I’ve always enjoyed reading books with a bit of humor and wit. This book does not disappoint. Bill Bryson, author of such bestsellers as “The Mother TI’ve always enjoyed reading books with a bit of humor and wit. This book does not disappoint. Bill Bryson, author of such bestsellers as “The Mother Tongue�, “Made in America�, and “A Walk in the Woods�, has given us a wonderful account of Britain with all its quirks and majesty.
After nearly 20 years of living in Britain with his family, Bill feels that it is time to move back to the US, his homeland, being a citizen of the great city of Des Moines, Iowa. Bill wants his family to experience life in his homeland, and there’s a bit of yearning to be back home after being away for so long. Before he leaves, Bill decides to take one last trip around Britain, analyzing what he loved so much about the country, which has so much pageantry and history, coupled with charm and curiosities.
Throughout the pages of this book, Bill embarks on his journey to places both small and large, each with their own idiosyncrasies, and describes them with his characteristic wit and irreverence. In the book he explores the streets of London, marveling on the endless streets with rows of small gray houses and wonders how anyone knows which house is theirs since they all look the same.
He wanders into a restaurant and immediately sees that everyone seems to eat with the fork in their left hand (as he is delighted to learn since Bill is a left-handed). Bill observes that unlike the US, when you order food in a British restaurant, you must go get the food when it’s ready and carry it back to your table. After 20 minutes of waiting for someone to bring it to him, he found that out the hard way. It’s completely the opposite if you go to a tearoom. There, Bill thought he should stand at the counter until the tea was given to him, but in England, you go sit down and they will bring you your drinks.
Throughout this book, you will feel as if you are right there in the middle of merry old England, as Bill explores small towns, great castles, and everything in between. I would highly recommend this book for a light read, fun summer read, or just to get a feel for the people and customs of Britain.
Although this is a Fantasy book, I feel that it ties in closely to the Literary Fiction and Relationship Fiction Genres. Instead of a world building fAlthough this is a Fantasy book, I feel that it ties in closely to the Literary Fiction and Relationship Fiction Genres. Instead of a world building focus that is common in Fantasy novels, I felt that the main focus in this book was on the main character(who is dead), how he comes to terms with the way he has lived his life, and how his actions affected the people around him.
This book seemed similar to A Christmas Carol but with less magic. Although magic isn't completely missing from this story, the fantastical part of the book was focused on what happens after death. Most of the characters were either ghosts or humans who could communicate with the ghosts and were charged with leading them to the afterlife. Most of the story takes place in a tea shop. The tea shop seems to anchor the story and works as a home base for all the character but is mostly void of magic.
The story line was interesting but I wouldn't consider it original. It is a combination of Charles Dickinson's Scrooge character and a basic afterlife story. There isn't really a good vs. evil theme, more of a main character who needs a change of heart along with a bit of romance. Although this book centralizes around the theme of death, the tone is both thoughtful and witty, and I actually laughed out loud a few times while reading/listening.
The characters are the main focus in this story and focus on their relationships. Several side characters come and go but for the most part, the story revolves around a handful of central characters.
I don't know if it was the authors writing style or the font used in the book but admittedly, I had a difficult time reading the book. It took a bit to get into the story and I just wasn't settling into the book. Luckily, I was able to find an audio book version which made it much more enjoyable, and the narrator did a great job of creating different voices for each character. Most of the book was set at a leisurely pace. Since the story wasn't really driven by much action, readers have to be invested in the characters if they are going to enjoy the story.
This book didn't really fit my taste for a Fantasy Novel, but for readers who enjoy books about complicated curmudgeons and life after death, then this would be a book I'd consider recommending to them.
If you’re looking for a fast, quirky, different, and interesting book this is it! It literally is a book about children that randomly catch on fire! TIf you’re looking for a fast, quirky, different, and interesting book this is it! It literally is a book about children that randomly catch on fire! They do figure out eventually why and when it happens and how to control it somewhat.
A politician's wife calls an old friend (if you can really call them friends) to be a nanny to 2 of her husband's children from a previous relationship. The “fire� children have been cast aside and recently lost their mother, and their father and current wife are too wrapped up in moving up the political ladder and focusing on the one child they have together.
Lillian the person being called upon to care for the “fire� children is currently feeling lost and unsure of her life’s direction and figures she has nothing else going on so why not. Sometimes all you need in life is meaning and a purpose, and that’s what Lillian and these “fire� children find in each other.
Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is my latest foray into Amanda Lovelace’s fairytale and folklore-inspired poetry. While*As always, spoiler warning!*
Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things is my latest foray into Amanda Lovelace’s fairytale and folklore-inspired poetry. While this volume was on the shorter end, I still enjoyed it and found that many of its poems resonated with me.
“Who said you can’t/Wear a flower crown/& still remain/A fearsome thing?�
[image]
The main mythology Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things draws from is the story of Persephone (also known as Kore), the goddess of spring and of the underworld. (view spoiler)[A complex and fascinating dichotomy, Persephone’s story is one of my favorites from Greek mythology, and I was thrilled that Lovelace was channeling Persephone in her poetry here. (hide spoiler)]
[image]
The symbolism here is fairly obvious in that spring can be associated with the traditional notion of femininity, that of being beautiful, yet delicate. Yet, Persephone also has a tougher side of her, in that she helps to oversee the underworld, no doubt getting a full look at death in all its forms.
There’s a bunch of dualities here, whether it’s in Persephone having her toes both in feminine and masculine realms (her husband, Hades, is the king of the underworld and the primary god of death) and in the creation of life and its death. She is part of the cycle from beginning to end.
“When they drag you through hell/Do not simply accept it/Do not just give in/Go on & reign over the very flames that were meant to be your end/Wear them as a crown�
[image]
I have really come to enjoy Lovelace’s modern take on classical mythology and folklore. I think the main message here is that—surprise, I know—women are complex people, defying the simple nature often ascribed to them by misogynistic views of traditional femininity.
I have been meaning to get back into poetry for a while now. The Princess Saves Herself in This One is the first entry of poet Amanda *Spoiler alert!*
I have been meaning to get back into poetry for a while now. The Princess Saves Herself in This One is the first entry of poet Amanda Lovelace’s “Women Are Some Kind of Magic� series.
This volume was the perfect segue back into poetry for me, and like Amanda Gorman (another awesome poet who happens to share the first name of the author of the book I’m discussing), it will definitely stick around in my brain, hopefully planting seeds of inspiration for my own writing, poetry or otherwise.
[image]
Why do I have the feeling that this book left a mark on me?
Well, for starters, Lovelace tackles her own inner experience, whereas Amanda Gorman’s poetry tackles the collective trauma of a whole nation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying economic downturn. Both explorations of the internal and external are equally valid and powerful. Both explore complex topics and make the reader think. Really think.
[image]
The Princess Saves Herself in This One is an incredibly brave and vulnerable look into Lovelace’s life, where she experiences sexual assault and the neglect inherent in her upbringing. Things no child should have to go through. (view spoiler)[Her mother dies of cancer and another sister perishes by her own hand—all of this happened to her before the age of 19. (hide spoiler)] So heartbreaking.
