Don't Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth Davis

Title: Don't Know Much About Mythology

Author: Kenneth Davis

Publisher: HarperCollins 2005

Genre: History - Mythology

Pages: 545

Rating:  4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure; ebook; 52 Books - W35; Dewey Decimal

Employing the popular Don't Know Much About® style, with its familiar question-and-answer format, DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT MYTHOLOGY will explore the myths of the world, their impact on history, and their continuing role in our lives. It will offer listeners a wide-ranging, comprehensive, entertaining and listenable survey of the great myths of world civilizations, how they came to be, what they meant to the people who created them, how they influenced society, literature and art through history, and how they still speak to us today. Mythology is alive today in our art, literature, theatre, dreams, psychology--and certainly our language. "Pandora's Box," "Golden Fleece," "Labor of Hercules," and "Wheel of Fortune" are just a few of the words and phrases that come from a world of mythology and still color our speech. Using humor, contemporary references, and anecdotal material from mythology, extensive research based on recent archaeology which often reveals the history behind mythology and surprising information that breaks down conventional wisdom, DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT MYTHOLOGY will ultimately be about stories--the great and timeless tales that have fascinated people around the planet for several millennia.

I love Davis' Don't Know Much series. In the past, I've particularly enjoyed volumes on U.S. History and the Civil War. This one was very enjoyable, if a bit broad for me. I found myself skimming through multiple chapters as I have studied those cultures and their mythology. This isn't to say that it's a great book. It is! Especially for someone not knowledgeable in mythology. I like Davis format of question and answer with a "who's who" for each culture/area. My favorite chapter was on the mythology from India. Fascinating!

Common Phrases by Myron Korach

Title: Common Phrases and Where They Come From

Author: Myron Korach

Publisher: The Lyons Press 2001

Genre: Nonfiction - Language

Pages: 188

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); Dewey Decimal - 400s

In the tradition of Eats, Shoots & Leaves and Anguished English, Common Phrases is a fascinating guide to the origins of our language. Wonderful stories reveal the real meaning of Adam’s apple, nick of time, stool pigeon, armed to the teeth, raining cats and dogs, at sixes and sevens, dog days of summer, and scores of others. With nearly 35,000 copies sold, this classic begins a new life with a fresh package and a new audience for entertaining reference books.

Not quite so fascinating. Or maybe it would be if I didn't already know the stories behind many of the phrases in the book. I think I've read too much to fully enjoy this volume. Not bad, just not for me.

The Secret Museum by Molly Oldfield

Title: The Secret Museum

Author: Molly Oldfield

Publisher: Firefly Books 2013

Genre: Nonfiction - History, Art

Pages: 352

Rating:  3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); Dewey Decimal - 0s

In fact, a great many of the world's most precious objects are kept in secret locations, protected from public view and safe from harmful conditions. Too fragile to be handled or exposed, too likely to be stolen, or too big to display, they hide in secure darkness or locked rooms, waiting for an obsessive treasure hunter to find them.

Museum enthusiast and researcher Molly Oldfield is just that. Consumed by curiosity about what is behind the closed doors of museums' back rooms, she spent two years touring the world in search of the most extraordinary inventions, legacies and artifacts hidden from the public. She has curated the best of what she found into this remarkable collection.

The subject matter was fascinating. I loved learning little tidbits of hidden museum artifacts. Now I want to visit all these museums and see these fascinating items. Unfortunately, the writing was clunky at time. I found myself stopping often to marvel at the strange sentence constructions. Because of the writing I had to knock off a few stars. Still a very fascinating subject matter!

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Title: The Happiness Project

Author: Gretchen Rubin

Publisher: Harper 2009

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 315

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); TBR Reduction; 52 Books - W29; OLW Home; Dewey Decimal

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. "The days are long, but the years are short," she realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.

In this lively and compelling account, Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.

