Welcome to part 14 in a series of non-fiction book reviews, based on the idea that the books I request tell you everything you need to know about me. Today we have the periodic table, a children's book about Levar Burton and photos of a cold water guru! Random, but I'll explain in each one why I requested them, as well as what I thought of them. All books are provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Periodic Table Illustrated: A Guide to the 118 Chemical Elements Abbie Headon (releases 8 October 2024)
We do trivia every week, and some of us have "special subjects". Leon is good at capital cities. My "special subject" is the period table. Not because I know all that much about it, but because I memorised the first ten elements when I was at school and can still recite them. So I was happy to receive this book. It has a short introduction, followed by two pages for each element. Each contains the same layout - Some information about the element, a picture of it in it's natural form, a picture of it in use and information about how people use the element. This format makes the book easy to use and access, and the pictures prevent the book from becoming too dense. This well presented book would be a useful resource for a high-school student who has an interest in science, or a trivia nerd, studying for that question that might never be asked.
I had heard of Wim Hoff prior to requesting this book - I think anyone who has spent time in the running and CrossFit communities probably knows his name, but I was not familiar with him beyond ice baths and brown fat. So I was requested this book with that curiosity. This book is not about the Eim Hof Method (WHM).It's a phot-memoir of his life and exploits, which includes his ideas (mainly that you are more than you think you are). It has some very moving parts, particularity in part 1. Part 3 feels a bit like 'how I became a cult leader', but people like to call anything that other people are passionate about a cult, so I'm not going to do that. The stories are beautifully illustrated with photos, and by poems written by Wim. I would buy this as a gift for someone who already knows and likes the WHM, or leave it around as a beutifully illustrated coffee table book.
My friend LeVar by Ezra Edmund (releases 1 October)
I requested this after reading the rather odd Leonard Cohen by Maria Isabel Sanchez. When I requested it I did not know about the Reading Rainbow, although I am familiar with LeVar Burton - mainly through StarTrek and his podcast LeVar Burton Reads. This little volume is surprisingly sweet, even without having the full background, or having watched the show. It's nicely illustrated and celebrates Black authors and stories. It has a certain nostaligia for the 90s, although that is not the focus. Unsurprisingly it has an American tone to it, so I probably wouldn't wouldn't buy it for my Australian friends, but if I was American I would definitely put this on my shopping list.
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