Wrap Up of 2020 "Read Your Shelves" Book Challenge & Reviews

 

“Read Your Shelves” Book Challenge: 2020 Reading Wrap-up and Book Reviews

I have been doing this challenge for a few years now, and I really love it. As a book collector and general book worm, I have accumulated lots of books in my home and my bookshelves are usually in an over loaded state. This challenge helps me stay focused on reading the books I have on my shelves and keeps me from too frequently wandering through thrift stores in search of yet more books to load onto my shelves. Yes, I like collecting them, but I like reading them and experiencing what is in the pages even more!

As a review of the challenge, the idea is to somewhat randomly pick 12 books (one book to read each month) that you already own, and to read them, thus working your way through your book collection by YES! reading them and not by just admiring all the nice pretty books you have lovingly arranged on your shelves.

For 2020 here’s my list (with one change from what was previously posted). It has become the year that everyone now wants to forget as the year of covid misery, but I was able to do hordes of reading because if it. At the end of December 2019, I randomly selected a variety of titles making sure I had different genres and made special stack of the 12 chosen books for the challenge. I usually read more than 12 books a year (more like 50 to 75) but I wanted this challenge to be a goal that was achievable to a wide range of people in differing life circumstances, not something to hang over your head to berate yourself about not finishing a goal. Some of the books or specific authors I had been eyeing for a while, but I tried to pick a variety of books from those that I already owned. This is the list I came up with and there were hits and misses on it, as there always is. I worked my way through this list quite quickly with the circumstances this year. I am up to a total of 98 books read so far, a banner year of reading for me. It’s the time of year to start planning my 2021 “Read Your Shelves” challenge. (An advanced "Read Your Shelves Challenge" could be to read 24 books from your shelves, which I am considering doing to make the goal a bit more challenging for myself personally, but you do the challenge that is best for you!)

 2020 Challenge Book List

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

The Medical Detectives by Berton Roueche

Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre

Adrift on the Haunted Seas by William Hope Hodgson

Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

Vampire Knight vol.1 by Matsuri Hino

Thunderhead by Richard Preston and Lincoln Child

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Woman Who Walked in the Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith

The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

Reviews of the challenge books

 

The Lions of Al-Rassan, by Guy Gavriel Kay: The first book I have read by this author, it was like a cross between historical fiction/alternate history and fantasy. The female protagonist, Jehane, was a physician in the setting of the book. The characters were well developed, the book contained sweeping events, political intrigue, a few love scenes, loss, honor, character introspection, some violence, interesting settings and was reminiscent of medieval Spanish history. Kay appears to be a talented writer and has authored more books for those who enjoy his work. I would read more of his work if given the chance. 

 

 

 Animal Dreams, by Barbara Kingsolver: This is the second book I have read by Kingsolver and I have really enjoyed them both. (The first one was The Bean Trees.) They stay with you. Set in the American Southwest, it covers everything from the personal coming of age story of a woman who moves back to her hometown after being away for a several years, to the politics of big corporations and pollution, to the nowadays culture of Native Americans, to confronting the loss of one’s parents and the skeletons that might be in your own closet. The author paints pictures with her words, and I will look forward to reading more by this author. 

 The Medical Detectives, by Berton Roueche: This author was popular in the 50’s and 60’s as a medical writer for The New Yorker. Even though it is a subject I am interested in and knowledgeable about, the book does not appear to have aged well. Its dated and the author uses a wordy style. Medical information has changed so much since then, none of the medical mysteries within are really all that exciting or interesting anymore. Just my opinion, mind you, it was hard to force myself to finish the book. If the subject interests you, go for it, but choose something that is not so dated, and it might be a more satisfying experience for the reader. At the time it was written this was considered a groundbreaking work.

 

Dreamsnake, by Vonda McIntyre: I had this one because I am a fan of science fiction and this was touted as a fundamental work of 70’s science fiction and an award winner. When I started reading it the first scenes were vivid descriptions of snake biting that put me off and grossed me out. The protagonist, a woman called “Snake”, was using snake venom as a curative for medical problems in a futuristic world setting. A weird beginning for a work that turned out to be kind of weird all the way through. The world the story is set in is intriguing, it hints of a post-apocalyptic setting where people have limited access to the technology, there are vague hints to some kind of city where Snake was trained or went to school, but the author does not tell anything else about it. The story takes place outside of the city area, and the people living there do so rather primitively. The story revolves around the main characters' travels after she has left the city and goes out to practice her healing art. This book has been touted as a work of monumental feminist writing when it came out in 1978, that was so ahead of its time. Overall, I found the setting interesting and would have enjoyed learning more about the world the story is set in, and probably enjoyed it more, but that most likely would have diluted the main message of a female being free to choose, that I believe the book wanted to portray when it was written.

