WINTER: The Story of a Season, seasonal celebration of hygge...in tartan

WINTER: The Story of a Season
VAL McDERMID (illus. Philip Harris)
Atlantic Monthly Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$22.00 all editions, available now

The Independent Press Top 40 Bestsellers: Non-Fiction For the week ending January 25, 2026

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: In this radiant work of creative nonfiction, internationally beloved novelist Val McDermid delivers a dazzling ode to a lost world, ruminating on a single winter in her life as she journeys into the heart of the season’s ever-evolving community-based traditions

Val McDermid has always had a soft spot for the bitter clarity of a crisp cold day, the crunch of frost on fallen leaves, and the chance to be enveloped in big jumpers and thick socks.

In Winter, McDermid takes us on an adventure through the season, from the frosty streets of Edinburgh to the windblown Scottish coast, from Bonfire Night and Christmas to Burns Night and Up Helly Aa. Recalling in parallel memories from her own childhood—of skating over frozen lakes and carving a “neep” (rutabaga) for Halloween to being taken to see her first real Christmas tree in the town square—McDermid offers a wise and enchanting meditation on winter and its ever-changing, sometimes ephemeral, traditions.

A hygge-filled journey through winter nights, McDermid reminds us that it is a time of rest, retreat and creativity, for scribbling in notebooks and settling in beside the fire. A treat for the hunkering-down, post-holiday reading season, Winter is a charming and cozy celebration of the year’s idle months from one of Scotland’s best-loved writers.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: See, that's the thing about "traditions"...they start, and change, and then vanish. They're human-made decisions, all of them. Collective loss of interest is killing awards shows on TV, which were a staple of my own TV-blighted childhood. It felt immutable: Watching the Oscars was a ritual. It might've been the only time our TV was tuned to ABC until the late 1960s. It was a ritual in my teens, too, among the theatre kids I hung out with. Now Disney's taken it away from ABC to go onto Hulu, the corporate streaming service for things they don't think will earn much money.

A tradition of fifty years shifting?! Whaaat? Traditions shouldn't change! They make the framework of our lives!

They do indeed do that. As Val McDermid's compact essay on the rituals she's made and those she's inherited from her family (her mother's improvised soup a good example) of the cold season discusses, how exactly they do that is a matter of decision and choice. Her wintertime activities growing up in freezyfrosty cold Scotland could not've taken place in my contemporaneous Sun-Belt childhood...I've only seen frozen-over ponds maybe three times since moving to New York's heat island in the 1980s, but that's three more than I ever saw in Texas...my own winter rituals of shuffling up wet live-oak leaves to see what was living under them, and putting out the toad house, wouldn't've made her radar.

In remembering her own place in the march of the seasons, Author McDermid offers us many fresh bits and bobs to incorporate into our own seasonal traditions, appreciations of reading she's done while cozied away from cold and wind, foods that warm and comfort, poems she's written and read (nothing is allowed to be poetry-free in this decade, to my disgust) all offer the reader delights to consider adding to their own lives.

What a wonderful read, what a wonderful gift to (self-)gift to the resistant cold-hater and the delighted snugness addict alike. The illustration, not provided to reviewers for reproduction, are charming and atmospheric, though what I'd call pedestrian. I can't offer a fifth star to something that contains this much poetry. I'd probably knock a bit off even absent the poetry because the illustrations aren't that interesting to me, but I know many will enjoy them.

Author McDermid's fiction readers are strongly urged to pick the book up because it is so interestingly in tension with her very noir crime novels. It might very well have been my most enjoyable moment trying to put Karen Pirie into the time young Val sees her first xmas tree in the public square!

SEE YOU ON BOXING DAY!

Another #Booksgiving done and dusted. I hope at least a few reviews piqued your interest in a title you wouldn't otherwise have heard of.

It feels good to be able to write to a few readers, hopeful feelings stir when I see signs of folk checking in to see what's on offer. Writing hundreds of reviews in 2025 has kept me sane, prevented me from falling into a pit of despair as the world changes around us all in ways I hate and must (to keep faith with my moral beliefs) resist in the only ways I can.

