11	Logitech K200 Media Keyboard
Monitor	£142	Samsung S24A300H 24" HDMI Monitor (and cable)
Power Strip	£8	Belkin 6-Socket SurgeStrip 3m Cable

The total was just under £850. Note that the motherboard, processor, and memory came in a £300 bundle; I estimated what each separate part cost within the bundle. The same goes for the case and power supply, they came in a roughly £100 bundle.

The day the last part came--the monitor and its HDMI cable--I got to work. Part 2 will cover the steps I took to put it all together.

Freedom

On Friday, my class and I turned in our dissertations. It was such a relief. Since exams don't start for about a month, it's as if I went from having no time for anything but work to having no idea what to do with myself. I have a few small projects in mind though, including writing a bunch of blog posts that I've been beind on. I have another book review and at least one post I want to make about the new computer I put together. Look for them soon!

I might also buy A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin, finally, for kindle... now that I have some time to get absorbed in books.

Milestones

As of last night, I have completed all of my coursework. Another step closer to being finished with my degree. There are still two weeks of lectures left, and three weeks to finish my dissertation. For that, I have at least 30 more pages to go, plus a presentation to prepare. It's a lot easier to bear without extra work on top of that.

I'm so ready to have time to do whatever I want: read, play video games, assemble a new computer, cross-stitch... so ready, in fact, that I will probably make time to do some of these things during my exam-study-break. While still studying plenty, of course. I'll have to plan my time wisely, with nine exams to prepare for.

I'm also considering participating in Blog Every Day April (BEDA) this year. It will be easier since I won't be going to classes, but I will be studying. We'll see if I can manage it.

Book Review #4: Don't Panic

Book 4: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

Many of us have heard bits and pieces of the story, but perhaps not the whole thing. Arthur Dent is a man living in England whose house is about to be torn down to build a highway. While he is busy worrying about it, his friend Ford Prefect -- who is actually an alien -- tries to convince him that the end of the world is coming. Shortly thereafter, a spaceship shows up to demolish the Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass. After the planet's untimely demise, Arthur becomes a hitchhiker, like Ford. They travel space together, having adventures and evading danger.

The book is short, with a lot packed in. Everything about it is funny. Before things ever get too serious, the narrator makes a comment to make it lighthearted again. The first time I tried to read it, I got about halfway through and then was distracted reading other things. This time, I was convinced by my friends to give it another try, and so re-read it from start to finish. It's definitely enjoyable, and lightweight enough that I can get bits read here and there while still having a very busy university life. Soon, I want to read a more involved book, but right now I just don't have the time. This is not the only book in the trilogy, either, and I plan to read all five. Yes, five books in a trilogy. A taste of the author's writing style. I've been told that if you like Monty Python, you'll enjoy it. Personally, I enjoyed it more than Monty Python.

Stay tuned for reviews of the rest of the books. And remember to bring your towel.

Book Review #3: A Cozy Cat Crime Novel

This next book I read slowly over the course of January, while my classes began and I got back into "university mode." I received it as a gift from my godmother for Christmas. She's a cat lover, a quilter, a crossword puzzler, and a great snail-mail pen pal in this age of technology. I don't get many books as gifts when I don't know they're coming; I always enjoy it.

Book 3: Cat Coming Home, by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

This is exactly the sort of book that's fun to read around Christmas. It's a fairly standard crime novel, not too gory or violent, with a fantastical twist--the cat "detectives" can talk. Corny as that may sound and unrealistic as it is, it was a fun read. I've never read any cat-solves-the-crime sorts of books, though I know many exist, and I'm glad I finally did. Good for when you don't want something too involved or deep, but still interesting enough to sink your teeth into.

It's by no means a literary masterpiece, but it did keep me interested enough to read to the end. I probably won't seek out more of this kind of book on my own (particularly because there are so many more books I've been meaning to read), but if I come across one by chance, I might give it a try.

Book Review #2: If You Like Suspense...

I've been keeping up with my 25 book goal for the year fairly well, but I seem to be getting behind with the reviews. I finished this book just over a month ago, right after the holiday break. If you're interested, I wrote a review of the previous book in the series as well.

Book 2: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson

Yet again, Larsson proves he can write a great suspense thriller. It follows the separate investigations of the police, government, and secretive journalists, as well as the criminals behind the overarching plotline of the whole series. This book's first 100 or so pages weren't anywhere as slow as the first or second books'; however, it doesn't have the same climactic action scenes as the first two books, which to some may be undesirable. However, given all the danger, sneaking around, and dramatic irony, together with the fact that I wanted the bastards behind the whole crime put away so badly, it kept me hooked until the end. It only took me about a week to read this book's 600 pages.

This entire series has been excellent. If all you've heard about it is the rape scene in the first book and that's keeping you away, you are sorely missing out. There is so much to the story, the heroes and heroines are clever and likable (Lisbeth is so badass), and once you're in, it'll keep you on the edge of your seat. I wish I could look forward to more books, but Larsson isn't with us anymore. I'll just have to keep on the lookout for more good books in the crime/drama/thriller genre. Let me know if you have any suggestions!