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Post by scrubb on Jul 1, 2021 12:22:34 GMT -5
It's blazing hot here but I realize that's not true for our Antipodean readers! So, summer reading on the beach, or winter reading by the fireplace - it all goes here.
I just finished 47) Deadly Outbreaks: How Medical Detectives Save Lives Threatened by Killer Pandemics, Exotic Viruses, and Drug-Resistant Parasites, by Alexandra Levitt.
Written in 2013 or so, it tells the story of 7 different outbreaks and how they were investigated and resolved. They're all different kinds of outbreaks - including one I hadn't heard of, where airborne pig brains in a meat plant caused autoimmune responses of neuropathy. No microbe, virus, bacteria, or prion involved, just a reaction to the brains themselves.
The author mentioned a lot of the people involved in the investigations which rarely added much, IMO, though the dude who figured out Legionairres disease was pretty interesting.
IT's all pretty interesting stuff and definitely shows the challenges of figuring out what's happening; it's also quite optimistic about international readiness for future pandemics, which of course turned out to be not necessarily the case. Although, she was talking more about readiness to figure it out, not readiness to deal with it. It acknowledges the challenges of novel corona viruses, and of animal to human transmission of new viruses.
So, a timely read, and interesting.
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Post by Liiisa on Jul 1, 2021 13:25:09 GMT -5
Airborne pig brains!!?
Thank you scrubb, bookmarking! I'm about 9/10 of the way through a fantastic book about fungi - more on that tonight or tomorrow, probably.
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Post by scrubb on Jul 1, 2021 20:14:44 GMT -5
Yeah, they had a high pressure air wand they stuck the skull on and it liquidized everything, but for a few reasons, it didn't always fall out into the collection bucket. There was a mist of "material" in the air a lot of the time. They needed them to make spam. It wasn't a truly riveting book, but it was pretty good.
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Post by Liiisa on Jul 1, 2021 20:55:05 GMT -5
Ugggggghh! I already wasn't too keen on the idea of spam, but that pretty much does it.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jul 2, 2021 6:02:14 GMT -5
Wow Scrubb! I think I might find that one interesting too. Bookmarking, thank you.
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Post by scrubb on Jul 2, 2021 13:47:09 GMT -5
Finished a bookbub special called "Life as I Blow it" by Sarah Colonna. It turns out she's a reasonably well known comic.
Subtitle of book is: Tales of Love, Life, and Sex... Not Necessarily in that Order" and that's pretty much what it is. She likes to drink and party. She's hooked up with a lot of guys. The book talks about many of them.
She's a professional comedy writer so at least it's not poorly written, and it's not trying to be anything more than it is. But it's just not all that interesting to read about her poor life choices. And in spite of her laughing at her self and telling it in a funny way, it's still not all that funny, or at least, it didn't really appeal to my sense of humour. I can imagine that her material is funny when spoken, but it's not that exciting in book form.
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Post by Liiisa on Jul 2, 2021 20:44:09 GMT -5
19) Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life
WOW this is a book about fungi and it was incredibly readable, fascinating, and surprising. Fungi are SO INTERESTING; ok, occasionally kinda gross (warning, there's a chapter talking about Cordyceps) but amazing. One of the best books of the year.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jul 2, 2021 20:50:24 GMT -5
I didn’t realise how fascinating fungi (apart from mushrooms and truffles) were, until I read The Hidden Life of Trees.
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Post by Liiisa on Jul 3, 2021 5:33:56 GMT -5
I read that book in a constant state of amazement, and I already knew some stuff about mycelia and all that.
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Post by scrubb on Jul 3, 2021 11:17:33 GMT -5
The outbreak book had a small aside about fungus.
I just finished "Five Little Indians" by Michelle Good. Timely read - there has been a lot of news recently about finding unmarked graves at former residential schools in Canada, and this book follows a small group of First Nations children who were forced to go to a residential school, and how their lives unfold after.
It was well done. Mixed in with lots of harsh reality and horror, there were very likeable characters and good story lines, and enough happiness to make it not unbearably depressing. The children were at one of the worst of the schools, with physical and sexual abuse.
In fact, that might almost have been a weakness of the book because it made it too easy to understand how broken the children were. For all the more hardheaded people here (I mean the people who say "they need to get over it", or "yes, it was wrong and those poor kids; but that was then, it doesn't happen anymore, and I don't see why they think it's still having an impact"), I think it's important to get across that it didn't take physical and sexual abuse (which didn't happen at all the schools) to destroy families and make the children unable to function. The book didn't really get across that the children were taught that their parents were evil savages, and that the school was "fixing" the kids who were born to that badness and had it inside them. That being taken from family, and taught that family was bad, is bad enough all on its own. And that yes, it's still having terrible repercussions because these damaged children had their own children who were brought up in dysfunction.
