The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

 

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The periodic table of elements doesn't often make for exciting reading. Or even fun reading. It's a chart with a bunch of numbers and letters, plus the element names are based on the archaic Latin system. It's not the easiest thing to decipher.

However, Sam Kean takes a different approach, history and curiosity. Why are the elements arranged that way? Who discovered this element or that one? How does one go about looking for elements in the first place? Kean has a signature style of making topics like the elements or neuroscience (The Dueling Neurosurgeons) interesting for the lay-person. He approaches science with humor and quirkiness. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this telling of the table. It all starts with a boy's fascination with the mercury in the old thermometers. (We don't really use mercury thermometers anymore.) From there, he let his curiosity lead the history. Oh, and if you are curious as to why the spoon disappears, look up gallium. 

The Great Mortality by John Kelly

 

The Great Mortality by John Kelly ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ysenia Pestis, bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, rats. These words inspire a thrill of fear in many of us, even if we aren't 100% sure why. 

Since 2020, we, as a society, have become familiar with the fear and uncertainty of  a plague. Ours didn't have the dramatic name, but it was, and still is, a source of anger and even Xenophobia. This isn't new. Throughout the Great Mortality of the 1340s, the one group of people that was blamed for this massive die-off was the Jews. Apparently, there was a global conspiracy to kill the Gentiles! Of course, Jews died at pretty much the same rate as the Christians... 

John Kelly braids a massive world tragedy with multiple strands into an interesting narrative for the lay-person to grasp. For those that want to understand a pivotal moment in history, how it effects us today, and what the people felt, then I would highly recommend this history.

Law and Disorder by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker

 

John Douglas is a respected law enforcement officer. Many will recall his name from the Nexflix series Mindhunter (another book I'll review soon). What we consider the psychology of a criminal or serial killer, Douglas and his team at Quantico studied first. However, I'm sure you know all this, but what you may not know is some of the details of the more famous crimes in US history. 

West Memphis Three. Amanda Knox. JonBenet Ramsey.  These cases are famous in the American psyche, but Douglass gives us what we may not know because of how the media will portray the story. These are not the only case studies in this book, others are just as thrilling. Douglas opens the secret cupboard and shows us that mistakes are made in homicide cases, especially when the case involves the death of a child. Emotions run high and sometimes an innocent man is sent to prison.

I love the candid nature of this book. As human, we tend to hide our mistakes and defend our false assumptions, Douglas and Olshaker don't, to put it simply, and that is refreshing-- if tragic-- in the out come. 

The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir  5 Stars

I broke the cardinal rule! I watched the movie first!! I know, I know... how could I?! A semi-respected blogger of no note watch a film before I read the book that it was based on must be against some unwritten rule. I'm so sorry!

Now that I have fully apologized for my indiscretion, I can get to the point of how awesome this book was, brilliant! If I only had one word to describe, it would be 'brilliant'. For the science geeks out there (yes, I'm raising my hand), the facts are solid. Even the people that are supposed to know this stuff agree that its based on good science. For the botanists out there (not raising my hand, but I love to garden), the things the amazing Mark Watney does will leave you dazed. In a good way.

Throughout the tale, Watney has become a walking NASA version of "Murphy's Law", if it could wrong, it did... in every way possible. I love the humour in the story, even when things are getting incredibly bad for the Martian. The jokes he makes about himself, about NASA, about the situations in general will leave you in stitches.

Andy Weir did a fantastic job of telling a tragic story in a new and interesting way. I look forward to another novel from him.

Updates: The Black Dahlia Files

Good grief... I was hoping to do better on my blog last year, but as you can clearly see, that didn't really happen. It was a roller coaster of a year. I felt it best to read, enjoy the book, and take care of myself as I was going down that deep, dark hole we call depression.

So let's try this again. My goal for last year was to read 25 books, I managed 19. This year my goal is read 20. I'm so busy that if I can manage those 20, I'll be doing great. So far I have finished two.

The Black Dahlia Files by Donald H. Wolfe ---4 Stars

I've always been fascinated by her, Elizabeth Short, the "Black Dahlia". Like many people, I got wrapped in the unsolved crime because, while living, she was a stunning woman, but the questions of who would want her dead and why always come to mind. Many people have had theories, most crack-pot at best and accusing their own fathers at worst.

Wolfe gives us an interesting view into the echelons of 1940's Hollywood. His step-father was in the world, giving the author a first hand look into the shadowy side of fame and fortune. While many are aware that Hollywood was (and likely still is) mobbed to the hilt (and today we call them 'gang-bangers'), I wasn't aware of how many pies the mob had their fingers in.

Wolfe offers a viable theory using recently released files from the LA County District Attorney's office. He gives a rich view into the dark side of the Golden Age of the Silver Screen. Is he right? Maybe, maybe not, since many of the files on the famous Black Dahlia are still sealed, we may never know. The point is that, even if Wolfe is completely off base, the book was written is such a way that keeps the attention of the reader through the very end. And by "very end", I mean the appendices at the end of the book. 


                                                 

Fancy Pants Poetry by Agostino Scafidi

Fancy Pants Poetry   by Agostino Scafidi - 4Stars

Mr Scafidi sent me a request to review his latest poetry collection. I must say this is a first. Usually, I have authors give me a bit of run around and request my purchasing the book in question. (I think we can all say 'scam'.) So I was sent the collection and was pleasantly surprised.

Often poetry can be rather flowery and lacking in actual substance. Not so with Fancy Pants! The poem "Passing Time" is short and simple in wording, but gives a valuable piece of wisdom-- one doesn't have to travel the world to find the peace that they seek. Another entitled "Roger, Yankee, Foxtrot" struck me rather to the core of my being. We each carry a weight and a burden that sometimes we need not carry, but for the safety of those we love, we gladly bear the burden. I could go on and review each poem, but there are far too many, and I've not enough space.

Scafidi's poetry is light, beautiful, and honest... even if our author does bemoan the pain of honesty. All in all, Fancy Pants Poetry really doesn't live up to its name. Its not fancy, not in the slightest, but its raw in its beauty and simplicity. A wonderful collection that I feel many would enjoy immensely.

Apologies

Wow... all right the end of 2014 has been one heck of a trip. I did read, but couldn't be bothered to track them. Busy little bee... any way I will strive to do better in 2015.

See you in the funny papers.