Tag Archives: Book Review

BOOKS: “Atlas of Paranormal Places” by Evelyn Hollow

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Atlas of Paranormal Places: A Journey to the World's Most Supernatural PlacesAtlas of Paranormal Places: A Journey to the World’s Most Supernatural Places by Evelyn Hollow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site

While I’m not much of a believer in the paranormal, I am always curious to learn more about the beliefs, folklore, and backstories of various destinations. Such information, even when immensely interesting, often remains hidden from the casual traveler. For example, had a not read this book I wouldn’t have known that Siquijor Island in the Philippines (a place I’ve been to) had a thriving witch market. I read this book not only because of an interest relevant to places I’ve been and also places I intend to go (e.g. Bhangarh Fort,) but — most importantly — to learn about new and fascinating locations that were not yet on my radar. The book did not disappoint.

The almost forty entries in this atlas are divided among six categories (ghosts, witches, sacred, mythic, nature, and cryptid/creatures.) It is a broad and varied selection of locations from around the world and will most certainly offer even vagabonds some new sites for their “to travel” lists.

I appreciated the thoughtfulness of this book. I noticed this with the discussion of Báthori Erzsébet, a Hungarian noblewoman who was accused of mass murder and – literal – blood baths. Many paranormal authors, either out of an intense need to believe strange things or because of a desire to sell more books, would ignore the extensive evidence that Báthori was framed for purely political motives. Hollow presents said evidence despite the fact that it kind of undercuts her argument that Cachtice Castle is a locus of supernatural happenings.

I found this book compelling, well-written, and illustrated with fine maps and photographs. If you’re interested in the folklore and ghost stories of various locations, I’d check it out.


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BOOKS: “A New Interpretation of Chinese Taoist Philosophy” by You-Sheng Li

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A New Interpretation of Chinese Taoist PhilosophyA New Interpretation of Chinese Taoist Philosophy by You-Sheng Li
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Google Books Page

By the author’s admission (and the title, for that matter) this is not so much an overview of Taoist philosophy as a philosophical rendering that attempts to not only be consistent with the Taoist tradition, but also with our present-day understanding of the world. This fact has positive and negative ramifications for readers, and results in a book that will be more useful for the purposes of some readers than others.

The biggest positive is that this interpretation of Taoism is consistent with a modern rationalist worldview. Taoism is a huge system of thought and includes a lot of magical, supernatural, and astrological thinking. In short, a book on Taoist thought could contain a great deal of woo woo, but this one does not. It has not much to say on demons, deities, magic, alchemy (in the narrow, original meaning,) etc., and to the degree these subjects do crop up they do so in a way that is not arcane and doesn’t insist on belief in unsupported ideas. I think this makes this book important, as it fills a niche. Most of the central texts of Taoism were written in times that were different from our own and in which magic and the supernatural were taken for granted. So, if you want a text that draws on major ideas of Taoism but presents them in a way that is consistent with science, you may want to give this book a look.

The biggest negative is that when the book is not explicitly describing the teachings of historical figures, one doesn’t necessarily have a good way of knowing how much Li’s ideas are or aren’t consistent with Taoist tradition. There are extended discussions of ideas such as evolutionary biology and existentialism, and — unless one has a great depth of knowledge of Taoism to begin with — it can be hard to see whether Li’s views on these subjects are in line with Taoist philosophy or whether twists are being made. The most extensively discussed / cross-cutting idea of the book is that of differentiating primary from secondary society and proposing a primacy of primary society in Taoist thought. I can’t say I’ve read much elsewhere that would suggest this was a core idea for Taoists, but the political philosophy of Taoism is not an area with which I’m at all well-acquainted.

I found this book interesting and thought-provoking. I also felt it was much needed to have a scientifically consistent approach to Taoism. If you are looking for such discussion, I’d recommend this book.

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BOOKS: “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow” by Jerome K. Jerome

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Idle Thoughts of an Idle FellowIdle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow by Jerome K. Jerome
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Project Gutenberg Site

This is a collection of fourteen humorous essays on a range of topics related to human existence. Besides the titular topic of living a life of idleness, other discussions include: love, poverty, vanity, attire, eating, pets and babies. (The latter two being distinct topics addressed in different chapters, though not with an altogether different attitude.)