Thanks for reading, and I do not mean just my words...thanks for being a reader. It matters how you get your stories delivered. It matters that you develop the habit of getting your stories in more than one way, from more than one source. Your choices matter. Don't lose sight of that fact in the days, weeks, months, and years you'll be told that they do not matter. No one bothers to insist that something truly irrelevant and unimportant does not matter. It's the same kind of high-control social engineering as making rules against actions and beliefs. No one ever tells you not to do something unimportant, or bad for you, unless they mean it's bad for them in some way. (Safety is never the real reason for warning labels, it's to prevent you from being able to sue them.)

Well, that turned dark. Let's sweeten the tone: I found an excellent six-stars-of-five read for 2025 in THE REMEMBERED SOLDIER by ANJET DAANJE, and translated from Flemish by David McKay via the estimable tastemakers at New Vessel Press. My review should say it all about the layered, subtle evocation of memory's centrality to identity, about the effort love takes, about the nature of desire and its propulsive projective power. It's the kind of (long!) read that I want to put in peoples' hands to explain themselves to themselves.

Support an excellent indie press! It is a New York Times 100 Notable Books designee, it was a finalist for the National Book Award for Translated Fiction, on lists from Publishers Weekly and LitHub and the Wall Street Journal...it deserves the patient companionship and compassion of readers seeking a window into forming, discovering identity through its loss and rebuilding...trauma does not have to be war, you know. The world can, and does, do similar things to us callously and carelessly in the course of Life. Buy one, tree book or ebook, ask your library for one so they'll know people want it, get on their wait list for it, or get one via their ILL program. It is a good, impactful story told the best way a story can be: carefully, caringly, with the cares and the needs of characters and readers in its sights.

Some stories go beyond a solid idea and a good execution, beyond even a lucky meeting of idea and author. A few other books were truly extraordinarily good in my 2025 reading. I enjoyed my Jess Zafarris reads the most of any in October, Words from Hell: Unearthing the Darkest Secrets of English Etymology and Useless Etymology: Offbeat Word Origins for Curious Minds were each separately delightful...read together I was giggling and snorting my way through the month. "Rantallion" is my new favorite weird word to unleash on the unsuspecting. Jess and Rob's video podcast, Words Unravelled on YouTube, is a must listen every week.

August was, as always, Women In Translation Month (#WITMonth); as usual it was a solid month of pleasure reads. Funny way for me to say it, though, because it was the month of Fang Fang's Soft Burial, anything but a "pleasant" read...the true nature of memory seemed to be my August accidental theme. It's memory's loss that clues us in to the centrality of memory to identity, to selfhood; I got that from a male perspective in The Remembered Soldier and a female one in this read. Dementia is a better guide to the effects than is the soap-opera stuff we're trained to think of. It's brutal, devastating; it's happened to many for no causal action on their own part, and that's the worst, cruelest, most repugnant part.

Back in June, the most satisfying read I had was The Surge, Adam Kovac's war story via Tortoise Books. It's told in laconic warrior-appropriate prose. It exemplifies an experience I do not think soldiers will ever have again as AI and automation turn war into a weirdly impersonal industrial slaughterhouse...as we're seeing in this year's oil war they're starting in Venezuela. Moving on...May brought a lovely, up-buoying quality via Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature that made it my beacon-of-sanity read. This book was genuinely smile-granting. I hope it will go on to become a standard text in biology classes (once sanity is restored and we start teaching again).

In April, a good month for reading, I read my first merman/man romance, When the Tides Held the Moon, amusing enough if...well...silly. Laurent Binet's superb Perspective(s) elevated my mood. Not so elevating was Sad Tiger, likely the most important book I read, possibly in all of 2025, for what it has accomplished in the world with the conversation around incest and assault it has started.

