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. 

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers  4Stars

All right, I can probably guess what you're thinking. "Ew, cadavers? But that means dead people! Who really cares what happens to the dead?" Or it could be something more like this: "Wait, you're doing what with a deceased person? That is not respectful to the departed."

Well, to each their own I suppose, but I found this fascinating! Mary Roach, a journalist by trade, wanted to know what really happens to those that donate their bodies to science or are left unclaimed in the county morgue. They happen to have an interesting life after death.

Medical students are taught surgical procedures that they would otherwise have to learn on the job. I don't know about you, but I want a surgeon that knows what s/he's doing. Ever think about how car manufacturers manage to ensure that a car is indeed safe enough to drive? You guessed it! Long before a crash test dummy is placed in the driver seat, John Doe takes a ride to make sure that you will survive. Included in this book are also some experiments done upon the deceased for the furtherment of science, if not simple human curiosity.

You'd think that such a book is gross and not worth reading. You may be right, but I found it stimulating. Ms Roach approaches the topic with gallows humor and no small dose of wit. Its possible to be respectful of the dead while still keeping a sense of humor.Personally, I have a whole new respect for those that decide to donate their bodies to science, or if their families choose to do so. Thank you, anonymous people, for providing the means to further science. And Mary Roach... thanks for such an entertaining book, even if the topic may have been a bit icky.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

The End of Your Life Book Club 5 stars

This was a book that an online book club I belong to was reading a few months ago. I had to wait for a copy to become available at the library, so I missed the chance to read it with The Book Addicts on GoodReads. I'm glad though that I did read it, even if I did get an odd comment from one of my managers at work. He thought it was a zombie book.

The author and his family learn that their matriarch has cancer, not just any kind but pancreatic cancer. Basically its a death sentence. Nearly everyone dies of pancreatic cancer, the point is to make the most of the time that you have left. Mary Anne Schwalbe is a brave woman, no matter how many times she tells you the contrary. She has survived many trips to the Middle East and Africa in her efforts to help women and refugees. Her last triumph was to have a library built near Kabul (forgive me if I am incorrect here, but I am sure it was in Afghanistan or Pakistan...). She gave so much of herself that at the end of her life it was hard to allow others to give to her.

It started in a waiting room for chemotherapy. Her son, Will, asks that one question that every reader loves to hear, "What are you reading?" And so began The End of Your Life Book Club. They spent almost two years sharing books, re-reading old favourites and discovering new authors. They used the books to help each other through an incredibly difficult time, they laughed, loved and read their way through the worst thing any one can imagine, the death of a loved one. Through it all Mary Anne and Will maintained their love for reading and each other by diving into a venture that they would never have the chance to do again.

I think what I loved most about this book was that it wasn't a eulogy, not really. Sure, Will misses his mother, loved her deeply, wanted the world to know the amazing woman that had given him life. What Will Schwalbe did was to show us that love doesn't end, it grows stronger. Take the time to show, to tell the people you love that you do care about them. Listen to them. Celebrate the fact that they have been and always will be a part of your life.

My mother has degenerative disc disease and is in constant pain, though she never really shows it. This book made me stop and think of how fortunate I am to be her daughter. She imparted to me the same gift that Mary Anne did to her children, especially Will, she gave me the love of reading, of human thought, of creativity. I am proud to be part of her life, and I hope... no I know she feels the same. She tells me all the time, along with the famous "If I can draw a smiley face in the dust on your dresser, you need to clean!"

I would love to have a chat with Mr Schwalbe, and let him know how much I appreciated a book that made me love my own mother more, that made me cry (which doesn't happen often) and that made me think how grand it is to have a woman we call Mom who shows us the incredible gift of reading.

Waiter Rant: Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by The Waiter

Waiter Rant 5 Stars

Anyone who has ever worked retail, or even with the public will know exactly what The Waiter is going through and what motivates his actions. Everyone has had at least one customer that has royally ticked us off and we all want to react to that person and destroy them in some way. Personally, I have always harboured the dream of throwing cold water in their face and make them shut up.

When his life gets turned up-side down, The Waiter takes the first job that comes along. You guessed it... waiting tables in a restaurant. He starts off in the worst place possible and gets fired rather quickly, mostly because he won't pay the manager for shifts. Eventually, he lands a job as head waiter in a high end restaurant, serving the rich and entitled of New York.

His escapades make us feel for him, understand him. He started off as a guy that didn't know what he wanted to be when he grew up but now its become a career that he never wanted. We read as he gets irate customers to either calm down or get out, as he helps a couple enjoy a meal they probably can't afford but hey its Valentine's, and we see how he treats his coworkers and customers.

As a retailer, I could identify with the Waiter, I could understand why he does what he does. I can completely understand the frustration that he fights so hard to keep in check. I don't drink or smoke, so I can't walk away and take a bit of alcohol or nicotine to take the edge off. I applaud his taking his frustrations and making them into a blog and finally a book. Thanks, Waiter, for giving me a laugh.

