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SFPL_danielay
Library StaffSan Francisco Public Library
SFPL_danielay's Profile Shelves

SFPL_danielay's Completed Shelf

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The Border, BookA Journey Around Russia : Through North Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway and the Northwest Passage

by Fatland, Erika
Book, 2021. Language: English
Added Jun 08, 2022

Comment:

Highly recommended in light of recent geopolitical developments. Author Fatland travels around the perimeter of Russia through countries as different as North Korea and Sweden while she explores how they have been shaped by the proximity to their giant neighbor in the past, what their relationship is in the present and how it could change in the future. Plus, if you like travelogues, it is also a really fun and interesting story of travel in countries that not many of us get to visit.

The Anomaly, BookA Novel

by Le Tellier, Hervé
Book, 2021. Language: English
Added Jun 08, 2022

Comment:

One of the best "how would people react if .... happened" novels I have read in a while. We are introduced to several characters that all have one thing in common. All of them were on a flight to New York in March 2021 that went through horrible turbulence but landed safely. Then 3 months later something happens that questions their lives and everything on the planet. How they react individually to the new reality, how governments react and society as a whole is fascinating and extremely well thought through. Recommended to anybody who likes novels that make you think but, please, don't read it on the plane!

Time Shelter, BookA Novel

by Gospodinov, Georgi
Book, 2022. Language: English
Added Apr 28, 2022

Comment:

The concept of an innovative clinic, where patients suffering from Alzheimer's can live in the past they still remember, spirals out of control and leads to a world where the past invades the present. A fascinating and often funny look at Europe's past and present, especially in the light of current political events.

The Cartographers, BookA Novel

by Shepherd, Peng
Book, 2022. Language: English
Added Mar 29, 2022

Comment:

A mystery centered around the New York Public Library Map Division. When Nell Young's estranged is found dead at his desk in the library, she is brought back into the world of historic maps. Her father had her cruelly fired from her job in the same department over a disagreement about a map and they hadn't spoken since. When the same seemingly worthless map is found in his possession at the time of his death, Nell starts to investigate and soon discovers that there is more to this map than she could have imagined. A great book for map and library lovers.

The Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything*, Book*abridged : Adventures in Math and Science

by Rutherford, Adam
Book, 2022. Language: English
Added Feb 17, 2022

Comment:

Podcast hosts Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry cover topics from why a human-sized ant would suffocate to why even scientists are prone to confirmation bias. If you like your science books funny but informative with enough random facts to last you through years of cocktail parties, this is the book for you.

Arabia Felix, BookThe Danish Expedition, 1761-1767

by Hansen, Thorkild
Book, 2017. Language: English
Added Feb 16, 2022

Comment:

A fascinating story about a nearly forgotten Danish expedition to Yemen in the 18th century. Comprised of a botanist, a philologist, an astronomer, a doctor, an artist, and their manservant, this is a story of clashing egos, dedication to science, distrust and disease, made all the more poignant by the fact that these men were forgotten almost as soon as they left on their expedition.

The Secret Life of Fungi, BookDiscoveries From A Hidden World

by Whiteley, Aliya
Book, 2021. Language: English
Added Feb 16, 2022

Comment:

Take a walk through the woods looking at mushrooms with a knowledgeable friend. This is a book for readers who like mushrooms and enjoy following an authors musings on a subject, similar to "The Soul of an Octopus" on cephalopods. Enjoyable but if you want more science, this is not the book that will provide that.

Some Assembly Required, BookDecoding Four Billion Years of Life, From Ancient Fossils to DNA

by Shubin, Neil
Book, 2020. Language: English
Added Jan 06, 2022

Comment:

Not quite as good as "Your Inner Fish" but still a fascinating and accessible dive into recent discoveries on how DNA works in our bodies. From jumping genes to viruses incorporated into the human genome this book shows that evolution is more complicated than we thought and spotlights the scientists who made these discoveries.