I liked The Case of Cem best of March's reads because it made polyphony its most interesting point through the device of a court case in the Afterlife. More Earthly and still legally based was the utterly infuriating The Man Nobody Killed, the latest from Elon Green. What an enraging travesty of justice! I still boil up over it. In a translation-heavy year of reading, an early delight was the extraordinary Río Muerto, my first all-five-stars read of 2025, by Ricardo Silva Romero and translated from Spanish by the gifted Victor Meadowcroft. Voiceless narrators don't come better than this; many language-choice delights in its pages. My January best-quality read, Fire Exit by Morgan Talty, was this Native American talent's first-ever novel. Aaalmost all five stars from me, and happy to give them I was!

I began 2025 deeply unhappy and very, very scared. I'm ending it much the same, but with the perspective that there's always, always the heartening world of literary imagination to grant a different view to a reader. In writing reviews of books I've read over the past ten-plus years, I've learned that I am a creature of deep greed, insatiable hunger, for that magic of storytelling: the gift of perspective.

I have never in my life been more grateful to be a reader than I am right now.

NORTH'S POLE, a Camp Bay Christmas shared universe gay romance

NORTH'S POLE (Camp Bay Christmas #1)
LETA BLAKE
Leta Blake Books (non-affiliate Amazon link
$5.99 ebook, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Located on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille in beautiful Northern Idaho, Camp Bay Chalet is a discrete and cozy B&B, popular with both locals and minor celebrities for its fabulous holiday weekends.

The pic seen around the world….

The son of Hollywood royalty, North Astor-Ford has lived his entire life in the public’s eye. He knows better than anyone that someone is always watching.

So when one not-so-innocent picture meant for a hook-up accidentally ends up crossposted across all his social media, North is left humiliated and scared. With no one to turn to, he flees to Camp Bay Chalet to be close to the one person he used to count on to protect him from the world.

Liam’s life has been in a holding pattern since the moment North fired him three years ago, even if it was for the best. A romance between a bodyguard and his client would’ve caused exactly the sort of scandal Liam was hired to prevent.

Now that North is back in his orbit, Liam’s going to do what he does best, protect North from the world. And maybe, just maybe, the charm of a Camp Bay Chalet Christmas will be enough to both heal North and bring about the romance they’ve both always wanted.

North’s Pole takes place in the Camp Bay shared universe, but can be read as a stand-alone. Look for more of the Camp Bay universe in Stolen Christmas by Marie Sexton.

I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FROM THE GOODREADS M/M GIFT EXCHANGE. THANKS!

My Review: Savior-complex havin' Liam is a big, tough bodyguard-cum-fixer who's fixated on North for a while, despite North doing a smart thing and firing him because an affair with your bodyguard-cum-fixer is what you hire a fixer to fix. North's famous, his family...bunch of narcissists they are, too...is famous and North is not very good at the mechanics of living. As this story opens, North made a simple mistake and hit send on a dick pic he took for his new crush...posted to all his socials.

Shades of Chris Evans, only without the witty one-liner ("Now that I've got your attention, VOTE!"). North runs away. He lands up at Camp Bay Chalet, where Liam once worked; needing his big protector's energy since he can't have Liam in the flesh.

Only who comes to find him? Liam! They reunite and do the things they wanted to do three years earlier but, quite appropriately, did not. Liam is mad for North still, and eagerly sets about containing the damage to North's reputation that's been done.

That's it. We're done here. No more story.

This is a vibes-of-Yuletide read. I'm okay with reading slight stories when the *point* is to be slight. I enjoyed the uncomplicated way these lads accepted their mutual need for each other. I was less enthusiastic about literally everyone calling North an idiot openly. Liam doesn't say the words, but we hear him think it. This is my stick-in-the-craw moment: "I had enough right about the time Deacon called North an idiot. Which, bless his beautiful face and angelic heart, he absolutely was—but he was my idiot."

Hmmm. That doesn't sit right with me. I agree with Liam, North's been psychologically abused to believe he's an idiot. Naturally he would act like one under those conditions. Liam sounds like another abuser when he says this to himself.

