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The Things We Make by Bill Hammack

Title: The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans

Author: Bill Hammack

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2023

Genre: Nonfiction - Engineering

Pages: 272

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer Reading TBR

For millennia, humans have used one simple method to solve problems. Whether it's planting crops, building skyscrapers, developing photographs, or designing the first microchip, all creators follow the same steps to engineer progress. But this powerful method, the "engineering method", is an all but hidden process that few of us have heard of—let alone understand—but that influences every aspect of our lives.

Bill Hammack, a Carl Sagan award-winning professor of engineering and viral "The Engineer Guy" on Youtube, has a lifelong passion for the things we make, and how we make them. Now, for the first time, he reveals the invisible method behind every invention and takes us on a whirlwind tour of how humans built the world we know today. From the grand stone arches of medieval cathedrals to the mundane modern soda can, Hammack explains the golden rule of thumb that underlies every new building technique, every technological advancement, and every creative solution that leads us one step closer to a better, more functional world. Spanning centuries and cultures, Hammack offers a fascinating perspective on how humans engineer solutions in a world full of problems.

J requested this one from the library and then had me read it. For the most part, I knew the information included in this book. This reads as a great introduction to the world of engineering. Hammack presents a variety of engineered items in a straight forward manner. He definitely has a way with words. There were tidbits of information here and there in the chapters that weren’t as focused on history. I learned more from the modern items than anything else.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: nonfiction, Summer TBR List, Bill Hammack
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 09.08.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang

Title: Beautiful Country

Author: Qian Julie Wang

Publisher: Doubleday 2021

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 320

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Refugee

In Chinese, the word for America, Mei Guo, translates directly to “beautiful country.” Yet when seven-year-old Qian arrives in New York City in 1994 full of curiosity, she is overwhelmed by crushing fear and scarcity. In China, Qian’s parents were professors; in America, her family is “illegal” and it will require all the determination and small joys they can muster to survive.

In Chinatown, Qian’s parents labor in sweatshops. Instead of laughing at her jokes, they fight constantly, taking out the stress of their new life on one another. Shunned by her classmates and teachers for her limited English, Qian takes refuge in the library and masters the language through books, coming to think of The Berenstain Bears as her first American friends. And where there is delight to be found, Qian relishes it: her first bite of gloriously greasy pizza, weekly “shopping days,” when Qian finds small treasures in the trash lining Brooklyn’s streets, and a magical Christmas visit to Rockefeller Center—confirmation that the New York City she saw in movies does exist after all.

But then Qian’s headstrong Ma Ma collapses, revealing an illness that she has kept secret for months for fear of the cost and scrutiny of a doctor’s visit. As Ba Ba retreats further inward, Qian has little to hold onto beyond his constant refrain: Whatever happens, say that you were born here, that you’ve always lived here.

Our August choice for book club and it just wasn’t my thing. Very rarely do I really enjoy a memoir/autobiography. They often fall a little flat for me and sometimes become very repetitive. This one started out interesting highlighting a life experience that is very different from my own. But… I found that Wang does not do enough self-reflection and commentary about her early life in America. We see many family members making terrible choices without commentary. Wide swathes of peoples are painted with a large brush, exactly what Wang argues is her own experience. I wanted to see a bit of self-reflection with her own biases and prejudices. We don’t get too much introspection. And then the book just ends. The last chapter does a bit of fast-forwarding to her later life, but it just felt unfinished in my mind.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: 52 Book Club, book club, Qian Julie Wang, autobiography, memoir, nonfiction, 3 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 08.16.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson

Title: Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing

Author: Emily Lynn Paulson

Publisher: Row House Publishing 2023

Genre: Nonfiction - Business

Pages: 384

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

The eye-opening, funny, and dangerous personal story of author Emily Lynn Paulson rising to the top of the pyramid in the multilevel marketing (MLM) world, only to recognize that its culture and business practices went beyond a trendy marketing scheme and into the heart of white supremacy in America.

A significant polemic on how MLMs operate, HEY, HUN expertly lays out their role in the cultural epidemic of isolation and the cult-like ideologies that course through their trainings, marketing, and one-on-one interactions.

Equally entertaining and smart, Paulson’s first-person accounts, acerbic wit, and biting commentary will leave you with a new perspective on those “Hey Hun” messages flooding your inbox.