Much of the humor holds up well considering this book originally came out almost a hundred and forty years ago. That said, it must be acknowledged that some of the humor and a number of the attitudes have not aged well and will not necessarily be relatable.

If you’re looking for a collection of essays on life that are humorous, if not contemporary, this book is worth looking into.

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BOOKS: “The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country” by Neil Gaiman

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The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream CountryThe Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

DC Site

If you love a good story, you really can’t go wrong with Gaiman. This volume consists of four standalone pieces of short fiction set in the Sandman universe.

“Calliope,” like Greek Mythology, envisions an anthropomorphized muse, but takes the idea into a dark and modern twist as said muse is held captive and violated.

“A Dream of a Thousand Cats” imagines dreams do shape the real world and asks what if animals dreamt as big as humans.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is built around the premise that Shakespeare had a patron, none other than Morpheus, a.k.a. Dream, himself.

“Facade” is about a supernatural woman who can only go out in public by taking risky measures to look “normal,” and explores her lonely existence.

All of these stories are clever and compelling, and I’d highly recommend this collection for readers of speculative fiction.

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BOOKS: “DC vs. Vampires, Vol. 1” by James Tynion IV & Matthew Rosenberg

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DC vs. Vampires, Vol. 1DC vs. Vampires, Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Site

In this opening volume in a series that pits a set of the DC pantheon of superheroes against a shadowy vampire cabal, we learn that the vampires are preparing for attack and that they’ve infiltrated all levels of society to degrees unknown — even the Justice League. This volume focuses heavily on the extended “Bat-Family” along with Oliver Queen’s smaller Green Arrow team, but includes many more superpowered characters in varied roles. Though it also ignores some of the most powerful characters, a big risk for such a huge ensemble cast. (One wants to save some big guns, but it begs the question of whether Superman is fiddling while the world burns.)

I like how tension was built in this story, and how information is revealed to the reader, allowing one to be gripped by questions of how the characters will learn what one already knows and with what consequences. The volume ends with a big reveal, though not with any kind of resolution. So, it’s not a standalone story in my view.

I found the volume engaging, but feel it suffers from the unavoidable problems of having too many characters, particularly characters of the god-tier variety.

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BOOKS: “Sweet Tooth, Vol. 2: In Captivity” by Jeff Lemire

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Sweet Tooth, Vol. 2: In CaptivitySweet Tooth, Vol. 2: In Captivity by Jeff Lemire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Site

This volume interweaves the continuing stories of Gus and Jepperd, separated at the end of the debut volume. As outlandish as this story might seem, human-animal hybrid babies and all, the basic forces that drive the story are straightforward and relatable. Jepperd’s is essentially a love story as he attempts to do right by his wife in a post-pandemic dystopian world. Gus, having been motivated by a desire for new adventure in the first volume, just wants to get home now that he has confronted the fundamental crumminess of the human world.

While this volume is largely filling in the backstories of the two main characters, it does so skillfully through a mix of flashback and current timeline events that advance the story. It certainly has me hooked to learn more about these characters.

I found this story to be emotionally moving and compelling and would highly recommend it for comic book readers.

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BOOKS: “Color” by Countee Cullen

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Color (AmazonClassics Edition)Color by Countee Cullen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Available on Project Gutenberg

This excellent collection of lyric poetry is by one of the greats of the Harlem Rennaissance. The poems include a range of forms and sizes from single quatrain epitaphs to poems of several pages, with those in between (including a number of sonnets) being most common. Like Dickinson, Cullen had a fondness for common meter (a.k.a. hymn meter,) and it is prevalent throughout. The topics include serious matters, such as race and death, but there is no lack of whimsicality within these pages.

The book is divided into four sections: “Color,” “Epitaphs,” “For Love’s Sake,” and “Varia.” The first is the most serious of tone. (Interestingly, the epitaphs and other poems on death often take a lighthearted, even humorous, tone.)