Then I realized he said it to himself. It's not ideal he thinks it, but he isn't continuing the pattern of abuse verbally. That counts for a lot. Not hearing it from the one you're in love with is very important to a starved-for-respect victim.

So, while I had my issues with the story, I was very entertained and invested in the HEA the men were seeking together. It was not a high-angst read, as they each knew they wanted the other and communicated as much openly. As that's the case it makes this a holiday-vibes read to its core.

A solidly executed read by an author renowned for making them.

MY EX-HUSBAND'S EX-HUSBAND, clever, witty novel about something I bet has already happened

MY EX-HUSBAND'S EX-HUSBAND
RACHEL COHN & MELISSA de la CRUZ
Little A (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$16.99 paperback, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: From New York Times bestselling authors Rachel Cohn and Melissa de la Cruz comes a freewheeling journey through Vienna where two estranged friends search for their mutual ex—and a long-lost bond.

Audrey and Ian were best friends—until they fell in love with the same man. To be precise, they fell in love with, married, and divorced the same man. And there’s no coming back from that.

Twenty-odd years later, they’re right back at the beginning: Vienna, where their university study abroad turned into a love triangle from which they never quite recovered. But it’s Christmas, and Audrey’s daughter is getting married. Time to let bygones be bygones.

Not for the sake of the holiday or even because they’ve matured with age…but because their mutual ex is nowhere to be found. It’s up to Audrey and Ian to track him down.

As wedding plans go further awry, the former besties race to find the father of the bride. Juggling complicated family dynamics (and the cocktails required to cope), they learn that, sometimes, it’s not about the search but the friendships rediscovered along the way.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: A Yuletide wedding has only one thing going for it that I can see: no way to forget the date. Making the wedding itself a destination wedding? In Europe, where you need a passport and a pile of cash to travel? Well, we know already who these folks are hangin' with. Not the likes of my broke-ass self.

But let's go with the fantasy. I love a holiday romantic story. The set-up for this one's irresistible...Ian and Audrey having to solve the problem of their mutual ex-husband, the deeply self-centered borderline narcissist Beau—aptly named thing of beauty and a boy forever—ghosts Izzy (Isadora, as in Duncan) their daughter/stepdaughter on her Christmas wedding day. This is far from the first time he's behaved this thoughtlessly to either of them but they're willing to rally together to keep him from ruining their dear Izzy's slapped-together last-minute dream.

It's a romance, there is no mystery about the Happily Ever After. It's all the banter and shenanigans that make it fun to read.As Audrey and Ian mobilize to get Beau's butt where he said it would be for once, they rekindle their own badly damaged trust in each other. It's that relationship that each of them really missed, really values.

Told in alternating first-person chapters as the hunt for Beau takes the two recovering co-dependent besties from pillar to post and back again, the story sees them heal their fractured lives, their fractured friendship, and their mutual step/daughter's wildly impulsive disaster in the making. Izzy's choice of husband, her younger daughter Max's choice of a life, her testy, curmudgeonly ex-mother-in-law's rudderless aimless bad mood...Audrey's love life and Ian's love life, Beau's jerk personality all fixed as well.

It's a romance, the spoiler would be telling you *how* not *that* it all works out! I was pleased to be along for this goofy ride because, as each corner was turned, I thought "oh sure, that makes sense" exactly never. Instead I was treated to improbable, amusing solutions to the entire crew's problems. Hey, this is a wedding for two young Americans in Vienna, Austria, at the city's busiest time and there's no scheduling conflicts. This is not reality.

But it sure was fun.

THE BIG BOOK OF TAROT SYMBOLS: The Beginner’s Guide to Decoding the Cards

THE BIG BOOK OF TAROT SYMBOLS: The Beginner’s Guide to Decoding the Cards
LIZ DEAN
Fair Winds Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$26.99 all editions, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: The Big Book of Tarot Symbols is a beginner’s guide to the most fun and mysterious aspect of tarot written by bestselling tarot author, Liz Dean. Discover the magic of tarot symbols with bestselling author Liz Dean.

Ever noticed a symbol on your tarot card—like the cat with the Queen of Wands, the moon with the High Priestess, or even the number X on the Wheel of Fortune? You’re not alone! These symbols speak directly to our intuition, making them key to unlocking deeper meanings in your readings. Symbols are the “language” of tarot, and each one—whether it’s a pattern, a plant, an animal, or a color—holds its own unique significance.

In The Big Book of Tarot Symbols, bestselling author Liz Dean guides you through over 200 tarot symbols, showing you how to interpret them for powerful insights and personal guidance. By understanding these symbols, you’ll not only strengthen your connection to the cards but also enhance your ability to give more intuitive, meaningful readings.

Here’s what you’ll find inside:

A beginner-friendly introduction to tarot symbols, plus easy-to-follow instructions on how to use the book.

A comprehensive explanation of the symbols and their meanings for all 78 cards in both the Major and Minor Arcana.

Practical tools to help you master tarot’s symbolic “operating system” and provide more accurate, insightful readings.

Dive into the world of tarot symbols and elevate your readings with this essential guide!

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I've used tarot cards for over fifty years.

What the hell, you old materialist, hiding a spiritual side all this time?, some who know me well will think, or say if they feel bold.

Nope. It's all randomness. The iconography is totally invented, not that long ago (the eighteenth century saw the rise of purpose-made cartomantic decks of cards); the symbology draws on ancient sources, but what does not? We take old things and repurpose them all the time. No difference in this case.

Doesn't lessen relevance and usefulness of the symbology...we're pattern-finding creatures, us humans, and patterns are random chance put through our perceptual filters. Constellations, for a wonderful example; those beautiful designs of bright twinkly stars are tortally inventions of humans looking up at the sky without knowing the stars are all unimaginably far away from us and from each other. Doesn't mean you can't steer your way across the world by using the made-up patterns.

So does tarot tell, predict, or eventuate events in our lives? Nope. Does it afford you the chance to externalize the issue most perplexing, upsetting, angering, frightening you? Yep. Easily manipulable symbols make organizing complex or charged thoughts less fraught.

Liz Dean has written a lot about her system of divination by tarot. Always take your own ideas and insights more seriously than those of people selling things to you until you've determined for yourself how well the system they're recommending to you fits into your needs. That does require asking yourself the hard question, "what is it I'm looking for by asking for this answer I seek?"

That is the value that tarot can offer to you.

take a gander at where we're going

I think you're smart enough to figure out how to use this symbological system responsibly.

the Major Arcana

some Minor Arcana cards

THE WORLDS OF HAYAO MIYAZAKI: The Influences and Inspiration Behind the Iconic Films

THE WORLDS OF HAYAO MIYAZAKI: The Influences and Inspiration Behind the Iconic Films
NICOLAS RAPOLD
Frances Lincoln Ltd (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$35.00 all editions, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: An in-depth collection of the rich influences and sources of inspiration behind one of animated cinema’s all-time greats, and Japanese cinema’s most popular cultural export. Explore the inspirations behind the work of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, one of animated cinema’s all-time great creators.

Often called the godfather of animation, Miyazaki is able to imagine and populate worlds like no other director or animator. His films, from My Neighbour Totoro to the Oscar-winning Spirited Away and The Boy and The Heron, are deeply original, each conjuring up their own complete and entrancing version of reality.

This book journeys through the rich mix of cultural, historical and artistic influences that shape Miyazaki’s storytelling. From Japanese folklore and childhood memories to architecture, classic cinema, literature and political commentary, it reveals how Miyazaki’s deeply personal vision creates layered worlds that somehow feel both fantastical and grounded in truth.

With insight into his process, visual language and recurring themes—including nature, flight, girlhood, resistance and renewal —The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki offers fans and film lovers a deeper understanding of the imagination behind the magic.