After my less than stellar review of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I'll admit to being a bit apprehensive about this volume. But I shouldn't have been worried. I loved this little book. Rubin has a great way of laying out her ideas and stories that is accessibly and not pretentious. I was a bit afraid that I would be preached at throughout the book. Instead, I felt myself wanting to be friends with Rubin and join her crazy project. By the end of the book, I was convinced that I need to do my own Happiness Project. I know I won't have the exact same monthly focuses or resolutions as Rubin, but I'm sure many will be similar. As I am in the middle of trying out Ali Edwards' One Little Word project, I'm going to sit on the Happiness Project until January. And it will give me time to reread the book, host a book club meeting on it, and formulate my own resolutions and focuses.

The American Plate by Libby O'Connell

Title: The American Plate: A Culinary History in 100 Bites

Author: Libby H. O'Connell

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2014

Genre: Nonfiction - History; Food

Pages: 330

Rating:  4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure; Read Your Freebies; Dewey Decimal - 600s

Dr. Libby H. O'Connell takes readers on a mouth-watering journey through America's culinary evolution into the vibrant array of foods we savor today. In 100 tantalizing bites, ranging from blueberries and bagels to peanut butter, hard cider, and Cracker Jack, O'Connell reveals the astonishing ways that cultures and individuals have shaped our national diet and continue to influence how we cook and eat.

Peppered throughout with recipes, photos, and tidbits on dozens of foods, from the surprising origins of Hershey Bars to the strange delicacies our ancestors enjoyed, such as roast turtle and grilled beaver tail. Inspiring and intensely satisfying, The American Plate shows how we can use the tastes of our shared past to transform our future.

An interesting, if a bit shallow, look at 100 different foods that came to be important to American life. I enjoyed the earlier chapters more than the later chapters. I felt like O'Connell spent more time on the food in the earlier chapters and then shifted the focus to social movements in the later chapters. Still I learned a bit about the history of some well-known foods. My favorite chapter was the one covering the Progressive Era. Great bites in that chapter!

Born Reading by Jason Boog

Title: Born Reading: Bringing Up Bookworms in a Digital Age -- From Picture Books to eBooks and Everything in Between

Author: Jason Boog

Publisher: Touchstone 2014

Genre: Nonfiction - Parenting, Education

Pages: 305

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure; Dewey Decimal

Born Reading provides step-by-step instructions on interactive reading and advice for developing your child’s interest in books from the time they are born. Boog has done the research, talked with the leading experts in child development, and worked with them to compile the “Born Reading Essential Books” lists, offering specific titles tailored to the interests and passions of kids from birth to age five. But reading can take many forms—print books as well as ebooks and apps—and Born Reading also includes tips on how to use technology the right way to help (not hinder) your child’s intellectual development. Parents will find advice on which educational apps best supplement their child’s development, when to start introducing digital reading to their child, and how to use tech to help create the readers of tomorrow.

This is why I don't read parenting books. I hate their tone! The holier-than-thou attitude will never appeal to me. The entire time I was reading this book, I had this image of the author just going "if you don't follow my exact instructions, your child will be an idiot." Ugh! I cannot stand that tone at all. If you can get past the tone, there were a few interesting tidbits of advice, but it was really hard to find. And so it will probably be another few years before I read another parenting book.

Comics Review Round-up

Title: Y: The Last Man Vol. 6 Girl on Girl

Author: Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra

Publisher: Vertigo 2005

Genre: Comics

Pages: 128

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library; Seriously Series

Accompanied by his mischievous monkey and the mysterious Agent 355, Yorick embarks on a transcontinental journey to find his girlfriend and discover why he is the last man on Earth. This volume finds Yorick, Agent 355 and Dr. Mann traveling across the Pacific to Japan in pursuit of Yorick's stolen monkey Ampersand, whose innards may hold the key to mankind's future.