I’d highly recommend this collection for poetry readers. It’s fun to read, and the poems are skillfully crafted.

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BOOKS: “The Penguin Book of Indian Ghost Stories” ed. by Ruskin Bond

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Penguin Book of Indian Ghost StoriesPenguin Book of Indian Ghost Stories by Ruskin Bond
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Website

This is an anthology of stories of the supernatural set in India or built around characters and contexts of India. About half of the stories are by writers of non-Indian ancestry, though some were born or lived extensively in India (e.g. Rudyard Kipling and C.A. Kincaid.) Not all of the pieces are “ghost stories” in a technical sense, but they all revolve around the supernatural or surreal experience.

I enjoyed all the stories in this collection, but among my favorites were: “The Brown Hand” by Arthur Conan Doyle; “The Strange Ride of the Morrowbie Jukes” by Rudyard Kipling; “The Fire-Jogi” by A.C. Renny; “Fritz” by Satyajit Ray; “Anath Babu’s Terror” by Satyajit Ray; “The Yellow-Legged Man” by Sudhir Thapliyal, and “Topaz” by Ruskin Bond.

If you enjoy scary stories, I’d highly recommend this book.

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BOOKS: “Translation: A Very Short Introduction” by Matthew Reynolds

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Translation: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)Translation: A Very Short Introduction by Matthew Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Site

Language translation is one of those tasks that people take for granted is a straightforward endeavor — especially in the current era in which computers are starting to do a decent job of it. It turns out that translation isn’t at all straightforward, and a number of tradeoffs must be addressed through the act of translating — e.g. should one try to convey the original author’s meaning as closely as possible or should one make the writing as approachable and comprehensible to the readership as possible? This might seem like a false dichotomy, but because languages never map perfectly to each other and reflect differing worldviews, there is always some degree of trade-off necessary.

Reynolds addresses not only cases from literature, but also shows the role that translation (and mistranslation) can play in the legal, political, and business domains as well. I found this book to be interesting and useful in providing food-for-thought on the subject. It is particularly illuminating in its discussion of how translation is changing in an era of AI, and how profound an effect this will have on our future. (e.g. People worry about the death of languages with small followings, but if automated translation becomes cheap and ubiquitous, will the pressure to focus one’s efforts on one of the world’s major languages remain?)

If you are interested in issues of language translation, this is a fine book with which to begin one’s exploration.

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BOOKS: “Moonwalking with Einstein” by Joshua Foer

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Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering EverythingMoonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Author’s Book Site

This fascinating work of immersion journalism offers insight into the human memory at its best (and worst,) and throughout the book one follows the author’s experience in preparing for and competing in the American and World Memory Championships. A central theme of the book is how humanity’s attitudes toward (and approach to) memory have changed over time. The tactics that allow competitive mnemonists to perform astounding feats of memorization were well-known in the ancient world and Middle Ages but began becoming less practiced from the dawn of the printing press, becoming almost unheard of by the general population in this, the internet age. Questions such as whether education’s shunning of memorization is, indeed, a sound move are explored. (The mnemonists argue that memorization is done poorly by our educational system, but — if it was done correctly — it would offer tremendous value.)

I found this book to be quite compelling. Foer pulls no punches when presenting individuals who are (or appear to be) charlatans — though in a way that is fair and doesn’t deny things are not always straightforward. (Most of the mnemonists he talks to are clear that they do not have particularly good memories but rather are well-practiced in a set of techniques — e.g. the “memory palace” — that allow even mediocre memories to memorize stacks of cards, chains of random numbers, or even poems at lightening speeds.) Hence the author, with no such background, can learn the skills well enough to be competitive in the US national competition after practicing about a year.

The author speaks to semi-celebrities such as Kim Peek (whom Dustin Hoffman’s character in “Rain Man” is very loosely based upon,) and self-help guru Tony Buzan. But he also interviews a man who has no long-term memory (except from his childhood) and speaks to experts in optimal human performance.

I’d highly recommend this book. It is intensely readable. The stories are riveting and sometimes humorous and the throughline of Foer’s preparation and competition just add icing to the cake.

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