A celebration of creative freedom, storytelling without limits, and the enduring power of animation.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: If you are not a Miyazaki fan already, this book could make you one. (But seriously, how can anyone not be a fan after seeing Spirited Away?) I'm willing to bet most all of us have at least one film fan, animation fan, Japanese-culture maven, in our gifting circle. Any of them will appreciate this beauty.

what we'll see on the journey

I'm sure we're all aware of animation's tremendous popularity. A safe bet to give a teen giftee is this lovely, immersive story of how the art of Miyazaki sprang from th art Miyazaki has seen and spoken lovingly about.

The publisher doesn't offer lots of spreads for publicity, understandably, but there are some lovely ones to take a look at:

It's great value for money spent, assuming you opt for the tree book version; the ebookmis a bit cranky and not as fluidly designed.

A very exciting gift to get, and one you'll be thanked for in longer terms than most gifts.

TINY NATURE: Discovering Nature's Hidden World Through the Lens of Macrophotography

TINY NATURE: Discovering Nature's Hidden World Through the Lens of Macrophotography
JAMIE ROSECRANS
Wellfleet Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$35.00 all editions, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Tiny Nature is a journey into the hidden world of the forest floor through the captivating lens of macrophotography. Marvel at the mysterious organisms of the forest floor, revealed in breathtaking macrophotography.

The beauty of the forest goes far beyond trees and wildlife. If you look closely—even closer!—the world beneath your feet holds tiny ecosystems that play a vital role in nature. To see them in all their glory, Tiny Nature harnesses the power of macrophotography. The term “macro” means large, but in photography, it refers to creating large reproductions of small subjects. It is the art of taking extreme close-up photos where the size of the subject on the camera sensor is life-size or greater. With this lens, take a closer look to see the wonders you’ve been missing.

Tiny Nature is a stunning display of the beauty and complexity of the natural world. More than just a photography book, every incredible photo offers insightful narratives that delve into the ecological significance of these miniature landscapes. With a keen eye for detail and an artistic vision, talented macrophotographer Jamie Rosencrans showcases a captivating collection of photographs along with guidance to gain a deeper appreciation for the forest floor. Unveil a mesmerizing microcosm teeming with life, including:

Enigmatic slime molds straddling the boundary between the world of fungi and animals through unique lifecycles and behaviors

Poetically sculptural fungi with a wide diversity and present year-round wherever rain and fungal spores coexist

Romantic, brightly colored lichens, from deep greens to radiant reds, that cling to fences and tree branches

Friendly gastropods such as snails, slugs, and more!

Every leaf, pebble, and tiny inhabitant has a story of resilience, beauty, and the timeless dance of life. Be inspired as you enter the heart of the forest floor and see the sheer wonder of nature’s design.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Not interacting with Meta/Facebook properties does mean I miss Instagram phenoms like @this_forest_floor, aka the author. Too bad...I'd like to see her work on the regular, but will not give fuel to that traitorous fuck Zuck.

I'm glad the publisher made the DRC available. I like interesting takes on Nature. This look at the reality of the tiny stuff we largely ignore is fascinating. A lot of y'all won't enjoy the creepy-crawlies or the moistness of it all. Me, I'm more curious about the weirdos than the cute fluffy boring ones.

contents...no, she doesn't say "icky little moist things" anywhere

What this book will do for the giftee is to discuss the realms of life we don't see much, with someone who knows a good deal about it. The focus is on the weird stuff, the way she takes their picture, the challenges of life at a scale we simply don't experience.

Look at these...really look, see them as the miraculous little survivors they are:

the slime molds

Not for everyone, but I'm not including the soil animals, or the fungi, because they're so very moist. I promise your science nerd giftee that they look great, though.

THE MATHEMATICIANS' LIBRARY: The Books That Unlocked The Power Of Numbers, illustrated to a fare-thee-well

THE MATHEMATICIANS' LIBRARY: The Books That Unlocked The Power Of Numbers
THOMAS K. BRIGGS
Ivy Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$40.00 all editions, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: A lavishly illustrated compendium of the most significant publications that have informed mathematical knowledge throughout history.

