randall munroe | Lost in a Good Book

7th Blogiversary Celebrations + Int Giveaway!

23 Jan 2020 26 Comments

by Amy in Giveaway Tags: adam silveri, blogiversary, celebration, clint mcelroy, dahlia adler, free book, giveaway, holly black, mackenzi lee, maureen johnson, philip pullman, randall munroe

As slow as 2019 was, the year seems to have come around quickly again as January means I get to celebrate my blogiversary, the day I took the plunge and started my blog all those years ago. There’s no seven year itch in sight as I make this blog into something which has taken up a lot of my life and something I genuinely enjoy doing and sharing with you all. I have found myself thinking about my ten year anniversary already which I really must not do because that is a ridiculous time, not to mention three years away. But while it has been a somewhat chaotic and often rewarding time, the past seven years seems to have gone by in a flash and those early years seem a lifetime ago.

Now that I‘ve become settled in my blogging routine it has become a stable, everyday party of my life that honestly I couldn’t see myself not doing. It’s a great habit to have though, sharing amazing books, sharing my favourite reads and spreading the book love, and maybe even introducing someone to their new favourite read.

Last year was my big reflection year, this year I am only here to be grateful for the amazing opportunities I have had since I started this blog and for the amazing people who read it. Not to mention the books I have had the chance to read, the new authors I’ve discovered which I never would have found if I hadn’t agreed to review their books, and the wonderful community I’ve become a part of.

To celebrate I’m running my giveaway featuring eight of my favourite books. I haven’t actually released my Top 5 of 2019 yet but I’ve added them into my giveaway, I’ll let you guess which ones are which. I’ve also added in a few of my favourites reads which I thoroughly enjoyed and think everyone should read.

The Selection

His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler

The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman*

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson*

The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited by The McElroys*

The Wicked Prince by Holly Black*

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

What If? by Randall Munroe

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

*These items are sequels to other books that possibly won’t make any sense if you haven’t read the first one. Keep that in mind when picking your book.

To enter: For a chance to win one of the pictured books simply enter here and complete the Rafflecopter form.

Please note: This giveaway is international on the basis the Book Depository ships to your country. To see if you are eligible you can check their website.

Thank you for helping me celebrate and if you entered the draw I wish you the best of luck!

Giveaway runs until midnight AEDT on Thursday 20th February 2020

What If? by Randall Munroe

28 Jan 2019 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, Non Fiction Tags: five stars, non fiction, randall munroe, science, xkcd

Published: 24th September 2015
Publisher: John Murray
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Genre: Non-Fiction
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Randall Munroe left NASA in 2005 to start up his hugely popular site XKCD ‘a web comic of romance, sarcasm, math and language’ which offers a witty take on the world of science and geeks. It now has 600,000 to a million page hits daily. Every now and then, Munroe would get emails asking him to arbitrate a science debate. ‘My friend and I were arguing about what would happen if a bullet got struck by lightning, and we agreed that you should resolve it . . . ‘ He liked these questions so much that he started up What If.

Far more than a book for geeks, WHAT IF: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much the smarter for having read.

When I saw this I picked it up straight away because I had to read it. I have been a massive fan of Munroe’s comic XKCD for years and now with a chance to read an entire book filled with the humour and science of the comics was hard to ignore.

The premise of the book is Munro answering What if? questions submitted by people through his website. As the tagline explains: Serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions. Not all of the online submissions were answered and there are a few “Weird (and Worrying) Questions” highlighted to show some of the stranger ones which are a delight in themselves.

Munroe amazingly has a lot of maths and science to back up even the most absurd questions, and even when things aren’t logically or physically possible, he works around it with a slight bend of physics or realistic possibility and shows you how it would happen if all the cards fell perfectly.

What makes this even more fun is the book is filled with Munroe’s drawings, simple interactions between his stick figure characters and illustrations of how these various scenarios would play out. It’s not just comic conversations, there’s also drawings of explanations and Munroe adds tables and graphs, all in his recognisable style.

Some of the questions are common ones such as “What would happen if absolutely everyone jumped at the same time?” But along with actually answering the question (short answer: nothing) with clear and understandable science, Munroe takes it a step further and gives another fascinating yet horrifying answer which you don’t think about. This was when I first really truly realised how marvellous this book was because Munroe takes it a step further and looks at what happens after that when you have 7 billion people in one location having just jumped who now need to get back home. Short answer: chaos.

There are also some brilliantly absurd and strange questions that people have submitted and even though I had never thought about I’m really glad I now know what would happen if you set off a nuclear bomb in the eye of a hurricane or what would happen if suddenly one day all your DNA disappeared. Some are also genuinely fascinating to discover like “When (if ever) did the sun finally set on the British Empire?” and “How much Force can Yoda output?”

There is humour and excellent jokes and the footnotes peppered throughout are a delight in themselves to read, also a mixture of genuine sources and Munroe’s own thoughts. One of my favourite questions is “What would happen if you made a periodic table out of cube-shaped bricks, where each brick was made up of the corresponding element?” A question which is logical enough, but it is the drawings that go with it that add an extra layer of brilliance as Munroe tries to explain not only how some of them would just float away, but how each box would react differently with the others nearby.

If you like maths, science, XKCD or love knowing about things then this is the greatest book. If you aren’t into these things it is still readable because while it isn’t entirely dumbed down, Munroe explains it in a way that you can still understand, and with wonderful cartoons to accompany explanations you still have a lot of fun learning.

You can purchase What If? via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust

Top Five of 2018

08 Jan 2019 8 Comments

by Amy in Top Five List Tags: adam stower, brittany rubianp, c. g. drews, charlotte reagan, clementine ford, ernest cline, gail carriger, lucy ruth cummins, marc martin, matt shanks, maureen johnson, p. crumble, randall munroe, stuart turton, top five

I made a good decision last year to add all the books I thought worthy of my top five into a list as I finished them. It worked out well because I didn’t have to scramble and try and remember anything I had read or try to recall plot points and emotional responses come December. I ended the year with 5 books on that list, perfect, easy, ready to go and then there came an 11th hour addition on 31st December which made me rethink the entire thing and kick one of my books out. In the end, I think I chose the right books.

This year I have brought back the Honourable Mentions because a couple really do need mentioning. I have also started a Top Five Picture Books because they were remarkable as well and didn’t want to crowd my list. If I was really enthusiastic I might make it a top ten and just merge them together but that is a lot of pressure for next time. This way I can highlight some amazing picture books as well. Click the title to read my review.

A Thousand Perfect Notes by C. G. Drews

This was the first book I added to my list as soon as I finished it back in May. I patiently waited for this to publish and was not disappointed at how spectacular it was.

Ready Player One (#1) by Ernest Cline

I adored this book. If you love cleverness, video games and are forgiving about having the 80s shoved down your throat then you will love this. There is a sequel coming after the popularity of the movie. I’m not sure I agree but I am willing to give it a go.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

I could not put this book down. I listened to the audio and literally had it in my ears from dawn till dusk. It is amazing and so well planned out.

Loving Lakyn by Charlotte Reagan

Technically a prequel, technically a sequel but it can be read on its own. Either way, it is amazing and I fell hard and fast for these characters. The emotional journey I went on with these boys was incredible and heartbreaking. If I could read about them forever I would.

What If? by Randall Munroe

I had been reading this book on and off for weeks, piece by piece at night before I went to sleep. I finally finished it on NYE and something about it made me instantly decide to add it to my list. It was clever, funny, creative, fascinating. All of these wonderful things the entire time but it was upon finishing it I realised how much I genuinely loved this book. Therefore I had to bump another contender and rise this up the ranks.