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Tag Archives: stand-alone

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Weather and Space by Helen Young and Chris Oxlade (2010) – BR00219 (2022) – ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธโšชโšชโšช

The PolyBlog
November 12 2022

Plot or Premise

Part of an Interactive Explorer series, this book is aimed at kids, and includes flaps, pull tabs, wheels and acetates. The book is divided into two, with Section 1 aimed at the weather. It covers weather extremes, changing climate, floods, droughts, winds, big storms, thunder and hail, and extreme snow.

What I Liked

I was mainly reviewing the text to see what they shared about space in Section 2 for younger grades. Overall, it covers the night sky, star maps, suns and stars, the life of a star, constellations, galaxies, planets, the moon, smaller bodies, and exploring space. All are good topics for those new to space.

What I Didn’t Like

The added features seem out of place in the book — the text is written for middle-school level or a bit below who would find the features childish, while the “features” are more suited to early grades who wouldn’t understand the text. For the space section, the order makes no sense. We start off with big areas, come into the sun, back out to stars and DSOs, back down to the solar system moon, and back out to small bodies.

The Bottom Line

Poor design and odd choice of organization for the space section

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged book review, Good Reads, non-fiction, paperback, PolyWogg, stand-alone | Leave a reply

Sprinting Through No Man’s Land by Adin Dobkin (2021) – BR00217 (2022) – ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธโšช

The PolyBlog
October 31 2022

Plot or Premise

The book provides an overview of the first Tour de France after WWI.

What I Liked

I was skeptical when I first chose the book. It showed up as a recommendation in a feed, but was I really going to read about the Tour de France? I am NOT a giant sports fan in general, and certainly not of cycling, nor even of the TdF, although I’ve always been impressed by the idea of it. A gruelling multi-day race, different terrain, and extensive coverage are truly, ahem, impressive. But would I like a book about the first one after WWI? In a word, yes.

For the actual racing part, I loved the story. Bits and pieces were pulled from reports of the day, old interviews with various people involved, etc. A historian’s dream to take something that might have been somewhat dry at times for secondary sources and turn it into a fun read. I could feel the struggle when a tire went flat, or the weather intervened, or they were racing on crappy surfaces. I admired the commitment to even compete given the timeframe, as much about recreating the old life from before the war as about creating a new normal. I enjoyed the contrast of what some of the regions had experienced even a few months previously.

What I Didn’t Like

I was surprised there wasn’t a bit more information about the previous TdF. As I said, I’m not a cycling fanatic, don’t know the whole history, and there was very little concrete detail on what happened before the war. It seems like a strange omission to talk about “what’s new after the war” without saying what was “old before the war”. Heck, even which version of the race it was by year!

However, as much as I enjoyed seeing what happened in various regions during the war, the overviews of the regions were often way too long and disconnected from the story. They were decent summaries but they read like a history textbook. Not exactly riveting and the main reason I’m docking it a star.

The Bottom Line

Good enough for even a non-cycling fan to enjoy

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged cycling, e-book, Good Reads, history, non-fiction, stand-alone, tour de france | Leave a reply

The Twelve Apostles by William J. Coughlin (2016) – BR00190 (2020) – ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธโšชโšช

The PolyBlog
March 25 2020

Plot or Premise

An elite law firm in NYC has 12 full partners, nicknamed the Apostles, and various members wheel and deal with big business clients as an opening comes available.

What I Liked

The story has a very strong “Wall Street” feel to it, but the back and forth between two companies with their punches and counter-punches are fast-paced and real. Most stories in the genre have one or two “business” tricks, but this is much more complicated and relies less on a single tool to advance the plot. The story mixes experienced Apostles, with participating associates gunning for a promotion, and even associates and junior partners slogging in the trenches.

What I Didn’t Like

The romance side of the story detracts from the business manoeuvres, as does the one-dimensional side of one of the business clients and their opposing counsel. In addition, there is some seriously flawed treatment of a sexual assault that shouldn’t be anywhere in the story, it’s completely superfluous to the outcome.

The Bottom Line

Great business dealings, lousy everything else.

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged Amazon.ca, book review, business, e-book, fiction, Good Reads, legal, Library Thing, new, Nook, novel, PolyWogg, prose, Reading Challenge, romance, RRE, Savvy Reader, stand-alone | Leave a reply

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (2018) – BR00189 (2020) – ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ

The PolyBlog
March 22 2020

Plot or Premise

A woman dies at a party at a country resort, the solution obvious. But she was actually murdered, and a guest must solve the crime or never leave. Because the same day repeats each day, and each day the guest is in the body of someone else. He has seven chances to get it right.

** Note that when I bought the e-book, all the promotional material including the cover said “The 7 Deaths of…”. Now, a few months later, as I go to review it, the title has changed to the 7.5 deaths. I’m keeping the title I had initially. **

What I Liked

The Groundhog Day / time loop is rarely handled well in any genre (TV, movie, books), but Turton not only handles it expertly, he adds in a body jumping element that is brilliant. Each day he learns just a little bit more about the culminating murder, and about the reality he is trapped in, playing detective in a country resort. Some days he is completely new, other days he is locked into exchanges he witnessed the day before and must tweak them to ensure they end the same or differently. Can he prevent the murder? Can he solve the crime? And why does another guest seem to know he’s not himself? And who — or what — is stalking the guests?

What I Didn’t Like

It is a bit confusing at times, given the sheer complexity of the story. 

The Bottom Line

Expertly done — time jumps, loops, and body-hopping, oh my!

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged action, Amazon.ca, B&N, book review, Chapters, crime, e-book, fiction, future, Good Reads, Google, Kobo, Library Thing, mystery, new, Nook, novel, OPL, paranormal, PolyWogg, prose, romance, RRE, Savvy Reader, sci-fi, series, sleuth, stand-alone, suspense, time | Leave a reply

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) – BR00187 (2020) – ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธโšชโšช

The PolyBlog
March 20 2020

Plot or Premise

A man observes the comings and goings of a 1920s party host who is both his neighbour and a paramour of his cousin. 

What I Liked

It is weird to go back and read this book some 35 years after high school. I remember thinking it was this glamourous world of parties and high society, where people really did act differently from the common folk. As an adult, I see it for what it is — a portrayal of a shallow summer, without substance or value, leading to an inevitable tragedy of people over-estimating their self-importance and narcissism. Beautifully written, harshly portrayed as Nick Carroway observes the desires of Jay Gatsby for a married Daisy Buchanan, the woman he loved but lost years before. All of the summer reads like life without consequences, an embracing of hedonism and simple pleasures, but without anyone asking if it is really what they want or just what they think they want.

What I Didn’t Like

I find it intriguing that my young self saw it as a tragedy, but without particular indictment of the lifestyle of the secondary characters. They seemed more clichรฉ or farce than real at the time, but now it just seems simply depressing across the board. I didn’t care about any character anywhere in the book, not even Nick, who is mostly a blank slate.

The Bottom Line

Over-rated as a classic.

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged Amazon.ca, B&N, book review, Chapters, e-book, fiction, Good Reads, Google, historical, Kobo, Library Thing, new, Nook, novel, OPL, PolyWogg, prose, Reading Challenge, romance, RRE, Savvy Reader, stand-alone | Leave a reply

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