  Adrift on the Haunted Seas, by William Hope Hodgson: Hodgson has been hailed as a master of the sea tale, and at the time he was writing, he was. He certainly knows his subject matter and weaves tales of mysterious sea haunting filled with creepy sea monsters, superstitious sailors, lots of fog, derelict ships, and the Sargasso Sea. He fills the pages with emotion and lots of nautical terms. It may have helped if I understood more of the sea lingo, but it bogged me down and distracted from the tales. All the stories and some poetry are so similar, it turns out to be too much of the same thing all together in one book. I got bored with it after a while and had to force my way through. I was relieved when it was done. Oh well, at least I learned more about the author and can have an appreciation for his artistry and life experiences even if I was not wowed by his book.

 

Across the Nightingale Floor, by Lian Hearn: This was categorized as Young Adult, but I feel it is not for that age group. The violence and romance are more for adults. The two main characters are in their mid-teens, but they think and act more like adults. (I am glad I read it first instead of just handing it over to my teen granddaughter to read.) This is the first volume in a series of four books called “The Tales of the Otori” by this author. The setting is magical, akin to feudal Japan, and interesting culturally, it involves Ninja/Assassin type secret warriors with a secret mission to accomplish. There is romance, honor, treachery, and beauty versus brutality. I would consider reading more of the series. 

(Yes! Nightingale floors are a real thing in old Japanese castles, making the floor purposely creaky so that a Ninja cannot even sneak up on the feudal lord.)

 

Vampire Knight vol.1 by Matsuri Hino: Continuing in the Japanese vein, I decided to experience what a graphic novel was, namely a Manga type book. I picked it up a few years ago at a store that sells close-out merchandise and it sat on my shelf. This is volume 1 of 20, telling the tales of the Vampire Knight. Evidently there was a TV series a one point, about it but I have not seen it and, of course, I read rather than watch the telly, so I know nothing more about that. The setting is a private school that has two types of students, those that attend day classes and those that attend night classes. The vampires attend the night class, of course, and are the “guardians” of the day class students. It’s a good introduction to manga, with a relatively good and understandable story and talented artwork. 

 

 

 Thunderhead, by Richard Preston and Lincoln Child: I am a big fan of Preston and Child’s works, together as the authors of the amazing Agent Pendergast series, the Gideon series, and I have read several of their individual works as well. You can tell this is another one of their works because it uses the same kind of archetypes as characters, has a character that has been in previous works (Nora Kelly), and includes a mixture of mystery, a cool setting, has lots of action, and takes you on a roller coaster ride throughout the book. The one thing that makes this book NOT one of my favorites or even in the top ten of books by them (yes, I have read over 20 books by these authors and not regretted any one of them, except maybe this one). Too much unnecessary violence in it and animal cruelty. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Violence just for the sake of violence, and not because it has any bearing or meaning to the story. Preston is a horseman with a lot of experience riding in the southwest, and Child keeps pet birds, so I do not understand that aspect of this book, maybe they had a deadline coming up and just went hog wild with their story telling. It’s more like a horror story that an action story. There is an interesting setting- archaeologist Nora Kelly goes on an expedition to look for a hidden and mysterious Anasazi ruin, reputed to contain a treasure horde of gold, but awful things keep happening to the group of explorers and they are woefully unprepared for the environment they go out searching in. They manage to have a wondrous cook in their group who makes gourmet camp dinners, but they are all a bit foolish and run out of the most important thing they can have in the desert southwest in a few days, plain old water. Not one of the authors’ best, but I have a goal of gradually working through their whole catalog, so I can put a check mark by this one now.  Thunderhead takes place in a lost city similar to the one pictured of Mesa Verde National Park below.

(Mesa Verde is located in the Four Corners Area of the American Southwest-where the borders of 4 states, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado all meet).

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern: It is hard to describe this one, creepy, mysterious, magical, but after you are all done you ask yourself, “What did I just read and what was that story about?” The descriptions create an extremely rich environment and you happily go along for the ride, enjoying it, but you do not really know where the story is going. The setting is so intriguing even though not a whole lot is happening to move the story along. Reading the Night Circus winds up being an enticing imaginary experience. One to read again maybe. I found it an enjoyable experience, even ethereal and highly imaginative even though I did not really understand what it was all about by the time the book ended.

 

 

The Woman Who Walked in the Sunshine, by Alexander McCall Smith: This is the 16^th volume of the #1 Ladies Detective series by the author. There has been a TV series made of some of the earlier books, but I have never seen it, I would rather be reading! These are charming books that might be classed as cozy mysteries. The author does have a gift when it comes to creating the beloved character of Mma Ramotswe, he blends in his experience of being raised by British parents in Botswana, so he captures the spirit well of the country and the people. All in all, it is a positive depiction and an interesting cultural setting for someone like me who has never travelled to Africa. After seeing one readers description of this series, I agree with their characterization, that reading these books is a journey of the “tender untangling of human tangles”.  It seems that detective work does take a back seat to the story of the nature of human nature in this volume, but I still found it an enjoyable read. 