[image]
But this book is also about hope. This volume’s very existence is a testament to the author’s healing.
By the end, the princess has escaped her tower and slain (most of) her dragons.
[image]
While no one should ever have to suffer to grow, that’s what happened to Lovelace, and she’s moving forward. She can’t change her past, but she uses what she’s learned—particularly self-love—to turn the tables on her trauma, which wants her to believe life isn’t worth living, that she deserves a good life.
This is what happens when I get really into a new book series: I finish the first two books in quick succession and then have to wai* Spoiler alert! *
This is what happens when I get really into a new book series: I finish the first two books in quick succession and then have to wait for the third book that isn't coming out until later this year! (And of course there was quite the cliffhanger after the latest one, and I have to sit here and stew about what might happen next in the concluding volume.)
Why am I like this?!
[image]
I found Blood of Troy, the second entry in Claire M. Andrews' "Daughter of Sparta" series, to be better than the first (and I thought the first book was good).
In Daughter of Sparta, we see Daphne go on a quest to save Olympus itself and narrowly succeed. A year later, she continues to build a hero's reputation for herself (despite being a non-Spartan-born citizen, a mothakes) through her fighting prowess, overcoming opponents twice her size on a regular basis.
[image]
Although, Daphne remains haunted by the trauma of her quest a year ago, so she's a bit off, and the people who care about her are concerned and try to help in their own ways.
Of course, we know that the gods aren't done with Daphne. Early on in Blood of Troy, they command her to become personal guard to Queen Helen of Sparta, a seemingly innocuous errand. (Yes, that Helen, "the face that launches a thousand ships," etc. We'll get to her in a bit.)
[image]
(view spoiler)[ Anyone who knows Greek mythology knows the gods are fickle and cagey when it comes to their secrets, so the reader and Daphne both know that there's something more to Daphne's new mission. People like myself (a huge mythology nerd) who are familiar with stories of the Trojan War may have better-educated guesses. Hint, hint! (hide spoiler)]
Before I get ahead of myself, Daphne must prove herself worthy in a contest of athleticism and wits, retrieving a prize before anyone else in order to gain herself the job of Shield of Helen. (Spoiler alert, she does!) That title secured, to the detriment of her brothers' pride, (view spoiler)[ (I became very annoyed with Daphne's brothers in this book, as it seemed like a woman being ambitious, even if it was their (obviously) skilled sister, was this truly awful thing and reflected poorly on their honor) (hide spoiler)] she finds that things aren't what they seem between King Menelaus and Queen Helen from day one. (Fun fact, King Menelaus is a foreign-born king. Helen is the one that's a born Spartan.)
[image]
Andrews is very sympathetic to the character of Helen (rightly so), who seems to be remembered primarily as a pretty prize to be fought over and won by men. I have this bone to pick not only with the story about Helen, but most other classical Greek mythology as well in how girls and women are frequently treated.
So, in Blood of Troy, we see a very unhappy, abusive marriage, with Helen on the receiving end of verbal and physical abuse. (view spoiler)[ Daphne herself gets whipped as punishment at one point in the book when the two sneak away from the palace. (hide spoiler)]
[image]
Spoiler alert: Menelaus is an awful person, not treating Helen with the respect she deserves. I think Helen might've left the marriage if not for the daughter they have together, Hermione. As a result, Helen frequently finds ways to assert herself and enjoy life when she feels that the palace she lives in is her prison.
I loved the friendship that develops between Queen Helen and Daphne, both strong women in their own right. Daphne becomes very protective of Helen, both inside and outside her capacity as Shield.
Anyways, a big meeting between King Menelaus and other Grecian monarchs goes predictably sour, and Daphne finds herself fleeing with Queen Helen and the Trojan envoy after one faction tries to kill them.
[image]
So, the city of Troy becomes Helen's and Daphne's new home, just as the war drums start to beat. Ostensibly, it's about punishing troy for "kidnapping" Helen, but there are various dark forces at work here. (See book one for more details.)
[image]
As war comes to Troy, Daphne is recast as "Traitor of Sparta" as she fights to protect her queen in the midst of a war that is more than it seems. The gods are always playing games, and there's a price to be paid.
[image]
I won't say anymore, because I don't want to ruin the cinematic reading experience that is Blood of Troy, and its predecessor, Daughter of Sparta!
[image]
Greek mythology nerds and general readers alike will enjoy this series. Just give it a try!
I think about Africa like I used to think about the Internet: vast, complex, distant. I want to dive in, but I don't know where to start. This book isI think about Africa like I used to think about the Internet: vast, complex, distant. I want to dive in, but I don't know where to start. This book is a good place to dip your toes. â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä�
The author acknowledges the stereotypes early on and puts their truths in context:
The warfare: Deadly tribal conflicts waged within borders drawn a century ago by colonialists without regard for history.
The safari: Great geographical landscapes populated with exotic creatures and vegetation that draw throngs of tourists.
The famine: Dusty villages and their fly-covered malnourished residents that make perfect targets for well-meaning Westerners, whose attempts at aid often do more harm than good.
While those are part of the African portrait, of course there's much, much more. â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä�
Dipo Faloyin's approach is both informative and jovial. I never felt like I was reading from a travel brochure, but I also never felt like I was being lectured. His writing mixes cultural self-awareness with sharp humor.
He devotes a chapter to his hometown of Lagos, Nigeria, which he describes as having the population of New York, London, and Uruguay. The city is cramped, hectic, and noisy, and its 22 million residents wouldn't have it any other way.
Much of the book serves as a corrective to misconceptions about the African diaspora, including addressing the White Savior complex prevalent in Western countries.
In one notable section he revisits the movement that went viral a decade ago and shed light on the negative effects of well-meaning but misguided attempts to interfere on behalf of "poor helpless Africans."
In a lighter moment, Faloyin points out the time the Internet skewered British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver after he took culinary liberties with Nigeria's beloved joloff rice dish. The scandal trended for a moment in 2014 as #jollofgate.
I read this book during a dark time of cultural crises in which even whether we can talk about race is controversial.
It's an indisputable fact that at certain times in global history some white folks treated some black folks badly. That doesn't make me ashamed for my race, it makes me ashamed for humanity.
But I don't take history personally. I learn from it.
This book will be our Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Book Club selection for January. To secure a copy and read along with us, please look for 4.5/5 stars *Spoilers alert!*
This book will be our Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Book Club selection for January. To secure a copy and read along with us, please look for the book within or Libby. Happy reading!
Considering the subject matter of I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, I feel like saying I “enjoyed� the book isn’t as appropriate as I found the book heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measures.
This book won the 2022 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Awards in the biography category, and I can see why, as I’m Glad My Mom Died is a powerful, poignant read.
Jennette McCurdy is most well-known for her roles as a child actress in iCarly and Sam and Cat. I remember watching iCarly when the show was running, and it was one my favorites at the time. McCurdy’s Sam was one of my favorite characters, and I truly had no idea what was going on behind-the-scenes. I’m Glad My Mom Died reveals Jennette’s struggles with acting, when she felt like she was only in the profession because it was her mother’s dream, not hers.
