If you're looking for some interesting bookshelf designs, I've been scouring the Internet for ideas. I think sometimes lovers of books are as much in love with bookshelves as they are with books. Here are a few websites with some intriguing photos you may enjoy.
From Rank Nepal:
A couple built along stairways, which seem useful, and a couple that are simply design intensive that look fun but seem less than useful.
From Bookshelves on Pinterest:
Some gorgeous shelves full of books plus some very artistic shelves full of design that happen to be perfect for shelving books.
From Bored Panda:
Lots of very creative solutions that are both pleasing to the eye and easy to use, and some accommodate the reader.
From Life Hack:
These are all design-intensive, less about utility and more about looks.
From Corner Bookshelves on Pinterest:
A lot of these are kind of cozy corners for reading.
And there are lots more if you just search "Bookshelves" on Google Images.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Monday, December 14, 2015
Best Boy: A Sunday Well Spent Reading
Book Review: Best Boy by Eli Gottlieb
I thought it was going to be a long read. I breezed through it on a Sunday. I thought it was going to be an informative read. It was insightful but a tough read for its frankness. If you know anyone who is autistic and wondered what it's like to have autism, this is a good book to give you hints.
Best Boy is the story by award-winning author Eli Gottlieb about Todd Aaron, who lives in a group facility for those who have developmental disabilities. His disability is that he has autism, and the story, written in the first person, provides details in the narrative style of what it's like to have autism: How someone with autism feels, thinks, reacts, and exists in a world dominated by people who don't understand - and often don't care - how autism affects them.
Todd's mother was very loving and protective. She tried to find facilities for Todd for the day when she could no longer care for him. And then she died. His father had died before her, leaving Todd's younger brother to look after Todd's interests. But living 700 miles away, he doesn't make it over very often to see Todd. That leaves it to the staff to look after Todd. The community is mixture of interesting characters, including Todd's roommate, who doesn't like Todd and is out to prove that Todd is a slacker, and when Todd maps out a plan to run away for home, his roommate tries to turn him in. There is a love interest, too, and a young woman who is taken advantage of by a new staff member who is also paired with Todd and who coerces Todd into keeping the details a secret. Best of all, there is a staff advocate who helps Todd through the rough times and keeps him out of trouble, especially at a critical moment in the story.
Best Boy is a good, quick read, dramatic and well paced. But what I enjoyed most about it was its remarkable descriptions of what it is like to have autism. Autism is a scale of effects, no two people necessarily having the same symptoms, but if you know someone with autism you will likely recognize many of the effects. Todd speaks of rocking back and forth when excited or upset, and feeling a jolt when antagonized, for instance. But he also details what's going on in his mind - how he sees the world and how he reads people, and how that forms his decisions and how he reacts to situations. Todd also talks about his medications and how they make him feel.
I don't know where Gottlieb got his information about the effects of autism - he has written about the topic before - but from those I know who have autism, it seems spot on.
In some ways, Best Boy was a depressing read. But in other ways, it was a very revealing read and for the character Todd, it ends well. I borrowed the book from my local library to learn more about autism and felt it was a Sunday well spent reading.
I thought it was going to be a long read. I breezed through it on a Sunday. I thought it was going to be an informative read. It was insightful but a tough read for its frankness. If you know anyone who is autistic and wondered what it's like to have autism, this is a good book to give you hints.
Best Boy is the story by award-winning author Eli Gottlieb about Todd Aaron, who lives in a group facility for those who have developmental disabilities. His disability is that he has autism, and the story, written in the first person, provides details in the narrative style of what it's like to have autism: How someone with autism feels, thinks, reacts, and exists in a world dominated by people who don't understand - and often don't care - how autism affects them.
Todd's mother was very loving and protective. She tried to find facilities for Todd for the day when she could no longer care for him. And then she died. His father had died before her, leaving Todd's younger brother to look after Todd's interests. But living 700 miles away, he doesn't make it over very often to see Todd. That leaves it to the staff to look after Todd. The community is mixture of interesting characters, including Todd's roommate, who doesn't like Todd and is out to prove that Todd is a slacker, and when Todd maps out a plan to run away for home, his roommate tries to turn him in. There is a love interest, too, and a young woman who is taken advantage of by a new staff member who is also paired with Todd and who coerces Todd into keeping the details a secret. Best of all, there is a staff advocate who helps Todd through the rough times and keeps him out of trouble, especially at a critical moment in the story.
