Don't Know Much About History...

Heavenly Bodies by Paul Koudounaris

In the late 16th century, a new section of the Roman Catacombs were discovered. The Church recognized the skeletons as those of Early Christian martyrs, and sent them to Catholic churches as saints across Germanic Europe. The relics were then richly adorned with jewels and costumes, and the laity came on long pilgrimages to pray at their shrines. While the tradition fell out of practice by the 19th century, many of these relics are still found in churches across Europe. Koudounaris presents this photographic history with his beautiful, and enthralling images. This book is just way too cool!

189 pages


Kinloch: Missouri's First Black City by John A. Wright

Longtime resident John A. Wright has collected photos and interviews to tell the story of Kinloch, located north of St. Louis. Going from wealth and luxury, white flight, school desegregation, as well as church and community life, the book gives an overview of this city's history. While Kinloch itself is in decline, a population shift has retained much of its heritage in nearby Ferguson.

128 pages




An American Plague by Jim Murphy

I wasn't sure I wanted to read a plague history right now, given.... you know. But this book on the 1793 Philadelphia plague felt distant enough that I didn't mind reading it. Although it is technically juvenile nonfiction, this is definitely a book that can be enjoyed by all ages. Murphy is very good at telling the stories of the main doctors and public officials involved in the crisis, as well as the vital role of the Free African Society. The discussion on the various theories of causes for the (pre-germ theory) plague were telling-placing blame on foreigners is certainly not new. This book is an engaging and informative read. I've also read his book, The Great Fire of Chicago, which is also fantastic!

165 pages


Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

You know, for the most part I really liked this one. You see Laura really start to grow up and participate in the social conventions of the era. The sociable! Lunatic fringes! Name cards! I couldn't imagine having to wear a corset. I made the mistake of googling "corset damage" and the images gave me nightmares. The story is quite pleasant until the end. That minstrel show... Yikes.

307 pages



Don't know much Biology...
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

This book is definitely not to everyone's tastes, but I freakin' loved reading about the history and cultures around fungi, mushrooms, lichens-everything! Did you know fungi were the first to colonize land, forming giant towers as prototaxes? Or that mychorrhizal fungi form vital connections in a forest, swapping nutrients and "feeding" younger and weaker trees? Scientists are testing the chemicals in psilocybin mushrooms for potential treatments for anxiety and depression! And yes, Star Trek collaborated with Paul Stamets, an actual mycologist, to develop Discovery's fictional mycelial network, designed by Lt. Commander... Paul Stamets.

352 pages



Conservation Trails by Teresa Kight/ MO Dept. of Conservation

So many great trails and Conservation Areas to explore in Missouri! While this publication is a bit dated, most of these trails haven't changed much in the past decade or so... It gives me some ideas of places to explore once this whole mess has blown over...

96 pages





A Guide to Missouri's Snakes from the MO Dept. of Conservation

Sneks. Everybody loves snakes, right? No? Only me? ... okay. We have sooo many watersnakes. And unfortunately they get killed for no good reason because folks assume any snake in the water is a cottonmouth. Copperheads are nasty. I remember killing one once with a garden hoe. And baby rat snakes are the cutest thing ever!

59 pages





The Lost Words by Robert MacFarlane

This oversize book focuses on words disappearing from children's lives, pairing poems with pages and pages of colorful paintings. Each poem focuses on a word-bramble, wren, acorn-that may or may not enter children's vocabularies with our increasingly indoor culture.Beautiful poetry. Gorgeous artwork.

128 pages





Don't know much about geography...

Yellowstone: A Journey Through America's Wild Heart by David Quammen

Quammen combines tales of his adventures in America's first national park with breathtaking images of wildlife and the landscape. The nature photography is phenomenal! I enjoyed reading about the history of the park and challenges it faces today. I've never been able to visit, but I definitely want to take a road trip now...

222 pages

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

I've been recommended this book many times. Then DBRL chose it for the One Read... and I caved. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it! It follows the story of Count Alexander Rostov, who is sentenced to house arrest by the Bolsheviks in the Metropol. Across from the Bolshoi, the Metropol is a grand hotel (I've been there, it's huge) yet I'm sure it would feel tiny after 40-ish years. I enjoyed how the Count watched the passage of early Soviet history. The author definitely did his research, which I appreciated. The hype around this novel is not over exaggerated!

462 pages

 
Don't know what a slide rule is for...
Me neither, dude. I had to look it up. Makes me real grateful for calculators.

This song is now stuck in your head!
That, or you're trying to look up the reference.
You're welcome.

What a wonderful world this would be.

Sever (The Chemical Garden, #3)

Sever by Lauren DeStefano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Again, this is unexpected, dark, and twisted. I'm still a bit surprised about the events that occurred with several characters, and surprise is usually good in terms of holding my attention, even if it's bad in terms of storyline.

The writing is still gorgeous, with good imagery and vivid characters, but some things that occurred felt either very abrupt, out of character, and/or out of the blue. I think this suffered some issues in the world building department, which left me feeling a bit unsatisfied by the finale. I mean, I still liked the book and loved the series overall, but I'm not sure how to feel about this one. I raced right through it, because there's tons of drama and intrigue, but I'm not sure if I enjoyed the racing. I think some of the ideas presented in this book needed more room to breathe.

But overall, it was an interesting read, and I'd recommend the series to most dystopian addicts.

Book 237 read in 2018

Pages: 371

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever by Lauren DeStefano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is such a twisty, bizarre story, a bit . . . psychotropic.Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed every second of it, even if there were some stretches that felt a bit slow (helpful hint: they aren't that slow when you listen to the audiobook at 3 speed, but honestly, I was never bored with this).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this isn't standard, which is probably why it held my attention so well. I would have liked a bit more to happen in book 2, but I'm also not unhappy with the weird journey we took. It was definitely unexpected, which is at the very least, refreshing.

Book 236 read in 2018

Pages: 341

Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1) by Lauren DeStefano

Wither by Lauren DeStefano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I bought this book when it first came out, and then for some reason, I waited 7 years to get around to reading it. That's how stupid I am, because once I picked this up, I could not put it down. I read it straight through and tuned out the whole rest of the world until I finished.

This is a mess, and I loved it. This is a dystopian YA, and while I've read a lot of books in this genre, and there are obviously some similarities in this world to some other dystopian worlds I've read about, I still founds this one to be . . . unexpected.

It's definitely dark, twisty, and occasionally uncomfortable. So, of course, I love that.

Plus, it has a love triangle, which quite frankly is an aspect of YA that I almost always enjoy. Because, come on! A girl needs choices. She can't just fall for the first broody male on the scene. Give me two, or even three options, as far as I'm concerned. Let's stop pretending that the whole world falls in love with the first person they ever kiss, because let's face it. That's the exception, not the rule.

Book 231 read in 2018

Pages: 358

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The Seeds of Wither by Lauren DeStefano (Novella 1.5)
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a short novella that comes between books 1 and 2. It's not as exciting as I hoped, but I don't regret having read it.

Book 233 read in 2018

Pages: 77