Book Review: Just My Type by Simon Garfield

Just My Type

By: Simon Garfield

ISBN-13: 9781592406524

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Publication date: 9/1/2011

Pages: 356

Source: Library copy

Synopsis:

A hugely entertaining and revealing guide to the history of type that asks, What does your favorite font say about you?

Fonts surround us every day, on street signs and buildings, on movie posters and books, and on just about every product we buy. But where do fonts come from, and why do we need so many? Who is responsible for the staid practicality of Times New Roman, the cool anonymity of Arial, or the irritating levity of Comic Sans (and the movement to ban it)?

Typefaces are now 560 years old, but we barely knew their names until about twenty years ago when the pull-down font menus on our first computers made us all the gods of type. Beginning in the early days of Gutenberg and ending with the most adventurous digital fonts, Simon Garfield explores the rich history and subtle powers of type. He goes on to investigate a range of modern mysteries, including how Helvetica took over the world, what inspires the seeming ubiquitous use of Trajan on bad movie posters, and exactly why the all-type cover of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus was so effective. It also examines why the "T" in the Beatles logo is longer than the other letters and how Gotham helped Barack Obama into the White House. A must-have book for the design conscious, Just My Type's cheeky irreverence will also charm everyone who loved Eats, Shoots & Leaves and Schott's Original Miscellany.

My Review:

Simon Garfield has introduced me to a world that I never gave much thought to and took for granted, the wide world of font and typography. Just My Type is a fun history lesson on the design of many famous fonts today and why those designs are still used in today's world.  For example, Garfield explains why Helvetica is one of the most widely used fonts worldwide and what happened when IKEA switched their font from futura to verdana... gasp!

After reading Just My Type, I now find myself paying more attention to the font on signs and in books. While I can't tell the difference between most fonts, I do look to see if it is serif or sans serif and how the overall look of the font produces a feeling for what it is trying to express, such as stability or modernity.

I really enjoyed roughly the first half of the book because it made me keep thinking of all the things I never picked up on in signs or other written word forms, but towards the end I found myself getting bored and wishing the book would soon. After a while, because I'm not a font enthusiast, the list of designers and the types of fonts just started to blur. Then, the book did just end. I don't think the ending of the book really summed up the previous 300-odd pages or made a final point about the world of fonts. Maybe it was just me, but I felt like Simon Garfield just got a little bored of writing it and so he just stopped where he was. I really enjoyed the premise of the book and I learned a lot, but I think the ending could have been better handled, which is why I'm giving Just My Type only three stars out of five.

P.S. - I changed the font of this post to Arial, what do you think?

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Girl who Played with Fire

By: Stieg Larsson

Pub. Date: November 2010

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Format: Hardcover, 503 pages 

Series: Millennium Trilogy Series

ISBN-13: 9780307595577

ISBN: 0307595579

Source: Personal Copy

Synopsis:

Part blistering espionage thriller, part riveting police procedural, and part piercing exposeé on social injustice, The Girl Who Played with Fire is a masterful, endlessly satisfying novel. Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, the two reporters responsible for the article are murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander's innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past.

My Review:

Blomkvist returns from Hedstad, where he spent most of the first book in this series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (which I reviewed here), and tries to return to his normal life as a journalist at a small but mighty monthly journal. However, he can't find the girl he worked with in Hedstad, Lisbeth Salander.

Salander has left the country, and especially Blomkvist. The point of her trip surprised me buts I guess it made her seem more like a real person who maybe didn't want to stay as anti-social as she had been before. The rest of her adventure out of the country was interesting, but did not play a role in the main action of the book.

Blomkvist begins working with an investigative journalist who is writing a piece on the sex trade in Sweden. Right before Blomkvist's journal is ready to publish the piece, the journalist and his girlfriend are murdered and Salander becomes the prime suspect.

Media chaos ensues. The media circus surrounding the murders and search for Salander sounded like what could, and probably does, happen here in America. The media takes little bits given from the police and jumps to conclusions and sensationalizes the 'facts' based on little evidence.

Blomkvist, while still grieving for his lost friends and scrambling to change the journal issue before going for publication, becomes convinced that Salander is innocent and begins his search for her. Salander is incredibly difficult to track. Along the way, we learn more about Lisbeth's past.

I found the beginning of The Girl who Played with Fire to be really slow and many things to be rather irrelevant to the plot. However, the second half of the book was exciting and suspenseful. I recommend this book for a very good story, as long as you are willing to drag through some of the slower parts. Plus, the book ends right in the middle of action which makes you want to start the third book right away. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but it certainly creates a lot of suspense!

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Bossypants by Tina Fey

Synopsis:

Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

(Includes Special, Never-Before-Solicited Opinions on Breastfeeding, Princesses, Photoshop, the Electoral Process, and Italian Rum Cake!)