(view spoiler)[At the time, McCurdy’s mom had cancer and was dying. (hide spoiler)] Jennette loved her mother and allowed herself to be started on the path to stardom at the age of six, to make her happy and gain her approval. Seeing her mom happy at her success was supposed to be enough.
“She wanted this. And I wanted her to have it. I wanted her to be happy. But now that I have it, I realize that she’s happy and I’m not. Her happiness came at the cost of mine. I feel robbed and exploited.�
Of course, when you’re not in the job you want, you can’t stuff down the negative feelings forever. McCurdy came to resent the hold her mother had on her and their increasingly toxic relationship as mother and daughter.
She increasingly becomes anxious, shameful, and self-loathing as she struggles to tell her mother that acting isn’t what she wanted to do with her life. These feelings manifest in various self-destructive behaviors like eating disorders, addiction, and risky romantic relationships.
“Mom didn’t get better. But I will.�
The book starts with Jennette in her mother’s hospital room, where she lay dying from cancer, and Jennette then recounts everything that led up to that point.
I’m Glad My Mom Died is heartbreaking, full of dark humor, but also cautiously optimistic, as Jennette discovers therapy and is working towards getting better.
[image]
As someone who struggles with mental illness and is in therapy, I’m Glad My Mom Died is incredibly refreshing for its candor, which is telegraphed from the start by the book’s title and cover design.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin won the 2022 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Awards in the fiction category, so I had to see for myself if I enjoyed it. (Spoiler alert: I did!)
This book has the most compelling exploration of love in all forms, whether it is friendship or a romance. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is primarily about three people that came together to start a video game company.
[image]
The book tracks the progress of these three friends, who develop deep and meaningful relationships with each other as they design and promote video games over a span of thirty years. There is something special that comes with a collaborative art project of any kind, whether it is in video games or painting or writing or any kind of art. Zevin does a good job of showing us how bonds can be forged within and outside of the creative process.
Two of the three co-founders met as kids in a Cambridge, Massachusetts hospital. Sam was in the hospital because a car accident (view spoiler)[that took his mother’s life (hide spoiler)] left him with a crippled foot that needs constant surgery. Sadie encounters Sam in the hospital’s video game room (view spoiler)[Sadie is there with her family because her sister, Alice, is being treated for cancer (hide spoiler)] and the two become fast friends.
However, just as fast as the two strike up a friendship, things go south, leading to a separation that lasts for years. (view spoiler)[ It is revealed that Sadie used her time with Sam at the hospital playing video games to also count towards her community service project. Not surprisingly, Sam is hurt by this, and he cuts off all contact between the two after he finds out from Alice about Sadie’s timesheets. (hide spoiler)]
Sam’s roommate, Marx, becomes their manager, dealing with practical matters, while Sam and Sadie are set free to be game designers. Over a tense summer, requiring personal sacrifices on all fronts, they complete their first video game, Ichigo, and are catapulted into sudden fame.
At 25 years old, Marx, Sam, and Sadie have their own company, Unfair Games, and are rich beyond their wildest dreams, and overjoyed to have more resources at their disposal to create the video games they have always wanted to.
“‘What is a game?�" Marx said. "‘It's tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It's the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever.’�
This is where it gets interesting, because just as they are achieving fame and high status, Sam and Sadie start to clash over the creative vision of the company. Both are highly ambitious, Sadie especially, because the video game industry doesn’t have too many women in leadership positions. (This remains the case.) Things deteriorate between the two, providing the underlying emotional conflict that drives the characters as they are navigating life changes, from fame to romance to moving to start again somewhere new.
[image]
California, naturally, is where their game company is headquartered (Silicon Valley, anyone?), and is the location in which most of the emotional and relationship drama takes place. It truly hurt to watch Sam and Sadie have constant miscommunications that drove them apart for significant portions of the book, even though the reader knew how much they continued to care for each other even as they were apart.
Marx, ever the peacemaker, tries to get the two to reconcile, with mixed results. Not only does he care about both Sam and Sadie, but their conflicts are putting Unfair Games in jeopardy.
[image]
A compelling story with compelling characters, one does not need to know much about video games to enjoy Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Zevin is mostly exploring here the emotional connections and life journeys of each character, and only cursorily goes over the creative process in video game designing in a way that is not overwhelming.
I won’t reveal anything else to allow others to read the book and come to their own conclusions.
Two staff members wrote reviews for this book. Happy reading!
Jeremy's review
3.5/5 stars
“…[S]pecies of hyperintelligent octopus…�
Two staff members wrote reviews for this book. Happy reading!
Jeremy's review
3.5/5 stars
“…[S]pecies of hyperintelligent octopus…�
This phrase, from the first sentence of the publisher’s marketing description, was all I needed to know in order to decide that I needed to read this book.
I’ve been fascinated by octopuses (yes, that is the correct plural form, feel free to @ me) ever since doing a report on them in a grad school level course I audited a number of years ago.
An unfortunate side-effect of this, however, was that I kept finding myself wanting to love the book more than I actually did, despite coming away with a sense that I would greatly enjoy having a conversation with the author.
The story is set in an undefined but relatively near future, in which the line between nation-states and corporations has all but completely disappeared and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) are both widespread and varied.
There are three primary point-of-view (POV) characters, each in a separate plotline: Dr. Ha Nguyen, a marine biologist hired to study the octopuses; Rustem, an AI hacker, and Eiko; formerly an aspiring programmer, now a slave worker.
Additionally, each chapter opens with an excerpt from one of two books written by two of the characters: Dr. Nguyen or Dr. Arnkatla Minervudottir-Chan, who had created the world’s one and only extant android, Evrim.
It has been written of octopuses that they are the nearest thing to intelligent alien life that we can meet on this planet, and this book runs with this idea. While this sort of ‘first contact� is used to examine philosophical concepts such as consciousness, the same themes are simultaneously put to the test through the human interactions with varying levels of technology: drones, AI, and Evrim.
And therein lies both the strength and weakness of this novel � this sort of intellectual food-for-thought is compelling enough for some of us (raises hand), but while stuff does happen, nobody would describe this as plot-driven storytelling. Could provide plenty of fodder for a very particular sort of book discussion group, but I do wonder about its broader appeal.
Cora's review
*Spoiler alert!*
My heart already wants a sequel to The Mountain in the Sea, but my head says that maybe it's better as a stand-alone. This conflict will continue for some time, because I truly enjoyed The Mountain in the Sea.
[image]
"That was one of the keys, Ha knew, to understanding them. That lack of control from the center, that feedback from limbs, that pure embodiment of mind. They were not trapped in a skull, controlling everything from behind a sheath of bone. They were free-flowing, through the entire body. Not a ladder--a ring. A neural ring moving signals from limb to limb to mind, back again. A distribution loop through the whole body. A whole consciousness that could become parts, and then whole again. A whole consciousness that could become parts, and then whole again. It was one of the many problems Ha felt she would have no time to solve."
