Upstream

I am a little delayed in finishing this review, but in this crazy and cruel world, Mary Oliver’s writing can help one in some small way. In “Upstream” her essays read like poems, her poems are like essays. More than a sprinkling of pretty words, her thoughts here are longer, the analyses deeper. This collection feels like the use of a camera lens, beginning out of focus, then fitting things together in clarity, and blurry again before reversing and readjusting. There is a sweet spot somewhere in there; you will find it if you look. Having my own familiarity with Cape Cod, I enjoyed reading about its landscapes, the fauna including some pets, and a very brief but kind cultural history of Provincetown, all the way at the end of the arm. Found midstream are a few short life stories of writers important to Oliver: a sympathetic biography of Ralph Waldo, a visual portrait of Edgar Allan Poe, and some words on Whitman and Wordsworth. One of the most memorable descriptions, however, was of snapping turtles eggs she collected, rather than letting a raccoon get to them, and how they felt and tasted, scrambled. I’ve been thinking about and doing a lot of photography lately, so like I said, where you choose to find focus, in photography and in reading, you can find whatever you’re looking for.

Warp

Not at all related to “The Magicians,” Lev Grossman’s newly re-published novella “Warp” does have similar characters and voices. Hollis (full name Hollister?) Kessler is a lot like Quentin, but again, they live in different worlds. I call it a novella because it is a bit short to be a full novel. And, that said, the book had promise – a lot more could have happened, if it had been longer, or even extended into a series. It was more like a very long short story or a string of very short short stories. There is also a sub-text, which I did not read very much into. I interpreted this as being Hollis’s thoughts: the things he thought but did not say. Perhaps he was an aspiring writer, and those were some of the things he would have committed to paper, or if not practice writing in his head, the rest are memorable lines from pop culture (if that also includes sci-fi). Why the book is called “Warp,” then, isn’t really explained.

The Invoice

A little book you can read in an evening, “The Invoice” is charming and curious. Comparisons to Kafka are fitting, as our hero is rolled into an undertaking with little control over how to get out of it. The W.R.D. is in the process of a global redistribution of wealth, and every person is evaluated individually, to pay or receive their fair share. The exact methods are cryptic but reportedly very accurate. “Experienced happiness” is one metric brought up, and this is not a reflection of money or possessions, but experiences themselves. Our man, then, who makes the most of every situation and is content with his life, is invoiced for more than he could ever afford. Calling the number on a form, he talks with Maud, who after repeated calls becomes a lifeline in effect. The language author Jonas Karlsson employs starts off very simple, but as the story moves along, both the plot and the narration become more complex. A recommendation: as this book is set in the heat of summer, read then if possible, though at other times this will still feel good.

Note: I received a free copy of this title through BloggingForBooks in exchange for an honest review.

Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast

Everyone I’ve told about this book has said “that sounds very specific,” and indeed this is a niche book. I don’t live near the redwood coast, but rather on the other side of the country, so this isn’t something I’d be consulting any time soon, if ever. But why I wanted to check out this book, besides being interested in field guides and all things natural history, was that there might be some overlap with mushrooms in the northeast. Certainly there are at least some fungi that are so widely distributed one could find them on opposite coasts. The diversity of fungi is overwhelming, so it’s hard to know where to start. I have a thought, though, that if you want to discover a new species – of any organism – the easiest place to look would be fungi. Then you can name what you find however you’d like. But you have to know what to look for, where to look, and make sure it hasn’t been described already. But back to the book.

Donny Hathaway Live

I’m always sad when I ask people if they know Donny Hathaway’s music and they haven’t heard of him. So much about his biography is sad, but I don’t want to dwell on that. If his music is sad, it is also optimistic, and the messages are just as relevant today. Finally there is a book on this great musician for the world to read (there is some poetry out there, too, so this is really the first nonfiction). I always believe the best way to learn about music is to listen, but reading always helps you know what to listen for. In the 33 1/3 series, Emily J. Lordi chose to write about “Donny Hathaway Live” to represent this artist.

Cuba!

