Author: Shannon Turlington
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Book Review: Scarcity
Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir This is a study of scarcity of resources, such as money, time, or even food. It describes the benefits of scarcity, as well as the drawbacks, both of which might be surprising. Using both empirical evidence and anecdotal examples, the authors…
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The opening line…
Stephen King shares his thoughts on why opening lines are so important and why he spends so much time crafting them in Why Stephen King Spends ‘Months and Even Years’ Writing Opening Sentences – Atlantic Mobile. As a reader, an opening line is a greeting from the author. Do I feel welcomed? Do I want to…
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This is a new one…
Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of spam comments on all my blogs masquerading as real comments. I can tell they’re spam because the comments are generic or unrelated to the post, or they make absolutely no sense whatsoever, or they ask me about my blog’s design or something random like that. And they have…
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Zombies are the things that get us that we don’t see coming…
World War Z is getting a lot of coverage this weekend, but I would like to remind everyone that it is a pretty good novel. By all accounts, the book is different enough from the movie that it’s worth reading even after seeing the movie. I have been reading some profiles of the author, Max…
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Schools… Not Factories
I listened to Sugata Mitra’s TED talk on self-organized learning, and it was extremely inspiring for anyone interested in learning or the education of children. Sugata Mitra won the TED Prize for 2013 to help seed his ambitious project to create a “school in the cloud.” Here was the a-ha point for me in his…
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How To Talk About Books You Haven’t Read
“Non-reading is not just the absence of reading. It is a genuine activity, one that consists of adopting a stance in relation to the immense tide of books that protects you from drowning. On that basis, it deserves to be defended and even taught.” How To Talk About Books You Havent Read on Brain Pickings is…
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Book Review: The Drunken Botanist
The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World’s Great Drinks by Amy Stewart Around the world, there is not a tree, shrub or wildflower that hasn’t been brewed or bottled, according to The Drunken Botanist, a fascinating look at the relationships between plants and alcohol. Amy Stewart explores history, horticulture, trivia, tips for growing…
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New uses for libraries…
In this rapidly changing world, you must reinvent yourself or die. While I am thinking about how to reinvent myself, I am inspired by how others are doing it. Take, for example, libraries, which will always be an important and relevant part of the human community, in my opinion. Here are two ways in which…
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Some quotes about books from books…
“A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” — A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin “Sleep is good,” he said. “And books are better.” — A Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies …. The man who never reads lives only…
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New stuff on the blog…
I occasionally get books from publishers and authors to review. I have added a virtual library of the most interesting of these books and my reviews of them to the sidebar. Check it out.
Shannon Turlington 