Does it Fart? The Definitive Field Guide to Animal Flatulence by Nick Caruso and Dani Rabaiotti

Still suffering from reading irregularity.  The Husband told me about this book and it sounded so funny and absurd that we had to get it (translation, he ordered it from Amazon).  I started reading this on April 22 and finished it on April 28.  This book is HILARIOUS.  If you love animals (I do), and/or love or hate farts, this is the next read for you!

Now - Does it Fart? may seem to some like a novelty book that you find at Urban Outfitters or Paper Source - something kitschy and fun to have around, but lo and behold - there is real science and substance in this book!  It is kitschy and fun to have around, but you might learn something too!  It's that useless knowledge about hind gut fermentation and animal flatulence that might help you win when you find yourself face to face with Ken Jennings on Jeopardy! or playing a heated and competitive game of Trivial Pursuit.

I was surprised about some of the animals that don't fart: parrots, sea anemone, goldfish.  I was also surprised by some animals that do fart that I didn't think would: boa constrictors, American cockroaches, beaded lacewing (yes, this is a thing).  I was even more surprised by what some animals do with their farts: one species of lacewings fart on prey - their farts are so potent to termites that they are stunned, paralyzed, and then they die.  African Wild dogs apparently get so excited after hunting and returning to the pack that they spontaneously poop and fart everywhere (and subsequently are very stinky).  Poor sea cucumbers are non-farters and have a species of pearlfish that live inside their bums - they are safe from predators in there.  While there, the pearlfish eat the gonads of the sea cucumber, which isn't as devastating as it may seem - their gonads regenerate.

So - science!  learning!  farts!  animals!  This book has it all.

I loved it.  The illustrations are hilarious - just check this one out:

If you like learning, animals, and think farts are funny - you'll like this book!  It doesn't stink.

Act 2: WWII - The Adventures of Bruce Monkman 1941-1945 by Bruce Monkman

My reading has been a little sporadic lately.  I'll pick up a book and read it, then not read for a while.  Then pick back up Hamilton (by Ron Chernow) and try to get through more of it.  These last several months have been a little irregular.  My Grandfather, Bruce Monkman, died in December.  He was 96 years old.  He lived a long and adventurous life.  He also wrote this book about his experiences during WWII.

He joined the Army (after the Navy failing to take him) when he was quite young and went to war.  He spent several years in Europe not on the war's front but in supplying the troops with things they needed.  He wasn't so far removed from the front that he was immune to shelling and danger either.  Reading his book brings a little of him back to me.

Bruce was a fantastic man - full of spirit and life and life experience.  He was a quiet man, but boy did he have stories.  About everything and nothing.  It didn't matter.  When you got him talking, his charisma oozed out of him - it was infectious.  And that comes through in this book.

It isn't a book full of blood and gore.  Sure, there are mention of those things, but more than a traditional "war story", Bruce wrote about the adventure of being in several foreign countries and about his observations and experiences in those places.  The war was a backdrop, not the main character.

There are countless stories of him being drunk and "high" (I don't think on drugs), about people he encountered in the different places his regiment stopped (Northern Africa, Italy, Germany, France), funny things that happened, hookers, townspeople, landscapes, close calls, Nazis, General Patton, President Roosevelt, girls, men, and everything in between. 

My favorite story is when he describes his intake into the Army.  Bruce had to:

"...sit in a chair, bare bottom and all, with the doctor at my side about three feet from me, who whispered quite loudly, "Can you hear me?"  Naturally I could hear him; it was just below normal talk.  I passed my hearing test with flying colors.  I'm in the Army now."

 Another funny story is about a U.S. Army run house of prostitution:

"...(a whore house).  Naturally we headed for it.  We were all young, hormones were working and this was what young studs did.  Right?  The place was originally run and owned by a local citizen with local girls to entertain.  It was now controlled by the Army medics; they inspected the girls for any problem and let the madam continue to run the operation.  The Army felt that it was safer for an operation like this than have the soldiers cruise the streets and pick up who knows what.  Anyway, this was my chance to see what life was all about as I was still a virgin.  In my simple mind doing this could enhance my idea of romance.  What a learning time...  While sitting there...awaiting my turn, a door upstairs...flew open, a nude girl came rushing out screaming, in a French accent, "too beeg, too beeg."  The soldier came out, also naked, and his private was "too beeg", but demanding to be serviced...I thought, this is not for me, can't do it, I'm not ready for such a thing.  I got up and headed for the door..."