Here is a book that could be worth getting just for the photography, but also a book about food and culture that happens to have recipes. The recipes in Cuba! come from the three authors’ trips to the island, what they learned there, and how they can be made here. Unless you’re a real foodie with a decent budget, most people would realistically find one or a few recipes here to actually make; although, because of the simplicity of the ingredients, there is a higher percentage of “doable” recipes than in other niche cookbooks. Whether you make one, none, or many of these recipes, having this kind of book lets us learn more about cuisine and culture that we might not otherwise know much about, and is colorful joy to look through.

Whisper Not

Benny Golson is one of the best composers in the history of jazz, so it’s not surprising that his autobiography is also one of the best in writing. Credit goes too to Golson’s friend Jim Merod, for making this into a very entertaining book, and a master class in jazz. I didn’t know much about Benny Golson, but had the understanding that he is a good person respected by everyone who has worked with him, and the tenor saxophonist who penned some unique tunes in the jazz repertoire.

Photographs from the Edge

There are only so many words that can be used to describe light and conditions for taking a photo, yet it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words – but why stop there? Photos speak for themselves, in as many or as few words as the viewer feels like. Knowing what to look for, or how the picture was composed, of course adds food for thought. “Photographs from the Edge” is a new book by Art Wolfe, with Rob Sheppard, that tells a lot of stories in a selection of beautiful photos, and also in the words behind them.

Beyond Words

“Beyond Words” by Carl Safina is a wide-ranging book. How do I begin to say what it’s about? “What is consciousness like for other animals?” is one central question, explored in many ways. This book deals with misconceptions, even in the scientific community. Humans really are not that different from other animals, and the mind and many other traits have deep roots from common ancestors. The author often ends a section with a line about things that might “make us human.” He shows, too, how if something is found not only in humans but also in other organisms, it doesn’t make sense for that to be a defining human characteristic. For a scientist of Safina’s stature, just to write and research such a book is notable. Beliefs about human exceptionalism are so common yet not based on any evidence (he even singles out philosophers, saying they have no data), and it’s time we lose our bias and become more scientific.

Though a relatively long book, at close to 500 pages, my recommendation is that this is definitely worth reading. The conversational tone makes this suitable for readers of any background. If it seems repetitive, thus making for a longer read, that is made up for by the content, that is so interesting, and so much information everyone would be better for knowing. He provides multiple definitions or rephrases things to ensure the reader will understand – we’re not just given one cold offering. He really takes the time to fully explain concepts. I took a lot of notes, so for a long book, here’s my long review.

Punderdome

Here is my first review of a non-book: Punderdome, a card game. The creators say the objective is to make the most groan-worthy pun, although if I were the host, I’d give higher points to the most clever pun – sometimes puns are cheap or overused, so usually the less predictable is better, in my opinion. If you’ve watched a show like @midnight, you’ve seen the instantaneousness of pun generating (of course, those are professional comedians) – so 90 seconds, or 120 if you won the first round, might be a little long, but in that time you can come up with several puns and choose the one you like best. Having bad jokes on each card could help keep the players in a punderous state of mind, and there is a card of “just for pun!” examples if more inspiration is needed. While mostly a card game, there is the addition of two mystery envelopes, keeping with the game-show vibe. If you don’t have anything on hand to give away, I think it’d be just as funny to write something imaginary that would make a bad – or good – prize. I like the suggestion of having one awesome prize in one envelope and something terrible in the other. And depending on who you’re playing with, something that could go either way – say a CD of Yanni’s “Greatest Hits.”

Until We Are Free

What at first feels like a collection of disconnected events becomes a more linked memoir of Shirin Ebadi’s ongoing efforts for human rights, and her life after receiving her well-deserved Nobel Peace Prize. Unable to keep her judgeship in Iran, she was still able to practice law, and it is clear from her interactions with anyone working against her that she excelled at this. She knows very well how the system operates, having learned the hard way, but this makes her stronger and better prepared to bring about justice. She is a human like any of us, and includes the details she remembers from her home country, the food, the sounds, the interiors of buildings where she worked, the way people presented themselves. Even though she is exile, and the intelligence ministry has done unthinkable things to try to stop her, she continues to work for what is right.

