Finished December 23
"told" the art of story by Simon Aboud
This interesting analysis of storytelling breaks storytelling into twenty principles, discusses those and then puts a selection of the principles together to tell a story. The story examples are good at showing the principles as they are laid out and make you think about the components of a story and what role each of those components plays.
A very interesting book.
About Me
- Shonna Froebel
- Manager of Adult Information Services at Barrie Public Library.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Different one for this author
Finished December 20
13 1/2 by Nevada Barr
This is the first novel I've read by her that wasn't part of her Anna Pigeon series, and while that series has lots of violence, this one was darker than those.
The novel follows three characters for the most part. One is a boy (who becomes a man) who was convicted, at the age of eleven, of killing his father, mother and younger sister. The second is his older brother, who was injured in the attack. The third is a woman who ran away from home at the age of fifteen, discouraged by her future prospects and the abusive life she'd led to that point. As these three people come together in post-Katrina New Orleans, we see very human struggles and the issues of trust come into the story.
This was a very intense novel and I found it both hard to read and hard to put down.
13 1/2 by Nevada Barr
This is the first novel I've read by her that wasn't part of her Anna Pigeon series, and while that series has lots of violence, this one was darker than those.
The novel follows three characters for the most part. One is a boy (who becomes a man) who was convicted, at the age of eleven, of killing his father, mother and younger sister. The second is his older brother, who was injured in the attack. The third is a woman who ran away from home at the age of fifteen, discouraged by her future prospects and the abusive life she'd led to that point. As these three people come together in post-Katrina New Orleans, we see very human struggles and the issues of trust come into the story.
This was a very intense novel and I found it both hard to read and hard to put down.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Intellectual Mystery
Finished December 14
The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez
The narrator of this mystery is a young mathematician from Argentina who has come to study at Oxford. Shortly after his arrival he is one of the two people to discover his elderly landlady dead. There is an odd clue that was left in a note to another mathematician, who was a friend, with a cryptic symbol and the words 'the first in the series'.
As he and the older mathematics professor, Seldom, try to work out the series before it takes place, the young student also tries to look at other aspects of the case.
A knowledge of mathematics is not necessary to appreciate the nuances of this mystery, as we slowly work with the student toward the solution.
The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez
The narrator of this mystery is a young mathematician from Argentina who has come to study at Oxford. Shortly after his arrival he is one of the two people to discover his elderly landlady dead. There is an odd clue that was left in a note to another mathematician, who was a friend, with a cryptic symbol and the words 'the first in the series'.
As he and the older mathematics professor, Seldom, try to work out the series before it takes place, the young student also tries to look at other aspects of the case.
A knowledge of mathematics is not necessary to appreciate the nuances of this mystery, as we slowly work with the student toward the solution.
Feel-good audiobook
Finished December 14
Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern, read by Caroline Lennon
Finished this audiobook on the way home from work. It's a light romantic comedy of a book, leaving you with a happy aftertaste.
Joyce Conway of Dublin has had an accident leaving her in the hospital for a few days, and now she finds she has memories that seem to be from someone else. She also has knowledge and skills she never had before. She puzzles over these strange occurrences and begins to get back to her changed life. She moves in with her elderly father temporarily, and looks to her friends for help in detecting the cause for the changes in her life.
Justin Hitchcock is still restless and unhappy from the changes in his life. He has moved to London from the U.S. to be closer to his daughter at ballet school, and still hasn't come to terms with his divorce. He is doing a series of lectures at Trinity College in Dublin, traveling back and forth from London. Justin's younger brother Al and his wife Doris are visiting and they and his daughter help him figure out his recent obsession with a woman he met briefly in London, and the feelings he has around his first blood donation.
This is a fun and lively book, plotted around a very interesting premise. I enjoyed it.
Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern, read by Caroline Lennon
Finished this audiobook on the way home from work. It's a light romantic comedy of a book, leaving you with a happy aftertaste.
Joyce Conway of Dublin has had an accident leaving her in the hospital for a few days, and now she finds she has memories that seem to be from someone else. She also has knowledge and skills she never had before. She puzzles over these strange occurrences and begins to get back to her changed life. She moves in with her elderly father temporarily, and looks to her friends for help in detecting the cause for the changes in her life.
Justin Hitchcock is still restless and unhappy from the changes in his life. He has moved to London from the U.S. to be closer to his daughter at ballet school, and still hasn't come to terms with his divorce. He is doing a series of lectures at Trinity College in Dublin, traveling back and forth from London. Justin's younger brother Al and his wife Doris are visiting and they and his daughter help him figure out his recent obsession with a woman he met briefly in London, and the feelings he has around his first blood donation.
