First, I will be right up front: I grew up in a family of hunters. My mother could outshoot my father when they meet/where first married. I grew up around guns. I was taught to respect them. If I had wanted to, I am sure my father would have taught me to shoot. I have seen animals displayed in ways many people would not approve of or could possible handle. Second, I am a proud meat eater. Have been all my life. And finally, I […]
Earth Day and Beyond
With Earth Day, Green Up Day and Spring around the corner (though I am not as sure about Spring due to the current weather conditions) the young readers fancy turns towards books about the earth. And both titles, Water’s Children: Celebrating the Resource That Unites Us All by Angele Delaunois and When Planet Earth Was New by James Gladstone, give a story and facts about the past and present earth, the people there, water as well as many other details. Water’s Children shows us how […]
Finally getting around to a classic, but I’m disappointed in the man
“Original sin, the true original sin, is the blind destruction for the sake of greed of this natural paradise which lies all around us–if only we were worthy of it.” (208) “We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope; without it the life of the cities would drive all men into crime or drugs or psychoanalysis.” (162) Desert Solitaire (1968) by Edward Abbey is one of those classic environmental books that I’ve heard about for years but never got around to reading. […]
Kickin it on Deathworld
Last year on Pajiba and/or CBR, I asked for fun sci-fi recommendations. Harry Harrison’s Bill, the Galactic Hero series was recommended by more than a couple folks. A quick “Harry Harrison” search on my Kindle revealed this book, instead of Bill. This book was free, so I downloaded it and soaked it up. Deathworld, despite the name, is a fun and thoughtful work of science fiction from the man who brought us Soylent Green. It combines the things that I love most about sci-fi: entertainment, […]