Best Boy is a good, quick read, dramatic and well paced. But what I enjoyed most about it was its remarkable descriptions of what it is like to have autism. Autism is a scale of effects, no two people necessarily having the same symptoms, but if you know someone with autism you will likely recognize many of the effects. Todd speaks of rocking back and forth when excited or upset, and feeling a jolt when antagonized, for instance. But he also details what's going on in his mind - how he sees the world and how he reads people, and how that forms his decisions and how he reacts to situations. Todd also talks about his medications and how they make him feel.
I don't know where Gottlieb got his information about the effects of autism - he has written about the topic before - but from those I know who have autism, it seems spot on.
In some ways, Best Boy was a depressing read. But in other ways, it was a very revealing read and for the character Todd, it ends well. I borrowed the book from my local library to learn more about autism and felt it was a Sunday well spent reading.
Monday, November 23, 2015
Dust & Grooves: Record Collectors and Their Amazing Lairs
Book Review: Dust & Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting by Eilon Paz
My brother-in-law, John, has been collecting LP's -- thirty-three and a third or long-playing vinyl albums. When last I heard, he had over 300 albums, mostly Elvis Presley and '50's and '60's rock and roll music from his teen days. When I saw Dust & Grooves on the new-books shelf at the local library the other day, it made me think of John's collection.
Dust & Grooves started out as a blog by Eilon Paz, a collector himself and a photographer. When he realized the photographs of collections he had amassed and the collectors he had met, the idea crystallized to write a book. And this amazing tabletop size book emerged.
What you will find here is not your typical result of intensive interviews, although there are some longer pieces farther into the book. But what is amazing are the photos of collectors' record habitats. If you're an avid reader, imagine a tabletop book on book collectors that shows collectors' book nooks and libraries teeming with books. Imagine the characters you would meet behind the collectors. That's what Dust & Grooves exposes, only for vinyl record collectors. And they're as diverse as you might imagine.
I'm taking this book to Thanksgiving dinner so John can look it over because I think he would appreciate seeing his kindred spirits and their lairs. John keeps his hundreds of records neatly filed in a cupboard by his console record player. In this book, you will find that other collectors keep theirs in piles and heaps and stacks and shelves and along walls and in cubby holes. John will be amazed, I'm sure. I just hope it doesn't inspire him to let loose his neat stacks into loose piles.
If you're at all interested in music and the re-emerging vinyl record market, you should look through Dust & Grooves. There is probably a collector in your area, and you might well find that collector an interesting conversant. This book might well help you start a conversation and let you know what you're in for before you begin.
Dust & Grooves is a fun romp through the world of collecting, through the world of record collectors and their amazing lairs. It's fun just to browse. And if you're into music, it's fun just to imagine what you might do with your own collection. Would your collection look like any of these?
(c) 2015. Alan Eggleston. All Rights Reserved.
My brother-in-law, John, has been collecting LP's -- thirty-three and a third or long-playing vinyl albums. When last I heard, he had over 300 albums, mostly Elvis Presley and '50's and '60's rock and roll music from his teen days. When I saw Dust & Grooves on the new-books shelf at the local library the other day, it made me think of John's collection.
Dust & Grooves started out as a blog by Eilon Paz, a collector himself and a photographer. When he realized the photographs of collections he had amassed and the collectors he had met, the idea crystallized to write a book. And this amazing tabletop size book emerged.
What you will find here is not your typical result of intensive interviews, although there are some longer pieces farther into the book. But what is amazing are the photos of collectors' record habitats. If you're an avid reader, imagine a tabletop book on book collectors that shows collectors' book nooks and libraries teeming with books. Imagine the characters you would meet behind the collectors. That's what Dust & Grooves exposes, only for vinyl record collectors. And they're as diverse as you might imagine.
