Taking six years to write this isn't surprising: many of the people interviewed to get updates on their stories must have been hard to get to. WeingarTaking six years to write this isn't surprising: many of the people interviewed to get updates on their stories must have been hard to get to. Weingarten accomplished an impressive feat. The stories are classic journalism features: in-depth reporting on the people involved in various events, ranging from personal to international interest. Not is it surprising that the stories chosen disproportionately represent fires and crimes, since daily news reports of events would be the starting source documents. What makes the book amazing is how the author takes These very specific events are traced back for context and followed up for sequelae. The author takes facts set down in black and white to start, then expands the context to a rich continuum of actions and reactions. The initial reporting of an event is noisy with much that will later be contradicted by others, corrected, clarified; crime reports in particular are often wrong. Journalism is like science in that the system deliberately seeks new and better details. Here we have the chance to see people aren't as bad as their worst actions, and aren't as good as their best; we learn enough about these people to give them grace. As long as there is life, there is hope, yes, sure. But in One Day we are shown that even after death there is room for redemption, which makes so much more space for hope.
This is reporting of the finest kind, which is maybe indicated in the two Pulitzers for feature writing that Weingarten has won. Google cannot replace quality newspapers, and I hope that it is forced to repay the billions in advertising they have stolen from the reporters and editors whose work has become their profits. We need independent news produced locally, both to capture events, and to preserve the record, corrections and all.
I do wish there were a table of contents and an index. And footnotes for sources, because I am like that, but those extras aren't necessary. A fabulous book, regardless.
Written for a suburban mom, really, with an assumption that the person with ADHD is someone else in the household. Several good insights and concepts Written for a suburban mom, really, with an assumption that the person with ADHD is someone else in the household. Several good insights and concepts and general rules, but it elides the really hard questions: what if everyone has ADHD? What if everyone has too much stuff? The purge is a necessary step, but how do you make it happen?
Perhaps the third edition is more valuable and specific.
Kind of a mixed bag. I appreciate the step by step instructions with illustrations. I appreciate that the book is spiral bound, and therefore lies flaKind of a mixed bag. I appreciate the step by step instructions with illustrations. I appreciate that the book is spiral bound, and therefore lies flat open. However the blithe "you can do this" enthusiasm is exactly what encourages amateurs who don't know how to pull a nail to attempt something way too hard. And since this is about restoring antiques, rather than just repairing furniture, reupholstering with plywood and foam is maybe not a good suggestion? It ends up being a strange mix of here's how to jerry-rig a steamer and nothing about how to know when a job is too hard, or too detailed, or just requires too much practice to start there and should be left to pros.
I think he's a good starting place, even if he tells me straight off that my project is too hard for me not to screw upI think he's a good starting place, even if he tells me straight off that my project is too hard for me not to screw up...more
When she's talking about her research and giving her chick list of how female autism can look, she is compelling andThis is kind of hard to nail down.
When she's talking about her research and giving her chick list of how female autism can look, she is compelling and funny and you understand why she would be a great speaker and why her Asperkids books are so popular.
And then there are segments on bullying she endured in school and on intimate partner violence and that is just excruciating because it is so visceral.
But it is also hard to read in other ways that aren't important, but just a little grating. Bits that pulled me out of the narrative entirely. At least a couple of times she mentions her IQ, which is pertinent in that one reason females with autism are not evaluated and if evaluated, not diagnosed, that is, they ate overlooked in part because they're smart, often very verbal, and well behaved. So it makes sense to pull from her life to illustrate a concept. Yes. But she brings it up more than once and doesn't give the number. Maybe it seemed like it made more sense to avoid a specific number in favor of a range, which is fine, but she doesn't exactly do that either.
