This really is a game changer for me. Unknowingly I was already assembling some sort of Zettelkasten for my PhD thesis, but with less organisation. SoThis really is a game changer for me. Unknowingly I was already assembling some sort of Zettelkasten for my PhD thesis, but with less organisation. So this book gave me 1) the confirmation that is is a good idea (haha) and 2) the tools to make it even more useful.
Zettelkasten is basically a slip-box with ideas and information that you can use to link concepts and ideas to each other, which would be more difficult to do if you just process information linearly. When you are writing an academic text, this is really useful for literature reviews and coming up with new ideas to write about. For example, I do research on the effects of climate change on fish physiology. Every time I read an article or text that discusses this, or something related, I make a note on how this paper or information relates to my topic. This also includes the effect of warmer water on other organisms, or the distribution of fish, or even other aspects like ocean acidification. In this way, when I sit down to write a chapter thesis, I can lay down the notes and see patterns that I otherwise perhaps would have missed.
First of all, note-taking and organising is something highly personal. This is also why the reviews on this book are mostly very positive, or the complete opposite. I have an analogue Zettelkasten (so I work with cards and notebooks), but I do digitise everything into Obsidian. This is mostly for when I am traveling and I need to search for something. Working as much analogue as possible relieves me, as otherwise I would really be stuck to my computer all day. Taking the time to actually write by hand also helps processing information.
The few people who discuss that there are no actual examples in this book are missing the point, in my opinion. This is not a copy-and-paste technique everyone can use. It's also very field-dependent. My Zettelkasten looks very different from the person that is writing a fiction book. You need to try and mess around with it for yourself to find out how your Zettelkasten will look....more
A collection of stories from Tove & Tooti's (her life partner) private island. It was basically a bunch of rocks, and they had a cabin built on it. ThA collection of stories from Tove & Tooti's (her life partner) private island. It was basically a bunch of rocks, and they had a cabin built on it. They returned frequently to enjoy the rest and elements. I enjoy Tove's writing, so this little book was quite entertaining. Tooti's artwork really completements the stories. It's unfortunately really short and not the best of Tove's writing, but maybe it's the translation.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions....more
Really loved this book! Quite short, very easy to read. This book discusses organisms and their possibility to adapt to climate change. Some move, somReally loved this book! Quite short, very easy to read. This book discusses organisms and their possibility to adapt to climate change. Some move, some show phenotypical plasticity, some change on the genetic level. Very relevant read with the current state of the planet. The writing is nice and inspired me for my own thesis-writing!...more
A complete guide on wilderness emergency care. Not for total beginners, you need to have read up on first aid to make the most out of this book. The eA complete guide on wilderness emergency care. Not for total beginners, you need to have read up on first aid to make the most out of this book. The elaborate chapters on herbal treatments are useful, though I wish more emphasis was laid on correct identification of plants before you use them. This book would be a great supplement to, or refresher after, an in-person wilderness emergency class....more
Another interesting read by Bill Bryson. He's a gifted storyteller, one that can make hard to grasp concept understandable for a lot of people. This bAnother interesting read by Bill Bryson. He's a gifted storyteller, one that can make hard to grasp concept understandable for a lot of people. This book is filled with loads of facts about our bodies, mixed in with history. Highly entertaining!...more
I am a great fan of citizen science, and I use it daily in my work as a scientist. I even have a scientific publication comingDNF @ 50%. What a slog.
I am a great fan of citizen science, and I use it daily in my work as a scientist. I even have a scientific publication coming out soon, using iNaturalist data. So needless to say, this book looked interesting to me.
But the book annoyed me to no end. The writing is very flowery, with whimsical words that are barely used in day to day life. While I do love nice language, it doesn't work in a non-fiction book that tries to convey a lot of information. References in the sentences are confusing, using "this" a lot, while it's not clear what it refers to. There's also a mix of first and last names of people being used, even within a paragraph, which makes it really hard to follow who the author's talking about.
