Halloween chills were the highlight of the September books, and what a find Sheridan Le Fanu was.
Read It and Weep by Jenn McKinlay The series was called A Library Lover's Mystery, but I misunderstood this. Less about books and mystery and all about the love, this cosy mystery was really a romance disguised as a mystery. I like to listen to audio books while cleaning and gardening, and my local public library has a fair selection to download. Part of my dismay with this book may have been the audio itself--the reader tried to to distinguish a large set of characters with too many distinctive voices, and I'm not convinced she didn't sometimes slip up and confuse some of the characters' voices. Several of her women, like Violet, sounded like men and her English accent (the male victim) was terrible. But I give the author props for two reasons: the police were portrayed as actual professionals, competent at their jobs (and our amateur detective did get a gentle comeuppance that her brilliant deduction had actually occurred to the police long before it occurred to her), and the surprise ending. Still, way too much romance between Lindsey and Robbie and Lindsey and her ex, Mike. Recommended for those who really just want to read a romance. (audio book)
In a Glass Darkly by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu My book group's selection for September/October, this collection of 5 short stories was fantastic! Three short stories were spooky and mysterious; the fourth was more of a 'classic' mystery before there was such a genre, but with a Vincent Price horror movie spin; and the final, longer novella, Carmilla, that has been said to have served as the inspiration for Dracula. It was interesting to observe the author switch from the viewpoint of Richard Beckett, a 20-somthing man, in The Room in the Dragon Volant, to Laura, a teenage girl in Carmilla, as point of view and main characters. I loved the creepiness and mysterious insinuation of the first three short stories, where you are never sure exactly what happened--something metaphysical or otherworldly, or something indeed explainable, and where the mysteries weren't solved. Dragon Volant was more of a straightforward mystery, which is really obvious to the modern reader, but I can image one hundred years ago, this story was shocking. But perhaps the most shocking, and perhaps the reason Le Fanu is not well known today, is epitomized by Carmilla. The story is very sexual and not even subtle about the lesbian attraction, which would probably have shocked Victorian readers but which to this reader seemed very modern. Recommended to horror fans who are interested in the evolution of the genre, and anyone looking for a unique Halloween chiller. (Kindle version)
The Vikings: From Odin to Christ by Martyn Whittock and Hannah Whittock I remember a long-ago archaeology class that did not devote much time to the Vikings much to my dismay, because I thought that topic was fascinating. Fair disclosure, the book has clearly been inspired by the popularity of a cable TV fictional drama called The Vikings. I was hoping for a more in-depth, historic, and scientific treatise on the Vikings and their expansion, and their adoption of Christianity. But the book, while covering the entirety of this span of Viking history, is very shallow and just provides a brief history of the culture. The authors clearly knew the sheer number of named Vikings would be confusing to the average reader, so they included a timeline at the beginning that outlines activities and actors; a map; and a list of key people. What they didn't provide were illustrations, and this is particularly pertinent to the entire middle of the book, where lengthy discussions of Viking art and its embrace of Christian elements, and vice versa, are described, and presumably well-known artifacts referenced repeatedly. But without a few photos, this reader was left dissatisfied with the entire material culture discussion. A bit dry and best only for a brief intro to Viking history. Anyone with a real desire to delve into Viking history should look for more academic publications. (NetGalley)
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Friday, September 21, 2018
Middle Sister's Mid-Month Review
Happy September, everyone! Another plane trip meant a lot of time for reading (and how I love my Kindle Voyage with its lit screen for reading at night and on airplanes).
What It's Like to Be a Dog and Other Adventures in Animal Neuroscience by Gregory Berns A couple of years ago, I read an article in the New York Times about a researcher who had trained dogs to lie completely still in an MRI machine so he could do functional MRI (fMRI) scans on their brains. Of course, I was fascinated and couldn't wait for more information to be published. This book relates how Dr. Berns and his associates taught a small coterie of dogs to lie still and accept the MRI tube, as well the tests and the results. He also discusses fMRI brain scans of other mammals that he's undertaken, notably several dolphin species and the extinct Tasmanian tiger (the thylacine). Absolutely fascinating, especially the section on the thylacine. But I'd have to disagree with the title--just because canine and human brains may process information apparently the same way in the same cranial anatomy doesn't mean that I know what a dog feels when it sees the same image that I do. All of this is very valuable science, and it underscores how arrogant humans have been for a long time, assuming they were the only sentient beings who could think and process information. But I still don't know what it's like to be one of my dogs and live their life and experience their world, much as I'd like to. Excellent, well written and very readable, even for non-scientists (there's not much jargon), with a tantalizing philosophical question at the end. I'd recommend it to dog lovers and anyone interested in science and nature. (NetGalley)
Catch Me if Yukon by Maddy Hunter The next in the Passport to Peril series, wherein Emily, her husband Etienne, and their merry band of senior globe trotters get embroiled in yet another murder mystery. In Catch Me if Yukon, the travelers are on a scenic trip to Alaska (not the Yukon, despite the title), and their number has been expanded by the addition of a book group. When one of their members dies under somewhat mysterious circumstances, the entire group is under suspicion. Matters are not helped when Emily's father posts a photo with an image that could be, might be, is interpreted as and voraciously shared around the Internet as--Bigfoot. The seniors' addiction to their smartphones was funny but may have been overplayed just a little. The group is always fun to visit with, and Hunter's style is light and breezy. A perfect airplane read. Recommended to cosy mystery lovers who enjoy funny mysteries. (Net Galley)
What It's Like to Be a Dog and Other Adventures in Animal Neuroscience by Gregory Berns A couple of years ago, I read an article in the New York Times about a researcher who had trained dogs to lie completely still in an MRI machine so he could do functional MRI (fMRI) scans on their brains. Of course, I was fascinated and couldn't wait for more information to be published. This book relates how Dr. Berns and his associates taught a small coterie of dogs to lie still and accept the MRI tube, as well the tests and the results. He also discusses fMRI brain scans of other mammals that he's undertaken, notably several dolphin species and the extinct Tasmanian tiger (the thylacine). Absolutely fascinating, especially the section on the thylacine. But I'd have to disagree with the title--just because canine and human brains may process information apparently the same way in the same cranial anatomy doesn't mean that I know what a dog feels when it sees the same image that I do. All of this is very valuable science, and it underscores how arrogant humans have been for a long time, assuming they were the only sentient beings who could think and process information. But I still don't know what it's like to be one of my dogs and live their life and experience their world, much as I'd like to. Excellent, well written and very readable, even for non-scientists (there's not much jargon), with a tantalizing philosophical question at the end. I'd recommend it to dog lovers and anyone interested in science and nature. (NetGalley)
Catch Me if Yukon by Maddy Hunter The next in the Passport to Peril series, wherein Emily, her husband Etienne, and their merry band of senior globe trotters get embroiled in yet another murder mystery. In Catch Me if Yukon, the travelers are on a scenic trip to Alaska (not the Yukon, despite the title), and their number has been expanded by the addition of a book group. When one of their members dies under somewhat mysterious circumstances, the entire group is under suspicion. Matters are not helped when Emily's father posts a photo with an image that could be, might be, is interpreted as and voraciously shared around the Internet as--Bigfoot. The seniors' addiction to their smartphones was funny but may have been overplayed just a little. The group is always fun to visit with, and Hunter's style is light and breezy. A perfect airplane read. Recommended to cosy mystery lovers who enjoy funny mysteries. (Net Galley)
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