Nature has created some wild things and Atlas Obscura: Wild Life describes them all! From heavy metal vultures called lammergeiers to the Himalayas’ Noble Rhubarbs, these living beings are fascinating to read about. The lammergeier wears “KISS-worthy eye masks”, eats skeletons and loves to dye themselves blood red. The NobelContinue Reading
Hmmm, well there wasn’t much in this book about The Gangs of Zion, other than that they exist. Instead this is a rather pompous autobiography about a black cop in a gang unit in Salt Lake City, Utah in the 1990s. In Utah, being black was unusual and being aContinue Reading
Have you ever wondered how artists, writers or other creative types begin their creative journey? How do they continue from the bare idea to the final product? Most importantly, how do they know they are done? The Work of Art lets forty-three creatives speak in their own words about theirContinue Reading
Everything you want to know about the new AI chatbots and the creators behind them are detailed in Supremacy. The book begins with the biographies of OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, and DeepMind CEO, Demis Hassabis. Both begin with altruistic views of saving, or at least, helping, mankind. But the massiveContinue Reading
Sometimes you want to read a light humorous cozy mystery or romance. Other times, you want to read a book that makes you think deeply and ponder the future. Nexus fills the second need. This book is intense and thought provoking. We have all heard the arguments both pro andContinue Reading
Capital & Ideology is a graphic novel adaption of the famous non-fiction book of the same name. This version uses a fictional family across centuries to teach basic economics history and theories. It works well for high schoolers and up. However, younger children will be quickly bored by all theContinue Reading
Are you too scared to watch iconic horror movies? Do you wish you knew why Rosemary’s Baby and Psycho are so famous? But not enough for you to actually sit through the movies? If so, Horror for Weenies is for you. The book contains chapters about 25 legendary movies fromContinue Reading
I love the Spy x Family manga. It is inventive and exciting. The anime was good too. Spy x Family: The Official Anime Guide is a very methodical and dry guide to the characters and the production staff that put together the anime series. While I didn’t find much toContinue Reading
Anime + Chibi Art Class is a good beginning art guide for drawing anime characters and their Chibi variations. While the techniques shown begin with drawing ovals, the vocabulary and suggested tools seem more oriented toward older readers. It is best suited for people used to drawing that want toContinue Reading
Story and Structure is a master class in how literature is structured. It is best for the academically minded. It definitely reads like a university textbook. It has a lot of interesting information buried in its over five hundred pages. I can see why it won an award for bestContinue Reading
Draw with Art for Kids Hub Animals is the perfect book to teach kids, and truly beginners of all ages, how to draw. The easy step-by-step approach will make anyone feel great about their art. It may also lead to an artistic approach where all objects are seen as simpleContinue Reading
I so wanted to like Chris Stein’s, the guitarist from Blondie, autobiography, Under a Rock. Unfortunately, from my perspective, it needed both editing down and fleshing out. The author includes a lot of details about his childhood, 30% of the book, that didn’t add much to his story. When heContinue Reading
I have one word for The Ex-Human: boring. The author obviously has several axes to grind. If you are fascinated by science fiction because it shows us a world of wonder and imagination, read some science fiction. If you want to read about academics arguing about the definition of postmodernismContinue Reading
Quick and Easy 400-Calorie Recipes is filled with comfort food recipes reduced in both sodium and calories. Each recipe comes with full nutritional information. Unfortunately, there are no photos included. I also question some of the directions. In More Like Your Mama’s Tuna Casserole, for example, putting cooked egg noodlesContinue Reading
Kawaii Birdies are a Japanese artform that is easy to learn, at least with the help of this book. The author begins with two simple circles. Soon, the reader will find pages of details to add from noses to wing shapes. A full-color pictorial of different types of birds isContinue Reading
I never thought that I would say this but the funniest book I read this month was Death is No Excuse, a book about wills, trusts, and guardianships. It is amazing how fast distributing your assets after death can go horribly, and hilariously, wrong. Each chapter of the book endsContinue Reading