It's not every day you get to seemingly hear your grandfather talk about whores and losing his virginity in a whorehouse in northern Africa.

This book is a great read and it also special because I know/knew the person who had these experiences.  To see and hear Bruce talking about his wartime adventures was a treat.  He would have such a smile and grin on his face.  I can't help but see that in my head when I read or look at this book.

An enthusiastic two thumbs up from me - not just because I know Bruce, but because this is an interesting first-hand account of his experience in the war.  Sadly, I don't know where you can purchase this book - it isn't on Amazon, as Bruce self-published it.

Darker by E L James

Yes, I read the 50 Shades series.  Yes, I liked it.  No, it won't win any Pulitzers (or Oscars for the movie versions).  Yes, they (books and movies) were entertaining.  They are literally like book porn.  Shit, they are book porn.  Back in July 2015, I read Grey, the 4th book in the series, and ironically, the Husband told me that a 5th book was coming out and he put me on the waiting list for it at the public library.  He won't read these books, he won't see the movies, yet, he has told me about the last 2 books that have come out...  I think he's secretly a 50 Shades fan...

Well, this book continues being raunchy, dirty, and pornographic.  It tells the next part of the story from Christian's perspective.  It was entertaining and I tore through it in 8 days - started it January 14th and finished on January 21.  I liked it.

Here's what I didn't like.  This is the telling of the story in the 2nd 50 Shades book - 50 Shades Darker (hence this book's title just Darker).  However, this book departs from the original story it is based on.  Things in this book are completely different than in the book it is derived from.

For example, Christian's sub, Leila, does pull a gun on Ana in her apartment, but it happened at a different part in the story than the original,  Leila buzzes Ana into the apartment - Ana assumed it was Kate's brother who was there already waiting for her.  Kate's brother doesn't make an appearance in the original.  When Ana leaves the apartment, in the original she walks alone through a rainy Seattle.  In this version, she leaves with Kate's brother and gets drunk.  There are many many examples of inconsistencies and flat out different scenarios in Darker than in 50 Shades Darker.

So, while entertaining, and a page turner, this was off-putting.  It was basically a different story.  Maybe this is intentional - this is supposed to be from Christian's perspective, but most of this book is revisionist history.

If you are a die hard fan of the original, this will likely be off-putting.  If you don't care that much, you'll probably like it.

Oh, and reading this, I see even more direct correlations to Twilight.

The Girl who takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz

I'm a big fan of the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series - I've read all of the books and I saw the original movies in Swedish.  I haven't actually seen the English version of the movies.  I read The Girl in the Spider's Web in September 2017 and really liked it.

I started this one on/around January 1st and finished it on January 13th.  While I generally liked this book, it, to me, seemed a bit too formulaic.  It picks up where the Spider's Web leaves off, and Lisbeth is in jail serving time for her part in the craziness from the prior book.

Of course, Mikael, Holger, and several other regular characters, make their appearance, and of course we meet some new players.

Like with the other novels, Lisbeth takes an active role in righting a wrong.  In this one, there are a few wrongs that get righted all at the hands of Lisbeth and Mikael (as per usual).  They've really turned into quite the crime-fighting duo.  Like Scooby and Shaggy, Batman and Robin, Crocket and Tubbs, Cagney & Lacey.  Lisbeth does the sketchy behind-the-scenes stuff, and Mikael puts it all together and publishes an article to bring it all to light.  This version is very entertaining, and we find out a lot more about Lisbeth's tragic childhood and the source of inspiration for her dragon tattoo.

Even in jail, Lisbeth gets access to a computer and does some work with lists of people.  She clues Mikael into something but doesn't give him too much so as not to bias him.  It's slow going for Mikael at first since he really doesn't know what's going on.  But then... he figures it out.  There were some twists and turns with twins, and a bad people, revelations, violence, and revenge.

Bottom line - this book was entertaining and went to some unexpected places.  I don't think you need to have read all of the prior books to be able to enjoy this one, but I think it certainly helps to have some background into the characters and relationships they all have.  Lisbeth is a bad-ass and I like her.  

