/tags/5star/ Recent content in 5star on Perlkönig Hugo -- gohugo.io Copyright © 2006-{year} Aaron Dalton. All Rights Reserved. Thu, 17 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/riddle-master-trilogy-by-patricia-mckillip/ Thu, 17 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/riddle-master-trilogy-by-patricia-mckillip/ Rating: 5/5 Patricia A. McKillip, Riddle-Master (New York, NY: Berkely Trade [imprint of Penguin], 1999). The Riddle-Master trilogy is an oldie (1976) but goodie. I read it as a kid and absolutely loved it. I’ve read it a few more times over the years, but it had been quite a while since my last reading. I wanted Adele to read it and was super excited to see they finally released a single-volume edition. /posts/wool-by-hugh-howey/ Fri, 28 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/wool-by-hugh-howey/ Rating: 5/5 Hugh Howey, Wool (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2013). What a pleasant surprise! I just kept hearing about this book from all sorts of different people, so I finally checked it out from the library. I’m so glad I did! When it comes to speculative fiction, authors are faced with the very difficult challenge of introducing the reader to a new and unfamiliar setting without overloading them with boring expository history or spoiling important plot twists or story beats. /posts/movies-secret-of-kells/ Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/movies-secret-of-kells/ Rating: 5/5 Last night Adele and I watched an animated movie called “The Secret of Kells.” What an awesome film! The animation style is very different and the overall design is fantastic. (I loved the wolves!) The story is an imagination of how the gorgeous Book of Kells was created. (If you’re not familiar with the book, I actually recommend reading the Wikipedia article before watching the movie.) I was just enthralled from beginning to end. /posts/professional-baking-by-wayne-gisslen/ Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/professional-baking-by-wayne-gisslen/ Rating: 5/5 Wayne Gisslen, Professional Baking, 5th ed. (New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2009). I love this book! This is a textbook used in cooking schools. It’s perfect if you really want to learn how baking works from the ground up. I love, love, love it! Not only does it have all the standard recipes, it goes through in painstaking detail how they work, why they work, and what to do when things go wrong. /posts/bakewise-by-shirley-o-corriher/ Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/bakewise-by-shirley-o-corriher/ Rating: 5/5 Shirley O. Corriher, BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking with Over 200 Magnificent Recipes (New York: Scribner, 2008). Awesome, awesome, awesome! Corriher goes through all the main categories of baking: cakes, meringues, pies, cookies, and breads. She goes through all the ingredients, the chemistry behind how they work, as well as some awesome basic recipes. For people like me who want to take the next baby step from slavishly following recipes to starting to understand how recipes work (and don’t work), this is an awesome book. /posts/debt-the-first-5000-years-by-david-graeber/ Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/debt-the-first-5000-years-by-david-graeber/ Rating: 5/5 David Graeber, Debt: The First 5,000 Years (New York: Melville House, 2011). I really, really enjoyed this book. This is not a manifesto. It’s an honest-to-goodness anthropological history of money, debt, and everything that goes with it. What I love about the book is how it builds. After going through all the history, when he finally gets to modern times, everything makes sense, without him having to spell it all out. /posts/best-american-essays-2003-edited-by-robert-atwan-and-anne-fadiman/ Mon, 18 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/best-american-essays-2003-edited-by-robert-atwan-and-anne-fadiman/ Rating: 5/5 Robert Atwan and Anne Fadiman (eds.), The Best American Essays 2003 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003). What I am loving most about these essay collections is the diversity. To use a Gumpism, “it’s like a box of chocolates.” There were a handful that I ended up skimming (toffee or peanut butter), and one that just made me sick (orange or cherry), but most were delicious (caramel or mint). They’re also bite sized, so I generally can read one or two on the bus and can stop if one was particularly poignant or thought provoking. /posts/rereadings-edited-by-anne-fadiman/ Sat, 02 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/rereadings-edited-by-anne-fadiman/ Rating: 5/5 Anne Fadiman (ed.), Rereadings (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005). Well I’ve decided that Anne Fadiman is pretty awesome :) I’ve also decided that the “essay” as a genre is pretty awesome too. I don’t know why I’ve had so little exposure to it so far in my life, but there it is. I’m glad I found it now, and I plan on seeking out more. While on my lunch break the other day (reading, of course) a coworker walked by and commented on how I was taking a break from reading to read. /posts/at-large-and-at-small-by-anne-fadiman/ Mon, 28 