Do I have a diverse bookshelf Pt 10: STEM
Since I’m trying not to repeat titles, this is getting harder and harder. And while I’ve read many STEM books and am an ex-owner of a few that I liked ... We’ll I’m not sure what I’ll find on my shelf now!
Our blog defines STEM books as literature that helps children understand word problems and the vocabulary of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). For our purposes, I’m going to see if I have any titles that touch on those topics in particular. Actually now that I think about it, I’ll probably have a few professional books on the subject as I work in tech. Hmmm, I’m not sure if I should count scifi and fantasy science a la A Wrinkle in Time or His Dark Materials trilogy as one, too.
Onward!
Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet by Claire L Evans
I actually haven’t read this yet so maybe this choice is a cop out? But when I did my bookshelf purge, I put aside a small amount of books that I had never read but would finally make an effort to complete. (Currently, I’m reading Gogol’s Dead Souls). (2023 Edit: I read it! It's great!)
The Sirens of Mars by Sarah Stewart Johnson
I love this book! It's such a great reminder about how we are only so recent in our knowledge of the universe BUT that the universe and our planet is so old. It shows how discovery isn't an instance but a hundred million instances that with hindsight allow you to say AHAH! Learn all about how we as the human race learned/are learning about Mars!
The Musical Illusionist by Alex Rose
This collection of short stories I purchased after attending the debut reading of the author. It’s a fusion of science and magical realism. I honestly don’t remember much about this book but that I enjoyed it. In flipping through the pages, it looks like a scientific journal, but it’s hybridized with scientific images and poetry. Oh yes! That’s right: Each short story is catalogued in the Library of Tangents. So it’s like reading through the miscellany you’d find in an archive.
Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology by Lawrence Weschler
Speaking of miscellany, the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles is a wonderful example of it. The museum aims to provoke by disorientation, bringing us back to a time when museums weren’t about facts and science as more about wonder. The first time I visited, I was so confused. Weschler’s book explains the method behind the seeming madness.
The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
The movie adaption is based on this book. Is it a memoir? Is it non-fiction? Is it a history? Who knows! But it’s wonderful. Orlean takes us deep into the lives and histories of the people who love and loved to cultivate and genetically modify orchids. I especially loved her descriptions of how the original Victorian adventurers were also orchid thieves.
Color Workbook by Becky Koenig
The science of color will make you question everything you thought you knew about color. This is a professional book I read while in design school. It broke my brain.
Bonus book because I haven’t read 1 of the books on this list:
My Mistress, Humanity by Chuck Rosenthal
So much real STEM work owes its inception to science fiction. This is a re-telling of Frankenstein set in a dystopian 2015 where the weather has gone crazy. The monster in question is a dragon.
Our blog defines STEM books as literature that helps children understand word problems and the vocabulary of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). For our purposes, I’m going to see if I have any titles that touch on those topics in particular. Actually now that I think about it, I’ll probably have a few professional books on the subject as I work in tech. Hmmm, I’m not sure if I should count scifi and fantasy science a la A Wrinkle in Time or His Dark Materials trilogy as one, too.
Onward!
Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet by Claire L Evans
I actually haven’t read this yet so maybe this choice is a cop out? But when I did my bookshelf purge, I put aside a small amount of books that I had never read but would finally make an effort to complete. (Currently, I’m reading Gogol’s Dead Souls). (2023 Edit: I read it! It's great!)
The Sirens of Mars by Sarah Stewart Johnson
I love this book! It's such a great reminder about how we are only so recent in our knowledge of the universe BUT that the universe and our planet is so old. It shows how discovery isn't an instance but a hundred million instances that with hindsight allow you to say AHAH! Learn all about how we as the human race learned/are learning about Mars!
The Musical Illusionist by Alex Rose
This collection of short stories I purchased after attending the debut reading of the author. It’s a fusion of science and magical realism. I honestly don’t remember much about this book but that I enjoyed it. In flipping through the pages, it looks like a scientific journal, but it’s hybridized with scientific images and poetry. Oh yes! That’s right: Each short story is catalogued in the Library of Tangents. So it’s like reading through the miscellany you’d find in an archive.
Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology by Lawrence Weschler
Speaking of miscellany, the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles is a wonderful example of it. The museum aims to provoke by disorientation, bringing us back to a time when museums weren’t about facts and science as more about wonder. The first time I visited, I was so confused. Weschler’s book explains the method behind the seeming madness.
The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
The movie adaption is based on this book. Is it a memoir? Is it non-fiction? Is it a history? Who knows! But it’s wonderful. Orlean takes us deep into the lives and histories of the people who love and loved to cultivate and genetically modify orchids. I especially loved her descriptions of how the original Victorian adventurers were also orchid thieves.
Color Workbook by Becky Koenig
The science of color will make you question everything you thought you knew about color. This is a professional book I read while in design school. It broke my brain.
Bonus book because I haven’t read 1 of the books on this list:
My Mistress, Humanity by Chuck Rosenthal
So much real STEM work owes its inception to science fiction. This is a re-telling of Frankenstein set in a dystopian 2015 where the weather has gone crazy. The monster in question is a dragon.
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