Meet Me in the Future: Stories | Kameron Hurley

*Image and book provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

A collection of short stories written by Kameron Hurley. Some take place in other series she's written, some are standalone. All of them take place in the future. 

Review:

I haven't read as much of Hurley's work as I would like, so I was very happy to pick this book up. I highly recommend you do not skip the preface of the book. In the preface she describes what was behind each story, what inspired this or that story, and it's very informative of what you're about to read. It also helped me empathize with Hurley more, we both have chronic health issues that have shaped our world view. You really see how it bleeds into her stories.

These stories don't really paint a bright and happy picture of the future. There will always be war. There will always be those in power that must be ousted. There will always be those that use and manipulate those beneath them. This can easily be a very depressing read. But Hurley adds details to her worlds. Details that make sure the future is worth fighting for. From empathy between strangers, caring for a pet, finding your truest family. It can make even the darkest futures worth living. 

I admire Hurley's ability to combine telling a good story with asking important questions. She's able to do all of this without being preachy and, more importantly, can leave you with no answers and you're not disappointed. If anything, you find yourself driven to work harder for those answers. So, yes, there really aren't many happy futures in this book, but there is drive. 

This collection was entertaining, moving and insightful. I was happy to read it. 4 hoots!

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Eff This! Meditation | Liza Kindred | Mini-Review

*Image and book provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Review:

I'll admit, there was noticeably less cussing in this book than I thought there would be. But, given that that's my biggest complaint, I can honestly say this was a good read. I've been learning and reading up on meditation and mindfulness to help with my anxiety and depression. A number of things in this book are pretty well-known, but there were a few things that were new to me. I appreciated that Kindred ordered these by time. The first batch are things you can do quickly, the last are ones that take half a day or longer. If you're just getting into meditation, this might be a good fit for you. If you're looking for an irreverent take on meditation and its practices, you'll want to look elsewhere. 3 hoots!

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Science of the Magical | Matt Kaplan

Summary:

Matt Kaplan explores the science behind many mythological magics of our ancient history. From reading the livers of animals to the chemicals in love potions, even the physiology of sword swallowing. Kaplan covers a wide range of topics and the science that explains them.

Review: 

I absolutely loved Kaplan's book "The Science of Monsters" and had been eagerly looking for a copy of this book as well. I am happy to report, I was not disappointed! My feelings towards both of these books are actually summarized by Teller (of Penn & Teller) in the introduction:

"To any enlightened dweller of our century, knowing increases wonder. I don't just think this, I know it. If you believe, you oversimplify in the way a child might initially believe there is no complex evolution of life. That simplification in no way increases your sense of wonder. If, however, you know how life came to be on our planet, the wonder is immense!"

And that is the attitude that permeates all of these chapters in "Science of the Magical". Finding the truth behind the mysticism, knowing how the trick is done, just makes all of it so much more intriguing and amazing! Sometimes it's just coming to grips with how much our ancient ancestors actually knew, even if they didn't fully understand.

Kaplan does a wonderful job of making all of this science very accessible to readers of any background and interest. He also does a very good job of citing his sources. Because of this, I've increased my TBR list substantially, but Kaplan writes these things in such a way that I want to know more! I need to know more!

This book is such a treasure and would be enjoyable to pretty much anyone with any interest in the science behind all things mystical. Instead of "killing the joke" by over-explaining it, it's like the cool science experiment that changes your world view. This book was a great read, I couldn't put it down! 5 hoots!

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Click-Bait Books! | Readathon Mini-Challenge

We live in a world full of clickbait. It's so pervasive, we even continually joke and meta joke about it. So how about we have a little fun of our own? Let's make books clickbait!

 

But let's not go with just any book. This challenge of mine isn't as original as I had initially thought, and there are many sites about classic books as clickbait. So, what I would like you to do is comment on this post and tell me your current or most recent read's title, author and their clickbait title!

You don't have to post pictures of the cover design. Just tell me your book and how you could turn it into clickbait. If you're having trouble coming up with ideas, click on the images in this post and they'll take you to a couple sites that give really funny examples!



The one who gets me "to click" will win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Conversations with RBG | Jeffrey Rosen

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

A collection of interviews with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Each interview is preceded by context from the author.

Review:

Like many people, I only really started paying attention to politics in the past few years. I knew that Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) was an important figure, but never really looked further into it. When she needed surgery and people were clamoring to offer their blood and organs, whatever she needed, I figured I should read up on her. Fortunately this book became available and I took the opportunity to educate myself. I'm very glad I did. 

This is neither a full biography nor a full case list. This has biographical elements but focuses on major past cases and how they influence current cases. It's also a lot of RBG discussing her hopes for the future. Honestly, the fact that she still has hope for the future does wonders for my overall anxiety about the world. She has an amazing approach to equal gender rights that she modeled off Thurgood Marshall's approach to equal rights for minorities. Incremental, showing those in power how these rules hurt them, and genuinely going for equality. 

At first I was surprised to find someone who had promoted equality was subject to scorn from feminist groups. I took every chapter, every interview question on that, as a lesson in reading past the headlines. I think that should be the message with almost every Supreme Court Justice. It's so very easy to get caught up in the headlines and following the rage. But in this day and age, we need to do ourselves a favor and read more, get the full story, and reserve our torches and pitchforks for the truly important things. She criticized Roe v Wade because it was, essentially, a legislation forced to walk around on stilts with no training. She was correct in predicting this would lead to all of the many, many, many challenges it has received since. This was quite the legislative history lesson for me. I'll never go back.

RBG is truly an interesting character and her relationship with the other Justices is a wonderful example for disagreeing without it coming to blows. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and will be picking up more books about the Justices. 4 hoots!

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Burnout in Healthcare | Rajeev Kurapati | Mini-Review

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Review:

Before 2018, I don't think I'd ever heard of the term "Burnout" at least not as much as I have since. But it is a problem around the nation. As I was reading this book, even though it's meant for healthcare professionals, I was really able to identify and link signs and symptoms with other people in my life. Honestly, I feel like it's a good read for patients as well as doctors, nurses, etc. As patients, we don't really get to see all of the work that goes into what our healthcare professionals do (for good reason). It came as a surprise to me that the digitization of records took up so much time for doctors and only added to their stress levels. I'm hoping it'll help me be more patient when my blood test results don't show up electronically right away. And while this is healthcare focused, there's still some good advice for everyone in there. This book is a pretty short read, but that's because it's no frills, straight to the point, and understandable. I give 3.5 hoots!

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10 Women Who Changed Science and the World | Catherine Whitlock & Rhodri Evans | Mini-Review

*Image and book provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review:

This book is an engaging collection of mini-biographies of 10 women who made significant contributions to science. Not only does it talk about them, it also gives a lot of context for their work and situations. This means we also get a lot of information about the world at the time as well as the science they were doing and how it fits into our understanding of science today. I genuinely appreciate how deeply these mini-biographies went into the science. Most of the stories are pretty well balanced between the history, biography and scientific information. Henrietta Leavitt's section focused mainly on the works of others but a lot of that could be because there was so little information about her available. It's a good collection overall, definitely of interest to those who are interested in the actual science that these women did. 4 hoots!

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