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[hoarding-books]

The Rules To Break

By Richard Templar

Honestly, while I basically managed to finish this one, I probably shouldn't have read it right on the heels of Bibliomaniac. It's not a bad book, per se, but just didn't quite stand up to the book which had left me so happy

In 'The Rules to Break', Templar goes through 100 of the 'rules' people (at least in England) get told growing up, and talks through his interpretation of both the rule and it's place, or lack thereof, in your life, in order to reframe it, before then giving 10 he fully agreed with.

Again- this was not a bad book. Just the wrong timing for me to find it

I find it unlikely that I'll reread this one anytime soon, but it's still promising that the only things I didn't finish were the tester sections for Templar's other books (mostly so I could move onto something else)

[hoarding-books]

Bibliomaniac

An Obsessive's Tour Of The Bookshops Of Britain

By Robin Ince

(Tumblr/my phone aren't letting me take and upload photos as I go, so this'll just have to do)

So. This was one of the books I asked for for my birthday, and I've been slowly working my way through it- not due to any fault of either the book or the author, but I can't craft while holding a book, and with there omly being so many hours in a day...

Anyway, I'd only read a snippet of the preface before, and had no real idea what I was getting into

I would probably describe 'Bibliomaniac' as something like a travel log, except Ince focuses less on the places he travelled post-lockdown, and more on the people who attended his bookshop tour (even the ones which couldn't actually be hosted in said bookshops) and the books he either bought or otherwise received

Ince has a friendly, if perhaps scatterbrained /easily distractible tone on the page, and it certainly helps to keep you sucked in, with plenty of footnotes to keep you interested in his journey

Each of the eleven chapters is opened with an illustration of part of a map, with that leg of the journey roughly marked off, and some of the bookshops doodled along the way, which might be pretty helpful if readers wanted to try and visit any of the mentioned independent bookshops. There is also an index of books he mentions, bookshops visited -or otherwise mentioned- and references for each chapter, if you're interested in that kind of thing

Overall, by the end of the book I both didn't want to reach the end, and wanted to be able to start some of my other books, in the best way. Ince generally sticks with pretty common language, so I'm pretty sure I had nothing to complain about

(I'd say it's in the top 4 books relating to books I've read, but so far that's as many as I've managed, so you'll just have to take my word on it)

[hoarding-books]

Mid-read ramble

Ok, so I'm about halfway through reading 'Bibliomaniac' by Robin Ince- which felt like it'd probably be either relatively mediocre or the perfect hype book for his other books, all three of which I got for my birthday ('I'm a joke (and so are you)' and 'The importance of being interested' - which was the one I wanted most, so I'm saving it for after Bibliomaniac)

Honestly, this one felt half like it'd be somewhat relatable, and maybe suggest some places within my local cities I've never known of, but it feels... I don't know

Bibliomaniac is just Ince retelling a book tour he did after lockdown was lifted and the official tour had to be postponed/cancelled, but it doesn't feel like it's about the locations themselves or the books he got there, but the people, and he goes on tangents, but everything feels - familiar, I guess?

Don't get me wrong- I've never read any of his books before, and I'm not planning on starting his others until I finish this one, but if they can maintain a similar feel, somehow- like a discussion rather than a dry study, which I tend to avoid anyway- if they can do that then I'll just have to keep an eye out for more of his books

[hoarding-books]

Women In Science

50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed The World

Written/Illustrated by Rachel Ignotofsky

Honestly, this was one of my sister's finds which just happened to look intriguing, and like a fairly light read.

I'm pretty sure the women in the book are ordered by when they were born, simply based on the contents page, considering how random the order seems otherwise

For each 2-page spread, barring a couple of extra timelines/honourable* mentions and one on lab equipment, the left is composed of an illustration of the person, with a quote by or about her, a few facts, and doodles relating to her work. The right has names, job titles, more factoids and doodles, and a handful of paragraphs about the person's life

Naturally, this makes for easily consumed information- it's just that I can never really remember names and dates myself. But Ignotofsky also points out just what these pioneers of science had to deal with- slander, being banned from science labs, having to work from broom closets and attics, or having their work stolen

In addition, while none of the illustrations are in a realistic art style or colour scheme, Ignotofsky still managed to make them clearly different, and show that there was racial diversity, with outfits relating, presumably, to either jobs or the woman's time period

Overall, 'Women In Science' serves to share the stories of women who had to fight for even the chance to learn, how things have improved, and how things can still be better

*Not 'honorable', as I am not American

** There is a chance of some of the women having died in the 6 years since my copy was (apparently) published

[hoarding-books]

