This book gives an overview of the changes over the last century in the ways historians and archivists see their respective roles. The authors describ...moreThis book gives an overview of the changes over the last century in the ways historians and archivists see their respective roles. The authors describe an 'archival' divide between the increasingly technology-focused archivists and the changing research interests of modern historians. I found the historical theory parts quite informative.
I'm not entirely convinced that this divide exists in the way the authors describe it: most archivists do talk to the researchers who use their materials, after all, and have to understand their topics of research in order to direct them to collections of relevance.
The book ends with a plea for historians to be able to annotate archival finding aids with comments on the material's usefulness for various types of research. This capability is starting to happen in some systems, but I have some doubts about the general willingness of historians to actually spend time doing this sort of annotation.(less)
Not as long a novel as 'The Angel's Game' (which was a relief, as I only had a few days left to finish it), but just as satisfying and slightly less m...moreNot as long a novel as 'The Angel's Game' (which was a relief, as I only had a few days left to finish it), but just as satisfying and slightly less mysterious. Really looking forward to getting to the top of the waiting list for 'The Shadow of the Wind' now, and glad that it doesn't seem to matter too much which order these amazing books are consumed in.(less)
A scholarly and accessible history of the various incarnations of the back-to-the-land movement in the United States over the last century and a half....moreA scholarly and accessible history of the various incarnations of the back-to-the-land movement in the United States over the last century and a half. I'd always thought of it as something of a 1970s thing, so was fascinated to read about the early advocates of the movement and to learn more about the different motivations and experiments, particularly those of the New Deal era.(less)
I found my seat on the flight back from Barcelona last September to see that someone had already claimed the neighbouring chair by leaving their book...moreI found my seat on the flight back from Barcelona last September to see that someone had already claimed the neighbouring chair by leaving their book on it: Neal Stephenson's Reamde. As I had just started reading Anathem on that trip, this looked like a good omen.
When the man returned to his seat we talked about Stephenson for a while, then about Barcelona. It transpired that he had been to visit the city because he'd become so enamoured of it through the works of Carlos Ruiz Zafón. So enthusiastic was this man that he tore one of the endpages out of Reamde (!) and wrote the author's name down, along with the titles of two books: Shadow of the Wind and Angel's Game. I tucked it in the cover of my ereader and forgot about it until this month.
I'm still on the library's waiting list for Shadow of the Wind, so am reading them out of order but, well, wow. This book had me hooked from the earliest chapters. I love the seedy, gritty nature of the city, the people and the storyline and the disorientating swoops into macabre dream-like sequences.
I'm really glad I sat next to that man on the plane - and grateful to Neal Stephenson for sparking off the conversation and sacrificing a page of one of his books.(less)
OK, embarrassing confession to begin with: I didn't really know who Rick Mercer was before I read this book. I'd heard his name, for sure, but I'm not...moreOK, embarrassing confession to begin with: I didn't really know who Rick Mercer was before I read this book. I'd heard his name, for sure, but I'm not much of a TV watcher (how d'you think I read so many books?!) so I don't think I've ever actually seen him or any of his shows.
Having said that, I now feel I know the guy quite well. He's passionate about Canada, really really anti Stephen Harper's Conservative government and strongly supportive of youngsters who are struggling with bullying, particularly those who are gay. He's also pretty funny.
I enjoyed his book. It's amusing, with several lines I had to read out loud to whoever happened to be in the room with me. Occasionally it's a bit repetitive, but that's because it's a compilation of rants from his TV program written over a couple of years, and I dare say that if you compiled any set of blog posts or newspaper columns you'd get a similar issue. As a relatively new Canadian, I found it a useful backgrounder to recent events in Canadian politics which I probably didn't pay sufficient attention to at the time. Hm, maybe I should start watching his show...(less)
A compilation of short articles on the topic of open access and reuse of data. I found the articles on opening up government data the most interesting...moreA compilation of short articles on the topic of open access and reuse of data. I found the articles on opening up government data the most interesting, particularly the one about the Basque Country, which has adopted a fairly radical approach to government.
Every public official speaks in their own voice, without any filter from the press officer. The new role of the internal journalists is simply to empower department heads so that they can speak for themselves. Who better to explain decisions than the person responsible for them? And who better to propose solutions than the citizens experiencing the problems?
I really like the concept adopted by Helsinki, too:
The concept of Open Helsinki is literal - a city where information, ideas, thoughts and people can move freely without unnecessary creativity-hampering obstacles.