Julie and Julie by Julie Powell

Julie and Julia -- 4 Stars

What do you do if you are about to turn thirty, have a boring job, a syndrome that makes having children difficult, and oh... did I mention you're turning THIRTY? How do you find a purpose in your life? What are you going to do?

If you're Julie Powell, you take down the recipe book you snatched from you mother and make the decision to cook every single thing in it, no matter what. Of course, the cook book is none other than Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. With over five hundred recipes, its a challenge in and of itself, but to say you're going to do this in a year? Yep, Julie is crazy, no doubt about it. She wanted to put some excitement, some meaning into her life and she cooked her way through a year to do it.

You might think that it would be boring to read about a woman cooking for a year. In reality, its a riot! No... its a catastrophe! Between trying to find beef bone with the marrow intact or getting the courage to cook a live lobster, its amazing the woman's apartment was still standing. Heck, I'm surprised her marriage lasted! There really are no words to describe what this book is. Its a biography, a self help, a cook book... kinda. Its such a wonderful mix that it defies definition, which I find completely endearing. Honestly, I love the chutzpah that Julie has, even in the face of aspic!

In the end, its not all about Julie Powell or Julia Child, its about finding the joy in life, grasping it with both hands and enjoying the wild ride... mistakes, disasters, and all.

Long Way Down

Long Way Down -- 4Stars

I give this four starts because I cannot stand some of the language they use. I suppose I should be aware that men on motorbikes curse and swear too much, especially when there are no wives about.

Anyway, I truly did enjoy traveling with them as they made their way from Scotland to the Southern-most tip of Africa. From deserts to rain forests, the two friends made their way south, forever south. They stopped at various points to visit UNICEF centres and talk with the children effected by war. From the sick and dying children of Robin's House in the UK to the victims of the genocide in Rwanda. I must confess that there was more then point in which I cried for those children. No child should go through that, land mines at their front doors or being forced to become a soldier at only eight years old. If you don't feel for them, then you are numb.

The friends traveled through some terrible roads and met every challenge with stubbornness, if not grace. Tumbling off the bike in the sands of the Sudan, getting mucked in the mud after the rains of Ethiopia. No matter what was thrown at them, they continued on and laughed about it later. I suppose that is what true friendship is, dealing with the crap in life and laughing at the end of it. Boil-in-a-bag dinners with elephants walking past your tent, I can't imagine a better way to see Africa. Can you?

Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman

Long Way Round -- 5 stars


All right, this has been sitting on my shelf for several years and I really have been meaning to read it. I'm actually not a huge fan of travel genre because the writers often sound so bloody pretentious when they describe the country side that they view from the spit shined windows of their over priced hotel. This book starts off as a couple of mates act on a dream they've each toyed with since childhood, to ride a motobike around the world.

After months of planning, they start off from London and make their way east to New York City, a trip that will take them four months and 18,887 miles. I laughed with them as they encountered one strange adventure after another. I worried when the rivers they crossed were higher then the engines. With every border crossing, I hoped they would get through it safely and with little hassle. Every day seemed to bring something new to the boys, and therefore to me. By reading the journey they took around the world, I learned that there are still people out there who will stop for a total stranger to help him repair his bike, that will take him into their home, feed him, and offer him a warm bed. The world is full of people who are willing offer a hand in exchange for a smile. I also learned, along with McGregor and Boorman,  that not everything is as it seems and every person deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Most of all, I learned that life isn't about the destination, its all about the journey. Lovingly and honestly written, Long Way Round shows everyone that takes the time to read it that sometimes all you need is a little adventure and fresh air to find what you were looking for, which is often not too far from where you started in the first place. 

The Innocent Man by John Grisham

The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town  --5 Stars

I'm not sure if it is completely possible to be enthralled with a book but infuriated by it as well. If this is indeed possible then I am in those shoes. In 1983, a lovely young woman was found brutally murdered in her apartment in Ada, Oklahoma. The police and prosecutor knew who committed the crime, they just had to prove it... by whatever means necessary. The prosecutor didn't care that he actually needed evidence to convict, the confessions heard by jailed prisoners would be plenty. Give him an attorney who didn't defend and his fate was sealed with prison bars.

Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz were innocent of the murder of Debbie Carter, as they stated throughout the "investigation". The entire thing was not merely injustice but a severe miscarriage! I was appalled that no one seemed to notice that the confessions, so called, were illegal; the prosecution failed to convince beyond a reasonable doubt that either man was even seen with the victim prior to her death, let alone in her apartment; the defense missed that Mr Williamson was obviously not competent enough to stand trial.

I do believe that if you commit the crime then you must serve the time for it. But what if you are indeed innocent? Twelve years of legal maneuvering and two men are finally free but forever changed. I know I just gave it away, but the so does the synopsis. Getting to the end is the trial, if you'll forgive the pun.

John Grisham has not before, nor since, delved into the world of true crime or non-fiction. "Writing fiction is just too much fun," he says. His style, though, is clear throughout. The Innocent Man reads almost like a work of fiction. Indeed, I hoped that it was, instead of some cruel imprisonment for two men. This book has been on my shelves for some time and once started, I found it difficult to put down.