Discover the story of mathematics like never before with The Mathematicians’ Library, an extraordinary collection that chronicles the evolution of mathematical thought and its profound impact on the world. This expertly curated anthology brings together the most influential works and authors from across history, showcasing the journey of mathematical discovery from ancient tablets to contemporary volumes.

The Mathematicians’ Library takes you through the pages of history, featuring groundbreaking works like Euclid’s Elements, Fibonacci’s Liber Abaci, Hilbert’s Foundations of Geometry, and Mandelbrot’s The Fractal Geometry of Nature. Each book offers a unique glimpse into how mathematics has shaped human civilization, guiding everything from transportation and commerce to art, science, and beyond.

Mathematics is the invisible force that governs our daily lives, influencing everything from the weather forecasts we trust to the technology we depend on. It has been a cornerstone of human progress, evolving through centuries of research, discovery, and collaboration across cultures. This book reveals that legacy by presenting works that have changed the way we understand our world, from ancient knowledge inscribed on clay tablets, the contributions of Babylonian, Greek, Roman, Chinese, Islamic, and Maya scholars, The Mathematicians’ Library offers unparalleled access to the greatest minds in mathematics—Plato, Pythagoras, Euclid, Hypatia, Galileo, Einstein, and more.

The Mathematicians’ Libraryis more than just a collection; it's a journey through the intellectual milestones that have defined our understanding of the world. Whether you're a scholar, a history enthusiast, or simply curious about the forces that shape our lives, this collection will captivate and inspire. Unlock the secrets of mathematics and discover the brilliance behind the numbers that rule our world.

Table of contents:
Introduction
The Origins of Mathematics
Prehistoric
The Global Evolution of Mathematics (Babylon, Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, India, Islam, Maya, Medieval Europe)
The Scientific Revolution
Modern Mathematics
The Future
Bibliography
Index

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I got mathphobia from my mother very early. I've used the established systematic desensitization technique of slowly increasing my exposure to it as a means of getting away from the extreme societal hazard of innumeracy. Goddesses please bless Author Paulos for writing that book I've linked to! It truly changed my life for the better.

That's one reason I asked for the DRC of this book. It's a seemingly unending process, this systematic desensitization, as ignoring it for very long will see my results evaporate...though they come back more and more quickly each time. This beautifully illustrated compendium of materials related to concepts I think most of us are noddingly acquainted with was a top-up.

If you're not a mathphobe like me, you might know one. You might also know a mathphile...I'm told they exist. Curious creatures I'm sure I do not know myownself. No matter, I think your science nerd bestie deserves a gorgeous work like this. It celebrates the tool they use the most.

These are the publicity samples the publisher provides. I think you'll agree that a non-fiction gift book about math is best illustrated in this demonstrative-of-concepts way. I found myself more focused on images than text...but remember I'm phobic about math. I would be.

A gift item for the biggest nerd you know and love! I'd get them the tree book, the design rendered onto the ebook looks...clunky. It's an option but not an ideal one.

Yuletide glory will be yours when gifting this one to the right giftee.

DRAGONS: A Handbook of History & Lore from Basilisks to Wyverns, beautiful woodcut art of the worlds favorite mythical beasts

DRAGONS: A Handbook of History & Lore from Basilisks to Wyverns
AGNES HOLLYHOCK
publisher (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$19.99 all editions, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Dragons is your beautifully illustrated guide to these mythical creatures and their lore across cultures and centuries. Discover the ancient lore and cultural myths behind dragons—the world’s most mysterious and ubiquitous creatures—in this stunningly illustrated handbook.

For millennia, dragons have been considered real, appearing in legends and myths across cultures and societies, including Central America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Why are these creatures so popular, and what do they reveal about human nature?

Dragons offers a deep dive into the imaginative world of dragons and explores their vivid lore and myths across a wide variety of cultures. Through detailed descriptions and original artwork, learn all about these mysterious and powerful creatures, including:

Historical Tales and Legends

Dragons in Ancient Cultures

European Dragon Lore

Asian Dragon Myths

African and Polynesian Dragons

Dragon-Related Symbols

And more!