I'm taking this book to Thanksgiving dinner so John can look it over because I think he would appreciate seeing his kindred spirits and their lairs. John keeps his hundreds of records neatly filed in a cupboard by his console record player. In this book, you will find that other collectors keep theirs in piles and heaps and stacks and shelves and along walls and in cubby holes. John will be amazed, I'm sure. I just hope it doesn't inspire him to let loose his neat stacks into loose piles.
If you're at all interested in music and the re-emerging vinyl record market, you should look through Dust & Grooves. There is probably a collector in your area, and you might well find that collector an interesting conversant. This book might well help you start a conversation and let you know what you're in for before you begin.
Dust & Grooves is a fun romp through the world of collecting, through the world of record collectors and their amazing lairs. It's fun just to browse. And if you're into music, it's fun just to imagine what you might do with your own collection. Would your collection look like any of these?
(c) 2015. Alan Eggleston. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Washington Post Best Books Lists
Looking for a good read or two to get you through the doldrums of the coming winter? Here are the lists of 10-best books from The Washington Post. Some great sounding titles.
If you can't find something entertaining to read here...
Enjoy!
- The 10 best books of 2015
- Notable fiction books of 2015
- Notable nonfiction books of 2015
- Best mystery and thriller books of 2015
- Best science fiction and fantasy books of 2015
- Best romance novels of 2015
- Best audiobooks of 2015
If you can't find something entertaining to read here...
Enjoy!
Thursday, October 29, 2015
The Martian: Post-Movie Symposium You Will Want to Watch
Video Recommendation: Adam Savage, Astronaut Chris Hadfield, and Andy Weir Talk 'The Martian'
I reviewed the book, The Martian, and I reviewed the movie, The Martian, and I liked them both. Adam Savage of Discovery Channel's MythBusters is a huge fan of both and after viewing the movie he invited author Andy Weir and Astronaut Chris Hadfield for a public symposium, which has now been posted on YouTube.
If you liked either or both, you will enjoy this discussion of the movie, the public response, some of the inside story of book and movie, how Weir's life has been affected by response to the book and movie's success, and from Commander Hadfield, his perspective on the science of the story and space travel, today and in the future.
Around the time I became enthralled with the story, someone suggested calling anyone who visited Mars a Martian. And I thought that was preposterous. A Martian, I thought, should be someone who was born there or who lived there permanently. But Commander Hadfield has a great explanation of why it makes perfect sense from a psychological perspective that someone who visits Mars would become a Martian.
This video is full of very interesting perspectives. Certainly from Hadfield as an astronaut, sharing stories of his experiences as an astronaut in training and in space. And from Weir in writing the story and getting it published, as well as his amazing experiences since the book became a phenomenon. And from Adam Savage, who is no slouch in science and a collector of science fiction memorabilia.
This video lasts just short of an hour, but it's well worth the time to sit back and enjoy a conversation between three well-informed space enthusiasts. Especially if you love science or science fiction.
I reviewed the book, The Martian, and I reviewed the movie, The Martian, and I liked them both. Adam Savage of Discovery Channel's MythBusters is a huge fan of both and after viewing the movie he invited author Andy Weir and Astronaut Chris Hadfield for a public symposium, which has now been posted on YouTube.
If you liked either or both, you will enjoy this discussion of the movie, the public response, some of the inside story of book and movie, how Weir's life has been affected by response to the book and movie's success, and from Commander Hadfield, his perspective on the science of the story and space travel, today and in the future.
Around the time I became enthralled with the story, someone suggested calling anyone who visited Mars a Martian. And I thought that was preposterous. A Martian, I thought, should be someone who was born there or who lived there permanently. But Commander Hadfield has a great explanation of why it makes perfect sense from a psychological perspective that someone who visits Mars would become a Martian.
This video is full of very interesting perspectives. Certainly from Hadfield as an astronaut, sharing stories of his experiences as an astronaut in training and in space. And from Weir in writing the story and getting it published, as well as his amazing experiences since the book became a phenomenon. And from Adam Savage, who is no slouch in science and a collector of science fiction memorabilia.