My co-worker read this book out of his fascination for the octopus. His review, plus the concept reminding me of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Ruin, (view spoiler)[featuring a species of sentient, space-faring octopus (hide spoiler)] sealed the deal for me.
[image]
The Mountain in the Sea takes place in a very plausible future, filled with AI, political intrigue, and conflicts over how best to preserve precious ecosystems from destruction. This book probably isn't for everyone, as it's not as plot-driven as space-opera sci-fi as much as food-for-thought, philosophical sci-fi. I enjoy me some philosophical sci-fi that makes me view the world differently after I finish reading it, seeing humanity reflected in the eyes of another species, android or otherwise.
[image]
(No, not that kind of android!)
Not that the story isn't interesting, but I thought I'd be honest about the kind of sci-fi we're dealing with here. Also, there's a bit of time-switching between characters, so that may be disorienting, but I promise that the story manages to fit together decently.
Despite these caveats, the characters were interesting and well-developed, particularly the villain, (view spoiler)[ a militant environmental protection group, very much anti-humanity (hide spoiler)] and that's why I kept reading.
It ended up being a fascinating what-if scenario of what happens when humanity encounters another self-aware species, and how we'd react, particularly considering the context we and this book live in, the climate crisis and political instability. Based on the story, I'd say the results are definitely mixed!
[image]
"It was easier to pretend that Altantsetseg was an individual, that all of her choices were her own, than to admit that Altantsetseg was a part of them. That all of them were, in fact, bound together so tightly that they formed a single entity, incapable of functioning--incapable of surviving--without all of its interlocking parts in place."
I won't say too much more about The Mountain in the Sea, except for, if you're a sci-fi fan, I think you'll enjoy this one, and maybe think about humanity and our world differently. For better or worse.
“Choosing to be curious is choosing to be vulnerable because it requires us to surrender to uncertainty. We have to
4/5 stars *Spoilers warning!*
“Choosing to be curious is choosing to be vulnerable because it requires us to surrender to uncertainty. We have to ask questions, admit to not knowing, risk being told that we shouldn't be asking, and, sometimes, make discoveries that lead to discomfort.�
Atlas of the Heart is a 2022 Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Awards winner in the category of nonfiction. Upon it winning the category, I was curious as to why it had received the most votes, and now I know why!
In a time of climate crisis, ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and economic woes, society has made talking about mental health somewhat mainstream. Although much stigma remains for those who suffer mental health conditions, I think perhaps that we might be in a time where we want to explore the domains of emotional and mental health. As in, I think we all want to rediscover how to connect with people, after a few years of being physically isolated from one another.
[image]
"I want this book to be an atlas for all of us, because I believe that, with an adventurous heart and the right maps, we can travel anywhere and never fear losing ourselves."
After all, no matter if you're extroverted or introverted (raises hand) or somewhere in between, humanity is a social species. Personally, I find myself re-evaluating the relationships in my own life, and I think that was part of what I really liked about Atlas of the Heart. I could use some more emotional intelligence, and I genuinely learned a great deal from the book.
I listened to the audiobook version of the book, and the author I think did a great job, making sure to repeat passages that she thought were key. As I was listening, I was often doing chores and sometimes my mind can wonder during that process (because I often find chores just so boring and mind-numbing), so that repeating and emphasis was very helpful and much appreciated.
She did her best to bring psychological terminology down to earth, but I admit I really needed the repeats and the asides, so that I really understood what she was saying before moving on to the next chapter, because they definitely built on each other.
So, there are 87 emotions that humans experience. (view spoiler)[I think I know of at least 10 emotions, so this large number surprised me (hide spoiler)]. However, the 87 emotions are grouped together into categories by how similar they are, with unexpected nuances in related emotions, such as envy and jealousy, or empathy and compassion.
[image]
Brown puts names to experiences I have had that mix a variety of emotions. Names and language in general provide useful anchors, and I think Brown recognizes this and puts it to great use. I also think that language intercedes to make the mysterious less scary, and there's nothing more scary for me than peering at the dark side of my emotional life. Emotions like anger, contempt, and disgust that I tend to shove down. But bringing them to the table and examining them makes them less scary and alien, and they are good indicators of when you need to make some sort of change.
[image]
This whole discussion was made more relevant and relatable by talking about her own process of learning as she conducted research over the years in topics such as empathy and connection. It made me feel less alone in my learning journey, as there were places where I got overwhelmed by the scope of emotional experiences covered here. Brown is a gentle, patient, and understanding guide as we navigate uncharted waters.
[image]
I think this may be a book that I will end up buying in its print edition, because of how good a reference this is. I also have heard how good the illustrations are in the regular book, and I wish to experience those as well.
As a proud Midwesterner (born in Michigan and currently living in Wisconsin), I will admit that my review is a bit biased.
However, Th*Spoiler alert!*
As a proud Midwesterner (born in Michigan and currently living in Wisconsin), I will admit that my review is a bit biased.
However, The Midwest Survival Guide by comedian and podcast host Charlie Berens, is an absolute gem! With contributions from many writers and inspired by Charlie's trips around the country, everything from Midwestern culture to its hidden travel gems are explored in humorous detail.
[image]
You could tell that this book was proudly Wisconsin-centric, as many jokes were made about the state of Illinois, and its professional football team, "da Bears" (the Chicago Bears), chief rival to the Green Bay Packers. (As a Packer fan, I especially enjoyed this.)
I didn't listen to this one on audio, but having gone to one of Berens' shows in La Crosse, I could definitely hear his accent as I read it. (I had a grand time!)
[image]
[image]
"Turns out the oceans regulate temperatures and are too big to push around weather-wise. So, when the West and East Coast landscapes try to act up, the Pacific and Atlantic usually quickly put them back in check...In Sioux Falls and Steubenville, however, it's come what may...Sans oceans in the Midwest, it gets extra hot in the summer and extra cold every spring, fall, and winter, and the weather just kinda does whatever it wants all day long. No telling what tomorrow--or the next hour--will bring."
(This quote comes from a section titled: "The Weather: Like a Box of Chocolates")
I felt especially seen when the unpredictable weather of our part of the country was brought up. I can attest to having to wear (or bring with me in the car) multiple layers in case it starts getting hot or starts to rain or sleet.
In the winter, I make sure to pack snowpants and winter boots, and always have an umbrella in my car ready to go. I don't put away the snow and ice scraper back into the trunk until May. Matching your clothes becomes less imperative in the face of unpredictable meteorological conditions.
[image]
"2,462,000 BCE to 650,000--On the Rocks: Giant glaciers say, 'Let me squeeze right past you der' and move over a continent, flattening every mountain in their path, creating thousands of lakes of various sizes, and establishing a chill in the air that's still freezing pipes and hearts today."
(Quote from a section titled: "Midwest History")
Every the history nerd, another part of The Midwest Survival Guide that I really enjoyed was the section on Midwestern history, starting with that gem of a quote from 2,462,000 BCE, when the landscapes we know and love in Wisconsin and elsewhere were shaped.
From the indigenous peoples that originally inhabited the land to the present day, I learned a considerable amount of history not covered in detail in school, such as the first Midwestern city. Established in 1144, this first city, named Cahokia, was inhabited by 20,000+ Native American people.
