(#44) / Mental Floss / (founded) by Mangesh Hattikudur & Will Pearson / (Magazine)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

Mental Floss / (founded) by Mangesh Hattikudur & Will Pearson

ISBN-10: 7547008896 / Mental Floss, LLC

p. 72 / $4.99 (Retail)

2011 (March/April issue)  

Body of Content

Summary: The magazine often covers a few areas in great depth – as opposed to diverse, article-heavy entries like many magazines.  In this issue of Mental Floss, the magazine takes an in-depth look at topics concerning the human brain and technology.  Further, it highlights a geographical concern – by looking at “8 Things You Didn’t Know about Congo”.  Smaller articles also include looks at a visionary Japanese artist, a Russian playwright’s forgotten play, a look into Turkey’s Islamic yet democratic government, and the magazine signature trivia column, “The Quiz”.  The magazine is cerebral and cognitive in nature – with a nice visual look – with only a few advertisements dotting its pages.   

Critique: The magazine is a bi-monthly publication (6 times annually) and often contains a major theme that unites large sections of its pages.  In this issue, the motif is technological applications in cognitive areas – or more simply, modern issues surrounding the human brain.  The magazine calls this topical umbrella “Hacking the Brain” – with five persons (i.e. articles) standing underneath – “Cyborg Monkeys and the Future of Prosthetics” – “The Art of Building a Better Lie Detector” – “Why Cockroach Brains Will Save Your Life” – “Growing One Animal’s Brain inside Another Animal’s Body” – and “The New Science of Confronting Fear” (p. 38). 

The headline categories within each article often feature word puns or instances of irony.  In the robotic monkey article, the headlines include “Monkey See, Monkey Do” and “The Giant Leap to Mankind” (p. 42-43). In the lie detector article, the headlines include “Anatomy of a Lie” and “Paying for the Truth” (p. 45).

Overall, the magazine contains a humorous, cerebral quality to it – and the magazine completely embraces this identity – of finding interesting article ideas and spinning them with intellectual and humorous information.    

      

Teaser: “Fun facts have never been more interesting or useful – read Mental Floss for an academic, fun-time experience.”

Information about the Author: Mangesh Hattikudur is a co-founder of the magazine, along with Will Pearson.  Both were students – enrolled at Duke University – when they began the magazine.  He graduated in 2001 and over the last decade, Hattikudur and his cohorts have established a magazine that includes commercial spin-off products – such as t-shirts and board games – along with an accompanying web presence via their online site (Wikipedia, 2011).  The various editors of Mental Floss have also written eight books coinciding and based upon their magazine (Amazon, 2011).  

Supplemental Material

Genre: Entertainment / Trivia

Curriculum Ties: History – geography / Technology – machines, robots / Anatomy – neuroscience, animal science

Booktalking Ideas: 1) “Do you want to beat a lie detector test – or find out about robots who can read your mind? Check out this issue of Mental Floss”.

Reading Level: Later teens will appreciate the more difficult sections of cognitive information – best for 16-19.  

Challenge Issues and Defense: This magazine is a pretty safe choice for any library – I would not expect any challenges.

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: I wish I had read this magazine when I was in high school – a lighter version of Popular Mechanics with a little bit of Jeopardy mixed in.

Last Thoughts

References:

Amazon. (2011). Mangesh Hattikudur [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/

Mangesh-Hattikudur/e/B001IGNZDO

Wikipedia (2011). Mangesh Hattikudur [Webpage]. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangesh_Hattikudur

Listening to (Music):

Artist – Vanessa Carlton / Album – “Rabbits on the Run” 

(#33) / This Present Darkness / by Frank Peretti / (Book)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

This Present Darkness / by Frank Peretti

ISBN-13: 978-1581345285 / Crossway Books

p. 384 / $10.08 (Amazon)

1986

Body of Content

Summary: This Present Darkness is the first in a series that numbers two titles.  The story follows the residents of a fictional town, Ashton – and how their lives are a part of a larger supernatural story.  Marshall Hogan is a local newspaper editor who teams up with a local clergyman, Hank Busche.  They both become aware of a developing conspiracy, where a New Age group plots a scheme.  But the story has two layers – as the human-level of events is overshadowed by the spiritual realm – as demonic (evil) angels fight in an eternal struggle against heaven’s (good) angels.  The seamless storytelling follows the narratives of angels interacting with humans – filled with supernatural fights between warring angels – and humans trying to uncover seditious plots of conspiracy – not completely aware of all the angelic action that surrounds them.    