Women in Science

Very inspiring! is one way to describe “Women in Science,” an awesome new book by Rachel Ignotofsky. Reading this reminded me why I wanted to be a scientist in the first place. The excitement of discovery, defying the status quo, and the positive impact of applying scientific findings to benefit communities. Not only were these women brilliant scientists, they worked just as hard to advance social causes, and to apply their findings to the betterment of humanity.

The Man Who Touched His Own Heart

“The Man Who Touched His Own Heart” is the kind of book so good you’ll be re-telling some of these stories to your friends and family the whole time you’re reading. It’s a good thing I’m not so squeamish anymore – and a wonder I was a biology major – but after a few chapters, I found myself adjusted and just absorbed in the fascinating complexity of the circulatory system, and the adventurous history of how we came to understand what we now know about it. Like the titular character (that was one story I had to share multiple times), these are people who went into new territory at times when doing so was unthinkable. Many of them used their own bodies when no other options were available, and all sought, with a vision, a solution to a known problem. The progress of medical knowledge had slow beginnings, with frustratingly long gaps and setbacks, even the delayed inclusion of women and people of color to contribute. Now this pace seems accelerated, where many of the discoveries described in this book are commonplace, made into standard practice – where available, as the author takes care to point out: the world is still not equitable.

Beaks, Bones, and Bird Songs

Birds are amazing, and not just because of Roger Lederer’s (or my) bias. His new “Beaks, Bones, and Bird Songs” is a comprehensive book about birds, not limited to the elements mentioned in its title. In particular, he explains the evolved physical and behavioral characteristics of these animals and why they’re important in the face of threats ranging from the immediate to long-term. There is always a trade-off, a disadvantage for every advantage. However, it’s not a totally bleak picture: how adaptable birds can be comes up many times in many ways. Plus, there are many unknowns, meaning more areas for future research, which can help inform conservation.

Genesis

In jazz, the Real Book is the standard book of standards, where each song takes up one page, sometimes two. Here in “Genesis” Eduardo Galeano follows a similar layout, but rather than sheet music for popular songs, it is condensed history of the Americas. This is the first of three volumes in his Memory of Fire trilogy. The first part of this volume is only about a fifth of the whole. It begins with pre-Columbian myths, and with the history that follows, is neither fiction nor nonfiction. 1492-1700 are the years, up to the near-present by the end of the trilogy. Not everything happens in South America nor is even limited to the Western hemisphere: certain momentous occasions in Europe fit in the timeline as well. I found that if you only read one or two of these one-page stories at a time, it is not easy to follow, and perhaps a little too disconnected for one book. However, this is unlike anything I’ve ever read, and for a serious student of Latin American history, Galeano’s work is classic. Keep an eye out for these e-books, as they are sometimes on sale for significant discounts.

The Drawing Lesson

This is just what I needed. I read “The Drawing Lesson” in pretty much one sitting and will be reading it again and again. I draw birds and stuff – mostly birds. Like everyone else, I want to develop my own style, but I also needed more info on some of the basics in visual art. For example, what author Mark Crilley calls “negative space” (this is probably the common term in professional art), which is like the pieces of the picture that don’t really have interesting details yet hold the whole drawing together. One thing that makes this such a helpful book is how it summarizes each lesson and builds upon all previous lessons.

Chronicle of a Last Summer

“Chronicle of a Last Summer” stands out for its modern structure. Rather than writing about what happens in the book, I can write what is in the book, since events are secondary to periods of time. The narrator, whose name never surfaces, lives in Cairo in a family house she describes as being like a castle, in relative socioeconomic privilege. The house is unchanged through all the nameless revolutions and power turnovers from one dictator to the next, through all the family deaths and disappearances.

Country Editor's Boy

What struck me most in “Country Editor’s Boy” was how much this memoir read like fiction, in style. Because Hal Borland was a writer by profession, he might have had a tendency to notice and remember more than his peers – or, he could have done supplementary research to tell his own story, told somewhat removed, as if another person. Because it's not fiction, it's not quite as interesting, but has the elements of any coming-of-age story. Most notably owing to the dialogue, it doesn't feel like the distant past, but breathes as if you stepped back in time and got to see firsthand how things were in Flagler, Colorado, just about 100 years ago. Written when he was an adult, he'd had the time to see the perspective he may have lacked as a youngster.