An interesting first-hand account of just how insidious MLMs. I was really interested in Paulson’s personal narrative. We really get to see how the companies work on people to deconstruct their entire beings and remake them in the company’s images. I didn’t mind how Paulson used aggregate characters and amalgamations to illustrate the tactics. I was even interested in the psychology behind the BITE model. But then, the chapters started to run together and information started repeating. I get the emphasis on various tactics, but it really felt too repetitive. I just got tired of reading the book after awhile.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: nonfiction, Summer TBR List, Emily Lynn Paulson, business, 3 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 08.02.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Pathogenesis by Jonathan Kennedy

Title: Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues

Author: Jonathan Kennedy

Publisher: Crown 2023

Genre: Nonfiction - History, Pandemics

Pages: 304

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

According to the accepted narrative of progress, humans have thrived thanks to their brains and brawn, collectively bending the arc of history. But in this revelatory book, Professor Jonathan Kennedy argues that the myth of human exceptionalism overstates the role that we play in social and political change. Instead, it is the humble microbe that wins wars and topples empires.

Drawing on the latest research in fields ranging from genetics and anthropology to archaeology and economics,
Pathogenesis takes us through sixty thousand years of history, exploring eight major outbreaks of infectious disease that have made the modern world. Bacteria and viruses were protagonists in the demise of the Neanderthals, the growth of Islam, the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the devastation wrought by European colonialism, and the evolution of the United States from an imperial backwater to a global superpower. Even Christianity rose to prominence in the wake of a series of deadly pandemics that swept through the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries: Caring for the sick turned what was a tiny sect into one of the world’s major religions.

By placing disease at the center of his wide-ranging history of humankind, Kennedy challenges some of the most fundamental assumptions about our collective past—and urges us to view this moment as another disease-driven inflection point that will change the course of history. Provocative and brimming with insight,
Pathogenesistransforms our understanding of the human story.

A fascinating look at how pandemics have shaped the history of humanity. While I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to a lot of readers interested in the topic, I couldn’t give it 5 stars. Mostly, I felt like I was reviewing a ton of material that I had already learned. This is the problem with reading a ton of history books and epidemiology books. I probably know way to much to accurately judge a book like this. I did appreciated how Kennedy lays out some basic context for each of the time periods he discusses before showing the reader how a pandemic changed the situation. My favorite chapters were about the Paleolithic and Neolithic plagues. Probably because those were the two chapters that I learned the most from. Our collective understanding of those two time periods has greatly increased over the last 15 years. I am here for all the new information we have gleaned from skeletons and artifacts. Loved it! The rest of the book was a bit review for me, but I did enjoyed the refresher course.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Summer TBR List, nonfiction, history, Jonathan Kennedy, 4 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Tuesday 07.25.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Forest Walking by Peter Wohlleben

Title: Forest Walking: Discovering the Trees and Woodlands of North America

Author: Peter Wohlleben and Jane Billinghurst

Publisher: Greystone Books 2022

Genre: Nonfiction - Nature

Pages: 240

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

When you walk in the woods, do you use all five senses to explore your surroundings? For most of us, the answer is no—but when we do, a walk in the woods can go from pleasant to immersive and restorative. Forest Walking teaches you how to engage with the forest by decoding nature’s signs and awakening to the ancient past and thrilling present of the ecosystem around you.

  • What can you learn by following the spread of a root, by tasting the tip of a branch, by searching out that bitter almond smell? 

  • What creatures can be found in a stream if you turn over a rock—and what is the best way to cross a forest stream, anyway? 

  • How can you understand a forest’s history by the feel of the path underfoot, the scars on the trees along the trail, or the play of sunlight through the branches? 

  • How can we safely explore the forest at night? 

  • What activities can we use to engage children with the forest?

Throughout Forest Walking, the authors share experiences and observations from visiting forests across North America: from the rainforests and redwoods of the west coast to the towering white pines of the east, and down to the cypress swamps of the south and up to the boreal forests of the north.

Randomly I grabbed this volume in connection with A Year in the Woods. This one was more how-to than meditations on nature. Overall, I found the various sections to be very interesting mini lessons on trees in North America. This feels like one of those that you don’t just read once, but keep around for reference as you explore the natural world. Pairing this with Ekelund’s book was the perfect week. In fact, I will be giving this pairing as a book recommendation to a friend at the retreat next month.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Peter Wohlleben, Jane Billinghurst, nature, nonfiction
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 05.13.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

A Year in the Woods by Torbjørn Ekelund

Title: A Year in the Woods: Twelve Small Journeys into Nature

Author: Torbjørn Ekelund

Publisher: Greystone Books 2021

Genre: Nature Memoir

Pages: 256

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

As nature becomes ever more precious, we all want to spend more time appreciating it. But time is often hard to come by. And how do we appreciate nature without disruption? In this sensitively-written book, Torbjørn Ekelund, an acclaimed Norwegian nature writer, shares a creative and non-intrusive method for immersing oneself in nature. And the result is nothing short of transformative.

