Tag: amreading

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#BookReview: Year Of No Garbage by Eve O. Schaub

Realistic Look At The Practical Side Of Trying To Eliminate Household Garbage. I intentionally read this book immediately after reading Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis (which is scheduled to release about two months after this book), and the convergences and divergences were quite interesting. Franklin-Wallis’ text is absolutely the better, more well-rounded, guide to almost the entirety of the overall waste problem around the world, and is has nearly triple the overall percentage of the text as bibliography – indicating *far* more actual research and documentation. This is actually the first star deduction – the lack of bibliography. Perhaps more excusable in a more memoir-based book such as this, but even among memoirs, getting closer to that 20% range on documentation is more typical in my own experience with reading Advance Reviewer Copies of these types of books.

But where *this* text stands out is in just how *practical* it is. Schaub is apparently effectively a performance artist whose medium is memoirs, and she has to learn quite a bit along the way and ask a *lot* of questions of people that I’m honestly not sure Joe Blow (who can’t say that he is working on a memoir) would ever have actual access to. But even outside of all the questions Schaub asks of various waste industry professionals and activists, she has to wrestle with the day to day realities of truly trying to eliminate 100% of her family’s trash – for an entire year. A year which turned out to be 2020, and thus involve the worst parts of the global collapse and home imprisonment. Which is where the star deduction comes in, as I DO NOT WANT TO READ ABOUT COVID. Yes, even in 2023.

Nevertheless, the challenges Schaub had to surmount were indeed quite formidable, and in the end she learned a hard fought, depressing for some, lesson: Ultimately, eliminating 100% of garbage cannot currently be done in modern society. *Perhaps* as a true Homesteader/ Survivalist – which Schaub is not and therefore did not test -, but for the vast majority of those living in the modern, Western-ish society, it simply cannot be done.

Read the book to see how close Schaub and her family got and all the trials and travails they had to go through to get there. Schaub writes in a fashion that comes across as both no-nonsense and humorous, and the tale reads well because of this. Her ultimate recommendations… let’s just go with “Your Mileage May Vary” on. If you’re a avowed environmentalist fan of Bernie Sanders… you’re probably going to like a lot of them, perhaps all of them. The further away from that archetype you are, the less you’re likely to agree with her recommendations.

Still, regardless of where you think you’ll land on her recommendations – and thus, how much you’ll want to throw this book on the nearest trash heap, pour gallons of gas all over it, and light it up (even if it is on your Kindle) -, read this book to see just how hard it is to eliminate household garbage in the US, and perhaps start thinking about some possible solutions for your family or possibly policy solutions for your local community, your state, and/ or your nation that more align with your own principles.

Overall, this book is very much recommended.

This review of Year Of No Garbage by Eve O. Schaub was originally written on April 8, 2023.

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#BookReview: Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis

Comprehensive Look At The World Of Waste. I’ve seen bits and pieces of some of this in some books, such as Plastic Free by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, Unraveled by Maxine Bedat, Worn Out by Alyssa Hardy, Pipe Dreams by Chelsea Wald, and Sewer by Jessica Leigh Hester, just to name a few. And I’ve even lived a version of some of it, having worked at a US nuclear waste disposal facility a couple of times over a period of a couple of years. But this is the first book I’ve ever found that really covers all aspects of waste from nearly every possible angle. About the only glaring omission, perhaps, is space junk – the orbital debris that causes headaches for new and existing satellites and the International Space Station and could one day cause a *major* problem terrestrially via knocking all satellites out of usability (an issue known as the Kessler Effect, and used quite well in the late Matthew Mather’s Cyber Storm trilogy of fiction).

But what Franklin-Wallis *does* cover, he truly does cover in remarkable depth and clarity, using a combination of direct interviews and scholarly research to give both a human face to each particular issue and ground it in its full severity. This books is truly quite eye opening in several different respects, and will likely greatly add to the overall discussion of the topic… assuming enough people read it. Which is, in part, where this review comes in. Go read the book already. 🙂

The documentation is *maybe* *slightly* low at about 21% of the overall text, but this is actually within the lower bound of “normal” in my experience, and thus not worthy of a star deduction nor even true criticism, I’m simply noting it because I try to make a similar note in most non-fiction reviews.

Overall truly an excellent book full of both reality and hope, and very much recommended.

This review of Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis was originally written on April 8, 2023.

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#BookReview: Curse Of The Pharoah by David Wood

Indiana Jones Meets The Mummy Meets Starship Troopers. Ok, ok. Indiana Jones and The Mummy are self explanatory, Sexton. Both of those are adventure stories that take place in the same basic time period, and if you’ve got an adventure in that period that goes to Egypt at all, ok, The Mummy comparison works. We get it. (Sexton notes that it also works due to actual events late in the book…) But WTF dude???? How the HELL can you compare *that* type of book to Starship FREAKING Troopers? Are you out of your FREAKING mind???? (Sexton explains that there is a particular creature in this tale – foreshadowed by events earlier in the tale – that is at least somewhat reminiscent of a particular bug in the movie form of Starship Troopers, one of Sexton’s favorite movies that he can just turn on and let run any time. Enough for his brain to make the connection, at least. 😉 )

But enough of my internal discussion here. Seriously, this is yet another solid adventure from Wood, and one that actually manages to connect this series to Woods’ more extensive one in a rather blatant way… that you’ll have to read the book to find out. Very much recommended.

This review of Curse Of The Pharoah by David Wood was originally written on April 1, 2023.

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#BookReview: Small Farm Republic by John Klar

Questionable Sources Mar Intriguing Premise. This book’s general premise – a strategy for the American Right to lean in to its traditional principles, ignore “Climate Change”, and yet still manage to out-green the American Left – is a truly intriguing idea, one Klar has clearly put quite a bit of thought into. His general plan does in fact read like a Republican was trying to put together exactly that type of plan, but in a fairly realistic, “this is actually politically viable” manner. (Rather than the “pie in the sky” so many demagogues of all stripes generally propose.)

What calls this book into question are the sources it uses – two, in fact, that I’ve reviewed before and which have proven to be questionable themselves (Chris Smaje’s October 2020 book A Small Farm Future and Shanna Swan and Stacey Colino’s February 2021 book Count Down). Citing either one as what the author considers to be legitimate evidence would be enough for a star deduction on its own, and thus the two star deduction here.

This review of Small Farm Republic by John Klar was originally written on April 1, 2023.

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#BookReview: Our Tribal Future by David R. Samson

Contempt Is The Dissolver Of Unions. Yes, that is a particularly memorable line from the book – and a warning. Here, Samson discusses the history, biology, and sociology of our “Tribe Drive” – ongoing and apparently bleeding edge research in all three fields – and shows how it has brought us to where we are… and how we can better utilize it to achieve a more peaceable and prosperous future for all. Yes, some of this book is a touch… out there… for some, such as Samson’s admitting to basing some of his thinking of this topic on his use of psychedelic mushrooms, peyote, and similar compounds. And yes, there are things here that partisans left and right will likely complain about – some legitimately, some less so. And yes, in ultimately recommending a form of at minimum confederation of federated governments – if not outright anarchism, which he discusses without ever using the term, yet never precludes that the groups he discusses could become official “governments” – perhaps Samson is even a touch idealistic. And yet, the documentation is solid at around 20% of the text (not counting footnote discussions at the end of each chapter, which may bump that to around 22-25% of the text). Further, the book lays bare in scientific terms that which I’ve largely understood and have been advocating at various points for the last 15 years or so, through my own active political activism days and into my efforts to promote reading and literacy now.

Overall an intriguing, thought out book and one that adds greatly to the overall conversation around groups, governments, coalitions, and politics, and thus one that anyone who seeks to truly understand and use these concepts truly needs to read and understand. Very much recommended.

This review of Our Tribal Future by David R. Samson was originally written on April 1, 2023.

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#BookReview: What Jesus Intended by Todd D. Hunter

Solid Work Within Its Field. For those already familiar with the arguments presented here – at an extremely high level, essentially that religious leaders rarely know what the hell they are doing and tend to create “bad religion”, but Jesus Himself is “good religion” – this is fairly standard stuff, presented in the fairly typical Christian Living genre format of some essay around a given topic with a few application questions at the end of the chapter. At least as someone well versed in what Mr. Hunter was talking about, there was nothing particularly ground breaking here, but perhaps this is the presentation that will allow some to approach the topic – in which case I’m fairly certain Mr. Hunter and I would agree that it would have been worth it for that reason alone.

The star deduction here is for the rampant proof texting, but it is rare to find a book in this particular genre without this practice.

And the other thing I felt I needed to call out here was the devotion of the final chapter to a particular ministry… where it turns out that its leader is one of Mr. Hunter’s mentors, as he mentions just pages later in the Acknowledgments. This to me felt at least a touch improper, perhaps another similar minstry could have been highlighted there rather than one so closely personal to Mr. Hunter. But this is far from an allegation of actual impropriety, simply something that pings my own ethical philosophy – which I never hold anyone else to.

Overall a solid work in its field, and one worth considering even if you *are* familiar with the general arguments. Very much recommended.

This review of What Jesus Intended by Todd D. Hunter was originally written on March 27, 2023.

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#BlogTour: The Cuban Daughter by Soraya Lane

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a second book in a very loosley connected series that proves to be even more powerful than the first. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Cuban Daughter by Soraya Lane.

