Adventures in Eating by Haines and Sammells

I like travel. I like food. Sadly, this book didn't excite me. It was a lot more academic than I had hoped, so the experience wasn't as enjoyable. The book is not just about types of food consumed around the world, but looks at foods from an anthropological experience.

Here's a random thought. Why are so many anthropologists vegetarians? Unfortunately, I have nothing else to say about this.

Rating - 1

Adventures In Bookbinding by Jeannine Stein

I'm beginning to think that any legitimate topic can be made to sound silly by including the word "adventure". It's like when you write a word so many times that it looks misspelled.

 I am not an arts and crafts type of person, but I certainly appreciate those who are, especially when it involves taking something that would otherwise be considered trash and making something beautiful. Anyone interested in taking on the projects described in this book would benefit from a previous foundation in crafts and bookbinding, and must have some knowledge of various folding and stitching techniques.

Like any good how-to book, this has excellent step by step photos which not only demonstrate the correct methods, but inspire and leave room for lots of creativity. I never suspected that a book could make felt making seem so fun. A few highlights are the project templates in the back of the book and the examples of variations of each method submitted by Jane Does around the world. It's incredibly modern (references Etsy.com) and appears to be a fun way to spend time.

Rating - 3

Adventures From the Technology Underground by William Gurstelle

This book has a great tagline: Catapults, Pulsejets, Rail Guns, Flamethrowers, Tesla Coils, Air Cannons, and the Garage Warriors Who Love Them. If you're a budding tech geek, this book may be for you. Gurstelle begins his book by setting some solid definitions around the phrase "technology underground." They are as follows:
1. Projects are founded upon physical sciences.
2. Those creating the projects maintain amateur standing.
3. The projects are always edgy and often dangerous.
4. High energy
5. The projects are social endeavors, and as such, elicit certain recognition.

I'm not a science-y person. I enjoy watching Punkin Chunkin competitions, and as much as I would love to have my own trebuchet, I have no desire to build it myself. For readers like myself, Gurstelle's writing style is clever and comedic. For those who do want the design details, they are provided in separate sections of each chapter.

I feel like this book would be best suited for a budding science nerd in the late teenage years. Someone with a beginners grasp of physics and room to experiment with different ways to express oneself. Definitely not intended for the masses or else it would require a different title.

Rating - 3

Adventures at the Auction by Leslie Hindman

There is no end to the corny titles I encounter at the library. I was looking forward to skimming through this book as quickly as possible, but it did prove to be somewhat interesting after all.
When I think of auctions, I picture two very opposite scenarios. The first is Hollywood's portrayal of auction houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's, with high profile buyers in suits and no item selling for less than $10k. The other is the Kalona Sale Barn, where the smell of hogs is so thick and the speed of the auctioneer's chanting is so fast, that the thought of bidding is far too intimidating for a novice such as myself. Then again, I'm not in the market for livestock.
This book treats auctions in a much more realistic light. Leslie Hindman, auctioneer and former auction house owner, states that the only items she doesn't buy at auction at clothing. Being a woman, I have an ingrained urge to take advantage of a sale. I don't know why it is, but just reading about some of the deals one can find at auction really got me salivating.
I realized that eBay and other online auction sites have been pretty big for decades now, but they've never really appealed to me. After reading this book, however, live auctions may be the way to go. I've only just now realized how many auctions are in the area on a weekly basis. Luckily, my condo is far to small to accommodate a new addiction.
As far as books go, it's pretty well written and not as boring as I expected. Each chapter has a special section discussing online auctions, but the book was written in 2001 and much of the information is outdated. As such, I wouldn't really recommend it as I'm sure there are newer books with just as much valuable information on the topic.

Rating - 2

Adventures Among Ants by Mark W. Moffett

I'm currently writing while on a sugar low, so I apologize if this blog post is less exciting than I intend. I loved this book.

 Mark Moffett is great. His bug love and intelligence is equally matched by his amazing photo skills and great story telling. I will even forgive his use of split infinitives and constant changes between past and present tense. I can see why this book may be bore and intimidate a few people. It is rather long and..well..it's about ants, but once you get into it it's quite engaging. I was so interested in the marauder ant by the end of the first section, that I was a little disappointed when he moved on to talk about army ants...at first.

