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Awix (3310 KP) rated Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids in Books

Mar 23, 2018 (Updated Mar 23, 2018)  
Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids
Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids
Donald R. Prothero, Michael Shermer, Daniel Loxton | 2015 | Paranormal, Science & Mathematics
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A hard-headed look at a number of famous cryptids (legendary animals) from a palaeontologist (Prothero) and a 'professional skeptic' (Loxton), attempting to determine if cryptozoology really is a genuine science (Michael Sheard just writes the introduction). Also goes on to consider the further question - if people aren't actually seeing monsters, then why do they think they are?

Pretty much guaranteed to make your average Bigfoot hunter or Nessie spotter squeal in outrage, but the writers' main proposition - that the famous cryptids are essentially products of 20th century pop culture - is coherent and well-argued, if nothing else. Some of the chapters are a bit more accessible than others, and they do take a variety of approaches - the section on sea serpents mainly focuses on the cultural development of the idea of such a creature, while the one on the Congo dinosaur is a fierce critique of creationist attempts to hijack science. A thoughtful and persuasive book.
  
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Akward (448 KP) rated Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization in Tabletop Games

Jun 15, 2018  
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization
2015 | Card Game, Civilization, Economic
8
8.0 (7 Ratings)
Tabletop Game Rating
The most Civilization board game (2 more)
There is a ton of complexity that will keep it interesting for a long time
Variation of gameplay style (war, culture, technology, wonders)
The mechanics will likely be too much for most people (1 more)
A handful of the cards are not balanced well
Civilization in Boardgame Form
Do you like the video game Civilization? Then you will absolutely love this board game. Do you not love intense Euro strategy games? Then you will probably hate this game.

This game is very intense. There are a lot of mechanics, and a lot to learn. It follows the basic mechanics of the Civilization video game fairly closely, but even veteran Civ players took a while to learn it.

You also have to be comfortable with the game taking all day. The time estimate on the box is very wrong. Our first game took us three hours, and we only made it through the first age (there are three).
  
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saheffernan (157 KP) rated Such a Fun Age in Books

Mar 24, 2020  
Such a Fun Age
Such a Fun Age
Kiley Reid | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
4
7.2 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
This book had a topic that had drawn me in and I had high hopes for. Halfway through the book it seemed as if I had started reading an almost entirely different book. The dialogue and parts of the story had seemed to fall apart.

The only character I cared about only partially was Emira and her charge Briar. They had a cute relationship that did seem to grow. That however is the only part of the story that had growth. Alix had a white savior complex that was shown again and again leaving me feel disgusted while reading. After accusing her ex boyfriend from high school and Emira's current boyfriend of fetishizing black people and culture. The story then became about a successful women throwing everything away to get back at her high school boyfriend instead of the topic in which the book started out with.

In the end it just left me feeling gross, and sad for how these people had acted.