 Crocodile on the Sandbank, by Elizabeth Peters: I must admit this one was the grand dud of all the books chosen for my reading challenge this year. The one good thing about finding that out was that after reading it, I promptly removed all the rest of the books by this author from my shelf, and donated them to charity, freeing up a nice bit of space for more, hopefully better, books. I could not stand the main character and I usually love reading books with a female lead. It was also filled with cliches…Oh! A mildly scary mummy story that takes place in, you guessed it, Egypt! There is a bit of a love story and no violence, so it has that going for it even if the main character is insufferably haughty in the narration. The book is set in the Victorian era, and a privileged British female archeologist sets out to do some exploring in the wild deserts of Egypt, with all the conceit of colonialists of the time. If you like this author, my apologies, but it was not something I enjoyed or want to fall asleep to while trying to read.

The Changeling Sea, by Patricia McKillip: This is the second book I have read by this author and I liked the first one better. It does have lovely storytelling and mood setting, but it is a slim volume, and the developments happen too fast without enough build up in the story. The protagonist is just a young teen and rather boring, even though she thinks and acts more like an adult. So, to have her falling deeply in love with this strange prince at lightning speed seems too unbelievable to me. It pretty much ruined the book because it was so unlikely and did not make sense. Oh well, as always reading is a mixed bag of experience. I passed it on to someone else, maybe they will enjoy it more than I did. (Classified as YA)

 

 

 

 

 

In Praise of the Not-So-Lowly Grasshopper

Can Grasshoppers sniff out explosives?

 The grasshopper is a common insect that is easily recognized by its ability to jump up or hop quickly due to their strong back legs. They are a typical insect with a head, thorax and abdomen and they hatch from eggs that have spent the winter underground. They shed or molt their tough skin 5 or 6 times as they are growing into an adult. When they are young and have not grown their little wings yet, they are called nymphs.

When there are too many grasshoppers in an area, a strange behavior overtakes them, they become a swarm. They eat plants and can chew their way through fields and fields of grain if they become a swarm. In a swarm, they change their color and behavior, and they gang up with hundreds or thousands of other grasshoppers becoming a giant cloud of insects, a swarm of locusts. They can cause a lot of serious damage to food crops when this happens.

These insects blend in well with their environment and hide from other animals that want to eat them for lunch by camouflage. They can also escape from predators by startling them when they suddenly jump or hop up and take a short flight for a quick getaway.

Grasshoppers have a set of large compound eyes on their heads and have better range of vision all around than humans. The two antennae on their heads detect smell and touch and they have jaws made especially for chewing up the plants they like to eat. They have ear like structures on their abdomens. On their bodies tiny hairs detect touch and sense the movement of wind. They also have 2 sets of wings, but can only fly for short distances, they are aided in getting into flight position by their powerful rear legs. Of their three pairs of legs, the rear legs are extremely strong for such a tiny insect, this helps them jump quickly and high. On the ends of their legs they have tiny claws. The female grasshopper is larger than the male. The male’s legs have structures on them that enable them to make sounds and little grasshopper songs. Scientists have studied grasshopper songs and they can identify different ones according to what the grasshopper is trying to communicate. There are 11,000 different species of grasshoppers that have been identified on the earth.

 Can grasshoppers really smell explosives?

Did anyone ever think that this tiny insect could be used to detect the scent of a bomb? Although we are still a long way from the practical use of such ideas, tuck it in your imagination and see where it goes. The creatures that surround us in our world have many wonders waiting to be discovered.

While doing a unit for home learning about nature in our neighborhoods, I came upon this nugget of information that took my respect for the lowly grasshopper up to a new level.

Explosive sniffing grasshoppers have been studied and tested by scientists! At Washington University in Missouri, scientists have conducted experiments to create biological bomb-sniffers using a common insect, the grasshopper! The smell or olfactory receptors in their antennae can detect chemical odors of explosives.

Electrodes were implanted into their insect brain and different groups of nerve endings were activated when exposed to explosive vapors. By studying the signals scientists were able to distinguish explosive and non-explosive chemical vapors. The grasshoppers were fitted with tiny little sensors that recorded the brain signals and transmitted them wirelessly to a computer. Accuracy was better for a group of grasshoppers, who were 80% correct when sniffing out the right vapors. Single grasshoppers by themselves were just 60% accurate with their vapor sniffing.

So, will the grasshopper one day replace a sniffing dog? They would probably be easier to feed and don’t need the same kind of training but don’t hold your breath for that amazing day, yet…and of course, you would need a lot of them and many tiny receptor backpacks for them to carry into the field. The thing that makes this research unique is that it combines a biological sense (smell) with technology to detect certain chemicals.

Actually, bears, have the best sense of smell around, but they are notoriously harder to keep and train than good old man’s best friend- the dog. Dogs have the intelligence and the ability to do the job quite nicely and have historically been used for this purpose. Can you picture a future where a swarm of locusts is released into a room at the airport to descend upon travelers’ luggage?

References:

www.telegraph.co.uk Bomb-sniffing grasshoppers tested by Scientists

www.newscientist.com/article/2233645-cyborg-grasshoppers-have-been-engineered-to-sniff-out-explosives by Donna Lu 17 Feb 2020

www.freethink.com Scientists Engineered Cyborg Grasshoppers to Sniff Out Bombs by Kristen Houser 24 Feb 2020

https://interestingengineering 18 Feb 2020

Picture: PBS

(McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri)