The New Northern Rambler

2023-11-13

"The Anatomy of Genres: How Story Forms Explain the Way the World Works" by John Truby

Publisher: Picador Farrar, Straus and Giroux

ISBN: 9780374539221

I picked this book up to give me some assistance when I was writing a seminar on oddly enough writing - go figure. He breaks writing down into fourteen distinct genres: Horror, Action, Myth, Memoir, Coming-of–Age, Science Fiction, Crime, Comedy, Western, Gangster, Fantasy, Thriller, Detective, and Love. The book itself is quite well written, and easy to follow, but unfortunately while it gave me a fair amount of good information it wasn't wholly applicable to my project as Mr. Truby's examples are drawn primarily from movies, and not from books.

This is understandable as he does coach and teach people writing, but does focus on the Hollywood end of things. He is the director of Truby's Writers Studio and "has an ongoing program where he works with students who are actively creating shows, movies, and novel series. He regularly applies his genre techniques in story consulting work with major studios including…"

Now while a good number of the techniques are the same, the lack of examples drawn from the written word I found to be a particular disadvantage. Reader's of this column (both of you) will see my point when you take into account my lack of enthusiasm for pretty much anything Hollywood puts out, as they seem to routinely ruin anything that is adapted from a book.

In any case if you are writer have a look at this book you may find fits your niche very well.

2023-10-30

Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company

ISBN: 9780393082104

This book is a collection of Dr. Tyson's various articles, columns, commentaries, op-eds, some very pertinent tweets all of which give an interesting and very eyes-wide-open look at the American space program. He does this with his signature style which I believe is what makes him one of the most popular science presenters and public science figures today. Dr. Tyson is an excellent writer that doesn't belabour a topic and is able to get his point across clearly.

The thirty-six essays cover a wide ranging from such things as killer asteroids, the next fifty years in space, comments on extraterrestrial life, the physics of propulsion, the politics of space travel, how to prove you have been abducted by aliens, the Hubble Space Telescope, and much more.

A great read, highly recommended.

2023-10-16

"Once Upon Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller" by Oliver Darkshire

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

ISBN: 9781324092070

This was extremely interesting book to read that gives the reader a rare perspective into the workings of antiquarian bookstore, in this case Sotheran's in London which was established in 1761.

I've always been fascinated with books, and I can blame my parents for this as my mother especially was one of the people who encouraged my reading. Not sure how this exactly it morphed into my becoming a book collector myself, but it did and after reading this book one of the first things I want to do is go visit Sotheran's in London and spend a few days looking through their collection. I only really envision two possible problems with this first it's in London which is in a different country, and second I have to take a rather large suitcase (or more likely a large trunk) with me because I'm very sure that I would be bringing a vast number of books home. Not that I need any more books at home but I would bring them back. For those who have read this book I am definitely a Smaug (a general collector of books), propose to a Dracula who has very specific interests.

However, back to the book review. As I stated above I found this book extremely interesting to read, and some of the adventures that Mr. Darkshire has been through while employed at Sotheran's make his profession all the more interesting.

This is definitely a book worth reading, especially for any one interested in books, and especially antiquarian bibliophiles.

A great read, highly recommended.

2023-10-02

"Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better" by Wendy Suzuki, PhD

Publisher: Dey St.

ISBN: 9780062366788

Dr. Suzuki is a neurologist based in New York who has made great strides in understanding the way exercise, meditation, lifestyle changes, etc. can influence and essentially change the way your brain works. I first came across her while watching some videos on YouTube, and I have seen a number of her talks there.

As the title states this book is a personal program that she undertook to change her life, and as far as I can tell from the book it has succeeded tremendously. It's been 18 years since his book was released so I can only assume that everything is still working good for her as the information she gives in the book is something that should work for everyone.

She takes us on a journey that started when she was in University and has continued throughout her life. It started when she fell in love with the study of the brain, and as far as I can tell from this book it has never waned at all. All of the information she gives is related back to how it is affecting the brain, and she sites numerous articles to back up her conclusions and show that the research is very valid. Some of the topics covered are: how memories are formed, how exercise really affects the brain, a look at how extra size can make you smarter, stress responses, your brains reward system, insight and divergent thinking, and meditation.