The Word Hord: Daily Life In Old English

By Hana Videen

Following on from how much I loved reading 'The Etymologicon' (Mark Forsyth, probably a solid 9/10 read but from before I made this blog) I thought this looked interesting- one of the best parts of learning languages is looking at the different patterns and making connections. That's somewhat what this book is about

From daily life to poetry, 'Word Hord' collects words found throughout medieval England

Honestly, this is well written, and the vast majority of it is fascinating, particularly the parts referencing words which still exist, or which morphed into other words not too dissimilar to those found in manuscripts and other writings from around the 8th-12th centuries, like the 'hring-finger' (ring finger) or 'cū' (cow, apparently still pronounced as such in certain northern/rural parts of Britain)

Honestly, my only complaint's something unavoidable- the 'word-hord's at the end of each chapter are basically dictionary excerpts, even if it means you can reference and find spellings/pronunciations in set places

Overall, a brilliant read. If you have any interest in languages, or the history thereof (and are confident in modern English, preferably), I would highly recommend 'Word Hord'

[hoarding-books]

Gender Queer A Memoir

By Maia Kobabe

Honestly, I don't think I even need to reason away why I chose this book- it looked interesting, and potentially informative, without going on about complicated things I wouldn't understand

I was right

There were definite differences- I was never going to have the same experiences as the author, even as another ace, but the thing is, I still felt seen

Again, some differences- Kobabe seems to be from the US, for one, and while I don't even like the idea of sex (if you can't stand comic pages depicting or referencing sexual or medical acts, or nudity in general, this will not be for you), but eir journey still feels familiar in parts

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend letting younger teens see due to aforementioned nudity, but if you're questioning, especially your gender? It might give the perspective of someone who's more than been there Overall, a pretty good read, informative without being overwhelming

[hoarding-books]

What We See In The Stars

An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky

By Kelsey Oseid

Admittedly, I finished this one a while ago and just forgot to post it, but that doesn't change the fact that it is interesting

I initially picked it up because most astronomy books are plain confusing, to me- they're too busy, and it's just not something I can concentrate on. But Oseid focusses on one constellation at a time, a couple of sentences about it, and roughly where in the sky some of the major constellations might be, all accompanied with relatively simple illustrations to help you visualize the reason for the constellation's name

There are no star charts, but there is an explanation of the difference between meteors, meteoroids and meteorites, and a page on the major meteor showers

Overall, I think that if you're just looking to get into stargazing, or developing an interest in the topic, this would be a pretty good introduction for beginners

[hoarding-books]

Pop Goes The Weasel The Secret Meanings of Nursery Rhymes

By Albert Jack

Honestly, I thought this looked interesting just based on the blurb, and it still managed to surpass my expectations

In 'Pop Goes The Weasel', (originally released 2008, apparently), Jack explores versions of both well-known nursery rhymes and popular songs, with both their history- combined with whether or not there happens to be proof to back up certain theories- and the occasional lesser-known version

I will say that I never expected some of the answers, like Humpty Dumpty being about a cannon, or there being no proof of 'Ring a Ring a Rosie' (not how I grew up calling it, but the different mentioned versions varied from how I learned the rhyme, including Jack not even mentioning a second verse) actually being about the plague after all. Besides this, there were a handful I only half remembered, or had never heard of at all, never mind considering actual possible origins. Honestly, it makes me question whether there happen to be any secret origins to the playground rhyming games I remember, if I had any idea where to even begin looking

Jack's writing's plenty engaging, with the odd mention of a source, and I would honestly consider reading another of this author's books -should I ever come across them- simply due to how much I enjoyed reading this one. Honestly, no complaints here

[hoarding-books]

Book Review- Faeries, Elves & goblins The Old Stories

By Rosalind Kerven

I picked this one up knowing faery stories date back centuries, that there were probably stories from all over Britain, but I'd only ever read anything about them in children's and YA fiction- there may have been more lore in Melissa Marr's series than Julie Kagawa's, but they still include a couple of things mentioned in the stories in what will be referred to, from here on, as simply 'Faeries'.

