Buy a Book for the Nerd In Your Life
I’m a bit of a nerd (perhaps a geek or a dork, or all three), and I’ve selected a few books from the shelves that would be excellent as a nerdy gift. Note bene!
Tools Of War: The Weapons That Changed The World, by Jeremy Black
“Firing 20 arrows a minute, English archers at the Battle of Cre`cy launched a million deadly missiles from their longbows…”
This book is perfect for the history nerd in your life. The sweeping narrative style never gets boring but allows for a lot of historical trivia, too. There are lots of perfect little nuggets of information on warfare and weaponry from prehistory to the 21st Century. Just right to offload while you’re watching an ABC documentary.
Understanding Beer Making: Brewing The Perfect Beer, by Grant Sampson
When conversation about historical weaponry or US Presidential Trivia runs dry (there are only two US Presidents buried in Arlington National Cemetery — can anyone guess who they are?*), geeks like to talk about beer. There’s a lot of science to beer: the taste, the head, the barley, the glucose, yadda yadda yadda. So if you’re a culinary geek or someone who just likes to drink, this is a perfect summer book. Learn how to brew your own beer… with science!
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
Perfect holiday reading! This never boring book tells us why Europe and the Near East are the cradle of our society. Perfect food for thought and discussion for budding historians, geopoliticians, biologists and scientists. From the author of The Third Chimpanzee. Curl up in bed and wrap your opposable thumb and ex-brachiating arm around this one!
Richard Feynman and modern physics by James Gleick
Not just atomic bombs — there are bongo drums involved too. A great gift for any budding physicists out there, or anyone interested in a biography with pith. Someone should direct a biopic about this guy!
The Devil’s Music: In The Eye Of The Hurricane, by Pete Davies
Think Twister. It certainly “sweeps” you along! (Bad pun intended).
- Agnes.
*Kennedy and Taft
Filed under Books that deserve a look | Comments OffPOETRY – Tears for an Administrator
Tears for an Administrator,
Tears for a songwriter,
Tears for an administrator,
Tears under a moon
So crisp and full
It could cut your fingertip.
These days overlap
At a time of spring,
When messages of love
Coalesce and jasmine
And lily fight for my
Transcendental soul.
Yet my tears are only external,
And like the sodden earth
Or the fecund, mossy
Unhewn stone, they will
Evaporate, relinquish
Their secrets and
Give birth to the lithe,
Bountiful beauty within you.
© Patrick Hromas, 2009 www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/h/hromas
Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off2777 Poets
Welcome to the 2777 Poets. Here is your very own space for publishing pieces you want to share with the world. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, 2777 Poets is a group of poets and poetry readers who meet once a month at JimmyDs Bookshop in Springwood to share poems and explore the writing of other poets.
If you are interested in what the group are up to, email me at magda@jimmyds.com.au. Feel free to add your comments to any post.
Comments go through the Administrator.
Filed under Uncategorized | Tags: 2777, POETRY | Comments OffThe Crime-fiction Detective Is… Dubious About Elizabeth George.
The station master of my local train station is nice enough to provide a “book table” for the use of patrons. The idea is that you bring in your old books (as a second-hand book-seller in training all I can say is that these are usually not the cream of the crop) and take a book to read on the train occasionally. It’s an honour system. There are usually a whole lot of nice old National Geographics, a few Reader’s Digest condensed books (don’t you think it’d be weird to have a job as a book condenser?), stuff like that. Occasionally you get a nice gem. I’ve picked up a few Sherlock Holmes books, and a couple of science fiction classics.
The other day I picked up a copy of Elizabeth George’s book Well Schooled in Murder. I already had a book in my bag (I’m in the habit of setting my iPod to shuffle and reading to and from the city), but since I’m an omnivorous reader and I vaguely recognised the title and blurb from an ABC drama I’d seen a few years earlier — an Inspector Lynley mystery — I decided to read the book on the train.
The train pulled in to Central and I was three-quarters of the way through, and I was a bit iffy on Elizabeth George. She was one of those authors who I couldn’t decide whether I liked or disliked. The book’s narrative got along fine, but I couldn’t decide whether the descriptions were apt or just plain weird. I finished the book, and I still couldn’t decide. Occasionally I research authors in this fashion, seeking out whether or not they’re worth reading a lot of. Crime fiction is so easy to read that it’s a lot easier to form a complete picture of the author’s shortcomings and strengths very quickly. This is compared to someone like, say John Irving or Faulkner.