The more I read, the more I realized just how amazing ants are. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good book. Did you know that weaver ants secure their tree-top nests by squeezing silk threads out of their own larvae and literally "weave" it back and forth? How bout that some ant species not only keep "cattle" like aphids, but some make slaves by raiding other colonies and raising foreign ant species as their own to do all the labor and pampering?

 Read the book. I don't care if insects gross you out. It's good stuff.

Rating - 4

Adventure Travel

Time for another travel book. This one is from the Fodor's organization, so you know it's gonna be reliable. Unlike my last travel book, Adventure Travel is a much more recent publication. The locations in it span the entire globe, and it is split into sections based on the type of activity a traveler is looking for.
One major focus in the book is ecologically responsible travel. Each excursion includes a list of green tips such as what kind of shampoo to use, how to deal with human waste, etc. It's obviously not the kind of book one would pick up just to read...besides me, but it's well laid out and includes some nice photography to motivate the adventurous souls.

Rating - 3

The Adventure of Archaeology

When I was little, I wanted to be an archaeologist. It's not the only aspiration I had. I also wanted to be a concert pianist and astronaut. But Indiana Jones inspired me, and for a while I wanted to follow in his footsteps..in a less scary way. Now the subject kind of bores me.

The Adventure of Archaeology by Brian M. Fagan is a huge book about the whole history of archaeology and where it stands today. Yes, there are plenty of photos to keep the reader entertained on the way. And I finally learned how the Parthenon was ruined and how Agatha Christie is connected to the world of archaeology.

I do wonder if archaeology is declining now that so much has already been discovered. Will it be like forensics and decline in popularity once all the available jobs have been taken? I know there are still plenty of dig sites in Israel and underwater archaeology is still going strong.

All in all, I had a hard time finishing the book because it just didn't hold my attention very well. Yes, I realize that archaeology is not all glamour and excitement like film would try to portray, but I was still disappointed.

Rating - 1

Adventure New England

Ah, New England! Land of fall foliage, Ben & Jerry's ice cream and salt-water taffy. This particular guide is targeted to the vacationer with a love of the outdoors. Diane Bair and Pamela Wright must be a daring duo, because instead of writing this book stock full of jargon from the tourism bureau, the authors have written about each excursion from their own experience. And it has everything from orienteering to fly fishing to ice climbing. I wonder if they went to all of these places and then decided they were experts enough to write a book about it or if they were commissioned to write and paid the fees for all the adventures.

Outdoorsy people make me jealous. As much as I love hiking and camping, I've done very little of it. Books like this one do inspire me to some degree to do things like canoeing and spelunking. Things like kayaking and downhill skiing however will never make my list. "Wet exit" can't be natural. After reading this book I desperately want to ride aboard the Brilliant in Mystic, CT. I hope she's still floating.

The writing is of a high quality, being both entertaining and fully informative. I would strongly recommend the book if it weren't for one crucial point: it was written in 1996. The contact info, pricing, even locations and proprietor names are outdated to the point that one may as well start their search for adventure with an entirely different book.

Rating - 2

Adventure Classics

Meh. Adventure Classics is part of the Graphic Classics series. It features short stories by the likes of Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Zane Grey, but is visualized into graphic novel form.

I like a good graphic novel, especially as an escape from the norm. This, however, didn't hit the spot for me. The illustrations of most of the stories are rough on the eyes and made the story hard to follow. The stories themselves aren't really that adventurous, nor are they really classics, regardless of their being written by classic authors.

No high marks here.

Rating - 1

Adventure Capitalist

Here is another book where the wording of the tagline can make or break the interest of the potential reader: "The Ultimate Investor's Road Trip". To clarify, this is about the road trip that the ultimate investor made, not about road tripping for investors.
I love this book! It's easy for me to enjoy a book about traveling especially when it's a first-hand account of someone who actually spends time in places, getting to know the locals and understanding their culture as much as possible. Jim Rogers is an investor (duh) who decided to drive around the world in three years with his new wife (married during the trip) and a very beastly looking yellow Mercedes.
Because of his background as an investor, and a very successful one at that, Rogers was able to view the world from that perspective. His writing style is exciting, he has very diverse tastes, and he has very strong opinions. I don't necessarily agree with all the conclusions he makes, but his expertise definitely makes one pay attention.

