Annihilation (The Southern Reach Trilogy Book #1)by Jeff Vandermeer Remember that movie Annihilation? No? Well, no one does. It was remarkably unremarkable, right? But there were some good ideas there. And, I’m a sucker for sci-fi. I found this book at a free book exchange and seeing how slender it was, thought I’d pick it up. I don’t read much fiction, and I’d heard good things about the book. Why not? After having read Annihilation, I have to ask, what...
Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psycheby Ethan Watters Don’t let the cover fool you, Crazy Like Us id a lot more focused than the cover let’s on, with arrows exporting all the different disorders from the USA. Also, let’s note how a title like this would be checked if it was proposed today. Anyway, back to the book. Crazy Like Us really needs to be read by Americans, because it tries to communicate all along what foreigners...
Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military by Neil deGrasse Tyson & Avis Lang I know I’m not the only one who holds Neil DeGrasse Tyson in high regard. Even though he’s the most visible proponent for science these days (move over Dawkins and Nye), the man has been met with criticism. Most of them stem from people who, honestly, don’t like their bubble being burst. But they do live in a bubble, and they should...
Three Mile Island by Mark Stephens You can’t fly into Harrisburg Pennsylvania and not notice those giant smoking towers looming near the airport. It’s like you’re landing at the nuclear power plant in Springfield. In fact, they’re the cooling towers of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant where a nuclear catastrophe almost happened in the 1970s. Something happened – a radioactive spill? – but no one quite knows for sure. According to Wikipedia, something ALMOST happened, but again, it’s...
Oh boy! You know I love science fiction, readers. I’m a fan of Star Trek and Isaac Isamov, and even Andy Weir (who wrote The Martian) and, in an attempt to expand my science fiction literary horizons, I’ve been trying to get into some writers (old and new) to try and figure out what’s out there. Octavia’s Brood got a lot of attention earlier this year for being a collection of speculative fiction short stories written by writers with a...
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory, by Caitlin Doughty There’s no doubt in my mind how this book became a New York Times Bestseller. This is the most important non-fiction title I’ve read in years, and I suggest that everyone, EVERYONE, EVERYONE read it. We are all going to die, or will have to deal with the death of someone close to us and this book helps us come to grips with the harsh realities...