I picked up a copy of In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner from the library, since I was “experimenting” and didn’t want to buy it. Well, dear reader, if you’ve read this far into this post I’m going to reward you by telling you that it was absolutely DIRE.
George is an American, and that shows through in her over-exaggerated treatment of Cockney accents and London in general. Inspector Lynley’s friend Simon St. George (can you think of a more cliche` English toff name?) was crippled! In an accident! Years ago! and Lynley feels the need to emote about it much more than I feel his background as a count or an earl or whatever would evince.
Inspector Lynley seemed to be the most balanced character to me, and I will admit that the idea of an English Lord working as a police detective was one of the things that got me interested in the novels in the first place, in a similar way to the TV series — sort of like a crime fiction version of Carter on ER.
In contrast his sidekick Barbara Havers is overburdened with unattractive descriptions. In attempting to inject some traditional British class division into the book George has made Lynley into some sort of James Bond type while Havers chain-smokes and constantly eats bad food. Not even her POV is sympathetic to her, so I feel a bit sorry for the character.
I didn’t finish the second book. I felt like I got derailed by the high drama going on in the character’s lives, and the murder mystery was so bland in contrast that it didn’t interest me one iota. One jot!
I’m confident that our crime fiction section at JimmyD’s is extensive. When I first came into the shop I was pleased that it encompassed all the crime sub-genres: classic crime, real-life crime, cheesy crime, thrilling crime, procedural crime, cosy crime… The cheesy crime section I feel is well represented by the five or so Elizabeth George books that we have in stock, including In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner.
My question is this: what were your experiences with Elizabeth George? Should I keep reading? Are her “off” moments worth the rather gripping storylines in her other books? Am I being a crime fiction snob – am I too spoilt by P. D. James? Discuss for your chance to win a voucher at JimmyD’s.
- Agnes.
Filed under BOOKS, Cool Crime Writers | Tags: Cool Crime Writers, The Crime Fiction Detective, Your two cents worth - book reviews | Comments OffHandmade journals by Journeymoon Art
Lovingly hand made, these journals contain 100% Australian Made post-consumer recycled paper. The covers and contents of old books are recycled, re-loved and transformed into a spiral-bound book you can use as a journal, a notebook — whatever you want.
You can rest assured that these books didn’t die in vain: old books with writing, torn pages and other damage have been preserved as much as possible in the process of making these journals. What results is a charming, one-off book that inspires. I would recommend these to be used as a notebook, a journal, a place to jot down ideas, a book for children to draw in. They’re also a great gift idea for anyone who likes something a little bit quirky and handmade. The spiral bounding is sturdy and there are plenty of pages, as well as in many cases a whole book to look at.
In stock at the moment we have Golden Books, Children on the Farm, The Amazing Duke, and many more. For a great gift or some inspiration with your writing, come down and have a look at one. They’re sturdy, come in all sizes, and start at $9.95.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Scandinavian crime writers
Yes, the world is enamoured with Scandinavian crime writers. Ever since Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall wrote their series of ten police procedurals from 1965 to 1975, there have been writers from Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Finland writing a range of thrilling psychological stories. To me they have far greater character depth and development than many of the American or even British authors. The best known of these authors is probably Henning Mankell, who has written a series of stories about Inspector Kurt Wallander and his daughter, which has been turned into a television show. However you have probably seen that The girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson, has been on the best selling list for many months.
If you enjoy finding crime stories that are a bit different, settings in countries unfamilar or that seem to take things a bit slower, perhaps reflecting real life investigations, you should try some of these great authors. They arent always easy to find second hand – at JimmyDs when we get them they go pretty fast! But persevere and they will turn up.
The link below is something I found recently. My personal favourites at the moment are Kjell Eriksson, Henning Mankell and Arnaldur Indridason. Come in and talk to me about your favourites.
Magda
http://homepages.gac.edu/~fister/scandcrime/denmark.html
Filed under Cool Crime Writers | Tags: Cool Crime Writers | Comment (0)