My Review:

This book did and did not meet my expectations. I knew Bossypants would be a memoir of Tina Fey's career and life, but I also expected more jokes/funnier stories. While I did chuckle throughout the book, I rarely burst out laughing. Tina's voice definitely comes through the words and her stories are fascinating and I highly enjoyed reading them.

However, I thought that overall flow of the book was jarring and there was not central theme to pull it together- besides Tina Fey herself. I haven't read many memoirs, so this may be typical of them but I wish it felt more like a story instead of each chapter being more of a separate entity.

That being said, there were some amazing chapters. For example, one chapter explains just what professional photo shoots are like- which I loved. Tina Fey spoke about them in a way that seemed like it would also be my point of view- if I ever had the fortunate opportunity to even be in the same room as a photo shoot.

I also liked a lot of Tina Fey's feminist points (although I strongly disagree with her political views, so I just skimmed those parts so I could keep enjoying the book). There are three chapters in particular that I liked. First- I liked the two back to back chapters: 'Remembrances of Being Very Very Skinny' and 'Remembrances of Being a Little Bit Fat.' I liked the conclusion to both of these chapters, basically we should stop caring about weight so much as long as the person is healthy. It's a simple as that.

The other chapter that I really liked was about Tina Fey and her wildly popular Sarah Palin impersonation. This chapter also talks about the concurrent events of Oprah appearing on 30 Rock and planning her daughter's birthday party. I liked how even though she was a anxious, worried mess during this turbulent time, she also managed to do it all. It was fascinating to read about this time, especially since it was quite recent and I knew about/had seen both her Sarah Palin impersonations and the episode on 30 Rock with Oprah. I did not know about her daughter's birthday though. Oh well.

I loved a lot of the other chapters as well, but I also did not like some of them. I did not like the last chapter in the book, called 'What Should I Do with My Last Five Minutes.' Basically Tina Fey divulges all of her worries about possibly having another child or staying with her career. While I completely understand her anxiety, and even completely emphasize since I worry about my possible future career taking over my life to the detriment of my future family, I just didn't think it was a good way to end the book. It was quite depressing. And I think it's something that a lot of people/mothers/would-be mothers/fathers/etc worry about. But Tina Fey didn't have any answers or insight, so why bring it up and take us all down in your worries?

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Synopsis:

"Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant in the blink of an eye - that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others?"

In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple: the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of "blink": the election of Warren Harding; New Coke; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police. Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing" - filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.

My Review:

Malcolm Gladwell presents an interesting idea- that the unconscious split decisions that we make are often right and we should listen to them more often. Practical, logical, and well-thought out decisions may lead us astray because we can use too much information which distracts us from what's important. However, Gladwell also admits that sometimes impulse decisions aren't correct and can cause trouble.

To prove his point, Gladwell uses a series of very interesting anecdotes. These stories are fascinating and make the book worth reading. However, the overall point of the book seems to get lost when Gladwell sets out trying to prove that snap decisions are good and then gives examples where they fall apart. He tries to reconcile these failures by saying that we need to train ourselves to know when to listen to our impulses and when to slow down and think it out. Because this compromise of training takes a lot of time and training, it seems that the point of this book means very little to the regular person. We are not going to take the time to train ourselves to be able to accurately make these decisions. So how should we know when to trust ourselves?

Blink is a short, interesting read and I recommend it as that, not as a scientific proof.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars



Book Review: Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution by Holly Tucker

Synopsis:

On a cold day in December 1667 the renegade physician Jean Denis transfused ten ounces of calf's blood into Antoine Mauroy, a madman. Several days and several transfusions later, Mauroy was dead and Denis was framed for murder. A riveting and wide-reaching history, Blood Work shows how blood transfusion became swept up in personal vendettas, international intrigues, and the war between science and superstition. In a foreshadowing of today's stem cell and cloning debates, proponents saw transfusion as a long-awaited cure to deadly illnesses, while others worried that science was toying with forces of nature, perhaps even paving the way for monstrous hybrid creatures. Taking us from the highest ranks of society to the lowest, Holly Tucker introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters, all ruthless contenders in the battle over transfusion. Finally, in a feat of historical research, she reveals the true identities of Mauroy's murderers—and their motivations to kill. (Image and synopsis from goodreads.com)

My Review:

Blood Work is an interesting non-fiction work that chronicles the beginning of blood transfusions in the 17th century in France and England. Scientists started experimenting in blood transfusions long before the knew anything about the composition or purpose of blood- many still did not even believe in circulation of blood throughout the body!

This book describes wonderfully, if that is the right word, the gory nature of blood work before modern practices. Bloodletting was still one of the most common medical treatments for patients and the new technique of blood transfusions was even more 'icky' than bloodletting. Blood Work also describes the political nature of science in the 17th century- especially the feud between protestant England and Catholic France. I found some of this background to be more interesting than the specific blood transfusion debates.

