Reading Frank McCourt

Way too long ago, I heard a great interview with Frank McCourt which made me want to read Teacher Man. He told how he noticed that the most creative writing he was getting out of his students were their excuses. So he assigned them to write excuses for great historical figures. I guess I’m not […]

Re: In the Company of Crows and Ravens

If you’re interested in corvids or the intelligence in birds, you’ll enjoy In the Company of Crows and Ravens, by John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell. You can hear them discuss the book and more stories in a pair of interviews on KUOW. In the first one, Tony Angell does some amazing crow calls, and […]

Re: Sweetness and Light

There’s so many books about bees, and especially honeybees, you might think people are trying write a book for every bee in a hive. One expression of our fascination is Sweetness and Light, by Hattie Ellis, an overview of the history of human relations with honeybees, focusing on some real characters who spent their lives […]

Re: The Sociopath Next Door

We are often told in writing that no one sees themselves as the villain. You should set your antagonist at cross-purposes with the protoganist to create conflict. Each sees themselves as good people, but they cannot both win. According to The Sociopath Next Door, by Martha Stout, there are people who just don’t think the […]

Re: The Universe in a Single Atom

Much has been made of the Dalai Lama’s stance that if science can disprove any tenets of Buddhism, then they would accept it, since Buddhism is an experiential and experimental religion. The Universe in a Single Atom, by the Dalai Lama, accepts modern physics and cosmology, hopes the combination of monks and scientists will expand […]

Re: Learning the World

Learning the World, by Ken MacLeod, seems like an appropriate place to start a blog, since the book opens with an entry of the biolog of Atomic Discourse Gale, as she tells how she climbs to the summit of her world and meets Constantine the Oldest Man. This book is such fun! I was totally […]