There were a few OCR/transcription errors in the EPUB version I downloaded.(less)
A bit of a mixed bag. The FLAG chapter was far too technical to be interesting, although there were parts of it that I enjoyed. I liked the characteri...moreA bit of a mixed bag. The FLAG chapter was far too technical to be interesting, although there were parts of it that I enjoyed. I liked the characterisation of life in a MACT and thought the essay on being a bad correspondent might just have effectively been titled 'Why I'm a good writer'. But there was an awful lot of geekiness.(less)
This is one of those books I've been meaning to read for a while. It's written in an accessible, yet authoritative style and sets out the stark truths...moreThis is one of those books I've been meaning to read for a while. It's written in an accessible, yet authoritative style and sets out the stark truths about the dangers of putting human-made chemicals which deal out death into the environment. It's obvious why this was such an influential work when it came out.
I got a bit tired around the mid-way mark of reading about chemically-induced disasters and found myself skimming over some of those middle chapters, but I'm glad to have finally got around to reading the book.(less)
Found this on one of those 'books every child should read' lists and then immediately downloaded it as an ebook from the library. I enjoyed it, althou...moreFound this on one of those 'books every child should read' lists and then immediately downloaded it as an ebook from the library. I enjoyed it, although I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more when I was a child. The same list had 'Peter Pan' and 'Wind in the Willows' on it, neither of which I've enjoyed as an adult, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at being underwhelmed by this one.(less)
When you've been told for years that eating fat is what makes you fat, it takes quite an effort to undo all that conditioning. Gary Taubes's book is a...moreWhen you've been told for years that eating fat is what makes you fat, it takes quite an effort to undo all that conditioning. Gary Taubes's book is a good introduction to the physiology of weight gain and the history of scientific thought on the subject. It's also an important work in that he makes it clear that having a lot of fat makes people sedentary and makes people eat more, not the other way around.
It's easy to blame overweight people for their condition: what this book does is move the blame firmly back on to the types of food we are eating. Cheap, refined carbohydrates (particularly sugar) are the bad guys, not the humans who eat them. And it's the poorest people who are the most vulnerable. I had never thought of obesity as being a sign of malnourishment before, but this book spells out the reasons for it.
Taubes's writing style is clear (if a little humourless) and he has a firm grasp of a broad swathe of research on the subject. I thought he was rather dismissive of vegetarian and vegetable-rich diets, which troubled me a little. I'm not sure encouraging everyone to eat lots of meat is a sustainable way forward. And although I agree with him that exercise isn't much use as a weight-loss mechanism without dietary change, I think he could have made it clearer that it's still a good thing to do for other reasons. I can imagine a lot of people reading this book and taking it as permission not to do any exercise at all.(less)
Would possibly be better named Death after Death! It took me a while to get hooked by the story, as the first quarter of the book felt unrelentingly g...moreWould possibly be better named Death after Death! It took me a while to get hooked by the story, as the first quarter of the book felt unrelentingly grim. But eventually I was completely sucked in and mostly enjoyed the various permutations of Ursula's life (if not their endings).
In many ways it reminds me of other books and films: Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall, which I only read a few weeks ago, Stephen Fry's Making History, Connie Willis's Blackout and, of course, Groundhog Day. It's clear that a lot of research went into the World War II aspects of the story, especially the work of the ARP volunteers. It's certainly not a cheering read, but it's a very clever one and I think it will haunt me in a way that a more straightforward, linear tale would not.
As a measure of how good it is, I went back and re-read it immediately after finishing it. And added another star to my rating to reflect that. I rarely re-read anything.(less)
A really good book. I loved the details of life in Detroit, the immigrant experiences and the insight into the life of a hermaphrodite. Sometimes I fe...moreA really good book. I loved the details of life in Detroit, the immigrant experiences and the insight into the life of a hermaphrodite. Sometimes I felt disturbed by a sense of voyeurism as I read, but I think the story would have kept me hooked anyway, even without the fascination of what it really means to be hermaphrodite.(less)
The subject matter was intriguing, but the tone of the book was highly defensive. I got the impression that the author has had to spend a lot of his p...moreThe subject matter was intriguing, but the tone of the book was highly defensive. I got the impression that the author has had to spend a lot of his professional life justifying his interest in psychic phenomena to his academic colleagues, often without success.
The book was a strange mixture of things: case studies, both contemporary and historical; a philosophical discursion on the nature of synchronicity; and a rather odd chapter promoting the author's wife's skills in astrological predictions.