Here’s what I said on Goodreads:

Second Verse More Powerful Than The First. This was the second book in this new trilogy where Lane combines both sides of her writing to phenomenal success. As Soraya M Lane, Lane generally writes compelling and seemingly realistic historical fiction. As Soraya Lane, Lane generally writes more contemporary romance, with all that said genre entails. With this series, Lane manages to execute on Digimon Frontier’s Susanoomon ultimate combined evolution and combine both sides of herself into one truly powerful writer. Both sides of this work just as well as any fan of either side of her writing would expect, and combine to breathtaking and heartbreaking result. Cuba comes alive in this tale in ways few American media really allow it to do, both in the historical side and in the contemporary side – which may be helped by the fact that Lane lives in New Zealand and this particular series is published by a British imprint? 🙂 Truly an excellent book, and one loosely coupled enough from its predecessor (who is only briefly alluded to near the beginning of this tale) that anyone can pick up either book in either order and not really miss anything or be spoiled of any details from the other book. Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, social media, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Cuban Daughter by Soraya Lane”

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#BookReview: Singularity by Jeremy Robinson

The New God Of Science Fiction Outdoes Even Avengers: Endgame. First off, let me tell you up front: This isn’t the book for you if you haven’t read the other 12 books in the Infinite Timeline first. That noted… you NEED to read those books, because you NEED to read this book.

Why?

Because it is quite possibly *THE* unique novel in all of human history. Certainly in my own expansive, yet *very* tiny relative to all novels, few thousand book reading history. Here, Robinson openly takes inspiration from the “event” form comic books have taken for decades and which movies finally got a taste of with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and brings this structure into novels – hence, the Infinite Timeline itself.

SINGULARITY, this book, is its “Avengers: Endgame”, and Robinson is able to execute on the things that Endgame does well *even better* than it did… *and* add several instances of depth, fan service, and meta commentary that Endgame could never have attempted, let alone fit in.

The darkness in this book is intense. The world is about to end, and our ragtag group of simple humans, enhanced humans, and outright Greek Gods has to come together to stop it… with enough humor to make one think your favorite group of comedians had somehow written a dark and gritty scifi action epic. You’re going to *feel* the world ending, the threat growing and becoming impossible to defeat. Even through this, you’re going to laugh your ass off at the antics of our heroes as they fight with all the (considerable) might and talent they can bring to bear.

Are there any outright “Avengers! Assemble.” moments here? For me, there was in fact one. The moment we encounter the titular Singularity. The moment the MCU could never hope to replicate (even though it has tried, post-Endgame).

This is quite possibly *the* unique novel in all of human existence.

It will very likely be *quite* some time – if ever – that I encounter a *better* novel.

Do yourself a favor. Read the Infinite Timeline. Just so you can experience this particular OHMYGODAMAZEBALLSAWESOMESAUCE novel yourself.

Very much recommended.

This review of Singularity by Jeremy Robinson was originally written on March 21, 2023.

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#BookReview: The Syndicate Spy by Brittany Butler

Near Future Examination Of Toxic Femininity. Did I grab you with that title? Well, as it turns out, one of the more interesting lasting features of this book is, in fact, its look at feminism and how even here, noble ideals can be perverted. But the setup to get to that particular moment – and its resultant *need* for Book 2 of this nascent series – is at least as compelling, showing two women from such divergent cultures – one “enlightened” Western, the other “repressed” Muslim – and how women truly live in each, for worse – and for better – and with all of the resultant struggles within each system. The action is intense and at times literally explosive, and the chase for the almost Osama Bin Laden type terrorist looming in the background is easily reminiscent of many of the Vince Flynn written Mitch Rapp thrillers. Overall a pretty solidly written tale that brings enough “new”/ “different” to the genre to be refreshing, without deviating so much from genre standards as to be alienating. Very much recommended.

This review of The Syndicate Spy by Brittany Butler was originally written on March 21, 2023.

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#BookReview: Love In The Alaskan Wilds by Jennifer Snow

Need More From These Characters. Maybe it was because this novella was on the back of a full length novel (Second Chance Alaska) where best friends suddenly became lovers, but this novella – while technically a complete romance according to all RWA standards as I know them – feels more like the beginning of a romance than an actual full fledged romance. Which is weird, because in pretty well every other novella Snow has done, you never get this sense at all. Yes, they are all similarly paced and have a similar page count, and this one does in fact continue both of these. But with the others, it felt like we were getting a complete romance tale… condensed. Here, it feels more like we’re getting the first date/ very beginning of the relationship. Which works and was great… it just felt like there was so much more to do with these two characters. Thus, if the series is in fact continuing, this reader in particular hopes that this couple can become at least prominent secondary characters in a follow up tale. Even for the brevity here, this is still an excellent introduction to this author, her manner of storytelling, and the general setting and stories of this particular series – for any that may be coming into this new. For longer time fans, this is a solid outing in this particular series. Very much recommended.

This review of Love In The Alaskan Wilds by Jennifer Snow was originally written on March 21, 2023.