Sweet As Cane, Salty As Tears

Thirty years after arriving as a 20-year-old in New York City, time rushes back towards Katherine Fontenot. She tried to run from her family in Louisiana, but if she loses her job, if her sister dies, what is she going to do? Her younger sister, “the sane” one, gets gored by a rhinoceros, which after escaping the zoo where Karen-Anne was looking after it, was shot and killed. Much more than her work, the Fontenot family is the heart of this book, and the family lore – the same stories that get told every time, but still make people laugh – get told yet again, for the younger generations to inherit. But more personally, about a third to half of “Sweet As Cane, Salty As Tears” is actually flashbacks, Katherine seeing something, hearing or smelling or sensing, remembering what she left behind.

A Buzz in the Meadow

Dave Goulson is a fine natural history writer, and an important conservationist. His work centers around the less glorious taxa, the insects that underlie the world’s ecosystems yet receive less attention. He has a talent for expressing scientific results, when too often the findings are confined to a bubble where only people specializing in a certain field will read and understand the results. Books like “A Buzz in the Meadow” are needed if you feel you don’t know enough about large groups of life forms like plants and insects. However, if you don’t like thinking about insect parts and reproduction (or that of animals in general), know that this is not for everyone. Still, Goulson is a very good communicator, and this is an excellent book.

Dog Gone, Back Soon

When you need something light and entertaining to read, a book like “Dog Gone, Back Soon” is sure to do the trick. Set in a small town in Vermont, the story of veterinarian Cyrus Mills returning to take over his late father’s practice fits the bill – funny and a good time. There are a lot of subplots that get the narrator into more and more of a pickle. There’s the move to the cold winter from the South,  which can be enough for some people as-is; add to that the challenge of making a second date, a tight budget, a ridiculous and unnecessary threat of competition from the next-town-over’s vet practice, and of course all of the patients he takes on.

Creating Jazz Counterpoint

I love jazz. If you know me, you probably already knew that. I did not, however, know much about the origins of this music, in terms of the first musicians and early songs. “Creating Jazz Counterpoint” fills in some gaps in this knowledge through excellent research and effective communication. Although more of an academic book, Vic Hobson’s writing is clear and concise, and objectively reconstructs what may have happened, based on the sources available.

The Best Gig in Town

Following Edward Allan Faine’s “Ellington at the White House 1969,” “The Best Gig in Town” details the biggest jazz events held at the White House during the Nixon administration. Nixon is not the first president that would come to mind for making jazz a regular feature there, but he hosted several significant events for this genre. Relatively moderate by today’s standards, Nixon presented artists with political affiliations from both sides, always seeking political gain. Because these events had to be planned as carefully as possible, they are well-documented, allowing the author to tell about the lead-ups, the unfolding, and the reaction that followed, sometimes lasting years, as in the Ellington case.

The Evolution of Mann

Herbie Solomon, known as Herbie Mann, made room for the flute as a lead instrument in jazz, and went to the sources of world music to offer a taste of many cultures. Herbie Mann could play bebop with the best of them, but was interested in exploring other subgenres of jazz, and music from all over the world. The flautist went through phases, notably Brazilian bossa nova, and Afro-Cuban before that, both of those before Middle Eastern, Japanese, R&B, and, infamously, disco, among others.

Albina and the Dog-Men

Having read Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “Where the Bird Sings Best,” I was prepared for the weirdness in his second translated novel, “Albina and the Dog-Men.” Weirdness aside, inside, this is a good, entertaining story, a journey, like any good road trip. Quite often I was reminded of Indiana Jones looking for the Holy Grail, and even the Temple of Doom. The three main characters are named for their characteristics, but see transformations that bring out their true names. Crabby, who walks hunched over like a crab, rejected her given male name of Isaac, and later turns this into Isabella. She finds and names amnesiac Albina in the first chapter, and they run from the authorities together, hitting the road. Just when they need help, they join up with the hat maker, Amado Dellarosa, making for a strange kind of love triangle.

Conversations in Jazz

Ralph J. Gleason was a co-founder of “Rolling Stone” magazine, but was also very hip to the jazz scene. “Conversations in Jazz” is a collection of interviews between this man and some of jazz’s greatest artists (all happen to be men). This book very helpfully provides brief introductions to the artists, not just their career highlights but what they were doing around the time of the interview. Gleason seemed to know how to catch them at interesting moments of transition, and mutual trust and respect brings out some honest, open dialogue.