There are a lot of side stories, also about the author's personal life, that are quite unrelated to citizen science. In such a big book, this only distracts. In my opinion it's not clear why these stories are relevant to the topic. I feel a bit like an ass saying this, because for example the death of the author's father is discussed. But still, better it could have been left out of this book.
I was really curious to learn more about citizen science, but this book did not deliver on that, unfortunately.....more
Another book down from my physical TBR stash. At my previous job we had the option to pick a book for Christmas. When I saw what the selection was, I Another book down from my physical TBR stash. At my previous job we had the option to pick a book for Christmas. When I saw what the selection was, I was a bit disappointed. Mostly romantic fiction, this was the only non-fiction, so I went for this book.
While I find the Silicon Valley and its companies interesting (I had a great time reading Bad Blood), this book misses out in a lot of aspects.
The focus of the book isn't clear. Is this meant to be a history of Silicon Valley? Or is this supposed to be a guide for people who want to get in and create a startup? The book jumps around between these themes and is therefore quite confusing.
The writing isn't very good. Sudden random sentences in paragraphs, references to people or companies without any explanation.. there are even some spelling errors and one case of a double identical sentence. At only 200 pages, this should have been fixed!
Two stars, as I was entertained at some point, and it didn't piss me off as some books do. I will drop this off at the Free Book case at the train station. ...more
According to my eReader, this took 10.5 hours to read, but time really flew by and it felt way shorter.
The author's massive journey across countries tAccording to my eReader, this took 10.5 hours to read, but time really flew by and it felt way shorter.
The author's massive journey across countries that border on Russia is fascinating. Her personal travel story is mixed with relevant history, which was a great plus for me. It's also really interesting to get an insight into countries that I will probably never visit, like North Korea or China.
It also made me realise that Russia's current invasion in Ukraine was just a matter of time, which was suspected already by everyone, but it never really got through to me before. Maybe I was ignorant, but there was also never much in the press here about these conflicts. Of course that changed at the start of Putin's current siege. But that's also a bit overshadowed now by the misery in Gaza..
I really enjoyed the stories of all the people the author encountered, different viewpoints and outlook on life, some very sad or intense.. also love the photos at the end....more
I appreciate what this book is trying to do: give one hope in this changing world. To most people, the climate crisis feels quite hopeless. In this boI appreciate what this book is trying to do: give one hope in this changing world. To most people, the climate crisis feels quite hopeless. In this book the author tries to give examples of situations where things seem to go the right way, or have been slowly healing again.
The chapters are on interesting topics like the hole in the ozon layer (I remember that being a serious thing when I was younger, but I haven't heard about it for a while), pesticide use and climate change. The writing is smooth and easy to read for me. There is the right amount of information, chapters are not too short or too long. Included in the chapters are some photos and images, which is a fun addition.
While I agree that we must keep hope, and that some things are changing for the better, it's still very difficult to remain positive. The author acknowledges this, I am happy that this book is not just saying: think happy thoughts and all will be better.
In all, a good informative book. There are other books out there that treat similar topics with a similar view, so it's not completely novel.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions....more
Needle felting feels a bit like magic to me. You take some wool, poke it a lot with a special needle and it becomes somewhat sturdy and can be transfoNeedle felting feels a bit like magic to me. You take some wool, poke it a lot with a special needle and it becomes somewhat sturdy and can be transformed in to a shape! It's quite a relaxing thing to do, but I've never been any good at it. So when I saw this book, I was curious to see if it would contain tips to help me out.
This is a really nicely done guide, well structured, with projects ranging from easy to difficult. The step by step photos are clear and the instructions are easy to follow. I haven't attempted a difficult project yet, but my first attempt at a mushroom was decent! Overall, it's a very helpful book and it's a good source of inspiration.