Joan Is Okay, BookA Novel

by Wang, Weike
Book, 2022. Language: English
Added Jan 05, 2022

Comment:

Joan is a dedicated doctor who prefers work over socializing. She is content to live in an almost empty apartment and finds excuses to decline her Hedge-fund manager brother's invitations. When her father dies, Joan flies back to China for the funeral but is back at work after 2 days. Then a new neighbor moves in next door who gifts her furniture and books and tries to get her to socialize more, her mother visits from China, her sister-in-law berates her for not fulfilling her family expectations and on top of that the hospital HR forces her to take a 1 month bereavement leave. Is she okay? It seems that everyone considers themselves a better judge of that than her. A good look at society expectations especially for women and minorities.

Harlem Shuffle, Book

by Whitehead, Colson
Book, 2021. Language: English
Added Dec 21, 2021

The Bloodless Boy, Book

by Lloyd, Robert J.
Book, 2021. Language: English
Added Nov 22, 2021

Comment:

When the first blood-drained corpse showed up and conveniently the people who have the technology to preserve it in a vacuum are present, I admit I rolled my eyes a bit. That quickly changed as I got deeply drawn into this crazy story of science and political terrorism. The well-rounded characters and descriptions of 17th-century London really made the mystery come to life and even thought the ending is a bit disappointing, historical mystery fans will enjoy this.

The Maid, BookA Novel

by Prose, Nita
Book, 2022. Language: English
Added Nov 22, 2021

Comment:

A charming Cinderella story of Molly, the hotel maid, who is not good at reading people and has been having a hard time since her grandmother died. When she finds Mr. Black, a regular guest at the hotel, dead on his bed, her troubles get even worse and she becomes a suspect in his murder. Luckily, there are some fairy-godmother like people in her life even if Molly thought she was all alone. You'll be rooting for her to get her life back into the order she craves.

Beasts of A Little Land, BookA Novel

by Kim, Juhea
Book, 2021. Language: English
Added Nov 22, 2021

Comment:

I knew about the Japanese occupation of Korea but this book brought the history to life. Both the characters and the setting were utterly convincing and I found myself thoroughly immersed into the life of Jade as she tries to live her life in this complicated and dangerous world.

West of the Revolution, BookAn Uncommon History of 1776

by Saunt, Claudio
Book, 2014. Language: English
Added Oct 27, 2021

Comment:

A very interesting book that takes the focus away from the East Coast and instead highlights what happened on the rest of the American continent while the Revolutionary War was being fought.

Ostende, Book1936--Sommer der Freundschaft

by Weidermann, Volker
Book, 2014. Language: German
SFPL_danielay's rating:
Added Oct 27, 2021

Comment:

Ein poetisches und schwermütiges Buch über Exil, Literatur und Freundschaft, das mich inspiriert mal wieder ein Buch dieser AutorInnen zu lesen.

A Time of Gifts, BookOn Foot to Constantinople : From the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube

by Fermor, Patrick Leigh
Book, 2005. Language: English
Added Oct 18, 2021

Comment:

I am sure, Fermor's account of his walk across Europe to Constantinople in the 1930s was an exciting read when it first came out in the 1970s but reading it in a time of smartphones and Google maps makes it even more of an adventure. Who doesn't dream of ditching all devices and just start walking without a plan or goal every once in a while. Well, if reality doesn't allow for that, pick up this book and travel in your mind!

Lolly Willowes; Or, the Loving Huntsman, Book

by Warner, Sylvia Townsend
Book, 1926. Language: English
Added Oct 18, 2021

Comment:

Lolly Willowes had dutifully followed her family's wishes, first taking care of her father, then moving into her brother's house in London. Her resistance starts passively by thwarting her sister-in-law's attempts to marry her off but after an epiphany in a flower shop, she scandalizes everybody by moving into the countryside on her own. This novel of a woman breaking free of society, is fresh, unexpected and insightful despite being written almost 100 years ago.