The Snow Queen | The Fir Tree

As you get older, there comes a point when you look back at childhood stories and see that there’s something not right about many of them. Hans Christian Andersen’s tales are like this – there is something dark and deceptively twisted. Since these particular two share a similar new publication, I am reviewing them together. “The Snow Queen”: in which Gerda sets out to find her lost best friend Kay, and “The Fir Tree”: in which a sentient fir tree gets removed from its forest home and is introduced to fire. Rather than shortening their summary, I will focus on some common elements and what sets the new releases apart (the artwork).

And After Many Days

Set in Nigeria, spanning the 20th century up to right about now, “And After Many Days” is centered around events in the mid-1990s, shifting very subtly back and forth in time. While not a whole lot happens in the first half or so, things do pick up. This is still a very good book, told in the omniscience of the Utu family, and youngest sibling Ajie in particular. His sister Bibi and oldest brother Paul, Ma and Bendic (their father, Benedict) are also prominent;  their driver Marcus and gateman Ismaila, and neighbors, extended family, and work colleagues are all in and out of their home doors, both in Port Harcourt and on vacation in Ogibah. Rewinding to the childhood of the 90s is important, as a way of remembering Paul, before he disappeared. Most of the book reads like memories, the way you remember every small detail when something traumatic or significant happens. There are also stories of family history before their time, as it was told to them. Ma is a biology teacher, and Bendic, the only surviving of his siblings, is a lawyer, respected and intellectual. He is also an older father, and has some health concerns. Paul looked up to him, and Aije looked up to Paul. The siblings often fight (as siblings do) and their parents’ discipline is informed, not punishing. The Christian church is on the side, there when it suits them, and they sometimes see Bible passages as if stories in their own lives. The Utu children must choose which schools to attend, are often compared to other kids their age, and witness tradition against modernity. The dialogue features words from the country’s many different languages mixed in with the English.

God Is Round

With a title like “God Is Round,” I was drawn to this contagious level of devotion, for a subject as uniting as soccer. I will refer to the sport as both soccer and football, the other football having no place here. This book name comes from a true love for the game, and its author, Juan Villoro, is an encyclopedia of the sport – and also of literature. He opens with a bit on an Uruguayan writer who worked first in his country’s national football stadium, and he throws in references to global literature and other popular culture – some of which I don’t get. Nor do I know all of the players – but even a non-follower must recognize more of these legends than they might think. And, he does not give explanations of the rules, only anecdotes of memorable plays or behaviors – so you have to be ‘in the know’ to get some things. I am not a “fan,” but I appreciate the simplicity of the game, its intuitiveness and universality. Villoro’s writing makes me want to both read about and watch (maybe even play) more football.

The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts

“The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts” by Maja Säfström is a funny little book. Like Matt Sewell’s “Owls,” also published by Ten Speed Press, it is quirky, nice to look at, and actually informative of some of nature’s stranger evolutions. This book is even better suited for younger readers, as the facts can be read within a short attention span. There is a pleasant ridged texture on the cover, but the cool metallic blue there is the only color in the book – all the pages are black and white. The drawings are even and controlled, with enough accuracy for unmistakable identification, but with a signature artistic freedom, including some speech bubbles from a few animals. They range from ants to whales, with one to several facts. Sometimes they’re pictured by themselves; other times they are shown with some of their habitat. Each has two facing pages devoted to it, seen all in one view. There are a few trends across species, such as the ability or inability to move backwards; what they are called in a group; and eating, sleeping and even excreting habits. Many of the facts you may have heard before, but maybe those younger readers haven’t yet. I’d like to think these are all indeed facts, and not any urban legends. 10 birds, 26 mammals, 3 fishes, 11 invertebrates, and 5 reptiles or amphibians make up this bestiary, yet they do not appear to be in any taxonomic or alphabetic order. These animals are familiar favorites, from the domestic to wild, common to rare, and all seem happy to be part of this collection. This is a fun read, a book to flip through and another way to learn about the diversity of life.