Extra kudos for the author to make sure that for example within the fairies there is some variation in hair style/colour and skin colour. This may seem like basic things, but within these forest-fairy-magic craft projects, it's still not so common to make sure more people feel included and can identify with the imagery. I mean, it's all made up anyway, so why not include everyone? Real big thumbs up!
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions....more
Review in Dutch, as this book is only available in Dutch. For publishers reading this thinking its worth to translate it: don't bother. It's trash.
WatReview in Dutch, as this book is only available in Dutch. For publishers reading this thinking its worth to translate it: don't bother. It's trash.
Wat een rare kijk op ADHD bevat dit boek. Het is overduidelijk niet geschreven dóór en vóór mensen die zelf ADHD hebben. Dit boek slaat totaal de plank mis en getuigt echt van onbegrip voor mensen met ADHD.
Ik werd al meteen getriggerd door het noemen van visolie en homeopathie als behandelingsopties. Natuurlijk zullen er dingen zijn die iets van de symptomen kunnen beïnvloeden, maar ADHD is een serieuze diagnose met échte, intense gevolgen voor een patiënt. Een positieve mindset en supplementen alleen lossen geen disbalans in je brein op.
Veel in dit boek is gebaseerd op pseudoscience, sommige vormen van therapie (NLP.. hier ga ik zo verder nog op in) die genoemd worden zijn nooit wetenschappelijk effectief verklaard. Zo kan ik ook wel zeggen, als ik mijn knuffel draak meeneem naar werk ben ik rustiger, want ik vind hem leuk, dus kan ik me iets beter concentreren, dus hiermee haal ik ADHD "uit mijn hoofd". Onzin toch? Mijn knuffel bestrijdt een symptoom oppervlakkig, net als visolie of een kruidenmengsel.
Vervolgens geeft de auteur aan dat we moeten stoppen met gedrag toeschrijven aan een leeftijdsfase. Dat je ál het gedrag kunt beïnvloeden. Dat is in zekere mate zo, maar de "twee-is-nee" peuter-rebellie en het dronken thuiskomen van een puber van 16 is niet álleen maar puur gedrag. Als hersenen groeien verandert er continu vanalles, nieuwe verbindingen worden gemaakt, afgifte van stoffen verandert, etc. De voorbeelden die de auteur geeft worden ook deels daardoor beïnvloedt: dit is gewoon biologie. Het zijn wél fases, de peuter leeftijd en de puberteit. Dit ontkennen is onzin.
Alle voorbeelden en case studies zijn ongeloofwaardig generiek. Bijna alsof ze bedacht zijn. Er zit geen persoonlijkheid in deze voorbeelden. Óf ze zijn niet echt, of zodanig ge-edit door de auteur zodat ze meer in haar schrijfstijl en gedachtengang passen. Beide opties zouden missers zijn.
Het is pijnlijk vaak duidelijk dat de auteur zelf geen ADHD heeft en ook niet iemand heeft geraadpleegd heeft die dat wel heeft als er adviezen uitgedeeld worden. In de oefeningen (bijvoorbeeld "Achterliggende Overtuigingen Ontdekken") wordt er heel erg gefocused op het feit "dat je zelf je gedrag kunt beïnvloeden". Maar in de meeste ADHD situaties is dat gewoon niet zo. Ik wil heel graag alert zijn, hoofd- en bijzaken scheiden, etc. Ik heb gedragstherapie gevolgd, ik neem medicatie, ik heb vanalles geprobeerd, maar het lukt niet: mijn brein zit anders in elkaar. Als ze vraagt: "Misschien kun je voor jezelf een paar redenen bedenken hoe het is gekomen dat je 'niets wil/mag missen' en dat je zo alert bent." Hier heb ik er één voor je: ik heb ADHD.