Rating - 4/5

Advantage

I was a bit tentative when I picked up this book by Adam Segal. The tagline is "How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge". In an election year, anything that hints of political territory can put me on edge, but I set aside my own assumptions and read it anyway.

 My first and perhaps most important observation is that Advantage is very hopeful. Instead of listing all the problems with the West or the East, Segal focuses on how and why America should be breeding innovation, mostly scientific, in order to save us from our own economic crisis. I am in no way a science buff, but my husband is in physics, so it provided me a bit of a personal connection to the topic.

 I took so many notes that I wanted to share here, but the play I was in kept me too busy to post, and the notes have since disappeared. I may not recommend the book to everyone just because of the subject matter itself, but if you have any interest in political science or research and development, you should read this book, and soon.

Rating - 3

An Advancement of Learning

First things first. I am quite pleased to learn that this book cover is not the only one in print, because this one is absolutely awful. An Advancement of Learning is actually a rather exciting mystery novel, but I would have never chosen it if it weren't for this reading challenge.
Ok, now on to the juicy, mysterious details. The first thing that distinguishes this book among other mystery novels is the fact that it is written by a man. Reginald Hill immediately drew me in to his book with his descriptive visuals. The word play is quintessentially British and helps define the characters within the story.
This is the second book in his Dalziel & Pascoe series, following the adventures of two Yorkshire detective partners. The two are hardly alike, but their separate strengths seem to help discover "who done it". The book follows the typical mystery structure, with an obvious exposition, scandals, false leads, chase, and a nice wrap-up explaining how everything happened. The only real criticism I have is that it is too long. At least too long for my tastes. Otherwise, quite a fun read.

Rating - 3

Advanced Stickfighting

How do you teach stick fighting with a book? By filling most of the book with nonsensical spiritual vagueness. Masaaki Hatsumi suggests that these spiritual explanations are fundamental to stick fighting, but if that's true, then surely they belong to a book about basic stick fighting instead.
But I don't want to give the impression that I disliked reading this book. I want to frame every photo in it to hang on my wall. It does seem a strange way to teach a martial art however. I may not be an expert, but I assume that live instruction or even video would be much more useful. I had difficulty understanding the sequence of movements even with the photos.

Rating - 2

Advanced Skateboarding

Ah skateboarding. Something I have very rarely attempted, with less than desirable consequences. This particular book didn't exactly inspire me to pick it up again, but I still found it to be a serviceable read.
Advanced Skateboarding by Aaron Rosenberg is part of a larger book series called The World of Skateboarding. The books are short, concise, and complete with loads of photos to help illustrate the techniques described. Terms are explained nicely and the color scheme and layout help the reader progress from one idea to the next.
If you already have mastered the ollie, but want some advice on cool new tricks to learn, this book may help. Or, you could just watch a million videos on the same topic.

Rating - 2

Advanced Screenwriting

Often times, I begin reading a book with a preformed opinion of how it's going to be. I try not to read the little blurb about the author until I'm finished, so as not to shape my bias toward or away from his or her expertise.
Advanced Screenwriting by Linda Seger is one of the more boring books that I've read to date, and I've recently read about household plumbing. The tagline makes me want to retch: Taking Your Writing To the Academy Award Level. This gives the reader the sense that the goal of the instruction in the book is not so much to improve ones writing abilities as much as it is to cater to a particular group of people for the purposes of an award. That may not be Seger's goal, but it does give that impression.
Why is this book advanced? The topics covered seem pretty basic to me. She does use a lot of examples to illustrate her points, but then she goes on and on for pages talking about what happens in a handful of movies. The examples would be more meaningful and instructive if she toned it down a bit and left out some of the embellishment.
This is, of course, only my opinion, but that's why it's my blog. If you want to advance your screenwriting skills, don't bother with this book.

Rating - 1