The Glass Universe by Dana Sobel

The Glass Universe

by

Dava Sobel

At the end of summer my local library reading group asked for book suggestions when they were making their reading list for this years meetings, and on my list of possible ideas was "anything by Dava Sobel".  I had read Galileos' Daughter by her earlier this year and really admired her writing style.  When the selection list came out,  the book for November was The Glass Universe by Dava Sobel.  I was glad to have the opportunity to read another book by this author.  I decided to listen to the book on audio.  When I first started listening to it I was a bit concerned because I thought the science was going to be over my head.  My science back ground is more of the biological sciences than physical sciences and there is quite a bit of detail about the stars and planets in this book.  But I soldiered on and I feel that, while some of it might have went over my head, I gleaned a great deal from this book.   I especially liked Annie Jump Cannon.  She designed an award for women astronomers that involved them being presented a brooch instead of a medal.  I thought that was very neat.  I tried to look online for a picture of one of the brooches but was unable to find such an image.  I did find some very cool images at THIS SITE.  And I especially liked the following image below which is taken from there.

This book is a non fiction book.  It is about women who worked as computers at the Harvard Observatory.  It covers them from the mid 1800's to the mid 1900's.  Dava Sobel describes these women who were true pioneers explaining both their work and their personal lives.   Another one of the women that I found especially interesting was Williamina Paton Stevens Fleming.   She was a Scottish immigrant who arrived to work at first as a maid for the director of the observatory.  She was pregnant and her husband had disappeared.  It was the late 1800s.  For this woman to have impressed the director enough with her abilities to end up as one of the most valued computers is an amazing story.   In fact,  many of the women in the book had very interesting lives.   I highly recommend this book.  There are links to click on at the title of the book and author's name above and through out this post that will lead the reader to more information.  This book is a very well written non fiction book.  Please enjoy the short video that follows featuring the author.  I really admire this woman's writing and encourage everyone to read her books.  

October Writing

I have not gotten as much on line in October as I did in September.  A few of the items posted in September were written earlier but arrived online in September so were shared in that September post about my writing which can be found HERE.   But I have been busy in October.  I joined a new online writing group called The Inner Circle at the Family History Writing Studio.  I had taken their Writing a Scene last September and am glad to be working with Lynn again.  The Family History Writing Studio can be found HERE.   In that group I am polishing my Elizabeth Rairigh piece that I posted last spring from my library writing group and plan on writing word pictures of other Rairigh women in my ancestry.  It can be found HERE.  I am still attending my local library's writing group which met a week ago.  And my most exciting news is that an article of mine was in the Ohio Genealogy News which came out two weeks ago.  It is online but can be viewed only by Ohio Genealogy Society members at the OGS site.  I am sure it is available at many libraries though if anyone wants to check their next trip to their local library.  My piece starts  on page 27.  I find the OGN publication especially exciting because the article will be in PERSI.  Another thing that just went "live"  is my third WWI nurse for the Miami Indiana project.  It can be found HERE.   The WWI nurse project is great fun but very time consuming.  These women have a lot of spit to them but are very hard to find information on.  I fear without the efforts of the Miami Indiana Museum Committee for the Armistice Day 2018 programing these women would have been lost to time and forgotten.   I am very excited about being a part of them being remembered.  Because of the time I am spending on the nurses the time I spent on my library writing group topic was minimal.  I will share it here anyway because it was a fun topic.