This is a fun and lively book, plotted around a very interesting premise. I enjoyed it.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Quirky Book
Finished December 14
How to Avoid Huge Ships and Other Implausibly Titled Books
This quirky little book is a collection of odd book titles, all from the Diagram Prize, the annual contest to determine the oddest book title of the year. Celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the prize, the Bookseller magazine, who established the prize, decided to bring the titles together to celebrate. The book contains fifty of the best winners and runners-up.
I've followed this wonderful prize for a few years now, and am always amused by several titles in each year's short list. I was immediately grabbed when I saw this title on our new book cart and was the first one here to take it home to look at.
The book gives a history of the prize and its development first, and follows with colour images of the books.
How to Avoid Huge Ships and Other Implausibly Titled Books
This quirky little book is a collection of odd book titles, all from the Diagram Prize, the annual contest to determine the oddest book title of the year. Celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the prize, the Bookseller magazine, who established the prize, decided to bring the titles together to celebrate. The book contains fifty of the best winners and runners-up.
I've followed this wonderful prize for a few years now, and am always amused by several titles in each year's short list. I was immediately grabbed when I saw this title on our new book cart and was the first one here to take it home to look at.
The book gives a history of the prize and its development first, and follows with colour images of the books.
Faith
Finished December 14
God Is by David Adams Richards
This book examines faith, the ideas of good and evil, fate (although it doesn't call it that), and the forces that work on our lives. Using instances from his own life and experiences, the author takes on the idea of God's existence and those who argue against it.
I should say that my own religious background is Protestant, and although I was baptised as a child, I am not a regular churchgoer. But Richards addressed the issues that I have had with religion by talking about the sometimes disconnect between religious actions and faith. A lot of what he discusses here is stuff that I have thought but not been able to put into words.
This is a very interesting book, and certainly helped me to think about the issues he discusses in new ways. I recommend it.
God Is by David Adams Richards
This book examines faith, the ideas of good and evil, fate (although it doesn't call it that), and the forces that work on our lives. Using instances from his own life and experiences, the author takes on the idea of God's existence and those who argue against it.
I should say that my own religious background is Protestant, and although I was baptised as a child, I am not a regular churchgoer. But Richards addressed the issues that I have had with religion by talking about the sometimes disconnect between religious actions and faith. A lot of what he discusses here is stuff that I have thought but not been able to put into words.
This is a very interesting book, and certainly helped me to think about the issues he discusses in new ways. I recommend it.
Architecture
Finished December 13
50 Architects You Should Know
This is a good overview of the leading architects through history, arranged in historical order. It gives brief information about the architect themselves as well as the major buildings that they designed.
The pictures included are good quality and help to show the architect's work, but could have used more complete captions. I found that I sometimes had trouble orienting myself, especially when there was more than one picture of a building.
I would have liked to see more pictures, at least of all the buildings discussed for each architect. I found that when a building was discussed, yet no pictures included, I would have to go elsewhere to find out what the building looked like.
I also found the timelines not as useful as they could be, partly due to lack of explanation. The timelines ran across the top of every architect page, and included various historical events and lifetimes of artists, architect and designers. Sometimes I could see relationships between events and the architect whose page they were and sometimes not. Sometimes I could see influences cited to the artists and architects whose timelines appeared on an architect's page, sometimes not. But no pages included the life timeline for the given architect as part of this information. Separate information was given in a sidebar, but a life timeline would have made sense.
A good book to start with, but you will definitely want to use other sources of information as well.
50 Architects You Should Know
This is a good overview of the leading architects through history, arranged in historical order. It gives brief information about the architect themselves as well as the major buildings that they designed.
The pictures included are good quality and help to show the architect's work, but could have used more complete captions. I found that I sometimes had trouble orienting myself, especially when there was more than one picture of a building.
I would have liked to see more pictures, at least of all the buildings discussed for each architect. I found that when a building was discussed, yet no pictures included, I would have to go elsewhere to find out what the building looked like.
I also found the timelines not as useful as they could be, partly due to lack of explanation. The timelines ran across the top of every architect page, and included various historical events and lifetimes of artists, architect and designers. Sometimes I could see relationships between events and the architect whose page they were and sometimes not. Sometimes I could see influences cited to the artists and architects whose timelines appeared on an architect's page, sometimes not. But no pages included the life timeline for the given architect as part of this information. Separate information was given in a sidebar, but a life timeline would have made sense.
A good book to start with, but you will definitely want to use other sources of information as well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)