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/at-large-and-at-small-by-anne-fadiman/ Rating: 5/5 Anne Fadiman, At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays by Anne Fadiman (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2007). Another delightful read. While not as intentionally hilarious as Ex Libris , it certainly has it’s guffaw-inducing moments. She’s a tremendous writer and succeeds well at creating vivid imagery. This book is her contribution to the genre of the “familiar essay,” a genre that is intended as an intimate conversation between the author and a single reader. /posts/ex-libris-by-anne-fadiman/ Sat, 19 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/ex-libris-by-anne-fadiman/ Rating: 5/5 Anne Fadiman, Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998). I just finished reading the most wonderful book! It came up in one of the editing mailing lists I subscribe to. (I wish I could remember who recommended it!) It’s a series of essays by Anne Fadiman (someone I had never heard of before) that talks about her and her family’s obsession with words, books, and reading. /posts/chicago-manual-of-style-16th-ed/ Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/chicago-manual-of-style-16th-ed/ Rating: 5/5 University of Chicago Press, The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. (University of Chicago: 2010). It’s unusual to “review” reference works, perhaps, but the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS, or the “orange bible” [don’t let the dust cover fool you, the book is actually bright orange]) is too exceptional to not mention here. While in my line of work there are sections that see constant, recurring use, I’ve only read the entire 1000+ pages cover to cover three times: I finished the third time today. /posts/almost-christian-by-kenda-creasy-dean/ Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/almost-christian-by-kenda-creasy-dean/ Rating: 5/5 Kenda Creasy Dean, Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church (Oxford University Press, 2010). I’ve been holding off writing this review so I could let the book percolate a bit in my head. Regardless of where you might stand theologically, the debate/struggle/discussion this book represents is, in my opinion, vital. I happen to believe strongly in the reality of God, Jesus Christ, and all that that entails. /posts/the-name-of-the-wind-by-patrick-rothfuss/ Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/the-name-of-the-wind-by-patrick-rothfuss/ Rating: 5/5 Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind (New York: DAW, 2008). I have a general rule that forbids me from starting a series of books that’s not already finished. It can take years for a sequel to make it through production, and by that time I’ve read so many other books that I basically have to start over anyway. When I first picked this book up, I wasn’t aware that it was the first of a trilogy. /posts/the-martian-chronicles-by-ray-bradbury/ Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/the-martian-chronicles-by-ray-bradbury/ Rating: 5/5 Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles (New York: Avon, 2011). Originally published in 1950, The Martian Chronicles is another of those classics that I have known about but never taken the time to read. This is a true piece of literary art—poetry. The core story is of the colonization of Mars. It doesn’t sound very poetic, but trust me. Even if you’re not a science fiction fan, you will find something in these stories that moves you. /posts/wheat-belly-by-william-davis/ Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/wheat-belly-by-william-davis/ Rating: 5/5 William Davis, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health (New York: Rodale, 2011). This is another book that talks about the low-carb diet, wheat in particular. Did you know that wheat impacts your blood sugar even more than table sugar? One of his main points is that the wheat we eat today is simply not the same wheat we were eating even 50 years ago. /posts/why-we-get-fat-by-gary-taubes/ Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/why-we-get-fat-by-gary-taubes/ Rating: 5/5 Gary Taubes, Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011). If you wanted to read Taubes’s book Good Calories, Bad Calories (GCBC) but were put off by the 500 pages of small print, then immediately go out and get this book. This is a distillation of GCBC crammed into just over 200 pages of normal-sized print. The core message is the same and delivered just as forcefully. /posts/good-calories-bad-calories-by-gary-taubes/ Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/good-calories-bad-calories-by-gary-taubes/ Rating: 5/5 Gary Taubes, Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007). This book is required reading. If you care at all about your health, if you are diabetic or obese, if you just need to decide what to make for dinner, you absolutely owe it to yourself to read this book. It requires some effort, but anything worthwhile does. /posts/guest-post-secret-daughter-by-shilpi-gowda/ Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/guest-post-secret-daughter-by-shilpi-gowda/ This is another guest post by my wife, Adele. Rating: 5/5 Shilpi Somaya Gowda, Secret Daughter (New York: William Morrow, 2010). After I finished this book, when I had let the whole story sink in, I felt I had finished reading a work of art. The author uses the style of jumping from one person’s perspective to another’s from chapter to chapter. Usually I find this kind of book hard to follow, and they usually don’t hold my interest for long. /posts/guest-post-still-alice-by-lisa-genova/ Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/guest-post-still-alice-by-lisa-genova/ This is our first guest post. My wife, Adele, has been doing some reading and wanted to share her thoughts with all of you. Here we go! Rating: 5/5 Lisa Genova, Still Alice (New York: Pocket Books, 2009). A wonderful and educational read! This is a story of how one Alice discovers she has Alzheimer’s and how that affects not only her but those she loves. What makes this book brilliant is how the author manages to truly give a very real first-person glimpse of what someone with a disability (Alzheimer’s or any other) goes through as they watch themselves morph into something foreign and undesirable to them and others. /posts/the-vegetarian-myth-by-lierre-keith/ Mon, 30 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/the-vegetarian-myth-by-lierre-keith/ Rating: 5/5 Lierre Keith, The Vegetarian Myth: Food Justice, and Sustainability, 4th ed. (Crescent City, CA: Flashpoint Press, 2009). Everyone should read this book. Don’t let the title fool you. It’s not a book just for vegetarians. Nor is it some brutal tirade against vegetarianism. Keith was a vegan for 20 years, and her appeal to vegetarians—nay, everyone—is empathetic and heartfelt. Her writing style is so direct and immediate that you can’t help but feel her powerful emotions. /posts/music-im-listening-to-20th-century/ Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/music-im-listening-to-20th-century/ One thing about editing is that music can be very distracting, especially music with any sort of lyric. So, when I’m editing I do so generally in silence (or purely instrumental music if it’s a lighter text). I love it, then, when I get to the design and layout stage because I can listen to anything I want. Three CDs came up in my rotation today that I wanted to share—all of which from twentieth-century composers. /posts/music-im-listening-to-early-music/ Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/music-im-listening-to-early-music/ It’s an overly broad term, but essentially “Early Music” refers to Western music from “the beginning” through the sixteenth century (including some artists and genres of the seventeenth). This time period is where I spent most of my time and energy in university, and my honour’s and master’s theses focused on composers from this period. Unfortunately this music is not very widely listened to, so I hope to give those of you who haven’t had much exposure to this kind of music a few places to start—a whopping six places, actually. /posts/anime-a-primer/ Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/anime-a-primer/ One genre I enjoy for the most part is anime. I’m not hard core or anything, and there’s plenty I don’t like, but there’s quite a bit that I do. My recent Netflix binge has only stoked this even more as I suddenly have access to so many shows I couldn’t access before. The purpose of this post is to mention my three favourite shows (so far) to set the stage for possible future posts on this topic. /posts/classic-streisand-funny-girl-hello-dolly/ Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/classic-streisand-funny-girl-hello-dolly/ Rating: 5/5 I love musicals. I particularly love musicals with strong stories. Adele & I have recently discovered Netflix, and one of the best things about it is the wealth of older movies we can watch for next to nothing. This weekend we sat down and watched two favourites of mine, “Funny Girl” and “Hello, Dolly!” Streisand has one of the most expressive vocal instruments I have ever heard. I love to hear her sing. /posts/a-view-from-the-eye-of-the-storm-by-haim-harari/ Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/a-view-from-the-eye-of-the-storm-by-haim-harari/ Rating: 5/5 Haim Harari, A View From the Eye of the Storm: Terror and Reason in the Middle East (New York: Regan Books, 2005). Read this book. It will only take a few hours. It is worth every minute. /posts/board-game-bohnanza/ Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/board-game-bohnanza/ Rating: 5/5 “Bohnanza” by Rio Grande Games If you’ve known me for long, you know I’m an avid gamer. While I enjoy games in any medium, nothing beats face-to-face, tabletop gaming. (I still think Bridge is the greatest of man’s creations.) And when it comes to face-to-face gaming with a group of non- or semi-gamers, nothing beats a rousing round of Bohnanza. Bohnanza is a high-interaction game of bean trading—yes, bean trading. /posts/christopher-marlowes-doctor-faustus/ Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/christopher-marlowes-doctor-faustus/ Rating: 5/5 Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, ed. John D. Jump (New York: Routledge, 2002). Dr. Faustus was an actual historical figure. He was apparently an itinerant scholar and fortune teller, and there is