Review 38: The Doomsday Calculation

The Doomsday Calculation: How an Equation that Predicts the Future Is Transforming Everything We Know About Life and the Universe by William Poundstone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There have been people saying the end is coming since, well, for a very long time. In this book we find out how soon that end might be. Well...there isn’t just “one” doomsday calculation. There are several approaches, with different assumptions, and of course differing dates of doom. The ways of our demise are seemingly endless.

The first half of the book is the more difficult part, easier if you’re math or statistical inclined. Once you grasp all the concepts and thought experiments you move on to contemplating some interesting thoughts, questions that seem to plague us. Poundstone uses those probability calculations for why we don’t hear from alien life, what about artificial intelligence taking over; oh, and are we actually in a simulated reality? The singularity is near.

This is a good book for people who like to ponder the philosophical questions of life, the universe, and everything. Turns out the answer isn’t 42 but 1/137.

Thankfully there are several think tanks like the Future of Humanity Institute, and the Future of Life Institute, with the goal to prevent the end of the world as we know it. I feel fine.



Thanks to Little, Brown Spark and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 37: Mrs. Everything

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was looking forward to reading about the dramatic change for women over the past several decades. Loved this focus on women, work outside of the home, and expectations. It is there throughout the book, but at times subtle, then later in the book it becomes the beat of the pounding drum.

I didn’t mind that nearly everything happened to these two sisters, yet there was oddness in it as well. The characterization of Bethie and her drug use did not ring true. In fact her character overall I understood the least. The novel focused on more depth for Jo, and at times way too much (sexual) detail that didn’t propel the story forward.

As the novel progressed, time would jump, then we’d look back over those past years. It was an odd way to present these two sister’s lives. We had more exposition than action and jumping forward then back then forward was awkward, then became predictable style.

The book was good in parts, but overall not stunning for me.


Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.



Previously Read Jennifer Weiner books:

All Fall Down (3 stars) - June.2016

Review 36: The Crofter and the Laird

The Crofter and the Laird by John McPhee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an enjoyable small book. McPhee is descended from Scotland, specifically a small island in the Hebrides, 25 miles off the west coast off the Scottish mainland called Colonsay. McPhee took his family to live there for a while, renting a house from a guy called Donald Gibbie.

This is an autobiographical book by most means, it consists mostly of essays that aren't necessarily connected. They are all about Colonsay, what it was like and is now like, well now being at the time of when McPhee lived there, around the late 1960s. Early on we find out that a croft is a small farm, with less than 49 tillable acres. A Crofter then being a farmer, although he does not own the land, nor his house, the whole island belongs to a Laird. It is part of the Crofter Holdings Act of 1886. Thus the people are now dependent on the Laird of the island for their livelihood, for the most part. Some like Donald Gibbie work very hard and hold multiple jobs to make the ends meet.

McPhee has an excellent way of telling stories. He is funny in a dry witty way that makes the reading even more enjoyable. I was thoroughly enamored with this book. I did wonder how the island fares today. At that time there was a "new" Laird who inherited from his father, the "old" Laird. The new Laird was attempting to change the ways, saying that basically he owns the island and is a landlord, while his father took a different view. The old Laird spent way more money into the island than it made for him, thus supporting all of the inhabitants by his own wealth. I'm feel near certain that today things are run differently, but honestly, I do not know. Is it still owned by one family? Are there many people "islanders" living there?

Okay, a quick internet search finds this: yes, about the same number of people still live on the island. They still have the primary schools but for advanced, high school age, you must go to the mainland. The Isle of Colonsay website answers most of my questions, except the ownership.

I don't know all those answers just yet, but what I do know is that I will read another McPhee book. This is my second, and I can't wait to read another.



Previously Read John McPhee books:

Assembling California (4 stars) - April.2018

Review 35: A Hero on Mount St. Helens

A Hero on Mount St. Helens: The Life and Legacy of David A. Johnston by Melanie Holmes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Today, May 18, 2019 is the 39th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington. It is also the anniversary of the day David Johnston, a United States Geological Survey (USGS) volcanologist died doing his job. Johnston was the only USGS worker that died that day and since that time there have been many memorials dedicated in his name.