It had me scratching my head at times, but overall it was interesting enough to keep me reading and it raised some questions in my (admittedly highly cynical) mind about my previous assumptions in relation to paranormal affairs.(less)
This has been sitting on my ereader for a while, so there may be a more up-to-date edition around now. I enjoyed the story and found the WW2 setting b...moreThis has been sitting on my ereader for a while, so there may be a more up-to-date edition around now. I enjoyed the story and found the WW2 setting believable and authentic. There were quite a few editing issues with the book, which might by now have been corrected, but they didn't detract too much from an engaging and intriguing tale.(less)
I'm glad I finally got around to reading it, but can't say that I found it a particularly enjoyable experience. The nesting of stories felt clumsy: Wa...moreI'm glad I finally got around to reading it, but can't say that I found it a particularly enjoyable experience. The nesting of stories felt clumsy: Walthon's, Frankenstein's, the monster's, the De Lacey's - and the De Lacey's story seemed particularly irrelevant, given that they did not reappear in the narrative once the monster had scared them off. None of the monster's victims felt like real people whose fate I needed to care about, and Frankenstein's lack of responsibility for his own creation was unconvincing.
The descriptions of places made it feel like a travelogue in parts (Visit the Rhine! Visit Oxford!) and I was bemused by the creature's intention to gather wood and build a funeral pyre for himself at the north pole. Um...(less)
Not exactly a cheering read, but a moving one. As I read I was reminded of two movies: Picnic at Hanging Rock and Stand By Me. This novel had the same...moreNot exactly a cheering read, but a moving one. As I read I was reminded of two movies: Picnic at Hanging Rock and Stand By Me. This novel had the same haunting, mysterious quality and that same struggle to come to terms with untimely death.(less)
As a slightly nerdy recordkeeper myself, I feel I should have liked this book more than I did, especially after very much enjoying Little Brother. Wit...moreAs a slightly nerdy recordkeeper myself, I feel I should have liked this book more than I did, especially after very much enjoying Little Brother. With a Wikileaks-style emphasis on the importance of documents in demonstrating wrong-doing and an insistence that every individual has a chance of changing 'the system' for the better, the story should have been right up my street. But it was off by a mile or two.
Why? Well, the bookshop dedications which I described as 'slightly jarring' in my review of Little Brother were just as annoying in this. But (as I was reading the free download version) this was now joined by several interruptions to the text: asides from the author which threw me out of the story to tell me to go and buy a copy of the book. Look, I'm grateful that you made the book available for free and I like the idea of buying it for a library somewhere. But I don't need to be reminded and made to feel guilty every half hour.
The geekiness felt a bit overwhelming in this book, too. Wil Wheaton in a cameo role; a long stay at the Burning Man event; a lecture on the issues of copyright in orphan works. All these things felt a little over-done to me.
The story itself was interesting but not as strong as Little Brother's. I read the first book two years ago and although parts of it had stuck in my head, the minor characters hadn't and I could have done with more reminders about who they all were and what had happened to them.
I did find the afterword by the late Aaron Swartz moving: especially the part where he said "I know it's easy to feel like you're powerless, like there's nothing you can do to slow down or stop 'the system.'...I feel that way, too, sometimes." :-( (less)
There's a fundamental and dangerous disconnect between Wall Street's focus on profits and the health of the US and, increasingly, the rest of the worl...moreThere's a fundamental and dangerous disconnect between Wall Street's focus on profits and the health of the US and, increasingly, the rest of the world. Moss's book makes this abundantly clear. When individuals in the big food conglomerates start to worry about the way they are damaging people, they get fired by those with a focus on profitability or they leave in disgust as they fail in the fight to make the changes they would like to see.
Until society is able to take a more holistic view of the problem and balance the profits against the human and monetary costs, I don't see much hope for the health of much of mankind.