Evoking Henry David Thoreau and the four-season structure of Walden, Ekelundwrites about communing with nature by repeating a small, simple ritual and engaging in quiet reflection. At the start of the book, he hatches a plan: to leave the city after work one day per month, camp near the same tiny pond in the forest, and return to work the next day. He keeps this up for a year.

His ritual is far from rigorous and it is never perfect. One evening, he grows so cold in his tent that he hikes out before daybreak. But as Ekelund inevitably greets the same trees and boulders each month, he appreciates the banality of their sameness alongside their quiet beauty. He wonders how long they have stood silently in this place—and reflects on his own short existence among them.

A Year in the Woods asks us to reconsider our relationship with the natural world. Are we anxious wanderers or mindful observers? Do we honor the seasons or let them pass us by? At once beautifully written, accessible, and engaging, A Year in the Woods is the perfect book for anyone who longs for a deeper connection with their environment, but is realistic about time and ambition.

This book ended up in a big check out stack when I was looking for forest school lessons for coop. Most of the books were geared toward children, but this one was a little different. I finally picked it up and started reading not quite sure what I was going to find inside. Ultimately, I was delighted by this slim memoir focused on Ekelund’s plan to spend 12 days and nights out in nature. Right away, I loved that Ekelund makes it clear that he doesn’t believe that everyone needs or should do what he did. Further, he doesn’t believe that that’s any one way to experience nature. This was a refreshing take contrasted with a ton of books that basically tell the reader that if they don’t spend a majority of their time outside, they have failed as humans. Throughout the twelve chapters, we get Ekelund’s actual experiences, but also meditations on experience nature and human nature. I found myself reading only one chapter a day wanting to let the ideas sit for awhile before adding more. This is a much better book than Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, stripping out all the problematic takes and focusing on the experience of being in nature. Loved it!

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Torbjørn Ekelund, nature, nonfiction, memoir, 5 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 05.06.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski

Title: Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life

Author: Emily Nagoski

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 2015

Genre: Nonfiction - Health

Pages: 400

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

For much of the 20th and 21st centuries, women’s sexuality was an uncharted territory in science, studied far less frequently—and far less seriously—than its male counterpart.

That is, until Emily Nagoski’s Come As You Are, which used groundbreaking science and research to prove that the most important factor in creating and sustaining a sex life filled with confidence and joy is not what the parts are or how they’re organized but how you feel about them. In the years since the book’s initial publication, countless women have learned through Nagoski’s accessible and informative guide that things like stress, mood, trust, and body image are not peripheral factors in a woman’s sexual wellbeing; they are central to it—and that even if you don’t always feel like it, you are already sexually whole by just being yourself. This revised and updated edition continues that mission with new information and advanced research, demystifying and decoding the science of sex so that everyone can create a better sex life and discover more pleasure than you ever thought possible.

Must read! Am absolute must read for all women. Nagasaki uses a conversational tone to teach us everything we need to know about sexual health. Each chapter tackles a topic or a myth and reframes health. We get a wholistic approach instead of just a focus on physical health. I learned so much after reading the book. I cannot wait to put some of the ideas I learned into practice. I definitely need to buy my own copy and probably a few more copies to give away to friends.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: nonfiction, Emily Nagoski, 5 stars, health
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 04.22.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

You Just Need to Lose Weight by Aubrey Gordon

Title: “You Just Need to Lose Weight” and 19 Other Myths About Fat People

Author: Aubrey Gordon

Publisher: Beacon Press 2023

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 224

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

The pushback that shows up in conversations about fat justice takes exceedingly predicable form. Losing weight is easy—calories in, calories out. Fat people are unhealthy. We’re in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Fat acceptance “glorifies obesity.” The BMI is an objective measure of size and health.Yet, these myths are as readily debunked as they are pervasive.

In “You Just Need to Lose Weight,” Aubrey Gordon equips readers with the facts and figures to reframe myths about fatness in order to dismantle the anti-fat bias ingrained in how we think about and treat fat people. Bringing her dozen years of community organizing and training to bear, Gordon shares the rhetorical approaches she and other organizers employ to not only counter these pernicious myths, but to dismantle the anti-fat bias that so often underpin them.

As conversations about fat acceptance and fat justice continue to grow, “You Just Need to Lose Weight” will be essential to ensure that those conversations are informed, effective, and grounded in both research and history.