The illustrations made the reading experience even more enjoyable for me. I picked up on the various bottles of ranch hidden on page corners or within much larger images throughout the book, in a humorous nod to the omnipresent, all-purpose condiment that's not just for salads, mind you.
While The Midwest Survival Guide leans hard into Midwestern stereotypes, it is done in a way that's not condescending to either Midwestern or non-Midwestern people. It gave me greater understanding of the cultural context my siblings and I were born into, explaining family gatherings in a way that confirmed I wasn't crazy that goodbyes took hours or that "uff-da" is a valid, multi-purpose exclamation of frustration or even sympathy with peoples' bad luck.
[image]
If you need a laugh and a break from the 24/7 bad news flood, The Midwest Survival Guide is your book!
“The immune system is the most complex biological system known to humanity, other than the human brain.�
[image]
I think it’s safe to say that
“The immune system is the most complex biological system known to humanity, other than the human brain.�
[image]
I think it’s safe to say that all of us to some degree, since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, have an elementary knowledge of immunology (the study of the immune system).
Terms often tossed around in the news were (are) “antibodies,� “antigen,� “immunization,� and even “cytokine storm.�
[image]
The book Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System that Keeps You Alive is a gorgeously illustrated cliff-notes lesson on the immune system that will help you make connections between the latter word-salad from above, such as:
“An antigen is a piece of an enemy that your immune system can recognize.�
Meaning that artificially inducing immunity through vaccination introduces your body to say, the COVID-19 virus antigen (its unique molecular signature), so it can prepare defenses against the virus when you encounter it in the wild. (One of the most amazing things to me about the immune system is that it produces “memory cells� after an infection or vaccination, that “remember� a very specific antigen and can help the immune system respond more effectively next time.)
[image]
Or, you may have heard “antigen� in the context of the early COVID tests, which look for viral antigens from your nasal swab to determine if you have COVID and you must quarantine for a while. (I gotta say, some of those sampling techniques are like having your brain poked. Not fun!)
To counter antigens and build up defenses against intruders, the immune system uses “antibodies,� which are just proteins with chemical puzzle pieces that match up to a specific antigen in an enemy (bacteria, virus, parasite, etc.) in order to destroy it.
[image]
So, I ended up coming out of the book with remembering “antigen� and “antibodies� in the context that they are adversaries, e.g., antigens=bad guys; antibodies=good guys.
When the book was discussing how your immune system responds to viruses, I couldn’t help but continue to think of COVID, and how if the immune system responds too strongly to a virus, it could kill you. (I was glad that the book had its own chapter devoted to COVID-19.)
[image]
I think that’s a strength of Immune, that it helps readers to get an overview of important concepts like immune responses, without getting too much in the weeds and overwhelmed, by using accessible, scientific language combined with the exploration of real-life (relevant) cases.
Because the book is so engaging, once you got past some of the essential vocabulary surrounding the cellular players in the immune response, I couldn’t stop reading it. (Well maybe that’s just me nerding out. But still!)
[image]
“The best way to kill a lot of viruses is to destroy infected cells, and the viruses inside them. Let us pause for a moment to appreciate the magnitude of what we are talking about here. Your immune system needs to be able to kill your own cells. Your immune system has an actual license to kill you.�
[image]
The above quote recognizes the extremely fine balance the immune system must walk. Immune cells (like T cells or macrophages) release “cytokines.� (Yes, I wasn’t about to forget cytokines. They’re an important piece of the puzzle.)
Cytokines basically are released by whatever immune cells are responding to an infection, leading to inflammation, which is basically a chemical signal for reinforcements, attracting the big guns needed in serious fights (such as Killer T Cells, a satisfyingly simple and logical name given to a cell whose purpose is, well, to kill invading enemies).
[image]
Basically, the immune system is made up of a whole bunch of non-thinking parts of you (cells, proteins, molecules, etc.), that use various cytokines to communicate with each other. The more cytokines released, the more urgent the cells picking up the cytokine signal react, revving up the immune response.
Okay, this is where I get to the other term I mentioned in the beginning: “cytokine storm.�
[image]
In certain severe cases of COVID-19, an excess release of cytokines kicks the immune system into overdrive against the virus. The immune system is very powerful, but is usually good at tempering its reactions, so as not to accidentally kill you.
However, not everyone has the exact same immune systems, and some are more predisposed to overreacting to a viral infection for whatever reasons (scientists think genetics is part of it, but not the complete picture) not understood too well currently.
(view spoiler)[ Viruses are sneaky little things, and will use your cells to disguise its presence, forcing the immune system to target any of your cells that are carrying the virus. Out of all disease-causing organisms mentioned in the book, viruses scared me the most. They’re fascinating, but mostly terrifying! (hide spoiler)] When the immune system gets too revved-up, its more likely to cause life-threatening complications.
[image]
COVID-19 usually infects the lungs. So, that can lead to difficulties breathing (inflammation releases fluids into the infected area) as some areas of the lungs are swamped with fluids, and eventual organ failure. All very, very horrifying, and awful.
Overall, I experienced more excitement and wonder than dread when learning about the immune system in Immune. It makes me even more thankful for my own immune system and appreciative of the heavy lifting it does to keep me alive (it may be the most graceful part of me, a very, very clumsy person), with a crucial assist from vaccines. (Shout-out to both!)
[image]
Give Immune a try! It’s a fascinating look into a system whose herculean work you don’t have to think about often when it’s going right.
If you’re an audiobook fan, you’ve most likely listened to one narrated by Julia Whelan. She’s narrated more than 500 books, from titles by Gillian FlIf you’re an audiobook fan, you’ve most likely listened to one narrated by Julia Whelan. She’s narrated more than 500 books, from titles by Gillian Flynn to Cormac McCarthy to Nora Roberts. In fact, I just finished listening to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab that Whelan narrated. Her ability to make each character sound distinct and her mastery of accents really brought the story to life for me.
So when I saw that she had written a love story set in the world of audiobooks, well, I couldn’t pass it up.
Thank You for Listening is about actress-turned-audiobook-narrator Sewanee Chester, who has a one-night romance with a stranger at a book convention in Las Vegas (I mean, which one of us hasn’t?).
But “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,� and she returns home to Los Angeles and goes back to her regular life, only to have a new mystery man thrown into her path as a co-narrator on a lucrative project.
The problem is that the project is a romance novel, and she’s sworn off love and hasn’t narrated a romance in years. Will she accept this project? Will she work well with the hottest male voice in romance? I think you can see where this is going.
I won’t spoil the plot, but I will talk about what I loved about this book!
First, as a total book nerd, I loved the behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of audiobook narration. Sewanee helps run a recording studio in LA, so we get to see what goes into bringing stories to life in a sound booth. It involves more snacks and tea than you might think!
Second, Sewanee is a well-developed character with flaws and plenty of emotional baggage that she needs to work through. Her relationships with her family and her best friend are complicated and realistic, and she is also dealing with a grandmother slipping into dementia.
She’s got a lot on her plate, which makes her relatable.