While I think Holly Tucker did a great job of bringing to light this interesting piece of scientific inquiry, I felt like there was too much build up to the end and a little too much background information. Some thingsdragged on, like the description of King Louis XIV when he really had very little involvement in the transfusion debate. The promised murder in the book was also a let down since it was not at all difficult to guess the assumed murderers and their reasons for murder. However, I did not read this because I wanted a thrilling mystery; rather, I wanted to learn blood transfusions in the 17th century, which this book accomplished.

Overall, I think Blood Work was interesting and informative. My main complaint is that there was some extra unnecessary information that bogged down the plot some. Instead of jumping around to explain all of the background, I think it could have been trimmed more to make a more efficient, cohesive narrative.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars



Book Review: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Synopsis:

Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive 'ship of fools'. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival. (Image and synopsis from goodreads.com)

My Review:

I like and dislike this book. I tend to stay away from new hyped-up releases for a while because a lot of times I find that it doesn't measure up to the hype. If I still hear people talking about it later, I'll pick it up and give it a shot. Which is what I did for Water for Elephants.

Water for Elephants is the story of a young man, Jacob, who leaves college and joins a circus, becoming the show's veterinarian.  While he's with the circus, he meets many interesting people and animals. He also falls in love with a woman who is married to a man who hates Jacob (can we say love triangle?).

I loved the form of this story, young Jacob's story is told through the memory of 90 or 93 year old Jacob, as he sits in a nursing home waiting for his family to come and take him to see the visiting circus. Sara Gruen did a great job portraying the elderly Jacob, his emotions and thoughts were excellently described. I also like how young Jacob's story was always framed through old Jacob's thoughts and actions. It reminded me of the movie 'The Princess Bride,' when the grandfather and grandson always push through the story to remind the audience who is telling the story. Old Jacob's point of view also gives some conclusion to the story, since the reader can see how almost all of his life went after young Jacob's story stops.

The part of Water for Elephants that I did not appreciate was some of the descriptions of parts of young Jacob's story. I don't particularly care to read about the grimy underside of humanity, including poor circus travelers during the Great Depression. There are some sexual exploits described very explicitly in the book, which I just feel are unnecessary. I don't think they add to the story so why include it? If a sexual relationship pertains to the story, that's fine, but if it's just to show that the author can write about it, I don't care to read it.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, especially the way it was put together, young Jacob through the memory of old Jacob and the endings for both young and old Jacob. Some parts did not appeal to me because it's just not what I like to read, but I do recommend this book for those who do not mind.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

Synopsis:

Narnia has been at peace since Peter, Susan, Lucy and Edmund helped rid the kingdom of the evil White Witch. But the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve have returned to their own world and a dark presence now rules this once harmonious land...
Wicked King Miraz has imposed a pernicious new order of persecution and imprisonment, but the King's nephew and rightful heir, young Prince Caspian, realizing the evil of his uncle's regime, vows to revive Narnia's glorious past. Fearing for his life, he is forced to flee and calls on the four children, the magic of the mighty lion Aslan, and an army of fauns, dwarfs and woodland spirits to help him in his seemingly impossible task. (Image and synopsis from goodreads.com)



My Review:

I have been enjoying the Chronicles of Narnia series for several days now. Prince Caspian is the fourth book out of the seven in the series. So far, two children discovered that other worlds exist and witnessed the birth of one, four children stumbled in that new world and saved it from the white witch, a boy and girl from that new world escaped from one land in that world to the free land of Narnia, and, in Prince Caspian, a boy takes his place as the rightful ruler of Narnia.

After the four children left Narnia to go back to England, Narnia fell into decay as men took over the land and forced the talking animals and moving trees into hiding. But, when a young boy in the ruling family of Narnia calls for help to overthrow the ruling men, the four children are pulled out of Englad and back into Narnia. The children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy re-enter the magical land of Narnia and once again breathe in that revigorating air. They eventually come to the aid of Caspian, the boy who called for them, and put him on the throne of Narnia. The animals and trees are allowed to come out of hiding and Narnia is once again a land of enchantment and pleasure.

While the plot was entertaining, I felt like there was something missing that had been present in the first three books. I didn't like that the four children were pulled against their will out of their life in England to the beck and call of Caspian. Although time moved only a neglible amount in England so that they didn't miss anything, I felt that it wasn't right for them to pulled out. I also didn't feel the same excitement in the land of Narnia that had been there before. I hope the last three books bring that excitment back.

However, this book once again demonstrates another admirable moral for children; humans should appreciate and respect nature and living creatures. Men who rule without regard for others often fall into bad ways and bad ends.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars