Like Craig Child's wonderful Atlas of a Lost World: Travels in Ice-Age America, Thomas Halliday takes us on a guided tour of life and conditions in thLike Craig Child's wonderful Atlas of a Lost World: Travels in Ice-Age America, Thomas Halliday takes us on a guided tour of life and conditions in the geologic past. Halliday though, takes us on a long tour, essentially from the end of the most recent Ice-Age (about 10,000 years ago) all the way back some 650 million years ago to the first geologic evidence of proto forms of life on our planet Earth. He breaks the book up into a series of chapters highlighting the various eras, periods, and epochs of geologic time and describes the environmental conditions and the types of life that occupied those habitats at particularly important evolutionary periods.
I am a geologist by education, and I found this book fascinating, it almost reads like a nature field guide. After reading the book, it was humbling to realize that we humans--Homo sapiens--have only been on Earth as a species for a geologic instant, maybe something like 150,000-200,000 years. Some of the faunas that Dr. Halliday describes in the book occupied suitable habitats for many millions of years!
Halliday is an eloquent and passionate writer, and one of his important messages is that if we're not careful with this planet that we live on, we could find ourselves in an extinction event of our own creation (made worse in that we are willfully continuing to do exactly the wrong things to manage and reduce the impacts of climate change). Solid 5/5 stars for me....more
Stephen Fry's Great Mythology series deserves to be on the bookshelves of those who love the myths of the ancient Greeks, kind of like many of us had Stephen Fry's Great Mythology series deserves to be on the bookshelves of those who love the myths of the ancient Greeks, kind of like many of us had old paperback copies of Bullfinch's Mythology (1867) or Edith Hamilton's Mythology (1942). Stephen Fry offers us a new perspective on these timeless myths. Simply wonderful to sit down and open it randomly and just begin reading. His writing style is terrific, full of wit and humor. This four volume series would be wonderful for younger reader's first exposure to Greek mythology. 4/5 stars for me for the series. ...more
I just finished reading Steve Benen's new non-fiction book Ministry of Truth and his recounting of the state of democracy, reality, and the RepublicanI just finished reading Steve Benen's new non-fiction book Ministry of Truth and his recounting of the state of democracy, reality, and the Republican party's war on the recent past and realized that it is high time that I reread Orwell's 1984 as we are living it right now....more
Tremendously well written biography of one of the Middle Age's most powerful women. Ms. Weir provides a ton of insight into the character of Eleanor oTremendously well written biography of one of the Middle Age's most powerful women. Ms. Weir provides a ton of insight into the character of Eleanor of Aquitaine, the wife of Henry II, and mother of future English Kings Richard I and John. A fascinating portrait of a fascinating woman....more
Solid and interesting fare. Multiculturism, family relationships, and small-town politics in a small village somewhere in the UK drive this novel. AftSolid and interesting fare. Multiculturism, family relationships, and small-town politics in a small village somewhere in the UK drive this novel. After one settles in with the characters in the novel the reader can sort of see the train-wreck looming on the horizon. I enjoyed the novel. Three stars for me....more
First, what an intriguing little tale. I think I really need to read it again and see if I can mine some more nuggets out of it before I reach a finalFirst, what an intriguing little tale. I think I really need to read it again and see if I can mine some more nuggets out of it before I reach a final opinion regarding my reading experience. I get the first layer of the story, i.e., Ishiguro addressing the impacts of nationalism and what it means to be British, and the touchstone to the Arthurian legend; and I understand, I think, the observations regarding the role of perceptions, emotions, and memory over the course of a long marriage (there's probably a "Buried Giant" in every relationship). I still want to explore the role and meaning of the narrator ("the boatman") and that of Axl and Beatrice's son--there's more going on there too. Simply put, at some level every character in this novel has a role to play in defining what this novel means. Beautifully written enigmatic novel. Tentatively 3.5-4.0 stars, but that may be revisited upon rereading....more
A frightening and macabre short novel. A fast read, and damned hard to put down once started. I don't want to say too much and give away plot elementsA frightening and macabre short novel. A fast read, and damned hard to put down once started. I don't want to say too much and give away plot elements, but highly recommend reading this slim novel. While I have yet to read Mitchell's The Boneclocks, my understanding is that this novel is a spin-off, if you will, from the much larger The Boneclocks.
9/20/2021--Just a note to reiterate, if you wish to totally experience all that Slade House offers, then you simply must first read Mitchell's superb novel, The Bone Clocks. Slade House will make ever so much more sense. ...more
From the get-go, this was pretty much a book that I just couldn't put down. Kind of like a vortex, it kept drawing me in deeper and deeper. Mitchell hFrom the get-go, this was pretty much a book that I just couldn't put down. Kind of like a vortex, it kept drawing me in deeper and deeper. Mitchell has constructed a sequential chronology for The Bone Clocks based upon the characters in the novel, and each of characters provides the reader with more of the backstory and depth and scope of the plot, and it is a doozy! The Bone Clocks, one quickly discovers, is a horror story, and it builds imaginatively and relentlessly to its ultimate climax and largely very satisfying finish.
The other thing that I am discovering about Mitchell's craft is his interweaving of characters from his other novels into each of his books. In essence, his oeuvre becomes one loosely connected narrative. I will say that reading The Bone Clocks makes his short novel Slade House make a whole lot more sense now, and I look forward to rereading it soon.
Solid 4.0 stars for me.
Update, 8/25/2024: Just as good the second time around! And after recently reading Cloud Atlas, there are all kind of "Easter egg" to be found that connect both novels. Mitchell is an innovative practitioner of his craft....more
I enjoyed this fictionalized deep-dive into the lives of Klytemnestra and Helen, the two daughters of Tyndareus and Leda of Sparta. If you've read TheI enjoyed this fictionalized deep-dive into the lives of Klytemnestra and Helen, the two daughters of Tyndareus and Leda of Sparta. If you've read The Iliad, Aeschylus's The Oresteia, or Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis you'll be pretty familiar with the primary elements of the family dynamic illustrated by Claire Heywood in this novel. Personally, I think Colm Toibin, in his relatively recent novel, House of Names, develops a perhaps darker perspective of Klytemnestra's psychology and the depths of her anger directed at Agamemnon. If you're interested in Greek mythology, the Trojan War, and the House of Atreus, I believe that you'll enjoy Heywood's novel....more
This is a book to reread and puzzle over. I think there are several "forking paths" that one can take in interpreting this slim little novel. Truly a This is a book to reread and puzzle over. I think there are several "forking paths" that one can take in interpreting this slim little novel. Truly a superb piece of writing by Susannah Clarke, and that does not surprise me in the slightest. I have to believe that there is a lot of her in this book too, with all that she has gone through over the past decade or so. This novel truly reminded me of some of the fictions of Jorge Luis Borges, and that's mighty fine praise from my perspective. I think that this book will be sought out, read, and thought about for generations to come. Upon a reread, this book may creep up in my rating too. We'll see....more
The Bell (1958) was my first entry into the fiction of Iris Murdoch, and I do look forward to exploring more of her novels (she was prolific!). This wThe Bell (1958) was my first entry into the fiction of Iris Murdoch, and I do look forward to exploring more of her novels (she was prolific!). This was an interesting book to slowly become immersed in, as it starts a little bland, intentionally I believe. Having said that though, the writing was superb. The novel's premise is that a group of fairly flawed individuals come together and form a commune that is rather loosely tied to a convent of Anglican nuns out in the English countryside. While a portion of the plot involves a literal bell, much of it revolves around relationships among the lay community, and experiences with devotion and faith, sexuality, and love. There are some plot twists that are entirely unexpected and quite shocking. I have nine of her novels now, and I am going to read them in the order in which Iris Murdoch wrote them, and I surmise it will be an interesting ride. While this was my first Murdoch novel, I am guessing that she tends to look at the human experience through a bit of a different lens than perhaps other more traditional authors. This was three-and-a-half stars for me....more
Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.)
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