Friday, December 08, 2017
Blizzard of Glass
by Sally M. Walker
This one's a short book about a munition ship explosion that took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia on December 6, 1917. At the time, it was the largest man-made explosion in history, flattening a good portion of the city and killing hundreds of people. Ms. Walker tells the story, in part, by recounting the experiences of a few families who were living in the area. That personal touch brings the sorrow of the tragedy and the following recovery efforts that much closer. It's definitely worth checking out.
LibraryThing link
This one's a short book about a munition ship explosion that took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia on December 6, 1917. At the time, it was the largest man-made explosion in history, flattening a good portion of the city and killing hundreds of people. Ms. Walker tells the story, in part, by recounting the experiences of a few families who were living in the area. That personal touch brings the sorrow of the tragedy and the following recovery efforts that much closer. It's definitely worth checking out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, UnshelvedBookClub
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Hieroglyph
edited by Ed Finn and Kathryn Cramer
I first heard about this one on the late, lamented Unshelved Book Club. The description of this collection of science fiction stories reminded me of the stories from the 50s and 60s that were my introduction to the genre--stories that optimistically presented a future where science opened the door to wonder, adventure, and a better way of life. This is a collection of modern tales that tries to capture that same spirit. ("No dystopias allowed," as the reviewer phrased it) Unlike the tales of my youth, the stories were very Earth-centric. There was only one that spent a lot of time in space. Instead, these tales explored things like the environmental and social realms of science. And they did it very well, capturing the sense of wonder which enticed me all those years ago. Check it out!
LibraryThing link
I first heard about this one on the late, lamented Unshelved Book Club. The description of this collection of science fiction stories reminded me of the stories from the 50s and 60s that were my introduction to the genre--stories that optimistically presented a future where science opened the door to wonder, adventure, and a better way of life. This is a collection of modern tales that tries to capture that same spirit. ("No dystopias allowed," as the reviewer phrased it) Unlike the tales of my youth, the stories were very Earth-centric. There was only one that spent a lot of time in space. Instead, these tales explored things like the environmental and social realms of science. And they did it very well, capturing the sense of wonder which enticed me all those years ago. Check it out!
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, UnshelvedBookClub
Tuesday, February 07, 2017
Understanding Jim Crow
by David Pilgrim
I wasn't willing to take this book to work to read over lunch, but I would recommend it to just about anyone. Dr. David Pilgrim was a collector of memorabilia--racist memorabilia. He spent about three decades collecting cultural artifacts of the Jim Crow era, and then in 1996, he donated the collection to Ferris State University to create the Jim Crow Museum. This book explains what the museum is and what it tries to teach. It's profusely illustrated with photographs of museum artifacts, including the racist caricature on the front cover that prompted me to leave the book at home. It's a disgusting read, in one sense. The crap that was part of our grandparents' and multi-great grandparents' lives is shameful. But it's important to face it. It's important to understand our history in America, to realize, as Dr. Pilgrim puts it, that "Jim Crow was more than a series of 'Whites Only' signs. It was a way of life that approximated a racial caste system." It's especially important as the tropes and stereotypes of Jim Crow linger on in our culture today.'
Check it out!
LibraryThing link
I wasn't willing to take this book to work to read over lunch, but I would recommend it to just about anyone. Dr. David Pilgrim was a collector of memorabilia--racist memorabilia. He spent about three decades collecting cultural artifacts of the Jim Crow era, and then in 1996, he donated the collection to Ferris State University to create the Jim Crow Museum. This book explains what the museum is and what it tries to teach. It's profusely illustrated with photographs of museum artifacts, including the racist caricature on the front cover that prompted me to leave the book at home. It's a disgusting read, in one sense. The crap that was part of our grandparents' and multi-great grandparents' lives is shameful. But it's important to face it. It's important to understand our history in America, to realize, as Dr. Pilgrim puts it, that "Jim Crow was more than a series of 'Whites Only' signs. It was a way of life that approximated a racial caste system." It's especially important as the tropes and stereotypes of Jim Crow linger on in our culture today.'
Check it out!
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, UnshelvedBookClub
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Radiance
by Catherynne M. Valente
Decopunk. That's the word in the Unshelved book review that roped me into reading this book. Having encountered cyberpunk and steampunk before, I had to see what decopunk looks like. So what is decopunk? Um, I'm not quite sure. You see, the story also uses that old, old sci-fi trope that the planets of the solar system are habitable. Plus it's set in the heart of that universe's Hollywood. The era of big studios and movie star royalty. I, er, got so caught up in the book's world that I didn't bother to look for or consider and decopunkness.