Hmmm.... Not the bestest volume of the series. The story seemed a bit stuck in this volume, but I still did enjoy it. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Title: Y: The Last Man Vol. 7 Paper Dolls 

Author: Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra 

Publisher: Vertigo 2006 

Genre: Comics 

Pages: 144 

Rating: 5/5 stars 

Reading Challenges: Library; Seriously Series

In addition to catching up on the adventures of Yorick's monkey Ampersand (whose body holds the key to stopping the male-killing plague) and telling the origin of Agent 355, PAPER DOLLS chronicles Yorick and 355's search for Yorick's fiancée Beth in Australia—a search that yields a large dose of unwanted publicity for the Last Man, and deadly consequences for those he cares for!

Much better issues. Oh my! The stakes have been upped yet again. And lots of new mysteries have been alluded to. Plus we get some storyline from Beth. I've been wondering what happened to her. I am super excited to read the next volume.

Title: Y: The Last Man Vol. 8 Kimono Dragons

Author: Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra

Publisher: Vertigo 2006

Genre: Comics

Pages: 144

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: What's in a name - Animal; Seriously Series

KIMONO DRAGONS brings the hunt for Ampersand—the monkey who could unlock the mystery of the male-killing plague— to its explosive climax, as the last man on Earth and his companions finally reach Japan and discover the truth behind Ampersand's abduction.

Wow! A volume full of revelations. We finally get to meet Allison's mother and learn more about the players in this large chess game. I am speeding through these volumes to see where the story ends.

Title: Y: The Last Man Vol. 9 Motherland

Author: Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra

Publisher: Vertigo 2007

Genre: Comics

Pages: 144

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Books - W14; Seriously Series

Featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES and on NPR, Y: THE LAST MAN is the gripping saga of Yorick Brown, an unemployed and unmotivated slacker who discovers he is the only male left in the world after a plague of unknown origin instantly kills every mammal with a Y chromosome. Accompanied by his mischievous monkey, Ampersand, and the mysterious Agent 355, Yorick embarks on a transcontinental journey to find his long-lost girlfriend and discover why he is the last man on earth.

This volume of the critically acclaimed series features Yorick and Agent 355 preparing for their ultimate quest to reunite the last man with his lost love, while the person, people or thing behind the disaster that wiped out half of humanity is revealed!

The series is starting to wrap up. We got some great closure on a few storylines. And we seem to be nearing some type of conclusion. We end the volume as we started the series, with Yorrick and 355 attempting to find Beth... We'll see if they can find her.

Title: Y: The Last Man Vol. 10 Whys and Wherefoes 

Author: Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra 

Publisher: Vertigo 2008 

Genre: Comics 

Pages: 168 

Rating: 4/5 stars 

Reading Challenges: Dewey Decimal - 700s; Seriously Series

Featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES and on NPR, Y: THE LAST MAN is the gripping saga of Yorick Brown, an unemployed and unmotivated slacker who discovers he is the only male left in the world after a plague of unknown origin instantly kills every mammal with a Y chromosome. Accompanied by his mischievous monkey, Ampersand, and the mysterious Agent 355, Yorick embarks on a transcontinental journey to find his long-lost girlfriend and discover why he is the last man on earth.

Yorick Brown's long journey through an Earth populated only by women comes to a dramatic, unexpected conclusion in this final volume.

What an ending... I was totally with it until the last issue. I loved finding out epilogues for all the characters, but the structure of the stories was a bit confusing. I had to keep reminding myself what time each story was set in. But I still would say that I loved the series. Very exciting read! Now I can't wait to read Vaughan's newest comic series: Saga.

Y: The Last Man

• Vol. 1 Unmanned
• Vol. 2 Cycles
• Vol. 3 One Small Step
• Vol. 4 Safeword
• Vol. 5 Ring of Truth
• Vol. 6 Girl on Girl
• Vol. 7 Paper Dolls
• Vol. 8 Kimono Dragons
• Vol. 9 Motherland
• Vol. 10 Whys and Wherefoes

2015 Dewey Decimal Reading Challenge

For this year's reading challenges, I decided to do something very different and drastic.  I am going to read women authors.  I feel like I've been neglecting all those wonderful female authors sitting on my shelves.  I will be tailoring my challenge participation to account for this overall goal.  I do have a few exceptions.  I may read a male author if 1) I've already started the series and desperately want to finish it (i.e. Song of Ice and Fire) 2) It is a book club selection (out of my hands) or 3) If it is a male author writing nonfiction specifically about a women subject (e.g. a biography of Kate Chopin).  Other than those three exceptions, I want to discover some wonderful women authors. I'm making my own RC this year (informal).  My goal is to read at least one book from each of the 100s of the Dewey Decimal system.  I usually stick to the 300s and 900s, but would love to branch out again and hit them all.