Today is also the publication day of this book, written to honor David Johnston's life. While the book is primarily a biography it also explains what was known about how volcanos act, or what was known at the time in early 1980. There is more scientific knowledge and understanding today than back then, and much of the information came from that eruption.

For some people volcanos have some type of lure, people are curious, interested, and when Mount St. Helens started waking up people flocked to the area, tourists. It was difficult for the geologists and authorities to accurately maintain a safety zone, to keep people away because so much was unknown. Today we do know more, but volcanos are still very dangerous, and can at times be unpredictable. Johnston knew there was danger, but it was also exciting to be there and learning more. No one knew exactly when the volcano would explode. It was just coincidence that Johnston was there that morning when it happened, manning the post (an observation and monitoring station named Coldwater II). No one knew how extensive the explosion would end up being. It's believed 57 people died in that blast, and it could have been worse without people like Johnston warning of the extreme danger.

I visited the Mount St. Helens area briefly in 1993 and was amazed how visible the destruction still was from that volcano blast. It appeared to have exploded more recently than my decade plus years visit. I remember being there too late to go into the visitor's area, and as we were just passing through the area, there wasn't time to go in the next day. I've meant to return someday, and when I do I can certainly appreciate the full story of what happened in 1980 having now read this book.

I appreciate having an advance review copy to read, and the copy I read certainly read like it wasn't completely done. Portions of the book were in different colors, which I have no idea what that meant, and there were large sections that read like a draft copy. The later part of the book the writing improved and seemed to be finished. There were some beautiful sentences and sentiments. It's hard to judge a book fully when reading one that still needed some work, but giving the benefit of doubt, I expect the completed book will be in better shape.

In the end this is a great tribute to David Johnston and his family, as an official record of his full life with scientific achievements and legacy.



Thanks to University of Illinois Press and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 34: Lands of Lost Borders

Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road by Kate Harris
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

The book has some flaws, is it an autobiography or is it a travelogue? Is it about an adventure and how that changes you or is it about the rigors of biking the Silk Road for nine months?

It starts as an autobiography, first when Harris was young and honored for her essay about Mars. There is a few chapters about her college years in Oxford, her boyfriend (why was he in here?) and a little about her next degree. Oxford was a time of fooling around to get a degree in something she really didn't care about. Her main purpose was to get into NASA so she can be a Mars explorer. Then suddenly she is diverted, maybe because biking was around for her and she went on several long haul biking trips already, now there is this trip to take a good part of a year to bike the Silk Road with her friend Mel (Melissa), to finish what they started years earlier. Maybe it was too much research in the lab. Maybe she just wanted to explore.

The bulk of the book is about this nine month journey. but it falters here. She talks about some interesting ideas, but doesn't dive very deep into any of them. She tries desperately, especially near the end, to tie back into NASA and space exploration. Harris wants to be an explorer and she tries to justify her trip as exploration, going into the wilderness and finding something new, but of course it isn't new. She knows this as Marco Polo was someone she looked up to, until she realized he explored for mercantile reasons. And how is it wilderness? She is traveling in "old" countries.

The more the book goes on the worse her descriptions of the local people and places. It becomes horrid at times, appalling. She's supposed to be perceptive, intelligent? Definitely not humble. And she just butchers Buddhism, says nothing about other religions that are expressed in the areas she travels.

Oddly, I had almost no sense of her biking partner Mel, someone who was her constant companion for more than half a year. About the only real description of her personality consisted of how Harris was jealous of her in high school being popular, more pretty. She also seemed to charm the men more on the trip. Even more oddly, I learned more about the boyfriend in Oxford, which I'm not sure why there was so much written about him, to what ends?

It's an uneven book. Clearly Harris can write well when she puts in the effort, as there are some very lovely sentences. This book needed more time in the writing process. There are some good sentences, good writing, but also many false starts into ideas that aren't fully realized. Sadly the thing I came away mostly was the privilege of Kate Harris.