I'd give this a medium thumbs-up probably because I wish it had a little more originality and wasn't so formulaic.  But I guess that's sort of what you get when you are reading a book in a series.

Order to Kill: A Mitch Rapp Novel by Kyle Mills

I love a Mitch Rapp novel, and this one didn't disappoint.  I read the last book in the series The Last Survivor in November 2015, and loved it.  This was no different.  I started this on December 27 and finished it on the 31st.  Definitely a quick read - 5 days!  

It's funny - sometimes formulaic, series books can get old.  But not Mitch Rapp books (or at least not yet - here's hoping they never get old).

These books are in the realm of possibility given the current political world climate we find ourselves in.  This one follows Rapp addressing a crisis with his team of black ops professionals.  The shit hits the fan a number of times, but of course, the good guys win.

I like how the characters interact with each other, I like that Flynn and now Mills develop the characters so you really feel like you know them.  They seem believable and they act with a realistic passion to do the right thing and save the day.  I also like how the good guys don't always win easily - they encounter some crazy shit that they need to get through - from their own and from external forces.

It's hard to describe all of the plot-lines in this book - partially because I don't want some black ops government agency to come after me if certain keywords appear in this blog (it is sad I'm paranoid about that - you an read a synopsis here), and also it's hard because there is so much going on in this book. 

Bottom line - it's great.  It's action-packed.  It's well written.  It's a page turner.  It goes by quick.  As I mentioned before, it is important to read these books in order.  You could go in publication order (which I did) or in story chronological order - but don't jump around.  So much of these books build on what happens in previous books that I think you'd be lost if you don't go in order.

Two thumbs up from me!

Artemis by Andy Weir

I devoured Andy Weir's first book, The Martian, in July 2014.  Loved it.  Loved the movie, too.  I thought it was a really good translation from the book to the movie.  That doesn't always happen.  I was pleased to learn, from The Husband, that Weir had another book out - this one called Artemis.  The Husband read it first then passed it on to me.  This was a super quick read - started 11/24 and finished 7 days later on 11/30/17.  

I read some critical reviews of certain elements of this book, but hey, not everyone will like everything.  For me, sometimes reading is an escape from the world around me.  It can be a fantasy world where I don't have to think about too much, be overly critical or sensitive, and can just BE with the words on the page.  Sometimes it is an enjoyable place to be, like with this book.  Other times it is a not so enjoyable place to be, like with The Angel of History.  I am sure there are many people out there who really enjoyed that book, I just don't happen to be one of them.

Like The Martian, Artemis was action packed, not completely predictable, entertaining, and funny.  It was thrilling, kept you on the edge of your seat, laughing, anxious, and everything in between.  This book is centered around a lady named Jazz who was born on and lives on the Moon.  Yes, THE MOON.  In this book, there is a colony on the moon, built by the country of Kenya.  Jazz may be in to some shady and not so shady stuff, but she's got the spotlight in the book.

Apparently on the Moon, like everywhere, there is an underground element, there are mafia people, rich people, poor people, and people who think they can get away with anything.  Jazz finds herself in the middle of all of this along with a random set of people who help and hinder her along the way.  Of course there are a few twists and turns along the way, and a lesson in economics.

     "The next big step is taxes."

     "Taxes?" I snorted [Jazz].  "People come here because they don't want to pay taxes." 

     "They already pay taxes - as rent to KSC [Kenyan Space Agency].  We need to change over to a property-ownership and tax model so the city's wealth is directly tied to the economy.  But that's not for a while."

     She took off her glasses.  "It's all part of the life-cycle of an economy.  First it's lawless capitalism until that starts to impede growth.  Next comes regulation, law enforcement, and taxes.  After that: public benefits and entitlements.  Then, finally, over-expenditure and collapse."

     "Wait.  Collapse?"

     "Yes, collapse.  An economy is a living thing.  It's born full of vitality and dies once it's rigid and worn out.  Then, through necessity, people break into smaller economic groups and the cycle begins anew, but with more economies.  Baby economies, like Artemis is right now."

     "Huh," I said.  "And if you want to make babies, somebody's got to get fucked."

     She laughed.  "You and I will get along just fine, Jasmine."