Anyway, Radiance is a tale about Severin Unck, the daughter of a famous film director who becomes a filmaker herself. Between her childhood, completely documented--or rather, dramatized--by her father, and her own work, she becomes quite famous. That fame only increases when she disappears during her final shoot. The story of her life is told in flashback--switching between eras, jumping from production to production. In the process, the story reveals not only the mystery but also the rich universe Ms. Valente created for her characters to run around in. It was an enjoyable journey.
Check it out!
LibraryThing link
Decopunk. That's the word in the Unshelved book review that roped me into reading this book. Having encountered cyberpunk and steampunk before, I had to see what decopunk looks like. So what is decopunk? Um, I'm not quite sure. You see, the story also uses that old, old sci-fi trope that the planets of the solar system are habitable. Plus it's set in the heart of that universe's Hollywood. The era of big studios and movie star royalty. I, er, got so caught up in the book's world that I didn't bother to look for or consider and decopunkness.
Anyway, Radiance is a tale about Severin Unck, the daughter of a famous film director who becomes a filmaker herself. Between her childhood, completely documented--or rather, dramatized--by her father, and her own work, she becomes quite famous. That fame only increases when she disappears during her final shoot. The story of her life is told in flashback--switching between eras, jumping from production to production. In the process, the story reveals not only the mystery but also the rich universe Ms. Valente created for her characters to run around in. It was an enjoyable journey.
Check it out!
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, UnshelvedBookClub
Monday, January 18, 2016
Transit Maps of the World
by Mark Ovenden
I love maps. I'm also quite fond of public transit. So when I heard of this book, billed as the "World's First Collection of Every Urban Train Map on Earth", I naturally had to borrow and read it. But I was unfortunately left with a frustrated desire to pack a bag, grab my passport and go traveling.
As a coffee table book, I'm sure most people would find it pleasant waiting room material. But I would say, "check it out".
LibraryThing link
I love maps. I'm also quite fond of public transit. So when I heard of this book, billed as the "World's First Collection of Every Urban Train Map on Earth", I naturally had to borrow and read it. But I was unfortunately left with a frustrated desire to pack a bag, grab my passport and go traveling.
As a coffee table book, I'm sure most people would find it pleasant waiting room material. But I would say, "check it out".
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, UnshelvedBookClub
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Shady Characters
by Keith Houston
¶A fun little read if you're a typesetter who likes history. Mr. Houston explores the history of ten different punctuation marks and one mark that many think should exist, but doesn't. He manages to be informative and amusing, not hesitating to follow a rabbit trail or two.
'Tis delightful waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
¶A fun little read if you're a typesetter who likes history. Mr. Houston explores the history of ten different punctuation marks and one mark that many think should exist, but doesn't. He manages to be informative and amusing, not hesitating to follow a rabbit trail or two.
'Tis delightful waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Labels: UnshelvedBookClub, WaitingRoomMaterial
Monday, June 02, 2014
Star Trek: The Art of Juan Ortiz
by Juan Ortiz
When I saw this reviewed on Unshelved, I just had to check it out. Mr. Ortiz has created a movie poster for each episode of the original Star Trek series and collected them in this volume. The designs are in styles that would be common in the '60s. Some are quite brilliant, just about all of them are fun.
LibraryThing link
When I saw this reviewed on Unshelved, I just had to check it out. Mr. Ortiz has created a movie poster for each episode of the original Star Trek series and collected them in this volume. The designs are in styles that would be common in the '60s. Some are quite brilliant, just about all of them are fun.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, StarTrek, UnshelvedBookClub
Monday, December 30, 2013
Super Graphic
by Tim Leong
A creative bit if waiting room material, Super Graphic is a collection of graphs and charts that illustrate all sorts of comic book trivia. Some we're interesting, some were cheap jokes. Altogether it made for an hour or two of fun reading.
LibraryThing link
A creative bit if waiting room material, Super Graphic is a collection of graphs and charts that illustrate all sorts of comic book trivia. Some we're interesting, some were cheap jokes. Altogether it made for an hour or two of fun reading.
LibraryThing link
Labels: UnshelvedBookClub, WaitingRoomMaterial
Thursday, December 12, 2013
A History of the World in 12 Maps
by Jerry Brotton
I love maps, and don't mind wasting time poring over one. However, I've never given much thought about them--how they're made, why they're made, and all that. So this book ended up being a nice little voyage of discovery for me. As a combination of history and maps, it seemed natural to put it on my reading list. Like Tom Standage's A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Professor Brotton's book takes a single concept, in this case maps of the world, and follows it through history. For each map, he sets up the scene of the society in which the map was created. He looks at why the mapmaker(s) created the peace, and what it tells us about the culture. I'm quite glad I checked it out.
