The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science by Sam Kean The only time I remember enjoying a book about science history this much was when I read Sam Kean’s other book, The Disappearing Spoon, which is full of exciting tales from the periodic table. I …
Tag: 19th century
Dec 28
Book Review: Sense and Sensibility
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen I like Jane Austen, but I’m no superfan, so I’m sure readers of my reviews will lambaste me for merely liking this book. It was a pretty good book, and worth reading, but the 19th century language is hard to get past. Did people just use more words back …
Sep 07
Book Review: The Orchardist
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin The first thing I noticed about this book is that the author did not use quotations to set off dialog. It made it feel to me as if the novel was silent, underwater, like watching a movie with the sound off. There is dialog, but it’s not in quotes, so …
Dec 18
Book Review: Tongues of Serpents
Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik I’m still very much enjoying this series, though this book wasn’t as excellent as the last one. It’s still good though, a rollicking adventure with high stakes in an exotic land. Novik presents early nineteenth century Australia as a rough land of rough men, and the countryside as a …
Mar 18
Book Review: Silver: Return to Treasure Island
Silver: Return to Treasure Island by Andrew Motion There are two kinds of classic novels. One is the kind you’re hit over the head with in high school, (or forced to read it a few years too early, if you went to an aggressively academic school), and as an adult, if you remember the book …