Book Review: The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History- by Elizabeth Kolbert

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was the rare science book that I didn't really enjoy. It was kind of disappointing because it was hard to find an audiobook copy of it and once I located on it was constantly checked out and anytime it was on hold for me I was in the middle of something else [or not reading a science book because of the cycle of genres that I force myself to read]. So when things finally synced up for me to read the book I was very excited.
I am not saying the book was bad, just disappointing for what I expected. Some of that is my fault because I was under the impression that the book was about the five past extinctions and that the book would argue the case for the sixth one going on currently. Part of that is the fault of how the book was promoted, when I originally heard about it on the radio. Furthermore, the cover has the image of an animal from the last extinction, although (view spoiler)[there is a slight argument for it to have been human caused instead of tied to the climate changes of the last Ice Age (hide spoiler)].
I did learn quite a bit that I didn't know previously, and Elizabeth Kolbert was preaching to the choir with me, I don't need to be convinced that there is an major extinction event going on and that it is human caused. I was also surprised to learn, being an Ohio native, about what a big role the Cincinnati Zoo has played in trying to breed and preserve Sumatran Rhinos. My daughters actually went there a day or two after I had read the book so that was cool for them to get to see. The book is very heavy on the current extinctions and endangerment and is as much about ecology as it is about biology, but overall it was a good read.

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Book Review: Yes, Please!- by Amy Poehler

Yes Please by Amy Poehler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was my comedy choice on my reading cycle. Honestly, it just happened to be the book on my read later list that was available when it came time to read one and I wasn't particularly excited about it. Amy Poehler is good and funny, I don't hold the sexist view that women can't be funny which her friend Tina Fey maybe spent a little too much time arguing for her her book Bossypants. It is just that I have always thought Tina Fey was much funnier and even as much as I love Sarah Silverman I was a little disappointed when I listened to her book, The Bedwetter, this past spring. So I didn't have high expectations for this book.
In fact later winter and early Spring as my wife spent some time ill in bed she binge watched Parks and Recreation and kept trying to get me to watch it with her, but I was just not hooked in by it the way I was with 30 Rock and others. All of that said, I kind of regret not watching the show with my wife and fortunately have convinced her that after a short break from it we'll watch it together next time. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was funny and revealing. It made me nostalgic for some old SNL, although I think they've hit their stride again with the current cast. I still didn't laugh as hard or much as I have with Tina Fey's book, or Jim Gaffigan's or pretty much any of their stand-up routines, but going in with low expectations as I've already said I was very pleasantly surprised. I immediately recommended the book to my wife over several others she was hoping to read and I look forward to finally watching Parks & Rec or whatever project Amy takes on next.

EDIT/ADDENDUM: I tried the Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and she wasn't lead on the project so I can't blame her, but I couldn't make it through the first episode. Maybe if I had seen the movie and enjoyed it the humor of the show would be more relatable, but I doubt it- it was BAD!

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Book Review: Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus

Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another classic that you are supposed to have read at some point in high school or college, but I never had it assigned and had never gotten around to picking it up on my own. In my college days it was probably because I was afraid of it being gruesome, if not scary. In recent times simply because I have learned more about the book and was afraid it would be dull or boring. I don't recall if the current English teacher at the school I teach at has every assigned this book, but I know the prior teacher did and I got mixed reviews from students. However, I picked this up one day this summer and couldn't put it down. I found myself in the kitchen listening to it and preparing a week's worth of meals, just to give myself the excuse to keep secluding myself to enjoy the book just a little longer. I ended up finishing the book in under 24 hours.
Of course, the portrayal of science was somewhat dated and at times very inaccurate, even in the sections not dealing with reanimating corpses. None-the-less I enjoyed the give and take debate between professors and archaic alchemical ideas. Victor also hit the nail on the head when he described the allure of science

"None but those who have experienced them can conceive of the enticements of science. In other studies you go as far as others have gone before you, and there is nothing more to know; but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder."

I also loved how Victor wrestled with what he was doing and even became obsessive about his work. From there the dilemma that emerges and the wrestling with morality that takes place is riveting. Furthermore, I did not realize that the bride of Frankenstein's monster was from the original novel, I kind of always saw it as a Hollywood and cartoon knockoff. The book was much better than I ever imagined it would be. It did not stick with me quite as much, and was not as chilling as the ending of, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but it was a very good read. I certainly understand why this classic is so well enjoyed and would recommend it without hesitation.

Two asides:
1. I have written previously about how the vlog version, The Lizzie Bennett Diaries, of Pride and Prejudice made me want to read the original. Since then that group has done their own version this book as well, Frankenstein M.D. I wish that I could say they inspired me to read this story, but in reality I felt that I was reading it in spite of their portrayal. Not that it was horrible, it just wasn't Lizzie Bennett Diaries good.

2. I couldn't find a good way to work it into the review above, but another quote from the novel that I fell in love with:

"Of what a strange nature is knowledge! It clings to the mind, when it has once seized on it, like a lichen on the rock. I wished sometimes to shake off all thought and feeling; but I learned that there was but one means to overcome the sensation of pain, and that was death -- a state which I feared yet did not understand."

(emphasis added)

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Book Reivew: The Tipping Point- by Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book by Malcolm Gladwell that I have read. I decided to start at his first one since I could and to work my way through them if I enjoyed the first one. To skip forward to the end, I will be reading his other books, in fact it has taken me so long to write this review that I have already read another one, Blink.
This book was good in that it looked for simple explanations of fads and crazes. I've seen the ideas espoused in the books come up in many places since then and I believe this points to them running true in many circumstances and that his ideas are gaining wide acceptance. One poor application/summary of his ideas was given in a TED talk that I like, but the distinction between that speakers three categories were not as clear as Gladwell's.