Note: I received a free copy of this title through BloggingForBooks in exchange for an honest review.

Never Cry Wolf

I was excited to see this classic on NetGalley, first published in 1963 but now available as an ebook. I hadn’t read anything by Farley Mowat before, and I could immediately see, when I began reading “Never Cry Wolf,” that one reason he is celebrated is the rich vocabulary and story-telling he entertained with. I found him reminiscent of Bill Bryson, but even more over-the-top. He seemed to almost go out of his way to never use the same word more than necessary, for full expressiveness, and has a slightly more subtle satire. Comparisons can also be made with Edward Abbey in “Desert Solitaire”: both were alone in a barren place, becoming part of the landscape, working for government agencies, with their own interpretations of meeting their requirements.

Future Arctic

“Future Arctic” by Edward Struzik, excellent on its own, is also a good complementary read to a book like Kennedy Warne’s “Let Them Eat Shrimp.” Both are about “underdog” ecosystems, one cold, the other quite warm, both stressed by climate change, vulnerable to exploitation of their respective resources, and, as is sadly often the case, the people living there are marginalized by outside interests. Struzik presents a wide range of the challenges the Arctic is already facing, and what we need to be thinking about when planning for what lies ahead. Much is unknown about this part of the globe, and predicting how climate change will shape it, and the rest of the world as a result, is far from easy. However, some of the best science being conducted is helping us prepare, and when made as clear as it is in this book, there is no reason to not take seriously the knowledge and modeling that can help us prevent or minimize the effects of future disasters.

What Happened, Miss Simone?

What do you know about Nina Simone? For my admiration of her and her music, I didn’t know all that much, and thought a book like this would be informative. Yes, this is a beginning to end biography, but feels like a series of events strung together, without any deep analysis. “What Happened, Miss Simone?” covers her tumultuous life, if brushing lightly over some heavy, serious incidents. I think this is a fair depiction of the woman, not entirely sympathetic for giving so much attention to her weaknesses, but we can see she was a strong person, and a true and original artist.

Why I read works in translation

I always wanted to know at least one other language, and since many of the closest countries are Spanish-speaking, like many neighbors here too, that language was a practical choice. One of my teachers said that the best way to learn a language is to read as much as possible, especially books, which contain every kind of word formation. Reading a book translated from English to Spanish helps me learn the latter, and reveals where changes were made. When I read a book translated to English, I have fun imagining how the original might have been written, and what would have had to stray from directness. This reciprocation also deepens my understanding of the mechanics of English. The voices of certain translators have sometimes pleased me as much as the authors themselves. After all, it is the translator’s words I am reading the story through.

Practicing Spanish is not the only reason. Why stop there? Even if I can’t learn a new language from reading one book, there is a rewarding experience of seeing the same processes at work, and more importantly, learning about different parts of the world, from people who have lived different experiences. Even works by English-speaking authors, especially from countries like England, can provide positive challenges. The importance of translation extends to nonfiction: the science and journalism communities are now global. There is a world of writing to be enjoyed, and translation is the key to making that available to more readers.

Note: I wrote this as a brief essay, limited to under 250 words. There is a lot more I could say, and would be open to starting a discussion on the topic.

Dark Money

I read and review environmental books, and rarely read books about solely about politics. However, the biggest challenges and resistance to ameliorating environmental issues, especially climate change, come from one of the two major political parties in the United States, and an overwhelming amount of their campaign money be traced to fossil fuel industries and ultra-wealthy individuals like brothers Charles Koch and David Koch. “Dark Money,” then, is very much about the natural environment, but the whole political environment as well. When I started reading, I was highlighting almost every sentence, there was so much I wanted to talk about – but I was still in the introduction! After the first chapter, I scaled back, and hope I haven’t used too many direct quotes, and succeeded to rephrase other things. Jane Mayer wrote an article for The New Yorker in August 2010, a precursor to “Dark Money” in a way, but with equal attention given to the “Covert Operations” on the left as well. She was threatened with a smear – not personal, as no “dirt” could be found, but made-up claims of plagiarism that were easily disproven. The Kochs, apparently unavailable for comment, wouldn’t answer whether they were behind this. Credit goes to Mayer for this excellent work, and I encourage you to read her book for the full story.