This video lasts just short of an hour, but it's well worth the time to sit back and enjoy a conversation between three well-informed space enthusiasts. Especially if you love science or science fiction.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Red Shirts: Light-Hearted Poke at Sci-Fi and a Fun Read
Book Review: Red Shirts by John Scalzi
Imagine, if you will, a universe in which fictional characters brought to life on the television screen live real lives some time in the future, and their real lives are affected by the plot lines of the fiction written in the television series. That's a rough paraphrase of the theme behind Red Shirts (2012), a science fiction novel posited by screen writer John Scalzi, based on the Star Trek universe.
In the Star Trek universe, characters who wear red shirts (uniforms) are usually the expendable characters, usually are the first ones to be seriously injured or killed. And so it is in this story. In fact, this is element is key to the story.
Only, the main characters in this story don't inhabit the Star Trek universe per se, they inhabit a ripoff universe of Star Trek that was never as well developed nor as well written as Star Trek, just adopted liberally from its basic premise.
In their real life universe, the main characters serve aboard Intrepid, the flag ship of their version of the Federation (not called the Federation, of course), and Intrepid has an unusually high incidence of deaths. Furthermore, the deaths occur not among all levels of service but of the lowest ranking service members - the red shirts. The mid-level service members get injured a lot but survive, often treated by miracle cures and are ready to serve in the next away mission in amazingly short times. And this comes to the attention of new red shirts who arrive to replace the dead crew members.
I won't get into all the details because that would involve spoilers. But the new red shirts do their due diligence and do their best to solve this great mystery. And John Scalzi explores both the concept and its solution in brilliant and amusing ways.
Part of the fun of reading Red Shirts is being in on the inside joke of the demise of red shirts as a long time fan of Star Trek. That has always been a curious tick of the show, the tendency of those wearing a red shirt to not survive the episode. So reading the story is like playing out the fantasy of taking this idea to its fullest extent.
Scalzi is a great and imaginative writer. His characters have fulsome dimensions and the dialogue is real and sensible. His narrative and pacing is impeccable. That all comes from his experience as a screenwriter for Stargate: Universe.
As much as I enjoyed the whole read, my favorite bit comes at the very end of the story (before what amounts to the epilogue), the end of Chapter 23 and the entirety of Chapter 24 (before Coda I, Coda II, and Coda III). It's a fun tongue-in-cheek, pulling-your-leg wink after a long, fun read:
(By the way, I don't consider the quoted material a spoiler, because it doesn't spoil the ending of the story or its outcome in any way. It's just a great example of Scalzi's writing style and the fun of the book.)
Imagine, if you will, a universe in which fictional characters brought to life on the television screen live real lives some time in the future, and their real lives are affected by the plot lines of the fiction written in the television series. That's a rough paraphrase of the theme behind Red Shirts (2012), a science fiction novel posited by screen writer John Scalzi, based on the Star Trek universe.
In the Star Trek universe, characters who wear red shirts (uniforms) are usually the expendable characters, usually are the first ones to be seriously injured or killed. And so it is in this story. In fact, this is element is key to the story.
Only, the main characters in this story don't inhabit the Star Trek universe per se, they inhabit a ripoff universe of Star Trek that was never as well developed nor as well written as Star Trek, just adopted liberally from its basic premise.
In their real life universe, the main characters serve aboard Intrepid, the flag ship of their version of the Federation (not called the Federation, of course), and Intrepid has an unusually high incidence of deaths. Furthermore, the deaths occur not among all levels of service but of the lowest ranking service members - the red shirts. The mid-level service members get injured a lot but survive, often treated by miracle cures and are ready to serve in the next away mission in amazingly short times. And this comes to the attention of new red shirts who arrive to replace the dead crew members.
I won't get into all the details because that would involve spoilers. But the new red shirts do their due diligence and do their best to solve this great mystery. And John Scalzi explores both the concept and its solution in brilliant and amusing ways.
Part of the fun of reading Red Shirts is being in on the inside joke of the demise of red shirts as a long time fan of Star Trek. That has always been a curious tick of the show, the tendency of those wearing a red shirt to not survive the episode. So reading the story is like playing out the fantasy of taking this idea to its fullest extent.