Finally, I got Gordon’s follow up to her first book. I had really been excited about this volume and make no mistake, this is a great book. It just fell a little flat for me because it felt like a rehashing of a lot of things from her first book. I think that this one has a better format for people. Taking on one myth at a time helps to break up the science and the heavy. Having follow-up questions at the end of chapters is a great way to push the knowledge and questions back to the reader. In a sense, this is the workbook version of her first book. The content isn’t completely the same, but there’s a lot of overlap. I enjoyed hitting some of the high points. I really enjoyed getting some language to help combat anti-fat bias in the wild. If you had to pick up one Gordon book, make it this one.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Aubrey Gordon, nonfiction, 4 stars, Spring TBR List
categories: Book Reviews
Sunday 03.26.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon

Title: What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat

Author: Aubrey Gordon

Publisher: Beacon Press 2020

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 197

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Anti-fatness is everywhere. In What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat, Aubrey Gordon unearths the cultural attitudes and social systems that have led to people being denied basic needs because they are fat and calls for social justice movements to be inclusive of plus-sized people’s experiences. Unlike the recent wave of memoirs and quasi self-help books that encourage readers to love and accept themselves, Gordon pushes the discussion further towards authentic fat activism, which includes ending legal weight discrimination, giving equal access to health care for large people, increased access to public spaces, and ending anti-fat violence. As she argues, “I did not come to body positivity for self-esteem. I came to it for social justice.”

By sharing her experiences as well as those of others—from smaller fat to very fat people—she concludes that to be fat in our society is to be seen as an undeniable failure, unlovable, unforgivable, and morally condemnable. Fatness is an open invitation for others to express disgust, fear, and insidious concern. To be fat is to be denied humanity and empathy. Studies show that fat survivors of sexual assault are less likely to be believed and less likely than their thin counterparts to report various crimes; 27% of very fat women and 13% of very fat men attempt suicide; over 50% of doctors describe their fat patients as “awkward, unattractive, ugly and noncompliant”; and in 48 states, it’s legal—even routine—to deny employment because of an applicant’s size.

Advancing fat justice and changing prejudicial structures and attitudes will require work from all people. What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat is a crucial tool to create a tectonic shift in the way we see, talk about, and treat our bodies, fat and thin alike.

Not a happy book by any definition, but a very important book to read. A lot of what is covered in these pages has been mentioned on Gordon’s podcast Maintenance Phase, but I very much appreciated hearing her arguments laid out systematically in each chapter. We get au unflinching look at anti-fat bias in our society from the words we use to the programs we enact. I loved the deep dives into different aspects. Definitely a proper primer on the topic. I am waiting for a library copy of Gordon’s second book to further educate myself.

Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Aubrey Gordon, 5 stars, nonfiction
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 03.17.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Death in the Air by Kate Winkler Dawson

Title: Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City

Author: Kate Winkler Dawson

Publisher: Hachette Books 2017

Genre: Nonfiction - History

Pages: 352

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR

London was still recovering from the devastation of World War II when another disaster hit: for five long days in December 1952, a killer smog held the city firmly in its grip and refused to let go. Day became night, mass transit ground to a halt, criminals roamed the streets, and some 12,000 people died from the poisonous air. But in the chaotic aftermath, another killer was stalking the streets, using the fog as a cloak for his crimes.

All across London, women were going missing--poor women, forgotten women. Their disappearances caused little alarm, but each of them had one thing in common: they had the misfortune of meeting a quiet, unassuming man, John Reginald Christie, who invited them back to his decrepit Notting Hill flat during that dark winter. They never left.

The eventual arrest of the "Beast of Rillington Place" caused a media frenzy: were there more bodies buried in the walls, under the floorboards, in the back garden of this house of horrors? Was it the fog that had caused Christie to suddenly snap? And what role had he played in the notorious double murder that had happened in that same apartment building not three years before--a murder for which another, possibly innocent, man was sent to the gallows?

The Great Smog of 1952 remains the deadliest air pollution disaster in world history, and John Reginald Christie is still one of the most unfathomable serial killers of modern times. Journalist Kate Winkler Dawson braids these strands together into a taut, compulsively readable true crime thriller about a man who changed the fate of the death penalty in the UK, and an environmental catastrophe with implications that still echo today.

