Librocubicularist- May 2015

The weather around here has been mostly rain with a few random days of sun here and there. So I've alternated between reading during the cloudy days and trying to get our lawn under control when things dry out. I've also been trying to be healthier by going for at least a short walk everyday. Here's a bit of what I've been reading.


Art Journal Art Journey: Collage and Storytelling for Honoring Your Creative Process by Nichole Rae

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book inspired me to start looking for old books to use in college projects.

It follows the whole path of creating an art journal. From choosing and preparing a book all the way through generating text and creating layouts. There is information about where to find college materials and papers and suggestions for other supplies. The main focus of the book is finding inspiration for your text and various ways to journal and highlight your text.

The journal pages shown as examples all follow a very specific style but in my opinion that's helpful. Sometimes trying to focus on the techniques being shown can be difficult if it's shown in several different styles. This allows you to see exactly how each idea shown changes the look of the finished layout.

One of my favorite things from this book is a list of suggested themes for journals and also inspirational words and phrases. There are also a few mini projects included so you can try the techniques on a smaller scale.

Age Recommendations:
Although this book is directed to adults I think that most of the ideas in this book could be adapted for use with children.




The Secret Language of Color: Science, Nature, History, Culture, Beauty of Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, & Violet by Arielle Eckstut

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book alternates between chapters discussing the science related to color and chapters about each individual color. The science chapters cover a wide variety of topics such as how plants and animals evolved to use colors to why various minerals are the color they are. There is also a chapter detailing how humans see color and the way it's processed by our brains.
Each color chapter also has mix of information. It discusses emotions associated with colors and their origins, the history and background of certain dyes or paint colors and various other stories related to specific colors.
It contains a whole bunch of information, most of which I will probably not remember for an extended time, but I found it a very interesting read.

Age Recommendation:
I think it would be interesting for all ages but some of the science could be difficult for younger kids to follow.





168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This book wasn't as helpful as I would have liked. This book is divided into 4 sections the first is kind of an introduction. It talks about the fact that most people are not as pressed for time as they think and references several studies that show people overestimate the amount of hours they spend working. The main point is that you likely have more free time than you realize and just need to find an way to optimize it. She also discusses the importance of identifying core competencies to help determine how you should spend your time.

The second section focuses on making the most of your time at work. While some of the advice, including ways to avoid distraction could be helpful, the emphasis seems to be on creating a better work schedule which isn't possible for a large portion of people. It makes suggestions such as leaving work early so you can spend a couple of hours with your family and then putting in another few hours work after the kids are in bed. Jobs where you are required to be available to customers. clients during certain hours just don't work like this. Any retail job, bank teller, librarian or host of other jobs have to have people in the 'office' during certain hours. You might be able to negotiate some sort of split shift but that's not going to be the norm and it certainly won't be as easy to make happen as this book implies.

The next section covers time at home which includes time with children, housework, and general free time. The main suggestion seems to be that if you are spending to much time on housework you should either lower your housekeeping standards or outsource the work to someone else. For people who may be working multiple jobs to make enough money to get by but want more family time it may not be possible to pay someone else to do the housework. Also suggestions about things like laundry service just aren't as widely available everywhere as they are in large cities such as New York. Some of the ideas involving free time do have merit. It points out that many people end up watching TV in their spare time because its easy and that planning out how to spend spare time in advance helps avoid wasting it all on TV or random internet surfing. Also suggested are picking just 2-3 hobbies or causes to volunteer for and focusing your time on those rather than spreading your time to thin with too many activities.

The final section acts as a conclusion and show time studies for various people with examples of where they found extra time and rearranged their schedules to make things work for them.

Overall I'm not saying that the suggestions presented are impossible. I believe that they would work well for some one in the right kind of job, I just know that realistically not everyone's employer is going to be that flexible and the author presents it as an easy thing to make these kinds of changes where in reality it could be quite a challenge to come to that sort of arrangement.

Age Recommendation:
Obviously for adults




The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This review is going to have spoilers because I'm not sure how to talk about some of my issues without giving away parts of the plot. I enjoyed this book and thought that it was an interesting read but there were a few things that kept me from giving it a higher rating.
The basic plot is that Alice is sent to live with an Uncle after her father is shipwrecked and assumed dead. She ends up sneaking into her Uncle's library and finds out that she is some kind of wizard called a Reader. It means that she can read herself into book and then after fighting the creatures inside gains the ability to summon them or draw on their powers.
The problems I have relate mostly the Readers and their powers. Her uncle suspects she has powers but doesn't tell her. He forbids her to visit the library as a sort of test where he expects her to disobey and reveal her powers. The book also mentions that the older Readers change allegiances frequently and pit their apprentices against each other so a fellow apprentice may be a friend one day and an enemy the next. I feel like the whole thing needs more explanation and I admit that since this is one of a series there may be more details in future books.
The other major problem is that the book implies that her father is not really dead and she wants to find him but there is almost no progress made in regards to this story line. But again she does get a lead at the end of the books so who knows.
All of that being said the concept of it is pretty interesting. The first creatures that Alice is able to gain control over are small but she can summon a swarm of them. She's able to come up with a variety of creative ways to use them and learns how to harness their powers for herself. I was entertained by her discovering and learning to use her powers I'm just not sure how it fits into the bigger story.

Age Recommendations:
I think this would be a good book for most kids. Its pretty interesting but nothing to scary happens that might frighten little kids.




The Cloud Collector's Handbook. by Gavin Pretor-Pinney by Gavin Pretor-Pinney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I thought this book was really cute and have already started my own personal collection. The handbook has information about various types of clouds and how to identify them. It starts with 10 basic cloud types and then expands to include variations and other atmospheric effects.

Each entry has a description of the cloud and related types, pictures, names and references to similar cloud species and a block to record information about your collection. The collection space has blanks for date, location, and weather condition as well as the file name for your photo of the cloud. It also has a scoring system for tallying up the value of your collection, including bonuses for each type. It sort of reminds me of the scores in the game Pokemon Snap.

I had a copy from the library but am seriously considering a trip to the bookstore to get my own copy.

Age Recommendation:
I feel like the book is intended to help adults recapture the fun and relaxation of cloud gazing. However it includes quite a bit of scientific information about how various types of clouds are formed and what kind of weather conditions they are likely to be found in. I think it would be a great book to use for teaching kids weather science. Not only could they collect and identify clouds but also work on trying to predict conditions for finding clouds missing from their collections.

With all of changing weather my walks have given me a chance to start a good cloud collection. I don't have all of them labeled (that'll have to wait until I buy my own copy) but you can check it out on The Eclectic Otter's facebook page.