Writing group October 2017

Topic: A Beloved Pet

 Through out my lifetime I have had many pets, but during this phase of my life I am enjoying the freedom of being able to take off for the weekend or a week long vacation.  It is nice not to have responsibilities that prevent me from going where ever I desire to go. Even though I do not have a pet of my own I enjoy the pets that my children have when I visit their homes.  I also have had several pets in my past that I remember fondly.   My first pet as a small child was a turtle named Toddles.  Through out my growing up years our family had a few dogs and several cats.  Twice in my life I was the proud owner of a horse.  One of my horse owning experiences provided me with a foul which was a special treat.  I even had a donkey once.  I have enjoyed aquariums.  Some were fresh water and some were salt water tanks.  While all these pets were special, my most recently pet was especially beloved.  She was a cockatiel.   I named her Simone de Beauvoir.  She did not talk but was quick to alert me if my phone had a message on it when I emerged from the shower.  She would tweet if my coffee was warmed up in the microwave and I had forgotten about it.  She would greet me when I came home after work.  She loved to ride in my car.  I could put her cage in the back seat of my car if I was going to my daughters for the weekend or visiting another friend who lived a days drive away.  Most motels would allow me to bring her on vacation with me.  We interacted a great deal until I was given a second cockatiel named Oscar.  Immediately I lengthened Oscar’s name to Oscar Wilde.  Simone and Oscar each had their own cage.  The cages were not far from each other and Oscar Wilde would squeak at Simone and she would look the other way.  She tolerated him but was not friendly.  I found that two cages to clean was higher maintenance than I really wanted.  I had Simone for about ten years and Oscar for about three.  When I put my condo on the market to move to Ohio the realtor suggested I needed to do something about the two large cages and feathers that were over powering the living space.  I didn’t think it was fair to the birds that I was leaving them alone (with plenty of food and water) so often on the weekend to visit Ohio.  I felt they needed more attention that I was able to give them with the turn my life was taking.  Plus I could tell that my fiancé was not a bird lover.  Although he did not tell me I had to get rid of the birds,  I  was aware that he did not warm up to them.  So my realtor helped me find an experienced bird woman to take them.  This person was wanting to start a bird breeding business and had a few birds already.  Simone and Oscar would be good additions for her.  Sometimes I miss Simone.  But one good reason not to have pets is that I am allergic to animal dander.  I also find that having a husband is time consuming enough for this phase of my life.  We do talk about,  in the future,  should we become home bound,  that we would be interested in obtaining a dog at that time, if we feel we are able to take care of one.   But at this time we remain pet free. 

Dead Wake by Erik Larson

Dead Wake

by

Erik Larson

Last evening I finished reading Dead Wake by Erik Larson.  I had checked it out on my Kindle App on my iPad from the Ohio State Library.  I renewed it three times.  It is not a long book but I have been reading more than one book at a time so my time was divided between this title and a couple of longer fiction titles.  The fiction ones I could not renew and had to read within the allotted time so in other words,  I got side tracked.   I wanted to explain this because I don't want to give the impression I had to renew Dead Wake because I wasn't interested in the book.  It is a very well written suspenseful non fiction book.  Erik Larson is an artist with his approach.  He builds suspense and as a reader I felt like I was on the ship.  The people he described became real to me.  In fact,  this is one of the best non fiction books I have ever read.  With the 100 year anniversary of WWI,  it is an excellent time to read this book.  I highly recommend it.  Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the video that follows.  

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J K Rowling

Harry Potter

and the 

Half Blood Prince 

by

J K Rowling

Book Six in the Harry Potter series was one that I just flew through.  When I started reading I could not put it down.  My husband laughed at me,  as I read my kindle in bed into the wee hours of the morning,  that I was like a kid with a book and flashlight under the covers.   I have enjoyed all of the Harry Potter books,  reading late as I got toward the end of them,  but this one especially hooked me in.  Harry goes back to school for another year after his summer at his Aunt and Uncles.  He was able to spend the end of his summer with his friend Ron again.  School was especially interesting this year in the book because of his individual instruction from the head master.  In fact,  it was his time spent with Dumbledore that made the book even more fascinating than the previous ones.  Again,  I highly recommend this book to kids from upper grade school age to adult.  My nine year old grandson recommended the series to me and it has been a great gift.  Please click on the book title and authors name above to follow links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.  

War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk

War and Remembrance

By

Herman Wouk

There is a reason I have not been posting too many book reviews lately.  The last several months,  my audio book listening has consisted of Herman Wouk's books.  First The Winds of War followed by War and Remembrance.  They are both very long and detailed but at the same time fast paced books and are the most comprehensive coverage of WWII that I have read in the historical novel genre.  Coming to the end of War and Remembrance has been like having to say goodbye to a friend.  Few books have impressed me this much in my lifetime of reading.  I will put Herman Wouk on the same level with Ken Follett,  John Jakes,  and Diana Galbroden  in my list of authors that I have enjoyed.  The two books cover the experience of a fictitious family during the WWII era.  A mini series was made for each book several years ago and I hope to obtain and watch them.  Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the video that follows.  I highly recommend these two historical novels.  

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter

and the

Order of the Phoenix

by

J.K. Rowling

The fifth book in the Harry Potter series is over 800 pages long.  It involves the year that Harry and his classmates have to take their OWL exams and so are preparing for a large test that determines the type of curriculum that they will be taking in future years to prepare them for a particular career field is part of the plot of this book. Also present is the over coming of evil theme which is the main theme of every Harry Potter book so far.   Another recurring theme in the books is the fickle minded public.  At the beginning of this book,  everyone looks down on Harry, except his particular friends.  But by the end every body loves Harry once more.  It clearly shows children that public opinion is not the total determining factor for behavior choices.  Speaking of what Harry Potter illustrates to children brings me to the topic of the woman who illustrated Harry Potter books in the United States. Click on the book title and author's name above to learn more about the book and it's illustrator.  And enjoy the video that follows.