Overall, this was a fairly interesting history narrative that failed due to clarity of writing. I was intrigued by the juxtaposition between a literal serial killer and a killer fog. I vaguely remember reading some short article about the killer fog, but didn’t know much. I did learn a lot abut the fog, but the book seemed to meander a bit and really go deep into the minutiae of politics in Parliament. The other side of the story involving the serial killer was introduced in a strange detached way. I wasn’t pulled into the story that I thought I would. Dawson doesn’t quite have the narrative talent of Erik Larson and such. The book just didn’t hold my attention from chapter to chapter.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: history, Kate Winkler Dawson, Winter TBR, 3 stars, nonfiction
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 02.25.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

A Literary Education by Emily Cook

Title: A Literary Education

Author: Emily Cook

Publisher: Build Your Library Publishing 2017

Genre: Nonfiction - Education

Pages: 202

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR

Have you researched Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education but discounted it as old-fashioned and overtly religious? Then this is the book you need to read. In A Literary Education, Emily Cook lays out how she has brought Miss Mason’s ideology into the modern age for secular homeschoolers. In conversational prose she discusses the key tenants used in Charlotte Mason homeschooling and explains how to make them work for your family. You’ll read about: · Living books and how to use them · Reading aloud: the why and the how · Nature study in the 21st century · How to inspire creativity in your children · How to get the most out of the preschool years · How to combine children of multiple ages · And much more! In A Literary Education, Emily shares her 14 year homeschool journey and how she has learned to take Charlotte Mason’s method of home education into the 21st century to give her children a beautiful living books education.

Finally borrowed this from a friend and read it in one sitting. We are eclectic homeschoolers, but a big part of that is Charlotte Mason philosophy. I love the concept of living books, read aloud, and getting out into nature. Unfortunately, the pure Charlotte Mason philosophy is very Christian and we just aren't. I love how Emily Cook distills CM’s philosophy devoid of religion or mid-1800s mindsets and perspectives. Cook details how exactly she implements the philosophy into her everyday homeschool routine. Many of the things she highlights we already do. But I did get a few new ideas and more importantly, ways to view what we are already doing.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Emily Cook, education, nonfiction, 5 stars, Winter TBR
categories: Book Reviews
Tuesday 01.24.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Paradise Falls by Keith O'Brien

Title: Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe

Author: Keith O’Brien

Publisher: Pantheon Books 2022

Genre: Nonfiction - History, Science

Pages: 455

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR

Lois Gibbs, Luella Kenny, and other mothers loved their neighborhood on the east side of Niagara Falls. It had an elementary school, a playground, and rows of affordable homes. But in the spring of 1977, pungent odors began to seep into these little houses, and it didn’t take long for worried mothers to identify the curious scent. It was the sickly sweet smell of chemicals.
 
In this propulsive work of narrative storytelling, NYT journalist Keith O’Brien uncovers how Gibbs and Kenny exposed the poisonous secrets buried in their neighborhood. The school and playground had been built atop an old canal—Love Canal, it was called—that Hooker Chemical, the city’s largest employer, had quietly filled with twenty thousand tons of toxic waste in the 1940s and 1950s. This waste was now leaching to the surface, causing a public health crisis the likes of which America had never seen before and sparking new and specific fears. Luella Kenny believed the chemicals were making her son sick.
 
O’Brien braids together previously unknown stories of Hooker Chemical’s deeds; the local newspaperman, scientist, and congressional staffer who tried to help; the city and state officials who didn’t; and the heroic women who stood up to corporate and governmental indifference to save their families and their children. They would take their fight all the way to the top, winning support from the EPA, the White House, and even President Jimmy Carter. By the time it was over, they would capture America’s imagination.

Such a hard book to read, and yet I was very interested in it when the book published. One of my book clubs chose this to read and I dove in after the beginning of the year. I knew the basic information about the Love Canal incident. I remember seeing news reports (after the fact obviously) and I knew about the incident was the origin of the EPA’s Superfund program. This volume really goes into depth, detailing the events leading up to the inhabitants of the neighborhood realizing that there was something seriously wrong. We get to know all the major players including a few of the women who led the neighborhood response. I’ve heard the name Lois Gibbs before, but it was nice to understand exactly who she was and how she helped lead the efforts to clean up the area. Many of the sections were difficult to read. Reading about children getting sick and dying is never my idea of fun. And yet, this is such an important story to read. I’m sure that we will have a very interesting discussion next week.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Keith O'Brien, nonfiction, 4 stars, Winter TBR, U-S- History, book club
categories: Book Reviews
Monday 01.16.23
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Palace Papers by Tina Brown

Title: The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor - the Truth and the Turmoil

Author: Tina Brown

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group 2022

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 571

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

“Never again” became Queen Elizabeth II’s mantra shortly after Princess Diana’s tragic death. More specif­ically, there could never be “another Diana”—a mem­ber of the family whose global popularity upstaged, outshone, and posed an existential threat to the Brit­ish monarchy.

