Month: July 2010

author: Mike Smith
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2010/07/11
date added: 2010/07/12
shelves: history, non-fiction, science
review:
Primarily the story of how the tornado warning system came to be, including the author’s participation as a TV weather guy and then founder of a private weather service. And when he sticks to that, it’s good stuff.

Periodically, there’s these sort of anti-government zingers that just hit me the wrong way, although I can see where they come from, given his experience. Also, the last quarter of the book (except for the last chapter) goes into great detail about hurricanes (specifically Andrew & Katrina), and a lot of that is about the political aspects. So…meh. Although that last chapter is a great wrap-up of the difference between the response to a recent tornado versus response to a tornado 50+ years ago.

And one tiny quibble: the blurb gives the impression that he’s talking about all the different kinds of weather events in the US, when really it’s almost all tornadoes, with a detour into hurricanes. Coming from an area where tornadoes are vanishingly rare, I was a bit disappointed.

I think this makes a good read in conjunction with other weather history books: Children’s Blizzard, Isaac’s Storm, Cliff Mass’s book, etc.

author: Mike Smith
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2010/07/11
date added: 2010/07/12
shelves: history, non-fiction, science
review:
Primarily the story of how the tornado warning system came to be, including the author’s participation as a TV weather guy and then founder of a private weather service. And when he sticks to that, it’s good stuff.

Periodically, there’s these sort of anti-government zingers that just hit me the wrong way, although I can see where they come from, given his experience. Also, the last quarter of the book (except for the last chapter) goes into great detail about hurricanes (specifically Andrew & Katrina), and a lot of that is about the political aspects. So…meh. Although that last chapter is a great wrap-up of the difference between the response to a recent tornado versus response to a tornado 50+ years ago.

And one tiny quibble: the blurb gives the impression that he’s talking about all the different kinds of weather events in the US, when really it’s almost all tornadoes, with a detour into hurricanes. Coming from an area where tornadoes are vanishingly rare, I was a bit disappointed.

I think this makes a good read in conjunction with other weather history books: Children’s Blizzard, Isaac’s Storm, Cliff Mass’s book, etc.

author: Julie Powell
name: Elaine
average rating: 2.32
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2010/07/09
date added: 2010/07/12
shelves: autobiography, non-fiction
review:
Like the rating says, I really liked this book. Dropped a star because sometimes the slangy-ness was a bit much for me. I saw the Julie & Julia movie, but hadn’t read the book, when I spotted this on the new books shelf at the library and grabbed it on an impulse.

I’m trying to encapsulate what I liked about this book, and it’s honestly a bit difficult to express. As far as the narrative technique, the switching back and forth between the technical butchery bits and the personal story really worked for me. Otherwise? I’m just going to leave it at: I really liked it.

author: Julie Powell
name: Elaine
average rating: 2.33
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2010/07/09
date added: 2010/07/12
shelves: autobiography, non-fiction
review:
Like the rating says, I really liked this book. Dropped a star because sometimes the slangy-ness was a bit much for me. I saw the Julie & Julia movie, but hadn’t read the book, when I spotted this on the new books shelf at the library and grabbed it on an impulse.

I’m trying to encapsulate what I liked about this book, and it’s honestly a bit difficult to express. As far as the narrative technique, the switching back and forth between the technical butchery bits and the personal story really worked for me. Otherwise? I’m just going to leave it at: I really liked it.

author: Scott Belsky
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2010/07/08
date added: 2010/07/12
shelves: business, non-fiction, psychology, self-help
review:
I’ve been torn between giving this 1 or 2 stars, or 4 stars, so 3 it is. The good parts are fascinating, and I think potentially very useful to me in work and at home. Some smart techniques and interesting quotes. I may even recommend it to my colleagues.

On the other hand…it’s hard for me to take seriously a book that uses "thought leader" non-ironically. And so it has a lot of that sort of thing going on: oh, look, there’s Chris Anderson! Malcolm Gladwell! IDEO! etc., etc. And plenty of eye-rolling material for sure.

So if you can get past the eye-rolling, it’s probably worth reading. Thankfully, it’s pretty short. (I read it in an afternoon while sitting in the park.)

author: Scott Belsky
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2010/07/08
date added: 2010/07/12
shelves: business, non-fiction, psychology, self-help
review:
I’ve been torn between giving this 1 or 2 stars, or 4 stars, so 3 it is. The good parts are fascinating, and I think potentially very useful to me in work and at home. Some smart techniques and interesting quotes. I may even recommend it to my colleagues.

On the other hand…it’s hard for me to take seriously a book that uses "thought leader" non-ironically. And so it has a lot of that sort of thing going on: oh, look, there’s Chris Anderson! Malcolm Gladwell! IDEO! etc., etc. And plenty of eye-rolling material for sure.

So if you can get past the eye-rolling, it’s probably worth reading. Thankfully, it’s pretty short. (I read it in an afternoon while sitting in the park.)

author: Jane Lindskold
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2010/07/07
date added: 2010/07/12
shelves: fantasy, fiction
review:
I definitely need to read all the books in a row again, because although I was mostly able to pick up the plot threads & characters, I definitely felt like I was missing something. Great book, though, deeply engaging. Love the consistency and imaginativeness of her invented magic worlds & systems.

author: Jane Lindskold
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2010/07/07
date added: 2010/07/12
shelves: fantasy, fiction
review:
I definitely need to read all the books in a row again, because although I was mostly able to pick up the plot threads & characters, I definitely felt like I was missing something. Great book, though, deeply engaging. Love the consistency and imaginativeness of her invented magic worlds & systems.