Critique (150-300 words): This Present Darkness is a fictional novel – but it does a great job at creating a full-fledge, literary universe – where the existence of angels not only acts as a premise – but actually propels the story forward.  The author tells his story on two fronts – on the human level of affairs – and on the spiritual level through a myriad of angel characters.  The author sidesteps the issue of deity – for the most part – as God or Jesus is not a character within the novel.  Now, the righteous angels do refer to their actions as serving the wishes of “The Lamb” – but Peretti does provide some literary space for himself – as the angels’ actions are not immutable. 

Peretti creates story arches – where backstories are created – which heighten the suspense elements of the story – as some evil angels have fought righteous angels in past historical contexts.  The reader has the vantage point of witnessing both stories simultaneously.  The character dramas played out among human characters are augmented by angelic hosts battling each other – swords drawn – sweeping through the air and through buildings. 

The novel is an extrapolation of passages from the Bible – and although it is not meant as a theological treaty on systematics, Peretti does create a universe believable if the reader allows for a few base assumptions.  And in that way, Peretti creates a thriller – based upon a human conspiracy mixed with angelic battles that tower above.          

Teaser: A writer and a pastor find themselves in the midst of a political and supernatural thriller.

Information about the Author: Peretti has sold a total of 15 million novels to date – with the two-part Darkness series (This Present Darkness & Piercing the Darkness) accounting for 3.5 million sold copies (Peretti, 2011).  Peretti followed these two titles with other titles in the thriller genre – including Prophet, The Oath, The Visitation, and The Monster.  However, the writer also penned a children series, The Cooper Kids Adventure Series along with a pastoral, nonfiction work titled The Wounded Spirit.

In his personal life, Peretti married his wife at the age of 22.  He performed some touring with a music ministry band in the 1970s.  He later enrolled at UCLA – with interests in English and film writing.  At one point, Peretti helped his father pastor a small church affiliated with the Assembly of God denomination.  In 1983, he began working construction jobs – writing the manuscript for his first novel (This Present Darkness) while working in a ski factory (Peretti, 2011).   

Supplemental Material

Genre: Thriller / Christian Fiction / Adult Crossover

Curriculum Ties: Religion – fundamentalism, angelology

Booktalking Ideas: 1) What biblical passages make the framework for Peretti’s angel-filled universe? 

Reading Level:  While the book mostly falls to Christian markets, adults represent the chief audience.  Many Christian teens, though, certainly enjoyed Peretti’s thriller – though, again, older teens – aged 16-19 – comprise a better audience than younger teens. 

Challenge Issues and Defense: Like the Left Behind novels, Piercing the Darkness has some religious and political overtones that might not treat liberal or multicultural ideals fairly or representatively.  Ultimately, the book is fictional – and consistent within the framework of the universe it creates.  This is another title – with a fair amount of violence and suspense-type horror – that is not meant for younger ages.  Some parents might object to this title residing in a YA collection – and librarians (particularly in the public school system because of the religious overtones) need to be prepared for such confrontations.

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: In an age of Twilight, this title represents a title that many supernatural titles owe homage to – as it literally and (almost unilaterally) created mainstream options for the Christian thriller genre. I read this book when I was 18 years old – and it represents one of my favorite novels.