The Imitation Game

Even after reading the massive biography by Andrew Hodges, and seeing the movie “The Imitation Game,” I am still eager to learn more about the life and work of Alan Turing. “The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded” is a graphic novel (biography) somewhere between those two, and continues to tell his story in an entertaining and informative manner.  This medium, too, is one I am growing very fond of, for its creativity and ease of presentation, in a series of frames like comics, its ability to demonstrate in ways that written text alone cannot. So, do we need more biographies of this man? Yes, and “The Imitation Game” is one of them.

The Road to Little Dribbling

For risk of sounding like a Dust Bowl trek, this book might be better called “The Road to Cape Wrath.” Little Dribbling could be made up for all we learn about it, which is to say, nothing. Bill Bryson drew a line across a map of the British isle, the “Bryson Line,” which he “discovered.” Starting in Bognor Regis and ending at Cape Wrath, this appears to be the greatest distance in Britain, not from Land’s End to John o’Groats, as his citizenship exam would have you believe. A look at the map (perhaps more useful in print than e-book) and its labeled places shows he spends more time in the south and southwest. So often in books the end is given fewer pages, and here Scotland is reduced to the last chapter. However, I must say that really, I did enjoy this book. For all the insanity in the world, Bryson makes thing a little more bearable, and laughable.

Let Them Eat Shrimp

 

The title aside, “Let Them Eat Shrimp” by Kennedy Warne is about mangrove ecosystems and the threats facing them. While not an exhaustive natural history of the mangrove trees, and saying very little about the shrimp themselves, this is an important, big picture of the role mangroves play in protecting our world. I was reminded, though not thematically, of “The Underground Girls of Kabul” for the excellent journalism investigating and reporting this subject. The author, traveling, is part of the story but only as one human element – the book is not about him. Nor is this the typical depressing read on the subject of environmentalism (or human rights). This is a report of how we benefit with mangroves in mutuality, not just the consequences of their destruction but some of the solutions for improving their outlook.

Shaler's Fish

Despite the title, there is no specific mention of Shaler’s fish – which was a real fish – following the introductory quote. The sentiment, however, runs through these poems. That is, studying the subject at hand, be it a fish in a pan or a book on a stand. Agassiz’s lesson is carried out here, in full explorations of natural science and everyday life itself.

Northern Goshawk, The Gray Ghost

Almost a year ago, I was reading T.H. White’s “The Goshawk” followed by Helen Macdonald’s equally excellent “H is for Hawk.” At the time, I wouldn’t have guessed I’d be reading a third book about this great creature, but I am happy to say that I did. Whereas the two books I read last year were more about the goshawk's role in falconry, this is a study of the wild bird in its own habitat. I didn't realize there are so many species of goshawk, in the Accipiter genus, in the northern parts of the world. In my opinion, this might be the most beautiful hawk (sorry, all other hawks). While he doesn’t explain the name “Gray Ghost,” I find it fitting. This bird, one I have never seen, does seem almost mythical, a force of nature, living in northern forests. Its sound, as described in this book, is eerie (a sample is here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Goshawk/sounds); the author uses the word “cackle.” Those glowing red eyes and smoky, shadowy plumage of charcoal and stone, and their association with Arthurian times, add to my awed perception.

Vinegar Girl

Back in high school, I read “Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant” and loved it. I don’t know why it took me so long to read something else by Anne Tyler. “Vinegar Girl” is her re-telling of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” set in Baltimore like her other books. A comedy, this book had me laughing, sometimes out loud, on every page, with a few discomfiting moments mixed in.

The Reason for Flowers

If you think about all the ways flowers are in our lives, you’ll find they’re everywhere. That’s what Stephen Buchmann covers in “The Reason for Flowers,” a pleasant, well-written read. One of the main reasons I enjoy natural history writing is to learn, and there is a lot to be learned here. A well-published researcher, Buchmann writes with the organizational precision of a scientist, and the editing breaks down the chapters into linked nuggets. Due to this polished style, it makes for a long read; some might be better served if this were an audiobook – my only complaint. The author travels all over the world, and has a global audience in mind. As he lives and works in Arizona, many of his anecdotes come from there.