There's an excellent book that gives a lot of very good information that should assist virtually everybody who reads it.

Highly recommended.

2023-09-18

Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life by Jason Hanson

Publisher: Perigee Books

ISBN: 9780399175145

This was a rather interesting books to read, and not one I would normally pick up however I was ding some research for a story and needed some material for one of my characters who is a reluctant spy. The book itself definitely has a lot of practical information, but it is geared towards an American audience, as a number of the tips and suggestions would be illegal up here in Canada.

The author Jason Hanson is an ex-CIA officer and has assuredly seen and been involved in some rather disturbing incidents, some of which he relates in this book. He goes into a lot of detail about topics of survival intelligence such as being adaptable, being self-reliant, not being a hero, how movement can save your life, your perception of a situation, establishing what is normal so you will know when something is wrong, and being aware of situations). This last topic he devotes entire chapter to as it is important.

He then talks about making an escape and evasion kit, how to escape from various situations, criminal proofing your home, and travelling safely. Other topics include counter surveillance, social engineering, detecting people who are lying to you, disappearing, driving, and defending yourself.

As mentioned some of the information he gives would only be applicable in the United States such as going around armed, carrying concealed weapons, etc. So depending on where you live some of this information may not of any use to you. On the other hand the information that is not weapons based would be valuable to virtually anybody.

He makes a number of references to his website, however it doesn't seem to be too up-to-date as there are a number of broken links.

All in all a very interesting book.

2023-09-04

"A Brief History of Black Holes and why Nearly Everything You Know About Them is Wrong" by Becky Smethurst

Publisher: McMillan

ISBN: 9781529086706

This book is an excellent overview of the history and current state of knowledge of Astronomy, Astrophysics, and black holes in particular. It is well written, very informative, and should appeal to many readers.

Dr. Smethurst takes the reader on a historical as well as contemporary look at how black holes were discovered, and the people who did the discovering. She also takes the reader on an astrophysical journey that explains numerous other concepts that are barely touched on in a lot of other books.

Her first book "Space at the Speed of Light: The History of 14 Billion Years for People Short on Time" I reviewed back in November 2021, and this book is a great companion that will hopefully lead numerous students towards careers in astronomy and astrophysics.

Highly recommended, a great addition to any library.

2023-08-28

"The Hitchhikers Guide the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

Publisher: Pan Books

ISBN: 0330258648

It started off as a BBC Radio program and has since grown into a phenomena that millions have heard about and read.

The story for those who haven't read it revolves around Arthur Dent who woke up one morning to find his house was going to be demolished, this was generally speaking the least of his worries, as a few minutes after it happened the Earth ceased to exist as it was in the way of a hyperspatial bypass.

Dent along with a friend by the name of Ford Prefect hitch a ride off Earth just in time and have a number of rather amazing adventures as they do their utmost to survive.

This book has been described by some as the blueprint for humorous science fiction, and I believe this designation is well deserved.

So grab your towel, get yourself a nice hot cup of tea, and sit back and relax.

But Don't Panic!

2023-08-21

"Minimalism: live a meaningful life" by Joshua Fields Melbourne and Ryan Nicodemus

Publisher: Asymmetrical Press

ISBN: 9780615648224

I stumbled across the concept of minimalism while on YouTube and it seemed like an interesting concept and one that has worked for many people. With this in mind I picked up the book minimalism by Joshua Fields Melbourne and Ryan Nicodemus to see what it was all about.

While this book does address the concept of minimalism to a point it is not the main focus of the book at least as far as I can tell. It is more of an explanation and an exploration of how these two men became minimalists. Both were were employed in the corporate world and earning six-figure incomes but we're extremely unhappy with their lives, and this book details how they made changes to their life. Unfortunately it doesn't really have a whole lot to do with minimalism for somebody who is trying to investigate the concept. They do refer to their website a fair bit minimalists.com and I think this is where you should go to find more in-depth information.

It was however a very interesting book to read, and I would recommend it to anybody who is searching for a change in their life, or possibly their career etc.