Third, I loved the structure of the book. You can tell that Whelan has literally read thousands of books and knows how to put one together. Her tongue-in-cheek approach to mentioning common romantic tropes while placing her characters in one made me smile appreciatively.
For example, her Vegas romance happened because a snowstorm (in Vegas!) closed the airport and the male love interest had nowhere to stay for the night.
“I’m fairly confident this is as close as I’ll ever come to being in one of your novels,� he murmured. “This must be some sort of trope, yeah?� � She chuckled. She finally turned to face him. “It’s called Snowed In.�
Those little nods to the reader tickled me.
So to sum up, I loved this book and read it over one weekend. And now I have the audiobook on hold, because I must listen to Julia Whelan narrate her own book about an audiobook narrator.
I hadn’t read this author before although had seen her books circulate througWe have two reviews for this book
Krystal's Review:
Rating: 4 stars
I hadn’t read this author before although had seen her books circulate through the library frequently and heard from others that she is a good writer. Can’t say this is a book I would have chosen myself as I am not a huge sports fan. This was my book club's pick so I was game.
It took me a little while to get into this book as there was a lot of tennis lingo and the main character isn’t that overly likeable. Taylor Jenkins Reid however did a great job of character development and before long I was wondering what was going to happen next. Reid did a wonderful job with her characters and world building. Creating Carrie and all of her rivals, I thought for sure it was based on a real tennis player.
While this was a book with A LOT about tennis, it was also a book about determination, perseverance, relationships, social and emotional growth. This book taught me quite a bit about tennis but really made me think a lot with regards to social interaction and relationships. I would definitely recommend this book; it was an unexpected surprise for me. I look forward to reading more books by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Find this book and other titles within .
Cora's review:
**As always, spoiler warning!**
“My ambition has long felt oppressive. It is not a joy—it is a master that I must answer to, a smoke that descends into my life, making it hard to breathe. It is only my discipline, my willingness to push myself harder, that has been my way through.
But right now, I can feel that my intuition is lacking.�
Carrie Soto is Back is a comeback story inspired by the lives of Venus and Serena Williams, two real-life tennis champions.
[image]
While Carrie Soto comes off as an abrasive personality and ruthless competitor—earning her the nickname of “Battle Axe� on the tennis court—I still found her a fascinating character.
I loved that she got her own story, because she seemed kind of one-dimensional in Malibu Rising, as the “other woman� cheating with Nina Riva’s husband. That was her only part to play, and it didn’t feel right.
Carrie Soto is Back tells what happens when Carrie makes the decision to come out of retirement to defend her Grand Slam titles record against rising star Nicki Chan. She has given her all to be the best tennis player in the world, and is eager not only to protect her record, but also prove that she has not gone soft at age 37 (I guess that’s considered old in professional tennis).
[image]
To get back into winning shape, Carrie agrees to her coach (and father) Javier’s suggestion to train with her old flame Bowe Huntley, who also has something to prove before retiring from tennis forever.
[image]
(view spoiler)[ I could see the enemies-to-lover trope coming from a mile away, but Reid makes their budding friendship and eventual romantic relationship interesting, as they both drive each other to their limits, physically, mentally, and emotionally in the quest to be the best. Because of the way Reid executes it, making it more of a side plot, than the main plot (which is way more interesting), it barely disrupted the flow of the narrative. (I even found myself rooting for them to stick together at the end.) (hide spoiler)]
“It’s almost midnight, and the party is only just about to begin. We all have been waiting—I have been waiting—for the men’s final to end. The party can’t start until then.
The finalists were Andrew Thomas and Jadran Petrovich, neither one of whom would set a record by winning. We live in a world where exceptional women sit around waiting for mediocre men.�
Without spoiling too much of the story, I’ll just say that this novel was a wild ride that kept me on the edge of my seat and rooting for Carrie to prove her haters wrong.
It also taught me a bit about tennis, a sport that I do not know much about and do not follow closely like professional football!
[image]
Definitely worth the read for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid, but also a more general reading audience.
This book is our online book club's October selection. Please feel free to read along with us by securing a copy either via our catalog, Hoopla, orThis book is our online book club's October selection. Please feel free to read along with us by securing a copy either via our catalog, Hoopla, or Libby. Happy reading!
Two of our staff members wrote a review for this book. Enjoy! Beware of spoilers!
Brandon's review:
Hidden Pictures is our October 2022 Book Club pick that was chosen by our group members and friends on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.
I was expecting something different than what I got with this book, but I still really enjoyed the book. I also doubled down on these creepy drawings.
[image]
I won’t bore you with a synopsis of what happens since Cora does it so eloquently below. Though I must you warn that there are pretty big spoilers in her review without revealing the biggest twist.
For some reason, I remembered the synopsis being different what is actually printed. Because of that, I missed subtle clues that normally would have been obvious to me, and I was distracted by other red herrings.
[image]
I enjoyed the one-person narrative without jumping around in time. I enjoyed multiple characters, including our main character, and Russell was such a vibe in how selfless and caring he was. If everyone had a Russell in their life then the world would be a better place.
[image]
The story grabbed me right away. Everything was easy to visualize with the writing and with the drawings.
This book is best consumed in the print version in my opinion because of the numerous pictures included within the book. The creepiness of how they looked like a child’s drawings with an ominous figure always lurking in them set the tone of the story. The pictures noticeably transitioned into these hauntingly beautiful scenes that alerted the reader to a tonal shift.
[image]
There were a plethora of misdirects and red herrings that keeps you guessing until the end. I felt the ending of the book was also satisfying.
I do question some of the choices of characters, but that treads on spoiler territory, so I digress. Some of the pop culture references were mid at best though. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the mystery at the heart of it. This novel reminded me of books by Simone St. James.
[image]
Cora's review:
Hidden Pictures is our Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ book club's October "spooky read." To secure a copy and read along with us, please check out our catalog, Hoopla, and Libby. Happy reading!
Hidden Pictures was definitely a mystery/thriller worth reading!
Not only is there the added horror aspect, but the main character, I thought, was very well-written, and the red herrings deployed very effective.
The horror aspect was evident just from the cover—it is terrifying!
Our protagonist is Mallory, a recovering drug addict, who has been taken on for the summer in an affluent suburban neighborhood to babysit a five-year-old, Teddy. Teddy is adorable, and his parents seem well-adjusted and friendly. They have a nice home in a well-off cul-de-sac.
I don’t know if the audiobook version of Hidden Pictures describes the pictures Teddy draws, but the book version did. It was apparent from the pictures that something was going on with Teddy, who, while adorable and intelligent, was wary of socializing with other kids and didn’t have many friends.
He often draws himself, Mallory, and his family accompanied by an unseen imaginary friend. (view spoiler)[ His imaginary friend appears in the creepiest way possible, and the childish way it is drawn in makes it more sinister to me. It appears the imaginary friend, Anya, is trying to warn Teddy about something that happened at the house in the past: her murder. How a child could normalize this, a haunting by a vengeful spirit, is beyond me. (hide spoiler)]
[image]
Soon after that, a “story� from Anya begins appearing in these drawings, appearing to show a violent crime, involving a man and a woman, presumably Anya. This is where the author effectively deploys various red herrings, which fooled me for most of the book, even if my subconscious was warning me that this simple explanation for Teddy’s drawings wasn’t the whole story.
