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Alone by Megan E. Freeman
I just finished reading Alone (2021) by Megan E. Freeman, a young adult novel in free verse. It is narrated by a young girl, 12 years old in the beginning, who finds herself in a very serious survival situation after waking to find herself completely cut off from human contact. It is an extremely compelling…
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Eleodes armata, tree forts, and snowballs
A while ago, I thought our little beetle friend in the terrarium, a beautiful Eleodes armata, must have died. I had watered the terrarium pretty thoroughly and this usually brought him out from his subterranean refuge. This time, however, he made no appearance. Inspecting the terrarium, I thought I saw a dark beetle carcase and…
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Comenius and the Beginnings of Educational Reform by Will S. Monroe
I finished reading Comenius and the Beginnings of Educational Reform by Will S. Monroe (published in 1900). John Amos Comenius (1592-1670), sometimes referred to as the “father of modern education,” was referenced in something else I was reading. When researching who he was, I ended up coming across this book and decided to check it…
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The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
Here’s an old book jot from February 2021: I just finished reading The Unexpected Mrs Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman. It is a mystery novel published in the 1960s and the first in a series. Emily Pollifax is a retired woman who lives a quiet life and yearns for something a little different. And she soon…
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New Atlantis by Francis Bacon
I finished reading New Atlantis written by Francis Bacon and published after his death in 1626. It is regarded as an early example of a utopian novel. In it, a ship of sailors, lost at sea, stumbles upon an island nation. The narrator, one of the sailors, introduces the reader to the land of Bensalem,…
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The Weapon Shops of Isher by A.E. van Vogt
I just finished reading The Weapon Shops of Isher (1951) by A.E. van Vogt. This science fiction novel combines three previously published short stories, two from the early 1940s and one from 1949. It is a novel of ideas, as well as action. It courses along quickly, setting forth a world under the influence of…