Chaos & Confetti

Chaos here!

Teaching, department head duties, library practicum, graduate classes, family, social life, jobs around the house, etc., etc.  The last month has been a monster (I thought those were supposed to wait until October to show up?).  True free time has been a rarity lately and so, this month, I sadly come before you all with only three new books read.  

It hurt my heart to witness days passing by without a page read or to have to accept two pages in a single day as some sort of minor victory.  

I hope October brings not just chills and scares, but also a little more breathing room.  I’d love to get in a few more books this month and maybe even get back to the comics I love so much.  Woe is my lack of time for visual literacy!  For now though, here are the books I’ve read.     

As always, books will be rated on a 1 – 5 star scale with 1 being bad, 2 being meh, 3 being good, 4 being great, and 5 being absolutely excellent.  If you enjoy what you see and don’t want to wait until the next book post, please follow us on Goodreads.  We’ll stay consistently updated there before compiling our month’s reading and thoughts here.

Let’s Go!

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann – 3/5 Stars

In August of 1974, a tightrope walker appears between the Twin Towers, evoking a wide range of emotions from onlookers and even those who simply hear about the event.  Meanwhile, the city is filled with lives that though seemingly ordinary, and filled with their own miracles, tragedies, triumphs, and failures.  Let the Great World Spin finds these lives’ common threads and weave them together in a unifying narrative.

Let the Great World Spin tries to juggle a host of characters and perspectives, time hops, and themes.  Unfortunately, unlike the story’s tightrope walker (a fictionalized version of Phillippe Petit), Let the Great World Spin doesn’t quite pull off its intended balancing act.  

While the quality of the prose is never in doubt, its interest level and engagement does waiver.  Some sections were enthralling, while others felt like they dragged on too long, or felt a bit pointless in the grand scheme of the entire novel.

Overall, Let the Great World Spin is a well written book that deserves its awards, but may still fall flat for certain readers, especially because despite the messages being clear by the end of the text, the payoff doesn’t really land.  To many, I might simply recommend reading portions of the book, or feeling free to skip ahead when sections lose interest.  Some of the interconnected webbing might be lost, but the writing style can still be enjoyed without issue.

What If? 2 by Randall Munroe – 4/5 Stars

Randall Munroe is back to once again answer some of his readers’ strangest and most curious questions.  Of course, each question is approached with the latest scientific research in order to give readers a full understanding of why their inquiries are so crazy, and will often lead to the destruction of everything.

What If? 2 hits the sweet spot between entertaining and educational.  Munroe clearly puts a lot of thought and research into every question, resulting in a deep dive into a lot of scientific ideas.  However, Munroe also makes all of his answers understandable through the use of illustrations, humor, analogies, and well written explanations.

There is plenty here for those who are more scientifically inclined and for those simply looking for some laughs coupled with a bit of knowledge.  While not every question or answer might hold all readers attention, the large quantity should leave plenty for most readers.  Each answer also ranges from a paragraph to several pages, with none of them overstaying their welcome.

 For those who enjoy science, implausible situations, and humor, What If? 2 is an excellent option.

Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket – 2.5/5 Stars

Author Lemony Snicket comes across a note that informs him, “You’ve had poison for breakfast.”  Startled at this realization, he sets out not only to save himself but also to figure out why he may have been targeted.  Lemony will take a roundabout path towards the answer, and delves into his thoughts and philosophy along the way.

This is my first book by Lemony Snicket, and he didn’t quite win my over towards seeking out more of his writing.  While there is a certain level of charm and playfulness to his writing, it also often felt directionless and overly wordy filler.

The actual plot of the narrative is pretty uneventful and leads to exactly were most readers will suspect very early on into the book.  This leaves the rest of the novel to be carried by Snicket’s almost stream of conscious writing style, worldplay, and insights on the world.  Though Snicket does provide quite a bit of interesting and sometimes humorous thoughts, they are not enough to support the book themselves.    

Despite being a rather short read (only about 150 pages), this novel felt much longer than it needed to be.  

I’d recommend this book for those who are already a fan of Lemony Snicket or for those who really enjoy writing that is more about random thoughts then character development or plot.