It seems like the pieces were put together way too easily. (view spoiler)[ Anya is the Russian version of Annie, whom Mallory ties with the drawings appearing to show a murder of a woman at the hands of a mysterious man. The Annie episode exposes the racist past of the neighborhood, where Annie supposedly had been killed for falling in love with an African-American man. (hide spoiler)]
[image]
Not to mention how suspiciously Caroline, Teddy’s mother, reacts to Teddy’s Anya drawings. She appears very nervous and agitated, even though she insists that this imaginary friend thing is just a normal phase that kids Teddy’s age go through. (Again, the terrifying cover of the book hints otherwise.) (view spoiler)[Did I mention that Caroline is a psychologist working with addicts like Mallory? Her knowledge of psychology I think told her something was off, even though she was consciously trying to shrug it off. (hide spoiler)]
[image]
Meanwhile, as Mallory is trying to work through her suspicions, she is beset by curious noises coming through the walls of the guest cottage she is staying at on the property. She dismisses them as animal noises.
[image]
Time passes in a blur, summer passing quickly. One day, Mallory meets Adrian, who lives with his parents in a house nearby. I thought Adrian was a bit of a too-good-to-be-true character, because Mallory lies to him repeatedly, ashamed of her addictive past, the lies snowballing bigger and bigger as Hidden Pictures goes on.
I don’t know if I would have stayed with Mallory had I been Adrian. The lies were just too much and made Mallory a distrustful character to many she interacted with in the book, whom it was crucial to her success to win over.
[image]
Aside from those quibbles, I truly enjoyed Hidden Pictures. Although, I would read this one during the day, with the lights on!
Major spoilers ahead! (Contains spoilers for the whole "Beartown" series. You’ve been warned!)
“This is how a community’s corruption is measu
Major spoilers ahead! (Contains spoilers for the whole "Beartown" series. You’ve been warned!)
“This is how a community’s corruption is measured. It isn’t cheating if you don’t get caught, and it isn’t a scandal if it never gets revealed. Until then, there are just secrets. All forests are full of them.�
The Winners is the third and final entry of the “Beartown� trilogy. It does a bit of a time jump to two years after the tumultuous events of the first two books: Beartown and Us Against You. See below for a (spoiler-filled) recap of the events that have led up to this book, summed up by Backman himself in The Winners:
“One winter, two and a half years ago, Maya was raped at a party by Kevin Erdahl. The best hockey player anyone had ever seen in these parts up till then. No one uses the word ‘rape� these days, of course, they speak of ‘the scandal� or ‘that thing that happened� or ‘well, you know…� Everyone is ashamed, no one can forget. The sequence of events that started at that party eventually affected political decisions, and money was moved from one town to another. That in turn led to a spring and summer of terrible betrayals, then to an autumn and winter of violence. It started with a fight in the ice rink and almost ended with war on the streets, the men in black jackets who the police call ‘hooligans� but who everyone in Beartown knows only as ‘the Pack� attacked their enemies over in Hed, and the men from Hed responded by setting fire to the Bearskin pub. In their hunt for revenge the Pack lost one young man whom they loved above everything else, Vidar, in a car accident. That was the culmination of everything, the final consequence of years of aggression, after that no one could bear it any longer. Vidar was laid to rest, two men from Hed ended up in prison, and a truce was declared among the hooligans, but also between the towns. The truce has largely held since then, but is feeling more and more fragile with each passing day now.�
Sorry about that text block there, but that's how it all appears in the book, and I think it's a helpful reminder of the events of the first two books.
[image]
The Winners takes place over two weeks, and it doesn’t take long for this uneasy truce between Beartown and Hed flare up again.
[image]
Maya journeys home from music college to find Beartown and nearby Hed devastated by a horrific storm, trees down everywhere, and lives disrupted. She is coming back for a funeral (view spoiler)[ (Ramona’s funeral) (hide spoiler)] and runs into Benji, who has also returned from two years trying to find himself in Asia.
[image]
Meanwhile, a reporter and her father are investigating the sketchy finances of Beartown Ice Hockey, and uncover a whopper of a scandal, of the magnitude not seen in two years. A boy who lost his sister to a drug overdose plans revenge on those who targeted his sister, Ruth. (view spoiler)[Around the time of Maya’s rape, Ruth also gets raped by a Beartown hockey player, and of course, the investigation goes nowhere, and her story gets buried. (hide spoiler)]
[image]
All of these threads weave together and snowball until lives are threatened at the annual Beartown-Hed junior hockey game.
[image]
I must say that of all the relationships depicted in the series, I absolutely adored the one between seven-year-old Alicia (aspiring hockey player) and Benji.
Also, the one between Maya and Benji. (view spoiler)[The part about how, in the future, when Alicia is a big hockey star, she lies down in the center circle of the rink and looks up at the ceiling, just like she did with her best friend Benji, really got me. Of course, Benji’s not there. Perhaps in spirit though. He doesn’t survive the events of this book. Then, of course, there's how Maya pays tribute to Benji when she is a famous singer. Gah, I was a fountain by then! (hide spoiler)]
[image]
The relationships between the people are at the heart of this trilogy, and these relationships are tested in the conclusion to the “Beartown� series.
This series is, I think, a must-read, even for those who are not that into sports. Just make sure to have a tissue box or two by your side as you read The Winners. While I am not ready to let go of what has become one of my favorite series to date, I think the conclusion does the story justice. It's a beautiful story.
As always, beware of spoilers if you haven't read this book! Contains spoilers for both books one and two in the "Beartown" series.
Us Against YouAs always, beware of spoilers if you haven't read this book! Contains spoilers for both books one and two in the "Beartown" series.
Us Against You is the second book in one of my new favorite series, where hockey is nothing and everything for the small town of Beartown.
“The worst thing we know about other people is that we’re dependent upon them. That their actions affect our lives. Not just the people we choose, the people we like, but all the rest of them: the idiots. You who stand in front of us in every line, who can’t drive properly, who like bad television shows and talk too loud in restaurants and whose kids infect our kids with the winter vomiting bug at preschool. You who park badly and steal our jobs and vote for the wrong party. You also influence our lives, every second.�
The fallout from the last book, Beartown, continues. Beartown’s ice hockey club is on the verge of bankruptcy, and general manager, Peter Andersson, is desperate to find a way to save it.
This leads to somewhat shady dealings with a local politician, to counter the huge investment in rival town Hed’s hockey club—where some of Beartown’s best flocked to a club they felt would give them the most chance of future success.
However, these shady dealings come to haunt Peter.
But one of his great loves is hockey, and he knows hockey is the heart of the community when everything else seems on a downward spiral. (view spoiler)[ The political machinations eventually force Peter to resign as general manager. (hide spoiler)]
[image]
Once the finances are taken care of, the next goal is to build a team.