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Book Review: The King Raven Trilogy: Hood, Scarlet, & Tuck- by Stephen Lawhead

I allow myself an exception in my normal reading cycle to read a whole series instead of breaking it up over multiple rounds. My wife has been a Stephen Lawhead fan for many years and has tried many times to get me to read him. I had always come across a struggle to find all of the books in a series on audiobook before and so this made it difficult. Recently, however, my library has added many of his books to their digital collection and so I checked out the complete King Raven Trilogy and finally gave him a chance. This review is of all three books in the series. I am pretty certain that I remember which parts came from which book, but there might be spoilers.

I enjoyed Hood quite a bit, but it was very slow. Lawhead seemed to give a lot of details and spend a descent amount of time focused on the details of daily life as part of setting the scene. However, it was an enjoyable retelling of the Robin Hood story and certainly a believable take on it. He explained at the end a minor bit of evidence that caused him to change the traditional setting and the story does fit well into the time period and the politics. Having read the full Wikipedia article on it in 2012, about the time my wife was reading Tuck the origins of the story are murky enough to make this take plausible. It also seems that the Russell Crowe version of Robin Hood borrowed minor things from this book. Once (view spoiler) the story and pace really picked up. The psychological and guerrilla warfare was very gripping to read. Honestly, it would have been OK if it ended there, even if it didn't cover the full legend.
However, the story continued in Scarlet and took an odd turn from there. It went from being third-person [limited I seem to recall] to first-person and followed Will Scarlet instead of Bran. The story again drug at times and we seemed to miss action that would have been included had the perspective been more inclusive, if nothing else, I felt a stronger connection to Bran than the new character. My only guess is that in addition wanting to tell the story from another perspective it helped Lawhead drag the story out into a trilogy and made it easier to develop the plot by hiding much of it away from the reader in other people's minds. The book wasn't bad, but no where near as good at the first in the series.
The story continued and concluded with Tuck. I seem to recall that this story had a mix of first and third person points of view, but either was it was better than the second in the series. The plot moved along nicely and the secrecy and subterfuge was very entertaining. It lacked the epic battle scene that so many versions of the Robin Hood, especially movie versions, seem to build up to, but part of this telling's charm is the unique take on the story and the retelling of it.
My wife has argued to me that this is one of her least favorite Lawhead books, just above his sci-fi novels. I remember her encouraging me to read it when it came out, but still I'll take her word on it. If that is the case then his others will probably be good, but I cannot say that I loved it or that I am eager to return to him as an author. Personally, I enjoyed it more because of the original take on the legend than for the writing itself.

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Book Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks- by Rebecca Skloot

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a book that I put off reading for a long time because even though it was [and to a large extent still is] a very popular science book it has a biology focus and so I stalled as long as I thought that I could. However, last summer the English teacher read it in the hopes of doing a collaborative project with the Biology teacher and I figured it was time that I give it a read. Having finished it in one weekend, I can say with sincerity that I regret having waited so long.
As a new author Rebecca Skloot is not as well polished as many of the other science authors I enjoy [[author:Sam Kean|3206446], Mary Roach, Dava Sobel, Neil deGrasse Tyson, etc.], but the story she chose to research and devote so much time to digging up as many details as possible was a gripping one that hooked me in. The ups-and-downs of the family and the lax education received in both rural and urban areas, especially among minorities, is a tragedy and makes it unsurprising that the family has come to not trust the outside world, science, or the medical profession. There is still a large uphill battle of overcoming injustices and restoring relationships.
Also, without getting too political, this book was written before Obamacare. One point that was continuously made was how much Henrietta Lacks's stolen (or at least improperly donated) cells, HeLa, have helped the medical profession and yet her descendants see no profit and struggle to get and afford medical insurance. For those who are against Obamacare because it subverts capitalist economics, a real serious look is needed at who benefits from capitalism and who is left behind.
Unfortunately, because of a non-graphic rape scene it was decided to not have sophomores read this book. This confuses me a little bit since we have freshmen read about a fictional rape in (view spoiler)[Speak [read my review here] (hide spoiler)]. I love the benefits that cross-curricular activities bring to students and I wish it could be more easily facilitated, but that is a rant for another time.

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Book Review: William Shakespeare's Star Wars Trilogy:Verily, A New Hope, The Empire Striketh Back, & The Jedi Doth Return by Ian Doescher

First, I read the whole trilogy in two days and am reviewing all three here.
Normally, I do not like audiobooks that are read by full-casts but it worked for this book. The intros and outros were not from the actual book and kind of took away from them a little bit, but otherwise this was one of the few full cast books where it was easy to follow the different voices. It does help that were choruses and asides to explain what would normally be done by a narrator or simply the author setting the scene.
This book once again reignited my desire to read the complete works of Shakespeare which I think is the book's strength. I've written before about how I would change US high school English class curriculum and I think a book like this is the way to get many students who are maybe relucant to start Shakespeare at least interested and slightly familiar with the style. After all Ian Doescher is a Shakespeare fan and tried to be true to the style, while taking minor, but creative licenses- like having Yoda, speak in haiku instead of in the Shakespearean style. Overall, these were great short reads and will amuse fans of Star Wars and/or Shakespeare. Now if only I could find the prequels on audio [not to mention having to patiently wait for the final installment].

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