I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I started reading Moby Dick. Of course everyone is familiar with Ahab and the Pequod and “Call me Ishmael,” possibly the most famous opening line in American literature. I knew that Starbuck was more than a source for satisfying my frappuccino craving and, thanks to Dana Scully’s ill-fated pomeranian, I knew there was a character called Queequeg, but that was about it. Opening to page 1 of this 135-chapter behemoth, I was pretty much a blank slate. My […]
This man called Ove seems vaguely familiar
Minor spoilers ahead. I suspect everyone has at least one curmudgeon in their life–that grump, that sourpuss, that malcontent who seemed to emerge from the womb yelling, “Turn that damn music down!” In certain hipster circles, they may refer to it as Early Onset Grumpiness. Now, I’m not trying to throw shade at any particular person in my life, but when I asked my husband whether he’d consider driving a Saab if they still made them, I got a ten minute lecture about how Saabs […]
Come for the Science; Stay for the End Notes
Sam Kean is my favorite science writer, for a few reasons. For one thing, he is a complete mad man about research. In chapter 2 of The Disappearing Spoon, Kean records the longest word in the English language. This champion of all English verbiage turns out to be a word that describes a protein on the first virus ever discovered and measures 1185 letters. (I’m not going to record it here because proofing that shit would take up the rest of my day.) What impresses […]
Murder, British History, and Unreliable Narrators
I’m a pretty big fan of historical fiction, and I love a good mystery, so when I get my hands on a historical mystery, well watch out. And this one also employs one of my favorite techniques, the unreliable narrator. Wait, what’s that you say, multiple unreliable narrators? Stop it, you’re killing me! The main action of An Instance of the Fingerpost takes place in 1660s Oxford, after the Restoration of Charles II to the throne. I say “main action,” because the story is told […]
More fun than the DaVinci Code and at least as plausible
In our house, we tend to purchase hard copies of most of the books we read, as opposed to, say, going to the library or downloading digital versions. So I wish I could say I bought Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore in a quaint neighborhood bookstore, nestled between an independent coffee house and and an artisanal cheese shop. The truth is, though, that I bought it online during a “half price on used hardcovers” promotion. Then again, since this tale merges a world steeped in tradition […]
Stupid things people do, explained by a smart guy
First published: 2008 Revised and Expanded: 2010 Recommended for: People whose bosses have just told them they need to give a presentation on Behavioral Economics to some senior marketing leaders Stars: 4. I debated giving it 3 because you can get the same info from TED talks, but walking into my presentation with a hardcover book with pages tagged earned me some points for initiative, so I’m sharing the love. Ok so I didn’t pick this book up by choice, exactly. I work in marketing communications, and the […]
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