Elisabeth Zackell is brought in to coach a team that is centered around Amat (like Dash from The Incredibles, he is very fast), Benji (one of the more intense hockey players on the team), and Vidar (formerly stayed in juvenile detention/drug treatment, but is a stellar goalie).
[image]
I have to say that I really enjoyed the dynamic Coach Zackell had with the team, once the pearl-clutching about her gender passes amongst the team members (like other fields, women are underrepresented in hockey leadership roles). She is intelligent, tough, and uncompromising, reminding me very much of Kira in a way.
[image]
While the new Beartown team is gearing up for the big game with Hed, the tensions between the two towns and rival hockey teams are coming to a slow boil. But once the boiling water overflows, it really overflows. (See Beartown for a similar dynamic.) There are various juvenile pranks, most of which result in the various defacings of the flags of both teams.
[image]
Because both towns� identities are heavily intertwined with hockey—hockey is practically a religion—these things snowball into a disastrous event that leaves Beartown’s hockey team down a player. (view spoiler)[ Vidar is lost in a tragic car accident. (hide spoiler)]
“Life is a weird thing. We spend all our time trying to manage different aspects of it, yet we are still largely shaped by things that happen beyond our control.�
Will Beartown prevail in the game? Can Beartown and Hed come to some sort of peace?
[image]
No spoilers! I’ll let you read and find out for yourself!
As always, buckle up, because things are as intense as ever.
I would talk more about the great character development, but those dynamics could help spoil the story also, so I'll omit that discussion in this review! (I’ll be reading the last entry in the series, The Winners, ASAP, because I need to know how things end up!)
I was not sure how anthropomorphizing our home galaxy, the Milky Way, would work, but I think author Dr. Moiya McTiThis is no ordinary autobiography!
I was not sure how anthropomorphizing our home galaxy, the Milky Way, would work, but I think author Dr. Moiya McTier did a decent job with this in this intriguing science book!
[image]
The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy is first and foremost a popular science book, but that doesn’t mean that the author condescends to non-scientist readers who don’t have the astrophysics and folklore background that Dr. McTier does. Nor does the book dumb it down too much. (view spoiler)[(Even if the latter is the personality chosen to represent our Milky Way, trying to communicate to entities—humans—that are much smaller and less knowledgeable than it, but nevertheless live within the body of the galaxy. I guess that would be a frustrating communication experience, but I wouldn't know!) (hide spoiler)]
Readers can see that Dr. McTier is clearly having fun telling our home galaxy’s story in an engaging way.
One example of this is the fact that our galaxy finds it rude that human scientists succeeded in figuring out its true age, more or less!
[image]
Our Milky Way formed roughly thirteen billion years ago, and its past is turbulent, as its first stars light up from the vast compressed gas cloud and gradually acquire their own planets. (For comparison, scientists have estimated that the universe itself is around 13.7 billion years old.)
[image]
However, humanity doesn’t enter the picture until much later in the galaxy’s formative years, and it clearly communicates to readers just how small humanity is in not only the big picture of our home galaxy, but the much larger big picture of the universe and spacetime. I find that both awesome and terrifying, a combination I do not think will ever go away for me.
Despite how annoyed the galaxy seems by humanity’s lack of knowledge; it nevertheless has a soft spot for humanity proved by how it affectionately tells of our ancestors and the myths they made up around the Milky Way.
Not to mention how humanity also closely watched the stars to navigate and to plan harvests. The galaxy laments at the knowledge lost in our modern age, as light pollution makes seeing the stars very difficult.
[image]
I found this folkloric exploration a fascinating, yet important sidebar, helping readers to anchor humanity in our galaxy’s larger story.
Not only does the galaxy tell of its past and present by way of the discoveries astronomers have built up over centuries in an accessible way, but also gives us a glimpse into the galaxy’s and universe’s future and ultimate fate.
For science nerds like me and for general readers alike, The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy is a very fun read. I hope you enjoy it!
I recognize that the five-star rating system is very subjective, but I felt that John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed was the right book at the righI recognize that the five-star rating system is very subjective, but I felt that John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed was the right book at the right time for me.
“We are at once too powerful and not nearly powerful enough. We are powerful enough to radically reshape Earth’s climate and biodiversity, but not powerful enough to choose how we reshape them.�
[image]
The Anthropocene Reviewed is a collection of essays on a wide array of topics written during the COVID-19 pandemic by John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, among a few of his bestsellers.
[image]
The overarching theme of the collection is looking at the different ways people have shaped the world, and in turn, how the changing world has shaped them. Many essays are personal, from Green’s perspective, but alternate between the personal experience and the larger picture of the world around him.
“One of the strange things about adulthood is that you are your current self, but you are also all the selves you used to be, the ones you grew out of but can’t ever quite get rid of.�
As I was reading, I could not help but feel that The Anthropocene Reviewed was just as therapeutic for John Green in writing it as it was for me reading it. Not only does he write in a highly relatable way, like him and the reader are in an interesting face-to-face conversation, but there is also an undercurrent of urgency to all the essays.
[image]
For me, they were powerful, even if written in a very down-to-earth style. I can tell he likes to learn and likes to convey to others through his writing the simultaneous joy and dread and wonder of living in the Anthropocene.
[image]
One of my favorite essays talked about the history of the popular board game, Monopoly, that ended up being part of a larger discussion of the economic forces shaping our current moment, particularly income inequality and the wealth gap.
“So the story we hear of an individual rightly rewarded for his genius turns out to be a far more complicated story of a woman who created a game that thousands of collaborators then improved by playing it. A story of capitalism working turns out to be a story of capitalism failing. So many people got robbed by Darrow’s monopolism, but Elizabeth Magie’s loss is especially galling, because it wasn’t only her game that got buried by Monopoly but also the ideals she worked so hard to share. Magie’s rebuke of unregulated extractive capitalism was transformed into a celebration of getting rich by making others poor.�
[image]
Ultimately, I found myself stunned that the game started off way different than it is played today, where players are ruthless in their pursuit for properties and wealth. It was almost like the game went through a game of telephone that ended up distorting the original message beyond recognition. I also found myself remorseful at how easy it is to get sucked in to such a mindset of a win-at-all-costs, zero-sum mentality. It is all too easy for me to end up in that trap, as I am a fiercely competitive board-game player.
“For days now, my brain has refused to allow me to finish a thought, constantly interrupting with worries. Even my worries get interrupted—by new worries, or facets of old worries I had not adequately considered. My thoughts are a river overflowing its banks, churning and muddy and ceaseless. I wish I wasn’t so scared all the time—scared of the virus, yes, but there is also some deeper fear: the terror of time passing, and me with it.�
I think part of what made Green’s writing so relatable for me was his description of anxiety, particularly as it intersected with the COVID-19 pandemic. As someone who struggles with anxiety, it was refreshing to see an author fearlessly talk openly about mental illness and the struggles that come with them, especially as all these things intersected in the pandemic.
[image]
I think general readers will enjoy The Anthropocene Reviewed. It is a volume full of topics bound to resonate deeply with all sorts of readers.
La Crosse County Library
>
Books:
humor
(139)
Loading...