     I left without further comment.  I didn't want to spend any more time inside the mind of an economist.  It was dark and disturbing.  I needed a beer. 

And you have all of this set on the Moon (so there is sort of some science-y stuff in the book too)!  With cussing!!!

This is an entertaining story, fast-paced and interesting.  Two thumbs up from me.  Look forward to the movie!

Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species by Joel Sartore

After finishing Face to Face with Grizzlies by Joel Sartore, I started Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species also by Sartore on November 8 and finished it on November 11.  As I mentioned in the Grizzlies post, I follow Joel Sartore on Instagram.  It was there that I learned about his project - the photo ark - his 25-year project in the making to showcase biodiversity and inspire action to save animals.  Check out the photo ark here.  He travels the world photographing animals in the wild and at zoos, preserves, and other animal institutions.  

On his Instagram feed, he mentioned a 3-episode series that was airing on PBS about the photo ark, so of course I asked The Husband to record it on the DVR.  The series sat there for several months, and we finally watched it a few weeks back.  It was AMAZING!  Seeing how he photographs the animals, and understanding why he does it the way he does was fascinating.  His goal with the ark is to photograph animals using portrait photography techniques in an effort to help people connect with the animals to hopefully help us want to save animals.  He captured lemurs in the wild in Madagascar and showed the devastation of deforestation there.  He photographed a nearly extinct Northern White rhino at a zoo in the Czech Republic - she was one of the last 3 of this species ON EARTH. Shortly after Joel photographed this rhino, she died, leaving only 2 animals left ever.  That broke my heart.  Literally there are only 2 of these rhinos left.  TWO.  And that was in 2015.  According to a quick search of the interwebs, there is only 1 male of this species left - and that's it.  Poof, the end of this species.

The book, Rare, is full of amazing photos of beautiful animals that are in varying states on the extinction spectrum.  The sections are separated into more than 10,000 individuals, 1,000-10,000 individuals, less than 1,000 individuals, population numbers unknown, and on the rise - populations increasing.  At least there is some hope.  The book also includes some plant species as well.  The photographs are stunning.  He photographs everything on both solid black and solid white backgrounds with studio lighting of sorts.  The animals aren't shown with plants or other things - just the animals (and plants) plain and simple, front and center - in a portrait.  Even ugly things look beautiful.  And to think that some of these animals and plants will be gone forever in our lifetime is so tragic.  It is difficult to be sad that some animals we consider "pests" are disappearing - I mean, am I sad that I won't get the opportunity to come face to face with a New Mexico Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake?  No.

But everything in our Earth's ecosystem is interconnected.  If key species disappear, others will follow, and in an extreme version of this - we'll disappear too.  How sad is that?  That's the road we are on though, people.  Pollution of all kinds, habitat loss, clear cutting, slash and burn deforestation all at our hands contribute to the destruction of our planet.  We've only got one.  We need to tread more carefully.

At the end of the book, Sartore offers some thoughts on how we can take action.  He tries to answer the question - what can any of us do?

"Plenty.  First, be aware of what's going on.  Find out for yourself.  Read.  Talk to people who have firsthand experience in the natural sciences.  Join your local chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the Audubon Society, or any other group that cares about saving the Earth.  Above all, don't let anyone tell you what to think.  Though some may shove their opinions your way, learn for yourself and make up your own mind.  Next, realize that how you live has a real impact on the planet.  What is your carbon footprint?  How big is your house, and is it well insulated?  What size vehicle do you drive?  Can you take public transit?  Better yet, can you ride a bike or walk instead?  And what about your shopping habits?  Reduce what you buy.  Reuse what you buy.  Absolutely, but think of that as a last result.  Finally, know that every time you break out your wallet, you can make a difference.  Every time you spend money, you are, in effect, voting.  You're saying, 'I approve of what this is made of, I approve of who made this and how, I approve of the distance that this was shipped from, and most of all, I want you to do it again and again.'  That's real power, and you don't have to wait for an election year to make your voice heard.  You can practice this every day."

That hits home for me.  We can all take actions that will save the planet and we all should take those actions.  

This book was awesome, tragic, beautiful, sad, inspiring, depressing.  I would definitely recommend checking this book out, or at least the on-line photo ark.  Hopefully it will inspire you to make a change too.