Likewise, in the school section, she talks about her mom being kind of flabbergasted at stuff the child doesn't know or doesn't understand, stuff which seems so obvious to the mother. So yeah, her mother found her odd and without a recognized female phenotype of autism, the mother has no context for why her only child is like this. Again, this is totally central to the point of the book: Cook is alone with her mom for years and she doesn't have friends and her mother doesn't get her, so she throws herself into academics and performing and such for validation. I get it. But more than once she mentions being this performer on command for adults, and how it pissed off other kids the way she was showing off. Every time this comes up she gives a "but it wasn't showing off" because of the adult validation imperative. Multiple times, which I did not count. Until I am just gobsmacked that she doesn't understand that it doesn't matter to the other kids what the motivation is or who asked her to do it: it is still, explicitly, well within the connotation and denotation of "showing off." To be fair, this is one of the traits of autism: not getting it, I mean.
Last one, several times she refers to the things that other people are astounded that people with autism don't just understand. Things which people can't even explain properly because they do just get it, and it's never been explicit anywhere. And autism spectrum or not, that's always a thing that fascinates people. But we all assume other people are like us, so you might not realize until your 50s, to take an example at random, that when people say "I could see it in my mind" they aren't being metaphorical. They literally mean that they have a clear, precise image in the head. If you're aphantasic and have no visual imagination, you might not have realized that other people could really do such a thing. Right with the concept, and she talks about this in different anecdotes. And then, when she's writing about something, she says in effect, people with autism can't do this kind of detailed strategizing and tactical planning. Whoops! I have no idea how common or rare this ability is, but there are definitely people with autism who can do that. I can't, but some people are really good at it, which comes up a lot in gaming.
Okay, I am done with that, it's just some things that vexed me.
More importantly, when differentiating between the boy and girl phenotypes, Cook describes looking at the criteria and working out what the trait in question is for and then looking at things girls do that serve the same purpose even if it isn't "lining up their cars" or "studying traintables" and it's really some brilliant thinking on her part, and it is described so clearly that you get it. Girls without brothers probably don't even have cars. It's elegant.
There's a lot of good stuff about things she did for her kids when they were diagnosed, and stuff she does for others. I think she probably is a fabulous mentor for people with autism, and an amazing example of people studying what they think is important, rather than what researchers think is important from the outside.
Whether it is down to the original text, the translation, the author's age, the interplay between these possibilities, or something else e23 July 2023
Whether it is down to the original text, the translation, the author's age, the interplay between these possibilities, or something else entirely the book was not my cuppa. And I kept bumping up against the author or others involved in the book speaking of people with autism. Actually, it might be down to when this came out, too, or the emphasis on people with high-support needs, too, but that was making me buggy. Sure, there are characteristics, but nothing condition shared by many millions of people is going to be monolithic.
So, not really my style, me not being the target audience, and my recent dive into books by adults who are much lower in support needs, etc. makes this just not the right book for me. For a parent of a child with high-support needs in a community with a dearth of services, providers, or resources I have no difficulty believing it is a godsend.
So apparently I like philosophy just fine if it has jokes. Who knew? Respect for anyone who writes a useful overview of a topic in a way that is inforSo apparently I like philosophy just fine if it has jokes. Who knew? Respect for anyone who writes a useful overview of a topic in a way that is informal and engaging, but rigorous and well-documented. Extensive back matter, which of course I read, and all of the acknowledgements despite knowing I would not be listed. Yeah, I stay through the credits at the end of movies, too.
Explains how a story is constructed in terms that should appeal to, and be understood by, children. Clear, concise, and amusing. The art is lively andExplains how a story is constructed in terms that should appeal to, and be understood by, children. Clear, concise, and amusing. The art is lively and colorful, reflecting and amplifying the creativity encouraged by the text. The original purple endpapers and colorful cover are a great touch.
Sacks is so good at taking a single case and using it to explore a quirk of the nervous system and to demonstrate what the science and philosophizing Sacks is so good at taking a single case and using it to explore a quirk of the nervous system and to demonstrate what the science and philosophizing mean in real life.
