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Category Archives: On My Bookshelf
On My Bookshelf: The Revolutionary Genius of Plants
The Italian scientist and author Stefano Mancuso has assembled a fine and thoughtful book that will fascinate animals that read it. The subtitle, “A New Understanding of Plant Intelligence and Behavior” tells readers they will be taken on a journey … Continue reading
Posted in Nature, On My Bookshelf, Science
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On My Bookshelf: First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time
Another astronomy book, another female scientist author. What’s the significance of this tome? Emma Chapman ponders the very first stars in the universe, before the sun first shone, and long before every star we see came into existence. First Light … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, On My Bookshelf
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On My Bookshelf: I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land
A book about books. A short book. I’ll recommend it. Several years ago, I had a few posts on this author. Her novels about time travelling historians are great, though I think Blackout/All Clear would have benefitted from tight editing. … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, On My Bookshelf
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On My Bookshelf: The Fall of Gondolin
The forthcoming series on the Amazon behemoth has caught my attention. I would have been excited beyond attention in my high school days, when I read the published J.R.R. Tolkien books a few times. These days, maybe I feel a … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, On My Bookshelf
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On My Bookshelf: Science Fiction Big and Small
In home quarantine, I’ve had a chance to catch up on some reading. I had seen some good reviews of Chris Paolini’s To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. It’s an enormously long read, a unique blend of military science fiction … Continue reading
Posted in On My Bookshelf, science fiction
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On My Bookshelf: The Bird King
Readers here know that I perk up with the mention, and especially the practice of religion in the fiction I read. How do authors and their characters approach God? How does it affect the narrative of the story? The Bird … Continue reading
Posted in fantasy, On My Bookshelf
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On My Bookshelf: The Raven Tower
I think one or two of the readers here might be interested in this book. As it progresses, it answers many questions. I can think of three important to me: who or what are the pagan gods that inhabit this … Continue reading
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On My Bookshelf: Beatles 100
Since the pandemic, I’m getting most of my library books online–libby or kindle app. It’s not an optimal reading experience, but I’m finding I don’t always have time for that library trip. I’m also finding the shelves at the libraries … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On My Bookshelf
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On My Bookshelf: Death
When this volume shipped in over twenty years ago, a parishioner commented, “What kind of book is that?” Gone are the days of spiral binding from this series, alas. The “traditional” bookbinding they print these days doesn’t hold up as … Continue reading
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On My Bookshelf: Binti
For at least a month, this novella has been on my tag list for online borrowing. It finally popped up “available” a few days ago. According to my app, it took me fifty minutes to read it. I sent it … Continue reading
Posted in On My Bookshelf, science fiction
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On My Bookshelf: Women In Astronomy
Books by women astronomers haven’t exactly been on a bookshelf in my home–I’ve been reading them on my phone. It’s not a withdrawal from a pandemic world as much as the delightfully wide access my e-card gives me to libraries … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, On My Bookshelf
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On My Bookshelf: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
The author’s premise is not new. Bill Murray explored it with a groundhog in Pennsylvania. That flick was inspired by Ken Grimwood’s Replay, a novel I would recommend for the personal examination of living a life over and over. Catherine … Continue reading
Posted in On My Bookshelf, science fiction
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On My Bookshelf: Piranesi
Well, that was a fabulous read: Piranesi. One review cited the Stockholm Syndrome when discussing this book. I didn’t get that misreading of this novel. The reader joins a childlike first person narrator in a fantastical world that consists of … Continue reading
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On My Bookshelf: The Overstory
I can’t remember who recommended this Richard Powers’ novel, but I’m glad for the opportunity to read it. Nine main characters are introduced in the first third of the book in brief biographies and a few family histories. Their connection … Continue reading
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Catholic Sensibility 
First Books
I have no memory of what must have been my first childhood books. I do remember my mother subscribing to a book club, and I found the Dr Seuss tomes and other volumes a bit too childish for my six- … Continue reading →