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drj's reviews
33 reviews
Baleen by Josephine Croser
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The illustrations, a series of etchings of the key moments of this story of whales, are beautiful. Sometimes dark and forboding, other times more reflective.
But the text and the story and weak. The book’s story is a battle between two whales, and explains the great split in the two groups of whales: the baleen whales of the title, and the toothed wales (although it is an entirely non-scientific fictional explanation).
A commendable appendix, only slightly dated, has lot of fun facts about both groups of whale and a small amount about krill; good scale pictures.
But the text and the story and weak. The book’s story is a battle between two whales, and explains the great split in the two groups of whales: the baleen whales of the title, and the toothed wales (although it is an entirely non-scientific fictional explanation).
A commendable appendix, only slightly dated, has lot of fun facts about both groups of whale and a small amount about krill; good scale pictures.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
The Geometry of Type: The Anatomy of 100 Essential Typefaces by Stephen Coles, Erik Spiekermann
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.5
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is a delight to read. The writing and the translation are beautiful. The trivial to-and-fro of island life, and in particular the relationship between a young girl and her grandmother, becomes a whole world for the reader and the inhabitants to explore. A wonderful space is created on many levels. The space of the island, its surrounding islands, and the sea; the space between short pieces of dialogue; and, the space between each of the short episodes.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
Patternalia: An Unconventional History of Polka Dots, Stripes, Plaid, Camouflage, & Other Graphic Patterns by Jude Stewart
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
A whirlwind tour through the world of patterns. Checks, spots, squares, grids, and curves are described and discussed, related to each other and our societies.
A barrage of "fun facts" that at times threatens to overwhelm the reader, while at the same time not delivering any substantial thesis to grapple with.
The illustrations it has are nice enough but it desperately needs more, and they need to engage with the text. A description of a Jacquard Loom without a picture of even a punched card? Several pages on camouflage without a single illustration of one?
Occasionally the researcher is stretched and this shows through in clumsy sentences and inaccurate assertions.
I like the book design. Largely black and white with occasional use of a third accent colour: usually cream ranging to pale apricot. A generous space at the bottom of every page is used for footnotes and references to other parts of the book, with cute symbols to mark each one, like a whimsical hyperlink in print.
A barrage of "fun facts" that at times threatens to overwhelm the reader, while at the same time not delivering any substantial thesis to grapple with.
The illustrations it has are nice enough but it desperately needs more, and they need to engage with the text. A description of a Jacquard Loom without a picture of even a punched card? Several pages on camouflage without a single illustration of one?
Occasionally the researcher is stretched and this shows through in clumsy sentences and inaccurate assertions.
I like the book design. Largely black and white with occasional use of a third accent colour: usually cream ranging to pale apricot. A generous space at the bottom of every page is used for footnotes and references to other parts of the book, with cute symbols to mark each one, like a whimsical hyperlink in print.
The AWK Programming Language by Peter J. Weinberger, Brian W. Kernighan, Alfred V. Aho
challenging
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Incest
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Racism
10 Print Chr$(205.5+rnd(1)); Goto 10 by Patsy Baudoin, John Bell, Nick Montfort
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
The book's entire subject is a single one-line program:
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
This is a BASIC language program that RUNs on the C64
to produce a maze that scrolls up the screen as more of it is
produced.
It's a neat tricky for a one line program.
The book is an exploration of the program, the historical
context in which it appeared, the computer (playfully referred
to as the "taupe unit"), the social act of sharing code, mazes,
and alternative possibilities that the program suggests.
I grew up in the 1980s and loved the microcomputers of that era,
though i never had ready access to a C64 until emulators became
easily available. But i had never known of this program until
quite recently.
Both the program and the book are delightful. The discussion is
wide-ranging and diverse, from Greek mythology to 6502 machine
code instructions.
The discussion is thorough without being complete, as it should be.
It is deep enough to show that the text has been engaged with
convingly, without closing off all further avenues. Like the
mazes produced by the program itself, the edges are unframed,
left open for other workers to explore.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in 1980s
microcomputers or the close reading of computer programs.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
This is a BASIC language program that RUNs on the C64
to produce a maze that scrolls up the screen as more of it is
produced.
It's a neat tricky for a one line program.
The book is an exploration of the program, the historical
context in which it appeared, the computer (playfully referred
to as the "taupe unit"), the social act of sharing code, mazes,
and alternative possibilities that the program suggests.
I grew up in the 1980s and loved the microcomputers of that era,
though i never had ready access to a C64 until emulators became
easily available. But i had never known of this program until
quite recently.
Both the program and the book are delightful. The discussion is
wide-ranging and diverse, from Greek mythology to 6502 machine
code instructions.
The discussion is thorough without being complete, as it should be.
It is deep enough to show that the text has been engaged with
convingly, without closing off all further avenues. Like the
mazes produced by the program itself, the edges are unframed,
left open for other workers to explore.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in 1980s
microcomputers or the close reading of computer programs.
Ghost Signs A London Story by Sam Roberts
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.5
The selection and glossing is a bit dry, but the quality of the pictures and the charm of the signs themselves make up for it. I read it from beginning to end, but it would be a good book to dip in and out of too.
If you have any interest in public signs or lettering then i would recommend it.
If you have any interest in public signs or lettering then i would recommend it.
The Origin of the Serif: Brush Writings & Roman Letters by Edward M. Catich
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
The book is sort of sold as "why Catich thinks the chiselled Trajan were written with a brush", but in fact is much more than that, and much more interesting. I recommend the book to anyone who is interested in letter shape (of course it is limited to the Latin alphabet).
The main subject of the book is reed versus brush versus chisel as the primary shaping tool of the letters. Obviously the letters are cut with a chisel, but the debate is around whether the shapes of the letters are determined by the chisel used for cutting, the brush used for painting the shapes onto the marble, or the reed as would be used in formal writing.
I understand that at the time of writing Catich’s position that the brush is paramount was quite controversial, but is, in the 21st Century, a more mainstream position. Catich has clearly done much research, and goes to particular pains to point out how familiar he is with the positions of the counter argument (quoting pretty much every well regarded letter artist working in North America or Europe in the 20th Century).
A minor flaw for me was that i found the earlier parts of the book confusing because i was not very familiar with either brush or chisel arts or calligraphy and the dominant theories of calligraphy. Catich spends a fair amount of time arguing against various arguments about chiselling and calligraphy without necessarily introducing the subject first. Often the focus is on what something, a chiselled V-cut say, is not, before explaining what it is; it feels like we are discussing the shadow of a thing before the thing. There is plenty of opportunity to catch up in the later chapters however.
The book is beautifully presented, with plenty of drawings, both admirable and relevant. Short chapters and ample margins make for easy reading. Catich‘s language is fairly precise and while he may not always use terms familiar to me or the modern reader, there is a good clear definitions section.
There are excellent (and somehow drily amusing) summaries provided: partway as Chapter 27 and as the concluding Chapter 56.
The principal argument is that the Trajan letters can and were written with a square-cut brush. The short version of that would be to simply demonstrate that. Catich does demonstrate that, but the demonstration is left teasingly until the back third. Personally i find the argument convincing both from a kinaesthetic view (of brush, arm, and hand movements), but also purely from the graphical aspect of "look how well the brush replicates the form".
Tupigrafia: The 2000-2020 Anthology by Tony De Marco, Claudio Rocha
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.75
An absolute delight. A treasure trove of English language articles from the Brasilian typography magazine Tupigrafia. Typography is chaotic, changing from essay to essay, making the whole collection a mixture of surprise and serendipity. The subjects range from the humble and whimsical to the famous and refined. Vernacular style of painted lettering on fishing boats mixes with the designs of glossy magazine covers. Pencils, poetry, zines, stamps, 3D carvings, found stickers all thrown together in one volume. One beautiful yellow section consists of specimens of wooden type letterpress printed with a kiss onto vintage papers.