This is now a decade old, so many of the thoughts I had while reading were either addressed later in the book or by more recent research and writing. Several specific individuals are case studies for a broader theme of vision and visualization. Sacks' own loss of some vision as described in his journals of the time is included.
Research into minblindness at the time of the book writing and since then has cleared up much of the ambiguity of that time. Likewise, research into the autism spectrum of presentations has broadened our understanding of what is neurotypical, and the broad outlines of what is not neurotypical, but still normal.
It's fascinating stuff and Sacks is a great writer with varied interests that allow unexpected connections. Plus it's always fun to learn what things people assume everyone does vs. what things people think are unique to themselves, and how often those assumptions are wrong. The writing is thoughtful but it also encourages thought in the reader, which is less common than one would like.
Apparently I have been hanging out in the wrong social media neighborhood: #CatsandBooks was new to me. There was no indication, until the last page oApparently I have been hanging out in the wrong social media neighborhood: #CatsandBooks was new to me. There was no indication, until the last page of photo credits and the back xover, that this book was assembled from posted photos. That explains why the pictures lean heavily in the direction of posed shots. Now it makes sense that the shelves are always pristine, and often the books are arranged by xolor.
The really surprising thing is how many of the cat eccentricities in the brief personality lists given resemble cats I have known: the hair ties in the water dish (Calder), going for walks with humans (Beastie), comes when whistled for (Pickle), carrying around toys to play fetch (like half of them), affection for Doritos, (Spooky). It made the book unexpectedly nostalgic.
What the blurb doesn't tell you: excellent graphic design! For those of us who've never studied art history, the form here provides fu12 January, 2023
What the blurb doesn't tell you: excellent graphic design! For those of us who've never studied art history, the form here provides function, in addition to the map of galleries, color also provides a way of orienting, among others.
***
12 April, 2023
I've been taking my time on this since it's my crash course in Art History. My taste doesn't run to fine art so much, but in part that may be because I never had an overview to slip examples into. So for Christmas my son the artist gave me a book that is a beautiful work of graphic design as well as an overview of art styles, movements, techniques. Besides reading it straight thru I've also been using it as a reference. When an artist or work comes up it is easy to google a specific work. Many a rabbit hole has sucked me in. But now I have context.
And as an aside, it was just as well I hadn't had a class back in the day: it was worth some ignorance to get a big picture covering a broad array, which the art history courses of my youth notoriously failed to do.
A great book, beautifully conceived, well executed, and not too precious. Highly recommended for the curious well above the intended audience in years.
Should something similar be attempted to cover architecture, I will pre-order with delight and speed.
A very personal copy now, with little post it flags all over....more
Basically I had to let Irby jump the queue because, of the ludicrously high number of books I have borrowed from my three libraries, this one has the Basically I had to let Irby jump the queue because, of the ludicrously high number of books I have borrowed from my three libraries, this one has the most people waiting for it.
Irby's writing is both funny and moving. It's also comforting, because she has seen plenty of literal, as well as metaphorical, shit. Irby is candid and unfiltered on topics which would mortify me to acknowledge to just myself. Her advice is brilliantly useful: she knows how to get through an array of bathroom conundrums that Martha Stewart would never address. Irby is up there with Jenny Lawsonand Allie Brosh for people who can make me laugh despite dire circumstances.
That was poetry, you can't fool me. Thomas does a marvelous job of capturing a certain nostalgic tone and also the child not taken in by it and all prThat was poetry, you can't fool me. Thomas does a marvelous job of capturing a certain nostalgic tone and also the child not taken in by it and all practical interest in the gifts. Honestly, I think a longer work in this vein would sit ill with me, but this is short enough to be charming rather than just annoying.
I didn't keep up with karen's advent calendar this year, or alternatively, I was saving this for twelfth night.
This has left me with hope and ire. Also, lots of curiosity about what happened to the homes and such the interned citizens lost.