Picking up where Tina Brown’s masterful The Diana Chronicles left off, The Palace Papers reveals how the royal family reinvented itself after the trau­matic years when Diana’s blazing celebrity ripped through the House of Windsor like a comet.

Brown takes readers on a tour de force journey through the scandals, love affairs, power plays, and betrayals that have buffeted the monarchy over the last twenty-five years. We see the Queen’s stoic re­solve after the passing of Princess Margaret, the Queen Mother, and Prince Philip, her partner for seven decades, and how she triumphs in her Jubilee years even as family troubles rage around her. Brown explores Prince Charles’s determination to make Camilla Parker Bowles his wife, the tension between William and Harry on “different paths,” the ascend­ance of Kate Middleton, the downfall of Prince An­drew, and Harry and Meghan’s stunning decision to step back as senior royals. Despite the fragile monar­chy’s best efforts, “never again” seems fast approaching.

Tina Brown has been observing and chronicling the British monarchy for three decades, and her sweeping account is full of powerful revelations, newly reported details, and searing insight gleaned from remarkable access to royal insiders. Stylish, witty, and erudite, The Palace Papers will irrevoca­bly change how the world perceives and under­stands the royal family.

Wow! That was quite a chunker that I didn’t quite realize until after I started reading. Before starting this book, I knew some about the royal family, but definitely would not call myself a royal watcher in any sense. Once diving in, I learned so much about the family. It’s fairly funny that I thought this would either be complete takedown of the family or a glowing portrait of them. It is neither. In fact, we get to see all the ups and downs of the family. In turns, I felt outrage at the obtuseness of the various royals when it came to how their actions hurt others. But I also felt sympathy toward them for the trials they endured, especially the outlandish attacks from the press. I now have a much more complete picture of the various royal family members.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Tina Brown, nonfiction, 4 stars, Summer TBR List
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 08.26.22
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

A Brief History of Earth by Andrew H. Knoll

Title: A Brief History of Earth: Four Billions Years in Eight Chapters

Author: Andrew H. Knoll

Publisher: Custom House 2021

Genre: Nonfiction - Geology

Pages: 272

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer Reading Challenge

How well do you know the ground beneath your feet? 

Odds are, where you’re standing was once cooking under a roiling sea of lava, crushed by a towering sheet of ice, rocked by a nearby meteor strike, or perhaps choked by poison gases, drowned beneath ocean, perched atop a mountain range, or roamed by fearsome monsters. Probably most or even all of the above. 

The story of our home planet and the organisms spread across its surface is far more spectacular than any Hollywood blockbuster, filled with enough plot twists to rival a bestselling thriller. But only recently have we begun to piece together the whole mystery into a coherent narrative. Drawing on his decades of field research and up-to-the-minute understanding of the latest science, renowned geologist Andrew H. Knoll delivers a rigorous yet accessible biography of Earth, charting our home planet's epic 4.6 billion-year story. Placing twenty first-century climate change in deep context, A Brief History of Earth is an indispensable look at where we’ve been and where we’re going.


I grabbed this slim nonfiction book on a whim while creating the geology unit for coop. I love a good natural sciences book and this one seemed right up my alley. We get to start at the beginning and follow the development of the earth through time all the way until today. Each chapter is organized around a stage of development. Much of the information included was already know to me, but I did find myself very attentive to the complete story. Knoll occasionally swerves into very hard science, but overall this is a very readable text. I only wish that the pictures had been in color. Black and white is so hard especially when it comes to looking at rocks.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: nonfiction, Summer TBR List, 4 stars, geology, Andrew H. Knoll
categories: Book Reviews
Thursday 06.23.22
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom

Title: Thick And Other Essays

Author: Tressie McMillan Cottom

Publisher: New Press 2019

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 244

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

In these eight piercing explorations on beauty, media, money, and more, Tressie McMillan Cottom—award-winning professor and acclaimed author of Lower Ed—embraces her venerated role as a purveyor of wit, wisdom, and Black Twitter snark about all that is right and much that is wrong with this thing we call society.

Ideas and identity fuse effortlessly in this vibrant collection that on bookshelves is just as at home alongside Rebecca Solnit and bell hooks as it is beside Jeff Chang and Janet Mock. It also fills an important void on those very shelves: a modern black American feminist voice waxing poetic on self and society, serving up a healthy portion of clever prose and southern aphorisms as she covers everything from Saturday Night Live, LinkedIn, and BBQ Becky to sexual violence, infant mortality, and Trump rallies. Thick speaks fearlessly to a range of topics and is far more genre-bending than a typical compendium of personal essays.

Essay collections are not usually my jam. I found that really enjoyed this collection more than most. We chose this for our May book club selection. I started the first essay and it was intense and dense. It felt more like academic writing than an accessible piece about race, gender, and identity. I was a bit hesitant to continue, but then the essay got a lot more accessible and interesting.. I was all in in hearing Cottom’s thoughts on a variety of topics. My favorite pieces detailed medical incompetence. While I cannot empathize with all of Cottom’s experience, I have followed the experiences of many women and their awful treatment in the medical establishments. I raged, I cried, and I laughed through this collection. Most definitely on the required reading list.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Tressie McMillan Cottom, essays, nonfiction, 4 stars, Spring TBR List
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 05.13.22
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Girly Drinks by Mallory O'Meara

Title: Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol

Author: Mallory O’Meara

Publisher: Hanover Square Press 2021

Genre: Nonfiction - Food

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

Strawberry daiquiris. Skinny martinis. Vodka sodas with lime. These are the cocktails that come in sleek-stemmed glasses, bright colors and fruity flavors—these are the Girly Drinks.

From the earliest days of civilization, alcohol has been at the center of social rituals and cultures worldwide. But when exactly did drinking become a gendered act? And why have bars long been considered “places for men” when, without women, they might not even exist?

With whip-smart insight and boundless curiosity, Girly Drinks unveils an entire untold history of the female distillers, drinkers and brewers who have played a vital role in the creation and consumption of alcohol, from ancient Sumerian beer goddess Ninkasi to iconic 1920s bartender Ada Coleman. Filling a crucial gap in culinary history, O’Meara dismantles the long-standing patriarchal traditions at the heart of these very drinking cultures, in the hope that readers everywhere can look to each celebrated woman in this book—and proudly have what she’s having.

Overall a very entertaing romp through history and alcohol. I do so enjoy O’Meara’s writing style. She approaches a May Roach style with her dy wit and small asides. There were many historical stories and facts that I already knew going into the book. And yet, I learned more through the pages. And I enjoyed my time reading through the chatpters. My favorite ones were the early chapters about prehistory and the ancient world.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: nonfiction, Mallory O'Meara, Spring TBR List, 4 stars, his
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 04.16.22
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs edited by Ann R. Williams

Title: Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs: A History of the World in 100 Discoveries

Edited by: Ann R. Williams

Publisher: National Geographic 2021

Genre: Nonfiction - History

Pages: 512

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Blending high adventure with history, this chronicle of 100 astonishing discoveries from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the fabulous "Lost City of the Monkey God" tells incredible stories of how explorers and archaeologists have uncovered the clues that illuminate our past. Archaeology is the key that unlocks our deepest history. Ruined cities, golden treasures, cryptic inscriptions, and ornate tombs have been found across the world, and yet these artifacts of ages past often raised more questions than answers. But with the emergence of archaeology as a scientific discipline in the 19th century, everything changed. Illustrated with dazzling photographs, this enlightening narrative tells the story of human civilization through 100 key expeditions, spanning six continents and more than three million years of history. Each account relies on firsthand reports from explorers, antiquarians, and scientists as they crack secret codes, evade looters and political suppression, fall in love, commit a litany of blunders, and uncover ancient curses. Pivotal discoveries include: King Tut's tomb of treasure Terracotta warriors escorting China's first emperor into the afterlife The glorious Anglo-Saxon treasure of Sutton-Hoo Graves of the Scythians, the real Amazon warrior women New findings on the grim fate of the colonists of Jamestown.

I picked this one up off the new books shelf on a whim. I’m always up for a good book about archaeology and discovery. This one details 100 amazing discoveries starting all the way back in prehistoric times with a line of footprints. I enjoyed flipping through the pages and stopping when a topic caught my eye. I knew about most of these discoveries, but it was still nice to remind myself. This collection is perfect to those new to the topic of archaeology and those that are already steeped in it.

Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Ann R. Williams, archaeology, 4 stars, nonfiction
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 03.18.22
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Fuzz by Mary Roach

Title: Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law

Author: Mary Roach

Publisher: W.W. Norton Company 2021

Genre: Nonfiction - Nature Writing

Pages: 308

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR

What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. These days, as New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach discovers, the answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.

Roach tags along with animal-attack forensics investigators, human-elephant conflict specialists, bear managers, and "danger tree" faller blasters. Intrepid as ever, she travels from leopard-terrorized hamlets in the Indian Himalaya to St. Peter’s Square in the early hours before the pope arrives for Easter Mass, when vandal gulls swoop in to destroy the elaborate floral display. She taste-tests rat bait, learns how to install a vulture effigy, and gets mugged by a macaque.

Combining little-known forensic science and conservation genetics with a motley cast of laser scarecrows, langur impersonators, and trespassing squirrels, Roach reveals as much about humanity as about nature’s lawbreakers. When it comes to "problem" wildlife, she finds, humans are more often the problem—and the solution. Fascinating, witty, and humane, Fuzz offers hope for compassionate coexistence in our ever-expanding human habitat.

I always enjoy Mary Roach’s brand of science writing, and this volume is no different. I’ll admit that this one is a bit more serious than her previous works. It’s hard to poke fun at animals killing people. But there are a few laughs here and there, mostly pertaining to human reactions to animals behaving badly. We get in-depth chapters on specific animals or groups of animals. We get to see how humans have affected the environments of animals and how those animals have reacted. Sometimes those interactions result in death, but sometimes they just result in annoyance. There’s a wide range in this book. I think I found the chapter on macaques the funniest and possibly the most informative. An overall well-done collection of chapters on the topic. Can’t wait to see what she writes about next.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: Mary Roach, nonfiction, nature, 4 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 02.25.22
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Comfort Book by Matt Haig

Title: The Comfort Book

Author: Matt Haig

Publisher: Penguin Life 2021

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 272

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf Project; Winter TBR Pile

THE COMFORT BOOK is Haig’s life raft: it’s a collection of notes, lists, and stories written over a span of several years that originally served as gentle reminders to Haig’s future self that things are not always as dark as they may seem. Incorporating a diverse array of sources from across the world, history, science, and his own experiences, Haig offers warmth and reassurance, reminding us to slow down and appreciate the beauty and unpredictability of existence.

I was given this book at our bookish retreat book exchange. I didn’t quite know that I needed this little book of pieces of comfort, and yet this was exactly what I needed this winter. Pandemic fatigue and worry has done a number on my mental health and I definitely needed a bit of comfort. This little book is filled with Haig’s collection of words to comfort and lift up. Not a book to read straight through, but one to pick up and read a few pages when you need a little pick-me-up.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: nonfiction, Unread Shelf Project, Matt Haig, self-help, 4 stars, Winter TBR List
categories: Book Reviews
Saturday 01.29.22
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Billion Dollar Loser by Reeves Wiedeman

Title: Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork

Author: Reeves Wiedeman

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 2020

Genre: Nonfiction - Business

Pages: 304

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR

Christened a potential savior of Silicon Valley's startup culture, Adam Neumann was set to take WeWork, his office share company disrupting the commercial real estate market, public, cash out on the company's forty-seven billion dollar valuation, and break the string of major startups unable to deliver to shareholders. But as employees knew, and investors soon found out, WeWork's capital was built on promises that the company was more than a real estate purveyor, that in fact it was a transformational technology company.

Veteran journalist Reeves Weideman dives deep into WeWork and it CEO's astronomical rise, from the marijuana and tequila-filled board rooms to cult-like company summer camps and consciousness-raising with Anthony Kiedis. Billion Dollar Loser is a character-driven business narrative that captures, through the fascinating psyche of a billionaire founder and his wife and co-founder, the slippery state of global capitalism. 

This was a terrible book. In that, it detailed the rise and fall of pretty terrible company. In the vein of Jon Carreyou’s Bad Blood, Wiedeman set out to trace the trajectory of another unicorn startup. I am not well-versed in business, but I have been steeped in Silicon Valley startup mindset. WeWork fell into all the traps for ego and idealism at the expense of security and realism. Right away, I could not stand Adam Neumann but recognized exactly how he charmed his way to the top and then back down. At times, the writing got bogged down in numbers when I wanted it to tell a bit more of a human story. But overall, this was a fascinating read.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

drop of corruption.jpg seoulmates.jpg jujutsu 20.jpg jujutsu21.jpg jujutsu22.jpg jujutsu23.jpg jujutsu24.jpg black butler.jpg jujutsu25.jpg jujutsu26.jpg jujutsu27.jpg mayor of maxwell.jpg antidote.jpg
tags: nonfiction, business, Reeves Wiedeman, 4 stars, Winter TBR List
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 01.28.22
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 
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