Featuring beautiful illustrations and a comprehensive appendix of notable dragon sites around the world, this easy-to-use and informative handbook is perfect for fantasy enthusiasts and the dragon curious. From their appearance in ancient myths to contemporary fantasy works, discover how dragons have influenced human culture across the globe.

The Folklore Legends series summons the mythical, magical, and mysterious creatures of lore out of the shadows with in-depth explorations of their stories and histories. Featuring original, woodcut illustrations and tales both famous and forgotten, these display-worthy volumes reveal the common traits, cultural variations, and appearances of these legendary beings across time and around the world.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Is there anything more certain to get a limbic response from a modern person than a dragon? Like dinosaurs for little kids, these monsters are not real (in the sense that you're not able to go anywhere in the world to see a living one) so the anxiety induced by a giant predator is manageable. We watch horror movies...or the news...for more threatening anxiety hits. Dragons and their legends add many layers of padding for the anxiety, so feel fun, almost friendly. After all you see tons of dragon media, like the Dragonriders of Pern series that's run for decades, all the way to the How to Train Your Dragon media franchise for the young ones.

We like to be scared. But only in fantasy. Dragons fit the need humans have for this fantasy of risk. A survey of the myth structures that deliver the shiver safely like this book is ideal for the YA market. This book is also beautiful, illustrated with woodcuts that capture the mythic element of the dragon lore we all love.

It makes for a lovely added layer of pleasure in the reading experience. The ebook looks fine on my tablet...I doubt a standard Kindle/Kobo would do that well with it, being black-and-white, but certainly wouldn't cause problems with the reading process.

But what a loss not to see this beautiful enhancing art in color!

A treat for any 12-year-old or older dragon-loving reader, fantasy fan, or just someone who likes reading about nyths and legends from around the world.

ASTROLOGICA: An Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends From the Planets, Stars and Skies

ASTROLOGICA: An Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends From the Planets, Stars and Skies
SUKI FERGUSON (illus. Camelia Pham)
Wide Eyed Editions (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$30.00 all editions, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Astrologica is a visually stunning illustrated guide to the stories behind zodiac signs and systems from around the world.

Big, bold, and beautiful, this is the enthralling celestial follow-up to Mythologica: Amazon's No. 1 Children's Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2019.

How did the moon influence mighty emperors in Ancient China? Why are star signs so popular around the world? How did constellations help early seafarers sail safely across the vast Pacific? Blending science and storytelling, Astrologica introduces you to the marvels of our cosmos like you’ve never seen them before.

This gorgeously illustrated book is designed to introduce young stargazers to the celestial. Across the magical chapters, you'll learn about the antics of ancient gods, indigenous traditions, and scientific breakthroughs. You’ll delve into zodiac lore as you journey around the globe, from Mali to Hawai’i, Norway, and Australia. You’ll also travel through time, visiting early civilisations and empires to learn about the dawn of storytelling itself—and that's just the start.

Astrologica includes:

• The history of astronomy and astrology, including ancient rites and customs

• The global star-lore behind famous constellations

• The lore behind the Tropical and Chinese zodiac systems, plus their dates, traits, and quirks

• Stories of the gods and goddesses associated with the planets

• How stars have served as maps, clocks, and calendars for millennia

Featuring over 100 pages of unforgettable artwork, fascinating facts, and powerful stories, this book is the perfect gift for curious young minds aged 8+.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I don't believe in astrology. I do feel very sure some things aren't explainable by science...yet...because we don't know how to frame the questions. In the meantime, we have other existing systems to give the unusual coincidence a context our simple brains can comprehend.

Giving this beautiful book to its intended audience, kids eight years old and up, seems...fraught...to me. I'm not the least bit comfortable educating children into belief in any kind of supernatural stuff; I would not do this to any child in my authority.

I am not everyone. I offer this beautiful, costly book for you to consider, more especially for you or for another adult; but that is not my call. The art is gorgeous, as expected, and the stories well retold.

From here it's all you and your desire for your juvenile giftee.

See what I mean? Beautiful, just to have around!