The author comes from a First Nation very near where I live. She is a lawyer who also has an MFA in creative writing.
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Post by Liiisa on Jul 3, 2021 13:57:04 GMT -5
That sounds strong, scrubb. That reminds me of what people here say about Black people, like "why do we need to keep going on about all that slavery stuff, it happened 150 years ago" and it's like what don't you understand about repercussions going down through the generations.
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Post by Oweena on Jul 3, 2021 17:44:23 GMT -5
It's summer here--the books section of the newspapers say, "it's time for beach reads". Read something light and happy the article says. Here are a few of our recommendations... And I choose one.
28 Summers by Elin Hildebrand It's a rip off of the play and movie Same Time, Next Year. Except set in current times and we get a chapter for each summer that tells the story of the star crossed lovers who only meet once a year for Labor Day weekend.
I can't tell you how bad it sucked.
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Post by Liiisa on Jul 3, 2021 18:06:55 GMT -5
I once read Sartre on the beach.
That sounds kind of horrible, Oweena. I'm sure someone might like it, but it's certainly not to my taste.
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Post by Oweena on Jul 5, 2021 14:46:13 GMT -5
Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile She's a local, I like her music, so I had to show support and read her memoir. It's an interesting read as I've watched her rise to fame over the years, but didn't know her story of growing up around here. Oddly I'm even acquaintances with a couple people she mentioned in the book. It's not great writing, but she's obviously earnest about helping the LGBTQ and other marginalized communities so understanding where she comes from was interesting. I also like her unapologetic take on building her chosen family. If you're a fan, you'll like the book. If you've never heard of her, probably not so much.
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Post by Liiisa on Jul 5, 2021 15:41:27 GMT -5
20) Chris Adrian, The Great Night
Several years ago I read his book about the apocalypse occurring in a hospital and it was my favorite book of the year, so when I discovered that he had another book out there that's a take on Midsummer Night's Dream (again tangentially related to a hospital), I rushed to find a copy.
It's strange! I really liked it! It was funny and serious and sometimes sad at the same time. There is magic, and it's not always fun... the strange, threatening feeling that's in some of the original play is not shied away from here. The play-within-a-play this time is a group of homeless people doing a musical based on "Soylent Green."
Recommended if you share my taste in weird, surprising novels.
Oh - just one thing, though. In one place he refers to genderfluid people in disrespectful, old-style language, and it was kind of a "yikes" for me. It didn't stop me continuing reading, though; I think to me that just showed how quickly language around those issues has evolved in the intervening ten years.
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Jul 5, 2021 21:17:15 GMT -5
It's summer here--the books section of the newspapers say, "it's time for beach reads". Read something light and happy the article says. Here are a few of our recommendations... And I choose one. 28 Summers by Elin Hildebrand It's a rip off of the play and movie Same Time, Next Year. Except set in current times and we get a chapter for each summer that tells the story of the star crossed lovers who only meet once a year for Labor Day weekend. I can't tell you how bad it sucked. I remember trying that one and returning it to the library fairly quickly, and mostly unread.
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Post by lillielangtry on Jul 6, 2021 4:09:34 GMT -5
(43) Bridget Collins, The Binding This is a novel set in a sort of parallel 19th(?) century England, in which "binders" make books from listening to people's experiences and then wiping their memories (that sounds weird - it becomes clear in the story!). So books have this huge, rather menacing, power. It's certainly gripping. I read over 150 pages one day. But I felt it didn't fully work. However, if you enjoy a sort of gothic feel, it's probably an absorbing holiday read.
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Post by sophie on Jul 6, 2021 8:36:40 GMT -5
I just finished the second book in the fantasy series I am reading (the Daevabad trilogy) .. Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakrborty) and enjoyed it quite a bit more than the first book. The third book isn’t available until next week. I should have time to read by then!
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Post by scrubb on Jul 6, 2021 22:10:59 GMT -5
50) The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Kolbert
the name sounded familiar so I searched, and several of you lot have read it in the past few years. So it's already been reported, multiple times, that it's excellent. The story of how humans are destroying other species, and always have, and always will.
But in spite of enjoying it a lot and finding it extremely interesting and well written, it also depressed the hell out of me. I don't think it was really supposed to, so maybe it's just because I'm in a bad mood this week?
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jul 7, 2021 4:42:29 GMT -5
(43) Bridget Collins, The Binding This is a novel set in a sort of parallel 19th(?) century England, in which "binders" make books from listening to people's experiences and then wiping their memories (that sounds weird - it becomes clear in the story!). So books have this huge, rather menacing, power. It's certainly gripping. I read over 150 pages one day. But I felt it didn't fully work. However, if you enjoy a sort of gothic feel, it's probably an absorbing holiday read. Thank you for the review, Lillie. I’ve been wondering about that one, but I’m not sure whether it’s my kind of story.
