New MRBC September 2021 Nominations (Non-Fiction)

[hildea]

The category for September 2021 is Non-Fiction.

Everyone gets three nominations and three seconds.

Since there were so few thirds in the last nomination thread, nominations will only need one nod to be eligible for voting.

We'll end the nominations on 30. August and the voting will begin after that. (JSWolf will start the voting thread.)

[hildea]

Nominated:

What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming by Per Espen Stoknes (hildea)

Seconded (and off to vote):

Bonk by Mary Roach (JSWolf, hildea)
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (drofgnal, hildea)
This is Not a Drill by Extinction Rebellion (hildea, drofgnal)

[JSWolf]

I'll nominate Bonk by Mary Roach.

In Bonk, Mary turns her outrageous curiosity and insight on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Why doesn't Viagra help women-or, for that matter, pandas? Can a dead man get an erection? Is vaginal orgasm a myth? Mary Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm-two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth-can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to make the bedroom a more satisfying place.11

[drofgnal]

Looking for a science themed book, perhaps Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time. I'll decide later. It's not available as an ebook (and out of print as well) and way too long to nominate, but if you ever get the chance to read Issac Asimov's A New Guide to Science, it's a fantastic read on the history of science. Much of the material from Carl Sagan's Cosmos probably came from this book. Fortunately I picked up a used hardback.

[lxpose]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

Looking for a science themed book, perhaps Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time. ... It's not available as an ebook.

It is definitely available on Amazon UK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brief-Histo...dp/B0031RDVMI/

[issybird]

Originally Posted by lxpose

It is definitely available on Amazon UK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brief-Histo...dp/B0031RDVMI/

Punctuation matters. drofgnal most certainly did not say that Hawking isn’t available in the UK; it was an error to add a period where you did when you quoted him.

[lxpose]

Originally Posted by issybird

Punctuation matters. drofgnal most certainly did not say that Hawking isn’t available in the UK; it was an error to add a period where you did when you quoted him.

I am afraid that I do not understand where I made an error. The statement made by drofgnal was :

"Looking for a science themed book, perhaps Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time. I'll decide later. It's not available as an ebook (and out of print as well)"

Does this not mean that Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time is not available as an ebook? Perhaps you could help me understand.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by lxpose

I am afraid that I do not understand where I made an error. The statement made by drofgnal was :

"Looking for a science themed book, perhaps Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time. I'll decide later. It's not available as an ebook (and out of print as well)"

Does this not mean that Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time is not available as an ebook? Perhaps you could help me understand.

Notice the part you quote has no full stop. You are associating the opening clause of the next sentence with this previous sentences. Break out the sentences into their own relevant paragraphs and you get:

"Looking for a science themed book, perhaps Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time. I'll decide later."

"It's not available as an ebook (and out of print as well) and way too long to nominate, but if you ever get the chance to read Issac Asimov's A New Guide to Science, it's a fantastic read on the history of science. Much of the material from Carl Sagan's Cosmos probably came from this book. Fortunately I picked up a used hardback."

[lxpose]

Originally Posted by gmw

Notice the part you quote has no full stop. You are associating the opening clause of the next sentence with this previous sentences. Break out the sentences into their own relevant paragraphs and you get:

"Looking for a science themed book, perhaps Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time. I'll decide later."

"It's not available as an ebook (and out of print as well) and way too long to nominate, but if you ever get the chance to read Issac Asimov's A New Guide to Science, it's a fantastic read on the history of science. Much of the material from Carl Sagan's Cosmos probably came from this book. Fortunately I picked up a used hardback."

Thank you for that clarification. I see that I must be more careful if future.

[drofgnal]

Originally Posted by issybird

Punctuation matters. drofgnal most certainly did not say that Hawking isn’t available in the UK; it was an error to add a period where you did when you quoted him.

Yes, thanks Issybird, of course I was referring to A New Guide to Science.

[drofgnal]

While I'm here, I'll nominate a Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking.

[hildea]

Not a lot of action here, I wonder if there's less interest in non-fiction?

I'll nominate a couple of books I've been meaning to read:

This is Not a Drill by Extinction Rebellion:

It's time. This is our last chance to do anything about the global climate and ecological emergency. Our last chance to save the world as we know it.

Now or never, we need to be radical. We need to rise up. And we need to rebel.

Extinction Rebellion is a global activist movement of ordinary people, demanding action from Governments. This is a book of truth and action. It has facts to arm you, stories to empower you, pages to fill in and pages to rip out, alongside instructions on how to rebel - from organising a roadblock to facing arrest.

What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming by Per Espen Stoknes:

Why does knowing more mean believing—and doing—less? A prescription for change

The more facts that pile up about global warming, the greater the resistance to them grows, making it harder to enact measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare communities for the inevitable change ahead.

It is a catch-22 that starts, says psychologist and economist Per Espen Stoknes, from an inadequate understanding of the way most humans think, act, and live in the world around them. With dozens of examples—from the private sector to government agencies—Stoknes shows how to retell the story of climate change and, at the same time, create positive, meaningful actions that can be supported even by deniers.

[hildea]

I'll second Bonk and A Brief History of Time, so there will be something to vote over

[drofgnal]

I'll second This is Not a Drill. Sounds interesting.