Reviews and Comments

Library loan ended

Second time reading this, meant to put Brusatte's new book on hold at the library but accidentally got this book. Good enough to read again! And the new book is next.

It's been a couple of decades since I last read The Hobbit, but the story still holds up. This new audiobook edition is read by Andy Serkis (the actor who voiced and played Gollum, among many others). His voice acting is spectacular and really adds to the book. Highly recommended!

Really wanted to listen to this again.

Not great, will look for something better.

Read A Fire in the Ways, an alternative set of events that was cut from the final version of book 14 of the Wheel of Time series, A Memory of Light.

Read River of Souls.

I learned quite a lot from this book. This is because of, rather than despite, its age. The discussion of gear is wide-ranging, from 35mm film up to large-format view cameras. Despite the fact that I have never used a view camera, the discussion of tilt-shift movements helped me understand the use of smaller-format cameras work. Adams includes multiple experiments, including showing the effect of lenses with different focal lengths in a way that makes full frame vs APS-C crop factor issues make a lot of sense.

One's cultural worldview provides the lens through which you see the world. This makes it difficult to separate the reality from the filter provided by that worldview. This book provides the outline of an Indigenous worldview, and provides a way to question the dominant culture's worldview. One book cannot change your worldview, but this is a good start.

The first half of this book goes over the basics of how to to choose aperture and shutter speeds, and felt pretty basic. The second half goes over a number of useful techniques for metering in specific scenarios. The chapter on choosing exposures for flash photography provided a nice introduction to the subject, enough to get started. Overall worth a read if you're looking for more control over your exposures.

This book is an expansion of the author's article here:

usa.anarchistlibraries.net/library/christopher-scott-thompson-what-is-pagan-anarchism

It provides an overview of historical pagan liberation theology and advocates for anarchism that embraces nature-centered religions. Anarcho-primitivism as an approach is criticized. I learned a lot and really enjoyed this book.

Library loan ended

Fun novella, looking forward to the second part!

This book ties together a lot of strands of modern thought into a coherent narrative about the corrosive effects of capitalism. I'm sure I missed a lot the first time through, so it's on my list for a re-read.