Tentative TBR:

• 0
• 100s
• 200s
• 300s
• 400s
• 500s
• 600s
• 700s -- The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer
• 800s
• 900s -- Live in Ruins by Marilyn Johnson

Lives in Ruins by Marilyn Johnson

Title: Life in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble

Author: Marilyn Johnson

Publisher: HarperCollins 2014

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 274

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure; Library; 52 Books - W1; Dewey Decimal - 900s

Pompeii, Machu Picchu, the Valley of the Kings, the Parthenon—the names of these legendary archaeological sites conjure up romance and mystery. The news is full of archaeology: treasures found (British king under parking lot) and treasures lost (looters, bulldozers, natural disaster, and war). Archaeological research tantalizes us with possibilities (are modern humans really part Neandertal?). Where are the archaeologists behind these stories? What kind of work do they actually do, and why does it matter?

Marilyn Johnson’s Lives in Ruins is an absorbing and entertaining look at the lives of contemporary archaeologists as they sweat under the sun for clues to the puzzle of our past. Johnson digs and drinks alongside archaeologists, chases them through the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and even Machu Picchu, and excavates their lives. Her subjects share stories we rarely read in history books, about slaves and Ice Age hunters, ordinary soldiers of the American Revolution, children of the first century, Chinese woman warriors, sunken fleets, mummies.

A great book to start off my 2015 reading adventure!  I always love a good history related volume and this one does not disappoint.  The reader is taken through a survey of archaeology today.  We ride along as Johnson signs up for field school and learns about some forgotten history in the Caribbean.  We chat with noted modern archaeologists on their journeys to the discipline.  We commiserate with fellow history lovers at the loss of relics due to negligence, impatience, ignorance, or willful destruction.  All throughout, Johnson teaches us the value of a discipline that seems to be disappearing.  I was riveted by her stories.  This book made me want to be an archaeologist, just like that little 8 year old girl reading about King Tut's tomb...

2012 Dewey Decimal Challenge

I ran across the idea for this reading challenge at the end of last year.  I wanted to read more nonfiction this year, so I thought why not?  I have to tell you a little secret...  I have the Dewey Decimal system memorized and I don't even work in a library.  I just spend way too much time in them.  The idea is to read one book for every 100 category in the system.  I am also going to read one book for every 10 in the 300s, 700s, and 900s (my three favorite 100s).  That's 41 books total!  Do you think I can do it?

000 – Generalities 100 – Philosophy and Psychology 200 – Religion 300 – Social Sciences 400 – Language 500 – Natural Sciences + Math 600 – Technology 700 – The Arts 800 – Literature and Rhetoric 900 – Geography and History

• 0-99
• 100-199
• 200-299
• 300-309 -- Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond (2005) / Collapse by Jared Diamond (2011) / The History of the Wife by Yalom (2002)
• 310-319
• 320-329
• 330-339
• 340-349
• 350-359
• 360-369
• 370-379
• 380-389
• 390-399
• 400-499
• 500-599
• 600-699 -- The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson (2007)
• 700-709
• 710-719
• 720-729
• 730-739
• 740-749
• 750-759
• 760-769
• 770-779
• 780-789
• 790-799
• 800-899
• 900-909
• 910-919
• 920-929
• 930-939
• 940-949
• 950-959
• 960-969
• 970-979 -- What Ifs of America (2004) / Founding Myths (2004)
• 980-989
• 990-99