The story is hopefulThis has left me with hope and ire. Also, lots of curiosity about what happened to the homes and such the interned citizens lost.
The story is hopeful, because libraries represent our most generous and hopeful selves. But the back matter doesn't gloss over the recurrence of such xenophobic impulses.
A great mood-lifter, on par with a ballpark full of puppies. Hunger does a great job of explaining her work, her experiment, further research that is A great mood-lifter, on par with a ballpark full of puppies. Hunger does a great job of explaining her work, her experiment, further research that is needed, etc. In a way that is scientific and accessible. Quality communication, this hits criteria I could not have guessed would develop around the idea "perfect work of nonfiction."
Not finished yet, but I am also glad McCurdy's mom died. Also, it troubles me that parents can pocket 90% percent of a child's earning19 January, 2023
Not finished yet, but I am also glad McCurdy's mom died. Also, it troubles me that parents can pocket 90% percent of a child's earnings. Either 100% goes into trust or let's admit that child actors (models, athletes, etc.) are being trafficked by their parents for our entertainment. How is it the agent should earn more than the child who has lost an educatio, their health, and the less tangible qualities of childhood? It disturbs me that there are still children supporting their families, despite how badly this ever turns out. Just as I am disturbed by what a breathtakingly poor job we do looking after minors as a society.
***
21 January 2023
McCurdy is a damn good writer: funny, compelling, insightful. Her backstory is horrible, but she pulled herself out of that train wreck, and made good art from it. The best I can wish for her is that the rest of her life is good. She's earned it.
There are a lot of great reviews for this, fewer negative reviews, but I assume most reflect sincere reactions. So, having read a slew of those GR revThere are a lot of great reviews for this, fewer negative reviews, but I assume most reflect sincere reactions. So, having read a slew of those GR reviews, I have zero interest inrehashing points others have addressed more eloquently.
But there are a couple of things I want to mention about other reviews. Others have pointed out how white the book is. There isn't much about the environmental costs borne by the people of the First Nations. But honestly I prefer the book to mostly stick to what Beaton knew at time. Bt's hardly surprising that in 2005 a recent grad from 2000 miles away wouldn't be well up on those issues.
You know what I didn't see in a lot of reviews? Capitalism. Beaton worked for several different entities, each of which is blithely careless about anything other than profit. Odd. Without naming the villain, Beaton points out that capitalism killed multiple industries in the Maritimes
Finally, I want to point out one thing that I especially appreciate, which again, I didn't see mentioned elsewhere. There is a whole mythology about company/mining/boom towns that praises the strong, silent man who endures the hardship. In the Western tradition, good girls are teachers, bad girls are prostitutes with hearts of gold. This is not me bashing sex workers, just observing the kind of stories that have been told. Since the 80s there have been more stories featuring a woman in a mostly masculine settings, but those tend to be written as tough guys indistinguishable from the other, male-identified, tough guys except maybe prettiness (Renee Russo in Lethal Weapon 3, Vasquez in Aliens, Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2). It's refreshing to read a story set in company towns that acknowledges a different point of view. Beaton explicitly rejects real or "humorous" solicitation for services. All she wants is to do her job without harassment,
Explaining physics, chemistry, engineering, and other suchlike stuff is hard. Explaining the results of random hypotheticals is harder26 November 2022
Explaining physics, chemistry, engineering, and other suchlike stuff is hard. Explaining the results of random hypotheticals is harder. Being funny while effectively explaining stuff is harder still. Munroe is brilliant at that last, especially. The reader doesn't need to have a comprehensive science or math education: he lays things out so clearly that literal children can understand. Just because you've never asked "what if I made a lava lamp out of real lava?" doesn't mean you don't want to know the answer.
If you're casting about for a holiday gift for someone you don't know well, this is a fun idea. Many a pre-reading child would love to have this read to them, and most adults will find at least one question that intrigues them. Of course, anyone familiar with XKCD or the distinctive stick people cartoons is probably half way to Fandom.
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