In hoofdstuk 5 realiseerde ik me dat veel van de gedachtengang van de auteur gevormd is door NLP (Neurolinguistisch programmeren). Dit is een pseudowetenschappelijke methodiek vooral gericht op communicatie technieken. In principe wordt geloofd dat elke vaardigheid overdraagbaar is op anderen door een "expert". Als het niet lukt, beter je best doen. Dit is natuurlijk onzin. Iedereen kan beter worden in een vaardigheid met geduld, tijd en training. Maar er zit wel een maximum aan wat iemand kan leren. Zeker als je lichaam of brein anders in elkaar zit dan een neurotypisch mens.
Eigenlijk had ik het met de titel al kunnen weten: ADHD: hoe haal je het uit je hoofd? Niet. Je accepteert jezelf zoals je bent, je probeert je niet maximaal te conformeren aan een neurotypisch systeem. Je focust je op wat je zélf kunt doen, en hoe je ervoor kunt zorgen dat je toch kunt meedraaien in een samenleving die niet specifiek voor jou is ingericht. Je zoekt hulp van gecertificeerde mensen die hebben gestudeerd en weten waar ze het over hebben, en niet van "coaches". In plaats van dat je gaat proberen je gedachten ("Van vrolijkheid komt vrolijkheid, van rust komt rust! Je maakt je eigen medicijn!") te herprogrammeren, ga je werken aan zelfacceptatie. Je hoeft niet te veranderen. Je bent perfect zoals je bent, alleen deze samenleving is niet ontwikkeld en gevormd met en door mensen zoals jij en ik in gedachten.
Ik gooi niet vaak een boek weg. Deze heb ik uit een minibieb, maar ik zet dit niet terug. Het gaat bij het oud papier. Zó erg vind ik het. Ik wil voorkomen dat iemand die dit leest denkt dat hun gedachten geherprogrammeerd moeten worden, of dat ze zichzelf met positieve gedachten kunnen medicineren. Zelden voel ik me zó zuur na het lezen van een boek. -60743883 sterren....more
Great companion during my half-day commute from Bremerhaven to home. Lately I have been reading a lot on Arctic exploration, as I am preparing for a yGreat companion during my half-day commute from Bremerhaven to home. Lately I have been reading a lot on Arctic exploration, as I am preparing for a year on Svalbard myself (starting in August.. time flies). When I saw Daren read this and gave it a good review, I knew it would be my cup of tea! And it definitely was.
This book is written by a man who worked as a tour guide on different boat trips in the Southern Ocean and around Antarctica. He combines his personal stories with historical polar exploration stories, which makes this book quite a good summary/start to learn about the "heroes" in polar exploration! I found it well written and very entertaining.
My only complaint is, and others would agree, that it's quite short. There are quite a lot of historical stories, but I would love to have read more about the author's personal travels as well.
Maybe after my contract has ended I should look for a job in the Antarctic.....more
This book annoyed me to no end. I've had this on my shelves for a long time, so I figured it would be great to read this as part of my resolve to tackThis book annoyed me to no end. I've had this on my shelves for a long time, so I figured it would be great to read this as part of my resolve to tackle some of my hardcopy unread books.
The author, who has a really happy and lucky life already, sets out to try to become happier. Of course there's nothing wrong with that, you don't have to be clinically depressed to seek happiness. But this should not have been a book advising others. The author seems so have limitless money, and loads of things that make her happy revolve around spending money on services or products. Most of her pillars of happiness consist of material things, or getting rid of items (decluttering). And I wonder for how many people true happiness is linked to material possessions.
The tips at the end on how to work on your own happiness project are cringe-worthy. Here is a nice selection:
"Nine tips to get your sweetheart to do chores - without nagging...
1. Suggest tasks without words. Leave a note, put an empty container on the counter.
2. Limit yourself to one word. Instead of barking out, "I've told you a dozen times, stop off at the grocery store, we need milk!" Say, "Milk!"."
Etcetera. And there's so much more of these kind of weird "tips". Ugh. "Seven tips on money can buy you happiness..". Yeah, great, if you have money.
I'll get off the complaining chair now. But avoid this book if you're anything like me, it drained me of my happiness. ...more
Another entertaining read from Helen Scales on life in the sea. I recently read one of her other books, so this was maybe a little too soon after the Another entertaining read from Helen Scales on life in the sea. I recently read one of her other books, so this was maybe a little too soon after the previous one. There was quite some overlap between this book and the deep sea book, and also within the book there is some repetition between chapters. But it's not a big deal to me, the author is a good writer and the ocean-related stories are amazing either way. This book focuses a lot on ocean conservation stories for different kinds of organisms. A nice read for ocean enthusiasts and scientists.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions....more
Short review: important topic, interesting way of telling the story, but very long.
In this book the story is told of how women's voting rights were foShort review: important topic, interesting way of telling the story, but very long.
In this book the story is told of how women's voting rights were formed & established in the 1920's. Multiple perspectives are given, pro- and anti-women's suffrage, which makes this a very interesting and balanced story. This is really one of the book's strongest points.
But for me, the book is too long, with 400+ pages. It is definitely not a casual read, even though the author really tried to make the book engaging. I found myself skimming through the second half most of the time....more
An easy to read, informative book on romance fraud. Mainly focusing on online scams, but some other stories are mixed in as well. I found the author'sAn easy to read, informative book on romance fraud. Mainly focusing on online scams, but some other stories are mixed in as well. I found the author's tone very funny and I laughed out loud a lot. After reading this book, I have more understanding for people who had to deal with this.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions....more
One of my favourite graphic novels so far. This is the story of the Chernobyl disaster told in a different way from what I have seen before. There is One of my favourite graphic novels so far. This is the story of the Chernobyl disaster told in a different way from what I have seen before. There is quite a lot of text for a graphic novel, but that is needed if you want to make it informational. Really love the art style and colouring. I read this as a NetGalley eARC, but I am definitely ordering my own hardcopy as well.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions....more
What a powerful book! This describes the forced relocation many northern Sámi had to undertake in the beginning of the 1920s. The reindeer herding peoWhat a powerful book! This describes the forced relocation many northern Sámi had to undertake in the beginning of the 1920s. The reindeer herding people lived with the seasons, in different parts of Scandinavia, parts that are now Norway, Sweden and Finland. For Norway it was not desirable anymore to have this seasonal migration going on, so they prohibited the people from entering Norway and relocated them to parts of Sweden, with force and a low amount of money to help them. The promised area was often already populated or an obviously less nice area to live. The authorities said the reindeer damage the landscape too much, that more space was needed for agriculture. But from stories and documents it is clear they found the Northern Sámi not fitting in their idea of a modern Norway. In Sweden it also wasn't easy for the Sámi. Reading all this, you realise that these people really had no place to go where they were welcome and valued. Ofcourse you see this pattern with many indigenous people all over the world. And most of it is hushed up, erased from history books.
That's why this book is a gem. It's filled with personal stories, wonderful photography, poems and joiks (Sámi traditional "songs", often addressed to nature). It's wonderfully written and captivating until the end.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions....more
This is a very short read, it's more of a workbook on the Word A Day Practice, that the author set up. It's easy to read and implement, the practice iThis is a very short read, it's more of a workbook on the Word A Day Practice, that the author set up. It's easy to read and implement, the practice is quite straightforward. The journal pages will be helpful, especially to beginners in writing. I found the book not very novel or unique, the techniques applied are commonly known to writers. So for seasoned writers stuck in a rut, this won't be too useful. For beginners, it is a good start.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions....more
Wow, what an unique book. This is geared towards children and explains everything about decay and decomposition in the natural world. The art style isWow, what an unique book. This is geared towards children and explains everything about decay and decomposition in the natural world. The art style is really unique, I don't see anything like this often. There's good explanations of biological processes involved in breaking down material. A quick read, not for the youngest of children, but kids around age 8-10 interested in nature and biology would find this entertaining.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions....more
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