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Post by Liiisa on Jul 7, 2021 5:34:47 GMT -5
50) The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Kolbert the name sounded familiar so I searched, and several of you lot have read it in the past few years. So it's already been reported, multiple times, that it's excellent. The story of how humans are destroying other species, and always have, and always will. But in spite of enjoying it a lot and finding it extremely interesting and well written, it also depressed the hell out of me. I don't think it was really supposed to, so maybe it's just because I'm in a bad mood this week? Oh don't worry, it's depressing! It's a great book, though.
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Post by scrubb on Jul 9, 2021 21:41:19 GMT -5
I'm currently reading a book set in Japan, called "Rainbirds". Although I'm enjoying it, it is SO MUCH like a Murakami that it's hard to believe someone else wrote it, and it's kind of starting to feel derivative.
First person story, from the perspective of a young man (though the author is female). Descriptions of everything he does every day. Everything told dispassionately. I'm still waiting for something about it to be unique to the author.
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Post by mei on Jul 10, 2021 3:15:36 GMT -5
50) The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Kolbert the name sounded familiar so I searched, and several of you lot have read it in the past few years. So it's already been reported, multiple times, that it's excellent. The story of how humans are destroying other species, and always have, and always will. But in spite of enjoying it a lot and finding it extremely interesting and well written, it also depressed the hell out of me. I don't think it was really supposed to, so maybe it's just because I'm in a bad mood this week? Yes, what Liiisa said. It's a great book, but well, depressing. It's probably not meant to be but you can't change that the facts are really depressing.
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Post by Queen on Jul 11, 2021 0:58:16 GMT -5
... it made it too easy to understand how broken the children were. For all the more hardheaded people here (I mean the people who say "they need to get over it", or "yes, it was wrong and those poor kids; but that was then, it doesn't happen anymore, One thing about the reporting I've read that really deeply shocked me was that the schools continued until 1996. That's not history - that's a year I can remember.
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Post by Queen on Jul 11, 2021 1:02:12 GMT -5
The Rain Dancer Ta-Nehisi Coates
Best fiction I've read in a long time, in the early chapters I wanted to reach into the book and scoop up the protagonist and rescue him.
It's historical fiction from the period of slavery in the US and the Underground Railway, written from the perspective of Hiram who is a slave born of a rape. He knows who his father is, and he is tasked with caring for his half brother. He has ideas of being treated as his brother's equal but finds he is being prepared to care for his brother. There is some basis in history - reference to people who existed, actual laws etc, but also a fair bit of magical thinking.
It's frightening at times, but ultimately hopeful.
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Post by Liiisa on Jul 11, 2021 5:33:17 GMT -5
I love Ta-Nehisi Coates; I remember when he was writing hip-hop reviews for the local free paper way back in the day. I have to make sure that book is on my to-read list.
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Post by Queen on Jul 11, 2021 5:41:26 GMT -5
There's a subversive use of language in this I think you'll enjoy.
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Post by scrubb on Jul 11, 2021 11:16:43 GMT -5
... it made it too easy to understand how broken the children were. For all the more hardheaded people here (I mean the people who say "they need to get over it", or "yes, it was wrong and those poor kids; but that was then, it doesn't happen anymore, One thing about the reporting I've read that really deeply shocked me was that the schools continued until 1996. That's not history - that's a year I can remember. That was the year the last one closed. The majority were gone by the early '80s, which is still not ancient history.
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Post by Oweena on Jul 11, 2021 13:37:23 GMT -5
The Madman's Library: The Strangest Books, Manuscripts and Other Literary Curiosities from History by Edward Brooke-Hitching
Fun, educational, great illustrations and photos, and just plain interesting. This is definitely a book to read a physical copy of, not on an e-reader.
There are chapters on scientific books, religious books, hoax books, books bound in human skin, books that aren't books, curious books, etc. Filled with tons of photos of these interesting books along with short text telling the stories of how some of the books came to be, how they were discovered, and where they're housed now.
I enjoyed it. It's one of those books to stroll through, a small chunk at a time.
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Post by scrubb on Jul 11, 2021 14:25:51 GMT -5
Finished the faux-Murakami. Rainbirds, by Clarissa Goenawan. Her bio says she's an Indonesian-born Singaporean writer.
Above, I noted that it was feeling so derivative of Murakami that I wasn't sure it had anything of its own to offer. That was about 1/4 - 1/3 of the way through. After that, I stopped feeling that way and I quite enjoyed the rest of it. The last half was less like Murakami - there was more discussion of the main character's feelings, and more movement toward an ending, which was not so vague as most of Murakami's.
So, recommended, as long as you are willing to get through the parts where all you can think is "why is she writing a Murakami instead of her own book?".
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