Book rating: 2.5 stars

Review 33: A Woman on the Edge of Time

A Woman on the Edge of Time: A Son Investigates His Trailblazing Mother’s Young Suicide by Jeremy Gavron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While this book is of a very private matter, a man searching to know about his mother who committed suicide when he was 4 years old, there are implications that extend out to the larger world.

Hannah Gavron was only 29 and killed herself with a gas oven, similar to a couple other women writers around that time, and oddly only blocks away from where Sylvia Plath killed herself. Although it isn't brought up in the book, one wonders if she had read about Plath and decided to follow suit.

Hannah also had children, the author was only 4 years old. She was finishing a doctorate degree in sociology and her thesis was turned into a book that was published, hitting the shelves shortly after her death. The book The Captive Wife: Conflicts of Housebound Mothers was significant for women and changing society, particularly in Britain. Perhaps not as well known as the earlier book published by Betty Friedan with The Feminine Mystique, but adding to the conversation of women stuck at home with little to no options with outside work. Perhaps this was why Hannah chose to end her life?

There are many reasons offered in the book, and perhaps it was not one specific, but the combination of them, piling up to where she thought there was no other option. Although there was also the idea put out that it was a ploy that went on too long. Don't want to give anything away, but it was mentioned early that Hannah had been having an affair with a gay man and there had been an argument. Was this the result of that trouble?

As mentioned in the beginning this is a very personal story. The author tells us each step along the way of trying to find out about his mother, and ultimately to understand why she did that last fatal step. At times it feels like an invasion reading this, but clearly the author has put it out there for everyone to read. Jeremy Gavron is a writer, and author of several novels, this is what he does, he writes. It is hard not to feel regret that Jeremy didn't know his mother better and also to feel a sense of loss for everyone. What would she have gone on to do? She was on the cusp of a career that could have done so much more for women.

This is a fascinating book, but ultimately fills you with the sense of loss.

Review 32: The Library of Lost and Found

The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This started out very charming, I mean how could a book with a cover of a stack of books with a cup of tea with the word Library in the title not be charming? Plus it is set in England. Not that all books set in England are charming, no. Anyway, this book is about a middle-aged woman who helps out everyone but herself. She works in a library, of course!

One night a book is left at the library's door and it is for her, Martha Storm, and the inscription appears that it was from her grandmother Zelda who died years ago. This sets Martha on a quest to find out more about this book and her grandmother.

This book has many turns that I did not expect and I loved the character growth here. It did take me a while to realize how old Martha is in the story, as at first her actions seemed to be of someone at a younger age. But this book shows you are never too old to change, never to old to become a better version of yourself.


Thanks to Park Row Books and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

Review 31: The Never Game

The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is a fast paced action mystery book that takes place in Silicon Valley. Colter Shaw is the main character, who also is a mystery to most who meet him. Colter’s line of work is collecting rewards when offered for missing persons mostly. He’s not a bounty hunter or a private investigator, nor has he ever served in the military or police, yet he’s been trained very well. His father, Ashton Shaw home schooled his three children and taught them survivalist tactics.

The book starts about finding a missing college girl that the police think is more a runaway than kidnapping. Shaw finds the girl, and the police finally take it serious, particularly when another kidnapping happens in a similar way. They turn out to be reenacting a video game called The Whispering Man.

The author Deaver is not new to writing books. With over 30 books to his name, the most popular may be The Bone Collector. Deaver knows how to write a fast paced book. At first the writing style seemed clipped to me, short, too abrupt, almost like writing short-hand. I wondered if this is due to the many books he’s already written that some parts become tedious or seems to him not necessary. This was most pronounced with early conversations. Like the characters all spoke in the same clipped way. It didn’t feel natural to me.

By the end of the book I was hooked and could hardly put the book down, wanting to know what happens next. There were a few misdirection and teases so I was a little surprised by the end. We also have a set up for an ongoing personal mystery of Colter’s, which surrounds his father and his death. This book can easily stand alone, but also is a good set up for a new character to follow and a series.

This was the first book I've read by Jeffrey Deaver. While he may write good thriller/mystery books that is generally not my preferred genre. People who enjoy these types of book may well enjoy this one, likely more than myself.

Thanks to G.P.Putnams' Sons/Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.