Louise - Adventures of a Chicken

We have chickens. Four to be exact. Their names are Sheila, QT, Ms. Jones and Missy A. They are awesomely fun to watch. We have become a bit chicken obsessed in our family. In addition to watching Hen Cam, we are also starting to borrow books from the library that deal with chickens.

The latest is Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken. This is an AWESOME book. Louise goes on three separate adventures. The first is a pirate adventure complete with shipwreck. In the second, she runs away to the circus. In the third, she visits a foreign land. At last she has found true adventure.

The books are well drawn, cute and if you own chickens, so spot on to their personalities. If you want a fun read and like chickens, see if you can get this book from the library. 

Book Review: The Happy Humanist

 I was given the book, The Happy Humanist, to read and review by it's author.  It's a nice short book, less than 100 pages, and I agree with everything in it. But then, that's because I'm a Humanist myself.

This book isn't about the Humanist philosophy, which isn't mentioned or defined at all.  It is a book about how a Humanist views the self. How we view our place in the universe.  How we view ourselves in relationship to other people and why we view ourselves this way.  Of course, since the word Humanist isn't mentioned in the book at all, it is only referenced in it's title, you have to constantly remind yourself that he is in fact writing from a Humanist perspective.

That being said, his advice is good. Same advice I give in my book (see link on the right) I kept thinking as I read the book that it was all rather Buddhist in it's approach, like the part about being detached, but not too detached.  There is a reason why it sounds Buddhist and that is because the teachings of Siddhartha were Humanistic in nature.

Do I recommend this book?  Yes. It's a bit academic and dry, but all the important bits about how we Humanists view life, the universe and everything are in there. The only downside is that it isn't always clear what his recommendations are for living life. They are sometimes hidden in the larger discussion. It's also  not easily quotable. I kept wanting to share some of the insights, but they won't fit in a twitter post. I realize that might be a selling point for some people actually.

The real question is whether this100 page book is worth its $16,95 US list price. That, I can't answer for you. As the Happy Humanist points out repeatedly, you are the only one who can determine what is best for you.

The Introduction was the best part of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

I did enjoy this book and I'm glad I read it but ... the introduction by Ray Bradbury was the best part of this book. If you are going to get a copy to read - get this one - specifically for the introduction. As for the book itself, well, the action parts and story line are great. The problem is that Verne seems to have felt that he needed to include every single bit of background research he did into the book. He didn't seem to waste anything he had found in in his research.. He goes on for several pages listing the types of fish that can be found in a particular area. Whenever we come across a sunken ship we are treated to several pages of the history of the ship and the ships that preceded it into whatever cove we are in along with who actually made it back to make the report. Some of this stuff is interesting, but mostly, it's unnecessary filler. I found myself skipping over the taxonomic lessons and skipping to the actual story line.

The story line is great. Totally enjoyed it. Spoiler - they get attacked by 10 giant squids, not one. They also get trapped under the ice at the south pole and have lots of other adventures you don't see in the movies. All in all a worthwhile read, but it is a bit tedious because about half of the book is devoting to listing fish and their attributes (this one had a spotted tail with a blue underbelly, the next one had rings and a white belly and on and on and on.)

Do I recommend it? Well ... yeah - good story, better then what they show in the movies, you just need to gloss over the endless filler.