The book itself contains 25 individual stories, generally between 6-8 pages long, split into 5 sections ('Of Faeries, Elves and Goblins', 'Sightings', 'Some Faery Tribes', 'Dealings Between Faeries and Mortals' and 'Spells') accompanied by illustrations. Besides this, there are 39 pages of notes on the stories themselves, 6 of sources/consulted works, and obviously picture credits

The stories themselves were pretty short and interesting, even if a few felt pretty similar, but it didn't feel like there was much point to dividing them into sections, besides maybe adding a more comprehensive summary of lore and variations, and some of the introductions to each section felt a bit tedious to read

In addition, I didn't always feel like the illustrations, beautiful though some may be (and ugly when the sprites were) actually fit the tales they were paired with

Overall, though, this was a pretty pleasant reading experience, and I managed to finish it within a month- start to finish. It's one of those books where, once you've read through the sections at least once, you can just pick it up, open to a random story, and that's it

I will say, however, that certain tales directly reference abductions, an almost-execution, child abuse (beating one for losing his sister to the faeries') and other violence (non-descript, but apparently some of the mortals in the stories aren't against treating the Fae roughly to try and get what they want and underage drinking. There's also mentions of slavery, mostly in terms of the Fair Folk claiming mortals as such, along with a woman being pressured into sex, so I would personally be wary about the idea of reading very many of the tales to very young children, no matter how whimsical the cover*

Overall, certainly not a bad book. It was interesting enough, and if you're bored of the same old myths, wanting to branch out into something more like folklore, it could be a good starting point (Kerner is said to have published plenty of other books, including one on Arthurian legends, in the Author's summary)

*Edit made the morning after: This is totally up to any parents, but there is rarely a 'happy' ending, end no-one is really depicted as a 'good' guy, but maybe I'm underestimating these things, considering there used to be nursery rhymes about serial killers, or how the rumours about the origins started circulating around the schoolyard when I was maybe 7, at most. Or Hansel and Gretel, in general. Children can still like darker stories, as fairy tales show. Besides, according to the notes, there are variations of some of these stories dating back to the middle ages- even to Celtic mythology, supposedly. Just bear in mind how children love copying things

[hoarding-books]

Homicidal Jungle Cat

A Calvin and Hobbes Collection by Bill Watterson

Honestly, it had been a while since the last time I'd really read Calvin and Hobbes. You can still find the strips online, and I personally prefer the one-off strips, but the collections pull entire storylines together

Watterson's work's pretty familiar to me, if just because my brother recommended the series to me when I was a teenager (or near enough). Some of the jokes and other references still go over my head, but that's nothing particularly new to me

I will say, though, that Homicidal Jungle Cat had hardly anything I didn't get, and it's not exactly difficult to get through the book in a single afternoon. So if you're already familiar with Watterson's work, there are some references, but no real surprises, in my opinion

[hoarding-books]

'Is Love The Answer' by Uta Isaki

Admittedly, what first caught my eye on this book was the asexual flag running around the cover

Everyone knows it's difficult to find LGBTQ+ rep in major bookstores, and it's certainly difficult to find in manga- at least, if you don't want R-rated yaoi or yuri

This book pleasantly surprised me

It's about 18-year old Chika Hanoi, from a small town in Japan, and her discovery of sexuality. She makes a few decisions I would never ever consider, and at one point I had to put the book down for a little, because why?

There seems to be frequent metaphors in the form of space, about love, understanding and self-acceptance, even if it's technically just as Chika's thoughts. While I can see where these are coming from, I never really felt like I was just observing earth, or untethered- I personally just assumed everything I read was an exaggeration, for entertainment's sake

There are a few references named as little author's notes within the book (one of which I've seen in a smaller bookshop), but I can't vouch for how reliable their information is, myself

The book addresses the subject of what's harmful thinking, from both the person themself and others, but otherwise keeps a slice-of-life feel. There's a platonic marriage, between other characters, for the sake of being there for a friend with health problems, and agonizing over the idea of 'what even is love/romance'

Overall, I thought it was a pretty decent read It's both serious, and light-hearted at times, but there are some mature themes, hence an age rating of 16+

[hoarding-books]

Fine- A Comic About Gender by Rhea Ewing.

I picked this one up because I thought it could be interesting, and I was right. It's a collection of interviews Ewing conducted over the course of a handful of years on the topics of gender and its influences, interspersed with sections about Ewing's own journey, exploring their own identity. There are a couple of darker, more serious themes- as any audience who's even heard a little about the problems trans people face might come to expect, so there's a little bit of a warning, but Ewing even put a warning for that both at the beginning and closer to the page with that part of that interview in question, so it's not as though it would catch a reader off-guard. Really, 'Fine' leaves all of the theories on gender at the door in favour of people's actual experiences, which might not be a substitute for an actual conversation, but it shows how experiences - trans, enby, cis and otherwise- can vary. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this one, and would recommend it

[hoarding-books]

Hi, this blog's literally just for the sake of ranting about books- ones I love, ones I can't stand (not enough to finish, at least) and ones I just find meh