Scalzi is a great and imaginative writer. His characters have fulsome dimensions and the dialogue is real and sensible. His narrative and pacing is impeccable. That all comes from his experience as a screenwriter for Stargate: Universe.
As much as I enjoyed the whole read, my favorite bit comes at the very end of the story (before what amounts to the epilogue), the end of Chapter 23 and the entirety of Chapter 24 (before Coda I, Coda II, and Coda III). It's a fun tongue-in-cheek, pulling-your-leg wink after a long, fun read:
And that's just what he did, until the day six months later when a system failure caused the Intrepid to plow into a small asteroid, vaporizing the ship and killing everyone on board instantly.
No, no, I'm just fucking with you. They all lived happily ever after. Seriously.Seriously, if you're into science fiction and Star Trek, give this book a read. It's an entertaining, light-hearted take on the genre and an fascinating exploration of the idea of red shirts and their role in the series.
(By the way, I don't consider the quoted material a spoiler, because it doesn't spoil the ending of the story or its outcome in any way. It's just a great example of Scalzi's writing style and the fun of the book.)
Friday, October 09, 2015
The Vega Adventures: A Reading That Will Raise Your Spirits
Book Review: The Vega Adventures by Shane Granger
Vega is a large,
weighty sailing vessel with an undersized motor. It’s 125 years old, specially
built by Norwegian craftsmen to haul bulky loads like cement across the North Sea . But in 2004 Shane Granger and Meggi Macoun took her
on a different kind of mission that has become what Shane calls in his amazing
new novel, The Vega Adventures.
The story briefly takes you through Vega’s amazing history – why she was built and by whom, how she
evolved, and how she lived out her latter work years eventually dragging for
glacial stones off the North Sea floor before being bought and then abandoned
by a forlorn seafarer.
Then Shane and Meggi restored Vega and took her on their own
amazing sea adventure across the Indian Ocean, which begins the book with a life-and-death struggle in
a horrific hurricane. They lose the rudder and all control,
only just managing to survive as they finally make safe harbor in the Seychelles , where they make repairs and then set off again, destination Malaysia .
Finally basking in warm sunny Malaysia, Shane and Meggi are enjoying some time on land
and figuring out how to refit Vega's interior accommodations, when the
infamous tsunami of December 26, 2004, hits, generated by a 9.3 earthquake off
the shores of Sumatra. The first hints come as swirling currents, but then the
waves arrive lifting boats and docks out to sea and sending everyone into a panic. But
what they and their boating neighbors go through is nothing compared to what
others in more remote places have suffered, the death toll reaching into the hundreds of
thousands. That story leads to the Vega crew's real adventure.
Their sailing vessel perfect for hauling large volumes, the
crew agrees to take 22 tons of badly needed food and medical supplies to
the victims of the tsunami. When they see the horrific damage and helpless
victims among the island nations where they deliver supplies, it creates a
new vision for their lives. Shane and Meggi refit Vega not just for leisure sailing of the high seas, but they begin
using it to bring the basic necessities of life to the most remote villages off Indonesia, people shut off from the world who have no access to doctors
or medicine, schools or school supplies, even farm implements or seeds. Their mission in life will be to use Vega to bring life to the islands.
The Vega Adventures
is the true life story of a couple and their small crew facing the dangers of
life on the sea making year-long voyages to raise medical supplies, midwife
kits, education packages, soccer (football) balls, backpacks full of school supplies,
sewing kits, farm implements, vegetable seeds, and more, and then deliver them
to tiny isolated villages on remote islands. Interspersed in the lively narrative are interesting side tales about sailing and sailing experiences,
individuals on the islands and their experiences, and the sights, sounds,
smells, and feels they experienced during their voyages.
Shane Granger is the author and his easy-going, humorous
narrative style brings the story to life. I’m used to reading the age-of-sail Napoleon-era war-at-sea
novels and Shane gives
every bit of accurate detail in this story that genre often provides in its novels.
What’s different here is that the war is between humans and nature, and there’s
more about peace and the beneficence of the human spirit than of war itself. The reading will raise your spirits.
Revised May 23, 2020.
(The Vega Adventures available at Alibris.com,)
(c) 2015. Alan Eggleston. All Rights Reserved.
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