some documentation on his life during the first quarter of the sixteenth century. (See the Wikipedia article for more information. ) This documentation suggests that he committed immoral acts while a schoolmaster and that he was particularly arrogant and boastful. /posts/imagination-in-place-by-wendell-berry/ Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/imagination-in-place-by-wendell-berry/ Rating: 5/5 Wendell Berry, Imagination in Place (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint Press, 2010). I have read a fair bit of Wendell Berry lately, and I will soon be looking more closely at his fiction. This collection of essays is more autobiographical and is certainly more literary. The overall focus is on influence—how we are influenced by our place and by who we know and what we read. He suggests (p. 42): /posts/what-matters-by-wendell-berry/ Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/what-matters-by-wendell-berry/ Rating: 5/5 Wendell Berry, What Matters? Economics for a Renewed Commonwealth (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2010). I can’t say enough how much I enjoy Wendell Berry’s writing. At a technical level, his writing is beautiful. He uses plain language , and his arguments are clearly and logically laid out. At a content level, he really speaks to me. I have known for a long time that the world has truly gone insane, but Berry chapters and verses it in clear, powerful language. /posts/the-death-and-life-of-the-great-american-school-system-by-diane-ravitch/ Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/the-death-and-life-of-the-great-american-school-system-by-diane-ravitch/ Rating: 3/5 Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education (New York: Basic Books, 2010). Well I’ve decided to stop reading books about education for a while. I just get too frustrated and frankly, too hopeless. If Adele and I are ever in a position to have children, it will be home school all the way. (I’m not saying that’s a perfect solution to all problems, but a solution given the current circumstances. /posts/home-economics-by-wendell-berry/ Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/home-economics-by-wendell-berry/ Rating: 5/5 Wendell Berry, Home Economics: Fourteen Essays by Wendell Berry (San Francisco: North Point Press, 1987). One thing I love about editing is the opportunity to read so many different types of texts I would never normally pick up. Sometimes, even if the book I’m editing is not particularly interesting, I almost always find at least one book or author cited that catches my attention. The Solnit book I previously posted about and this collection both came from my current project. /posts/wanderlust-by-rebecca-solnit/ Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/wanderlust-by-rebecca-solnit/ Rating: 5/5 Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking (New York: Viking, 2000). I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is beautifully written and I think hits some very powerful points. It’s not a history of walking per se (what would that look like?) but more a history of what walking has meant and how the perception of the peripatetic has changed over time. She touches on issues of class, gender, and politics. /posts/stories-of-h-p-lovecraft/ Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/stories-of-h-p-lovecraft/ Rating: 5/5 S. Joshi (ed.), The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (Penguin Classics, 1999). I just finished The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories containing stories of H. P. Lovecraft edited by S. T. Joshi. It does not contain the entirety of Lovecraft’s stories, but it apparently includes the major ones (18 in total). Lovecraft wrote “weird” fiction (horror, supernatural) in the early 20th century, but he wrote primarily in a 19th century style. /posts/otherland-tetralogy-by-tad-williams/ Mon, 04 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/otherland-tetralogy-by-tad-williams/ Rating: 5/5 Tad Williams, Otherland (4 vols: City of Golden Shadow, River of Blue Fire, Mountain of Black Glass, and Sea of Silver Light) (DAW, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001). An oldie but goodie. Published between 1994 and 2001, Otherland is a massive novel (3000ish pages across 4 volumes). It’s not a series. It really is one large story split up for reasons of practicality across multiple volumes. When I first started it and saw how long it was, I was not sure if Williams would be able to keep the pacing up and keep me interested over so many pages. /posts/luigi-pirandello/ Thu, 16 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/luigi-pirandello/ Rating: 5/5 I have just finished 2 courses in Italian literature and theatre and wanted to share my most recent discoveries. Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936) was born in Sicily and wrote short stories, novels and plays. His works are very available in translation and I was truly surprised that I had never encountered his work in any of my past English courses. First, his plays. The two I most recommend are Cosí è (se vi pare) [Right you are (If you think you are)] and Sei personaggi in cerca d’autore [Six characters in search of an author].