brainsplotch

Brace yourselves for another "word vomit" book review. Don't say I didn't warn you. Wolverine Tracks : On the Trail of Memory and Meaning in the Wild is yet another book that crossed my desk at work and looked intriguing enough that I placed a hold for it. My 2026 winning percentage for these "on a whim" books remains perfect. I will cut right to the chase and say I loved this book. At its most basic level, Wolverine Tracks is a chronicle of Dag O. Hessen's quest for a face-to-face encounter with a wolverine. Hessen, a Norwegian biologist, writes about his lifelong relationship with nature and the wild. In 1972, as teenager, he found wolverine tracks while out on a nature expedition with his father. About a decade later, he had a brief face-to-face with an actual wolverine. So, the premise of the book is Hessen trying for one more wolverine sighting. But Wolverine Tracks is so much more than that. While the book reads as a jour...

Berlin Shuffle (Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz). This is another book that passed across my desk at the library and piqued my curiosity. Since I've been interested in German history more in the last five years than any time in my life, I placed a hold on it. This promises to be another of my "word vomit"-type book reviews. I want to get my thoughts down before I forget. Since Berlin Shuffle is a novel, I will avoid spoilers.  Allow me to cut to the chase and declare my enjoyment of this book. Berlin Shuffle , written in 1937, takes place in approximately 1929. At this time, Germany is a country reeling from World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, buried by draconian reparations it can't hope to repay, struggling with inflation and unemployment. So in this setting, we have several characters who for various reasons are beaten down by life in post-Great War Germany. These characters are as follows:  Fundholz is an older man (between 65-70) who is possibly/pr...