Last Thoughts

References:

Peretti, F. (2011). Frank Peretti: About [Webpage]. Retrieved from

http://frankperetti.com/?page_id=13

Listening to (Music):

Artist – FM Static / Album – “Dear Diary”  

(#29) / Into Thin Air / by Jon Krakauer / (Book)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

Into Thin Air / by Jon Krakauer

ISBN: 0-385-49208-1 / Anchor Books  

p. 378 / $14.54 (Amazon)

1997

Body of Content

Summary: Jon Krakauer writes a first-hand account of the tragic events that unfolded in 1996 while climbing the world’s tallest peak.  Krakauer – who always possessed an interest in mountaineering – worked for Outside magazine at the time.  His employer arranged for him to travel to Nepal and write a feature story about various business ventures – how companies guided clients to the top of the Everest.  Krakauer finds himself at base camp – at elevation of over 17,000 feet – an elevation above his previous mountaineering experience.  At this height, the dangers are real – from bad weather to avalanches – from depleted oxygen level to sleep deprivation –from the severe cold to a lack of emergency medical aid.  But as Krakauer sets out in a guided attempt to the summit, the journalist comes to realize the most dangerous threat yet – human hubris.  

Critique: The novel speaks about – and at many times, against – the commercialization of Everest.  The first summit of the mountain occurred in the 1953 – and over subsequent decades, the mountaineering endeavor stands as a physical feat aided by a booming business that pairs wealthy clients with guides – in an effort to assist the clients’ ascension of the mountain and, in their opinion, ascend to a high level of human achievement.

The tourism fees alone – numbering tens of thousands of dollars that both Nepal and China require – demonstrate the willingness of many Western climbers to shell out monies for their attempt.  The book also speaks about the environmental effects – as Westerners leave their trash and oxygen bottles littered at base camp and along the mountain as well.  Such a practice stands in sharp contrast to many of the local peoples – who regard the mountain as sacred. 

But the consumerism and commercialism of the Westerners is painted in a different light, too.  The cost of the expeditions is not only in money – but in lives lost.  It is that dual nature of the book – painting the economic costs alongside the loss of human life – that creates a noteworthy commentary on adventure-seeking mountaineering.  For as the book unfolds, the two costs – of monies and lives – are directly tied together – they become difficult to separate: as the business guides reply on successful summits, they must take chances with human lives to do so. 

Into Thin Air provides a raw account of a survival story; but it contains social commentary – and leaves the reader with a rhetorical question: Is the payoff worth the cost?        

Teaser: A journalist gets the mountain climbing opportunity of a lifetime.  But as he ascends Mount Everest, more than a few stories develop from the journalist’s pen.

Information about the Author: Jon Krakauer is a journalist – whose early writing focused on outdoor activities in general and mountain climbing in particular.  Into Thin Air is the writer’s second novel, while another outdoor title (Into the Wild) is his first work.  Since his early works, Krakauer branched out into other journalistic-style novels – looking at Mormonism in the book Under the Banner of Heaven and researching military tales in his book about Pat Tillman titled Where Men Win Glory (Wikipedia, 2011).    

Supplemental Material

Genre: Nonfiction / Adventure

Curriculum Ties:  History – geography, commercialism, cultural customs  

Booktalking Ideas: 1) How much money would you spend – if you wanted the opportunity to climb the highest mountain in the world? 2) What is the highest elevation that you have personally visited – and how does it compare to the elevation of Everest’s base camp?

Reading Level: The reading level rests with older teens – likely 16-19. Younger readers may like mountain climbing tales like Banner in the Sky where less people die.

Challenge Issues and Defense: The book tells a raw and poignant account of mountain climbing.  Some language and general premise hamper the book – but not to the level of hamstringing it.  The book is well-written and the book’s popularity helps it – if ever challenged.

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: The book takes the romanticism away from mountain climbing and thrill-seeking in general.  I believe that I liked the book – because it provided a cautionary tale against human hubris – against blind ambition.

Last Thoughts

References:

Wikipedia. (2011). Jon Krakauer [Webpage]. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Krakauer

Listening to (Music):

Artist – Brooke Fraser / Album – “Flags”