"Sexy Origins and Intimate Things: The Rites and rituals of straights, gays, bi's, drags, trans, virgins, and others" by Charles Panati

 

Publisher:  Penguin Books

Copyright: 1998

ISBN: 0140271449

I was introduced to the existence of the this book by Dr. Lindsay Doe the host of the YouTube channel "Sexplanations" which has been a fantastic resources for sexually curious people for many years.

At first I wasn't really too sure what the books would be about, but found it to be a fascinating review of how words came to sexually charged, and their real origins, various rituals that are common (and some that are not so common) throughout the world's different cultures both today and historically. He also looks at courtship, history of pin-ups and how that morphed into what we commonly term pornography today, prostitution, and so much more.

This books was a real eyeopener, and I think it should be on most peoples read me list especially in today's world where many people have little or no understanding of how the world really works when dealing with people who don't fit into their microscopically narrow viewpoints.

Mr. Panati is a former physicist and was science editor for Newsweek for six years. He is the author of a number of other books, and I will be reviewing a couple more of these in the future.

Highly recommended

"The annual migration of clouds" by Premee Mohamed

 

Publisher: ECW Press

Copyright: 2021

ISBN: 9781770415935

This book was recommended to me by a member of a group that I frequent and I was interested in reading it because I happen to work at the University of Alberta in the building where the story takes place. In this case of Biological Sciences Building.

The Biological Sciences Building does have a bit of a reputation on campus as being very strange, however that doesn't really come into the story at all.

I found this to be an interesting story, however it was slightly difficult to read in that it is written in first person and there wasn't a whole lot of background / world building information supplied to the reader. It is mentioned that there is no power, and people are cooking over open fires, etc. but that's about it.

The story takes place in a post apocalyptic time in the city of Edmonton and the survivors, or at least one group of them live on the university campus (or what's left of it). The population of the Earth has been decimated, and climate change has made a great deal of the surface of the Earth uninhabitable, or at least that's the way I understand it. In addition there is some disease known as CAD, however what it is etc. is not really explained, but it is referred to as a fungal of infection of some kind, and it eventually kills its host.

The protagonist Reid, is a young girl in her teens who has been given the chance to leave campus/Edmonton for what seems to be a domed city where the hardships in the regular world have been eradicated, or less that's what is believed by most. But is it real, how will her mother survive, etc. are all questions she must ask herself and hopefully find answers for.

While this was an interesting book to read, it isn't the type of book I normally read. Because of this I will end my review of it here.

"Good Arguments" by Bo Seo

 

Publisher: Penguin Press

Copyright: 2022

ISBN: 9780593299517

This was a very interesting book, as well as a look into the life of a professional debater. Which is not something I had ever read about before, making it doubly interesting as it explained the debate procedure in great detail, and makes me wish that I had been exposed this when I was in junior high school and high school etc. as it sounds like something I would've really liked doing.

The story unfolds and traces the authors introduction to professional debating and how he progressed through the various levels until he got through University, by which time he had won many awards.

After we explore this the tone of the book changed to one where the author examines debating in today's society and how it could benefit people in general as well as corporations and so on. It was quite interesting to read about the number of public figures who started out or participated in debating which in most cases helped them achieve the goals they had set for themselves. Figures such as Barack Obama, Malcolm X, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and many more.

Bo Seo then goes on to talk briefly about the IBM computer based debating machine and how it fared against live opponents.

I would highly recommend it to anybody who has any aspirations for public office, those dealing with clients, as well as university students etc.

"The Map of Chaos" by Felix J. Palma

 

Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2016
ISBN: 9781451688184

This novel is like the first two in the series is also very detailed, and meticulously plotted. In combination with the first two this series this is one that should be in any science fiction or fantasy readers collection. There are even more plot twists than before, to once again make it a good combination of mystery and science fiction.

The third book in the series wraps things up quite nicely and brings everything to a good conclusion and in it the reader meets the Invisible Man, Charles Babbage, Alice Little, and a few more rather famous people.

It is true these novels are quite long, and as mentioned above the plotting is very detailed, so you will have to pay attention to what's going on in order to grasp what Mr. Palma is telling you about, but it is well worth the read.

Very highly recommended.

"Putting the Fact in Fantasy: Expert Advice to Bring Authenticity to your Fantasy Writing" Edited by Dan Koboldt

 

Publisher: Writers' Digest Books

Copyright: 2022

ISBN: 9780593331996

"Putting the Fact in Fantasy" is a companion volume to Dan Koboldt's previous book "Putting the Science and Fiction", which I reviewed back on December 6, 2021.

Like its predecessor this book is chock-full of valuable information for any writer, but not necessarily those writing fantasy as it also deals with real world issues that might have bearing in his fantasy story but also do in a contemporary one.

The book contains 51 individual essays by authors, who are also experts in their field. These individual essays are divine into six broad categories: history as inspiration, languages and culture, world building, weapons and warfare, horses, and going on an adventure.

The topics within a given category are all related (as you would expect). In the history one for example we deal with the Spanish Inquisition, the American old west, female professions in mediaeval Europe, Feudal Nobility, African and Asian cultures and exchange, religious fundamentalism, and real-world magic to name but a few.

While a writer will not use all these things in a particular story the details within these short essays should for the most part be extremely helpful for anyone who is a writer, and especially those who are looking to get into writing. 

All of these topics could for the most part fall under the auspecies of world building, but this is something that is crucial to any well crafted story.

Highly recommended, especially for new writers and those who need inspiration.

"The Map of the Sky" by Felix J. Palma

 

Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2012
ISBN: 9781451660319

This novel is like the first in the series very detailed, and meticulously plotted, with a very interesting premise that definitely makes it worth adding onto any science fiction or fantasy readers list. There are even more plot twists than before, to once again make it a good combination of mystery and science fiction.

The second book is "Map of the Sky" and a number of the same characters reappear (sometimes quite literally in this one, but we also journey to Antarctica, and meet some new characters such as Arthur Conan Doyle and a few others, however they are rather busy combatting an invasion of planet Earth.

This novel is long, but the reader will quickly lose themselves in the story so that time will pass quite quickly. Mr. Palma does force you to pay attention to what's going on in order to grasp what he is telling you about, but it is well worth the read.

Very highly recommended.

"The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity" by Carlo M. Cipolla (1922-2000)

 

Publisher: Doubleday

Copyright: 2011

ISBN: 9780385546478 (hardcover)

Professor Cipolla takes an economically based look at human behaviour and in particular at human stupidity. He provides the reader with an important book that allows them to detect neutralize the effect of stupidity 

He does this in both a hilarious and serious manner that will leave you better equipped confront political leaders, unreasonable colleagues, and in-laws.

This was a very interesting book to read that does manage to render some humans odd behaviour and make it more understandable.

Well worth the read, both for the humourous side as well as the insight.

"The Map of Time" by Felix J. Palma

Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 9781439167397 (Time)

This novel is a very detailed, and meticulously plotted time travel story, with a very interesting premise that definitely makes it worth adding onto any science fiction or fantasy readers list. There are lots of plot twists, some very interesting red herrings both of which make this a good combination of mystery and science fiction.

The first book in the series is "Map of Time" and in this book you will meet a number of different historical characters such as H. G. Wells, Bram Stoker, Jack "the Ripper", Marie Kelly and number of others. Some of these people play large roles, while others are minor but all of them do their job in advancing the plot very well.

This novel is long when compared to most on the market today, however the story is so well written that you don't really notice it. Mind you you will have to pay attention to what Mr. Palma is saying to grasp the concept, but that shouldn't be too hard a thing to do when the story is as well written as this one.

Very highly recommended.