LibraryThing link
I love maps, and don't mind wasting time poring over one. However, I've never given much thought about them--how they're made, why they're made, and all that. So this book ended up being a nice little voyage of discovery for me. As a combination of history and maps, it seemed natural to put it on my reading list. Like Tom Standage's A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Professor Brotton's book takes a single concept, in this case maps of the world, and follows it through history. For each map, he sets up the scene of the society in which the map was created. He looks at why the mapmaker(s) created the peace, and what it tells us about the culture. I'm quite glad I checked it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, UnshelvedBookClub
Friday, July 06, 2012
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
by Tom Standage
This one's an interesting little book that looks at six influential beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola. Mr. Standage looks at each drink's place in history--how it shaped and was shaped by the cultures around them. As a history fan, it was fun to read about something besides wars and politics. Of course, reading it also made me a bit thirsty...
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
This one's an interesting little book that looks at six influential beverages: beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola. Mr. Standage looks at each drink's place in history--how it shaped and was shaped by the cultures around them. As a history fan, it was fun to read about something besides wars and politics. Of course, reading it also made me a bit thirsty...
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, UnshelvedBookClub
Sunday, June 24, 2012
11/22/63
by Stephen King
Another time travel story. In this case, a man uses a portal into the past to go back in time and attempt to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I didn't like so much how the story ended up, but I did enjoy how the story had a mystical/spiritual dimension to it that you don't often see in time travel tales. Another nice touch was that the traveller didn't have control of the time portal and actually had to kill time in 1960s America waiting for the fateful moment to arrive. All in all, the book was a joy to read. (But at 849 pages, a literal pain to hold at the bus stop.)
But don't let that stop you from checking it out.
LibraryThing link
Another time travel story. In this case, a man uses a portal into the past to go back in time and attempt to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I didn't like so much how the story ended up, but I did enjoy how the story had a mystical/spiritual dimension to it that you don't often see in time travel tales. Another nice touch was that the traveller didn't have control of the time portal and actually had to kill time in 1960s America waiting for the fateful moment to arrive. All in all, the book was a joy to read. (But at 849 pages, a literal pain to hold at the bus stop.)
But don't let that stop you from checking it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, UnshelvedBookClub
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Chronoliths
by Robert Charles Wilson
The review for this book in the Unshelved Book Club intrigued me so I had to give it a read. What if you got a message from 20 years in the future? What if the message was bad news? In The Chronoliths, the message is from a guy named Kuin--it's a large monument that pops up in Thailand, commemorating Kuin's victory in a battle there. Freaky. But then another monument, or chronolith as they're soon dubbed, appears. Then another. People and governments, especially in Southeast Asia, are suitably concerned. The story follows the mystery from the perspective of an American ex-pat, who happened to be nearby when the first chronolith pops up. Did I say happened? Actually, there seems to be some connection between his life and these chronoliths. Overall, I enjoyed the book. The story didn't grab me like Robert Sawyer's Flashforward* did, but Mr. Wilson did a commendable job of taking the idea of the chronoliths and showing how their very presence would affect people around the globe.
_____
*Just reread my review of Flashforward. Not very original, am I? Maybe I was just channeling this review from the future. Yeah, that's it....
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
The review for this book in the Unshelved Book Club intrigued me so I had to give it a read. What if you got a message from 20 years in the future? What if the message was bad news? In The Chronoliths, the message is from a guy named Kuin--it's a large monument that pops up in Thailand, commemorating Kuin's victory in a battle there. Freaky. But then another monument, or chronolith as they're soon dubbed, appears. Then another. People and governments, especially in Southeast Asia, are suitably concerned. The story follows the mystery from the perspective of an American ex-pat, who happened to be nearby when the first chronolith pops up. Did I say happened? Actually, there seems to be some connection between his life and these chronoliths. Overall, I enjoyed the book. The story didn't grab me like Robert Sawyer's Flashforward* did, but Mr. Wilson did a commendable job of taking the idea of the chronoliths and showing how their very presence would affect people around the globe.
_____
*Just reread my review of Flashforward. Not very original, am I? Maybe I was just channeling this review from the future. Yeah, that's it....
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, UnshelvedBookClub
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