Gotta love a good thought experiment!

Some books that you read make you question everything. Alan Weisman's The World Without Us is definitely one of those books. The book seeks to answer the question 'What would happen to the world if humans were to disappear?' I've read books that look at it from the flip side of the coin where humans have destroyed the planet to such a degree that humanity can no longer be sustained. It was interesting to look at the reverse. Weisman looked at the issue from a variety of viewpoints. He looked at the evolution of humans and their impact on the megafauna and megaflora of the planet. His point there was that although much of the animals and plants were eradicated by us, variations of these have survived into present day. Therefore, if humanity were to disappear nature would find a way to carry on and maybe another kind of humanity would take our place. He also looked at the damage we have done through chemical processes (I'm talking nuclear) and whether or not the planet's remaining inhabitants could survive. He went to a variety of places where it was as close to being primeval as possible (Kingman Reef) and also those places which were irrevocably changed by us (Chernobyl). He spoke to scientists of all disciplines (many of which sound like amazing careers that I need to look into immediately). It was a thoroughly researched and thought provoking read and I encourage anyone interested in conservancy and ecology to go and give this book a shot.

Because I just couldn't help myself I grabbed another Phryne Fisher mystery, Raisins and Almonds. (I realized after starting it that I definitely went out of order as I missed a lot of backstory so I do encourage you if you're reading the series to continue with Flying Too High after Cocaine Blues.) This time Phryne has taken a new lover by the name of Simon Abrahams and his father hires her to absolve a woman of murder. The entire affair is mixed up with the Jewish culture of Australia (and the rest of the world actually). Greenwood even included a Yiddish dictionary at the back of the book as it was used liberally throughout the story. I have to be honest here...I didn't find this one as entertaining as the first of the series. The characters weren't nearly as vivid and the mystery itself was pretty dull. However, learning about the Jewish culture was very interesting so I'm going to let it pass with a solid C.

**If you're interested in a book like the ones I've reviewed here, you can click here. This will re-direct you to AbeBooks. This is one of my favorite websites for purchasing used books. Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following this link. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Learning ALL the time

As the title suggests, I think it's important that we strive to continue learning new things. If you read Countdown you're sure to do just that. The book's title sounds rather ominous but the topic broached within its pages isn't fictional or even "this is a scenario dreamed up by the author with enough facts to make it sound plausible". No, the notion that there are too many humans jammed onto this planet draining the limited resources is one that most of us are aware of if not actively concerned about. Homo sapiens has fairly swarmed across the globe gobbling up as much arable land as possible and watering that land through any means necessary. The problem is we're stuck in a cycle. We have so many mouths to feed so we need to grow more food which means depleting more resources and using up more space. However, the more food we put in those mouths and the more we advance medically the more bodies there are to take up space and consume more food and create more bodies and...you get where I'm going with this. I have vaguely thought about this before and wondered what the Earth could realistically sustain while we destroy habitats and cause entire species to go extinct. Where is the line? Have we crossed it already? READ THIS BOOK. I was so impressed by Weisman that I've already downloaded The World Without Us  in which he conducts a thought experiment about what would happen to the planet if all of humanity were wiped out. O_O That'll be down the road because I have another title that's practically begging to be read.

The next title that I allude to is The Troop by Nick Cutter. I was drawn in by this because it claimed to scare Stephen King. That sounds like a challenge that I want to take! It's about a Boy Scout troop that camps out on a deserted island and is beset upon by a stranger that infects one of them with some unimaginable horror. Soon there is frightening devastation (or so I'm promised). It's been awhile since I read a propor horror story so I'm pretty excited (and a little apprehensive I'll get nightmares but that won't stop me!). I can't wait to give you my review!

I hope you're all ready to get back into the swing of things now that summer is pretty much over. I especially hope you'll all continue to read even though free time might be shortened and your lives might be busier. Reading is a great way to unwind!! :-D

Good news and bad news

The good news is that I thought Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was fantastic and there is a SEQUEL (not due out until January 2014 though). The bad news is that I'm already finished with it and the sequel isn't out until January 2014. JANUARY 2014. Okay, maybe I should review this or something. Firstly, I would like to thank Ashley for asking me to read this (and for loaning me her copy). This book is a perfect example of magical realism gone so very right. The author, Ransom Riggs, uses vintage photographs to bring the story to life for the reader. They're so beautifully woven into the storyline that you (well, if you're like me at least) look forward to them every few pages. I really dig photographs (especially those found in old family albums) and I thought it was a clever device for transporting the reader into the world that he had created. These children are "peculiar" because of their abilities and these same gifts make them vulnerable. I don't want to say anymore because I want you to go read this immediately. GO NOW. OH and they're turning it into a motion picture due out in 2015. EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING. Edit: It's actually coming out September 30, 2016 and I'M EXCITED.

Okay if you managed to make it through the paragraph above I have to assume that you're a hardcore fan of mine (hi mom!) and I really appreciate you sticking it out with me. The next book up is another title from NetGalley which means it hasn't been published yet and therefore will not be readily available to you. However, it will be beneficial for me to trundle through it so I can let you know if I think it's worth your time. The book is Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth? by Alan Weisman. The basic question that this book is trying to answer is how humanity can come into balance with the earth. He travels the globe asking questions about limiting the growth of humans (not a new concept), ecosystem development (is the earth strong enough to hold all of us?), and what the economy of this newly stabilized (and shrunken) world might look like. I find nonfiction works about the state of our world and our place in it highly compelling which is why I gravitated toward this one. I imagine a world of possibilities that I never even imagined are about to be opened before me!