Strange Beasts of China, Book

by Yan, Ge
Book, 2021. Language: English
Added Jul 13, 2021

Comment:

An insightful look at Chinese modern society through the lens of mystical beasts living in the fictional city of Yong'an. In the style of the Shan Hai Jing, each beast is introduced with a description of their appearance, their characters and favorite foods. Most of them are almost indistinguishable from the human residents of Yong'an but work in marginalized jobs and are close to extinction. The narrator, a writer and former zoologist, spends the days drinking and trying to meet her former professor who keeps eluding her. In her wandering through the city, she comes in contact with these beasts, often ending in the tragic death of them. While the book can be read as a dream-like fantasy novel, I couldn't help but seeing it as a critique of Chinese society especially the treatment of ethic minorities.

The Maidens, Book

by Michaelides, Alex
Book, 2021. Language: English
Added Jun 11, 2021

Comment:

A gripping if slightly overwrought thriller set in Cambridge England. Group therapist Mariana, still reeling from the sudden death of her husband, is called to Cambridge by her niece Zoe because her best friend has disappeared. When Mariana arrives, the body of Zoe's friend has been found bearing the marks of what looks like a ritualistic killing. Mariana decides to stay in Cambridge to investigate. She quickly becomes convinced that one of Zoe's instructors, the charismatic American Professor Fosca, who has gathered a group of female admires called The Maidens around him, is behind the murders. In regular fashion more murders happen but what makes this book interesting, is the self-examination the situation forces upon Mariana especially of her relationships with her husband and father.

Ghostways, BookTwo Journeys in Unquiet Places

by Macfarlane, Robert
Book, 2020. Language: English
Added Mar 17, 2021

Comment:

Not what I had expected after having read several of Robert Macfarlane's books but a joy to read nonetheless. It is not a straightforward account of nature or landscape but a meditation on two distinct places that he wrote about in a more traditional way in "The Wild Places." The writing, expecially the first part, about the Orford Ness, reminded me of the Area X trilogy of Jeff VanderMeer whereas the second one really drove home the point how landscape can connect us with people we have lost.

Exploding Stars and Invisible Planets, BookThe Science of What's Out There

by Watson, Fred
Book, 2019. Language: English
Added Jan 29, 2021

Comment:

Australian astronomer Watson takes readers on a tour of the universe, starting with a sunset and ending with the cosmic background radiation. Written in a conversational and accessible style, the book reads like a chat with an astronomer over a glass of beer or cup of tea but doesn't skimp on scientific facts.

San Francisco, BookA Map of Perceptions

by Ponsi, Andrea
Book, 2015. Language: English
Added Jan 29, 2021

Comment:

This book is like a stroll through San Francisco with a knowledgeable friend. In very short paragraphs Ponsi captures much of the character of the city and entices the reader to go out on a journey of discovery or re-discovery of their own.

Making Eden, BookHow Plants Transformed A Barren Planet

by Beerling, D. J.
Book, 2019. Language: English
Added Jan 29, 2021

Comment:

Many books on the history of life on earth deal plants in only a cursory fashion but the move of plants from the water to dry land had monumental consequences for the planet and life on earth. This book aims to remedy this fact and give due credit to plant life in all its forms.

The Memory Police, BookA Novel

by Ogawa, Yōko
Book, 2019. Language: English
Added Jan 29, 2021

Comment:

An isolated island community has to deal with the disappearance of words in this thought-provoking novel. How does a community deal with these losses, e.g. a beautiful rose garden that has to be destroyed once the word "rose" disappears, as well as with the few people who are able to remember the lost things?

On Looking, BookEleven Walks With Expert Eyes

by Horowitz, Alexandra
Book, 2013. Language: English
Added Dec 03, 2020

Comment:

Even when we try to pay attention, most of what surrounds us escapes our notice. Alexandra Horowitz examines how and to what we pay attention by going on walks with eleven companions - an artist, her toddler son, scientists and a dog among others. She shows how our everyday surroundings can be perceived and explored in many different ways and how even the most ordinary city block holds fascinating secrets.

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