A compendium of scientific studies on the importance of access to green spaces or just the sight of green spaces on human behaviour, mental and physic...moreA compendium of scientific studies on the importance of access to green spaces or just the sight of green spaces on human behaviour, mental and physical health. I heard a CBC programme on the subject a few months ago and there is now a considerable body of evidence to support the idea that humans need access to natural landscapes for optimum health. Towards the end of the book it went off on a dietary tangent which seemed less well connected to the general theme, but overall it was an interesting read.(less)
There were some interesting anecdotes about people's experiences with hallucinations, but overall the book didn't grab my attention in the same way as...moreThere were some interesting anecdotes about people's experiences with hallucinations, but overall the book didn't grab my attention in the same way as I recall The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales doing when I read that, many years ago. There were a few too many personal anecdotes in it, for one thing. It almost felt as though he wrote the book so that he could detail his own experiences. I'm probably being unfair, but that was the impression I was left with.(less)
I approve of a lot of what Peter Kaminsky is saying in this book: not eating processed foods, using good ingredients and learning how to cook them. Gi...moreI approve of a lot of what Peter Kaminsky is saying in this book: not eating processed foods, using good ingredients and learning how to cook them. Given that these are his central tenets, I found the descriptions of fabulous restaurant meals prepared for him by amazing chefs a little hard to stomach after a while. There's a lot of place- and person-name dropping in the book, which doesn't interest me at all. And it really read in places like an extended advertisement for all the other books he's written. Didn't work, I'm afraid.(less)
I think this book should be required reading for all new Canadians. Not least because John Ralston Saul says such nice things about new immigrants. An...moreI think this book should be required reading for all new Canadians. Not least because John Ralston Saul says such nice things about new immigrants. And because it makes such a lot of sense. It gets very political in the middle, but the historical perspective on how Canada was forged out of the Aboriginal approach to welcoming the 'other' is absolutely fascinating and I was nodding my head all the way through the early chapters. This man knows his history and has a clear vision of how it can be incorporated in a national vision for the future. Which is unfortunately a lot more than can be said for most of the current crop of leaders of the county.(less)
I found this book an interesting, if contradictory, read. Partly it's a self-help, know-thyself, love-thyself kind of read, with practical tips on liv...moreI found this book an interesting, if contradictory, read. Partly it's a self-help, know-thyself, love-thyself kind of read, with practical tips on living a healthier lifestyle. But then there are a load of fashion tips thrown in - what shoes to wear, which handbags are to die for, that sort of thing. This isn't too surprising, given Spencer's job as a fashion editor, but I definitely enjoyed and related to the former bits more than the latter. And on Spencer's recommendation, I am now going to try making homemade yoghurt - so that was a useful consequence of this read.(less)
I seem to be on a run of books written by bossy people - first Joel Salatin and now Mireille Guiliano. I liked a lot of this book (I've not read her '...moreI seem to be on a run of books written by bossy people - first Joel Salatin and now Mireille Guiliano. I liked a lot of this book (I've not read her 'French women don't get fat' yet) - the parts about eating seasonally and the recipes particularly. But other bits seemed to shout 'smugness' at me in a loud (French-accented) voice. It's lovely that the author has homes in Provence and New York and that she is on good terms with the proprietors of a two-starred Michelin restaurant. But I could probably have continued living my single-homed existence just as happily if I hadn't known about those things.
And the instructions on how to wear scarves in various ways weren't useful without diagrams. I'm not sure they would have been useful with diagrams either, to be honest. Maybe I'm just never going to be a big scarf-wearer.(less)
Overall, I liked it and it kept me reading. Groundhog Day gets a mention in the story, and this book is basically Groundhog Day with elements of The B...moreOverall, I liked it and it kept me reading. Groundhog Day gets a mention in the story, and this book is basically Groundhog Day with elements of The Breakfast Club thrown in. As in Groundhog Day, the main character gradually becomes more likeable as she relives her last day, giving her friends and family something better to remember than her original self. I'd like to think that girls like Sam Kingston would read this and treat other people better. But I think that might be too much to ask...(less)
Loved the inventiveness and humour in these vignettes, all looking at how an afterlife might work. The 'recreators' one where people's lives are recon...moreLoved the inventiveness and humour in these vignettes, all looking at how an afterlife might work. The 'recreators' one where people's lives are reconstructed in the afterlife from their traces in the records they leave behind was particularly resonant for an archivist!(less)
I found this an interesting and engaging read. Salatin's frustration with the industrialisation of food production comes through loud and clear, turni...moreI found this an interesting and engaging read. Salatin's frustration with the industrialisation of food production comes through loud and clear, turning the book into more of a harangue than anything else some of the time. The anecdotes about children's ignorance of food and cooking were heartbreaking, as was the chapter on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.
I admire Salatin's determination to make a family-run, sustainable farm a viable business and am amazed by the persistence and tenacity he displays in achieving that goal and the erudition he displays in promoting it. I don't agree with everything he says, but I am sure that the sustainable farming world needs as many people like him as it can get.(less)
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