reading Wednesday
What I am reading:
At work: The Developing Mind (2nd ed.), by Daniel Siegel. For my purposes, this is a really terrible book. It would be a really excellent book for some other people and some other purposes, so this is not a condemnation of the book. The subtitle of the book is "How Relationships and the Brain Interact To Shape Who We Are", and it is exactly what it says on the tin. Siegel is one of the experts in this field, and for this revised edition he has pulled together all the hottest research to give a fairly cutting-edge picture of what we know about interpersonal neurobiology. And I'm assuming that this was written primarily to serve as a graduate level textbook or survey of the field for clinicians or researchers. Because here's the thing: THE JARGON IT BURNS. I am perfectly capable of wading through psychological jargon, okay? I used to do it professionally, and still do, in a sense. But there are more and less jargon-y ways to write about psychology, while still being precise. And there are more and less mellifluous ways to construct a sentence out of jargon. I forgot to bring the book home to give you a sample (maybe I will add one tomorrow), but OMG the jargon is just so thick and so clunky it is painful to read.
And if all the content in the book were new to me, it would totally be worth it to ride over the verbal equivalent of washboard gravel, because this information is valuable. But I already know about 2/3 of what's in here, and I just want to brush up on the remaining 1/3. So it is a painful experience and not particularly rewarding, and I don't anticipate being done with it any time soon.
At home: Still haven't read the last chapter of How the mouth changes its shape, by
breathedout. (This is the post-WWII genderswap Sherlock AU). Chapters 19 & 20 were posted while I was out of town. I've read 19, and I'm just waiting for some peace and quiet so I can really enjoy the final chapter with no interruptions and some time to wallow in it afterward. Um, chances of peace and quiet around here... yeah.
What I just finished:
Well, over vacation I read The Sleeping Partner, by Madeleine Robins, as well as the first two Tiffany Aching books. I think I will save Tiffany for a different post. The Sleeping Partner is the third Sarah Tolerance mystery, and I enjoyed it quite a lot, in the way that I enjoy the mysteries that I enjoy. Which is this: I had to sit here and stare into my glass of whine ::OMG, I am leaving this typo in place:: and nibble on a few almonds before I could even remember what the mystery was about, and I just read this the day after Christmas. But I could remember every single relationship nuance between the recurring characters. This is what I love about mystery series: I love getting to know detectives, because they are smart, observant, competent people who care about truth and justice. These are people that I want to spend time with. The mysteries are mostly there to give them something to *do*. I like Sarah Tolerance and I like Sir Walter and I like Sarah's relatives, and I hope there will be more books.
What I'm going to read next:
I bought Code Name: Verity a few months ago, but I just don't know, guys. I don't think I have enough spare coping ability right now for fictional heartbreak, and the impression that I've gotten from everyone is that my heart *will* be broken, right? I think for now I'd better stick to watching detective show reruns while I knit.
This entry was originally posted at http://loligo.dreamwidth.org/436235.html.
comments on that entry. Comments on Dreamwidth preferred.
At work: The Developing Mind (2nd ed.), by Daniel Siegel. For my purposes, this is a really terrible book. It would be a really excellent book for some other people and some other purposes, so this is not a condemnation of the book. The subtitle of the book is "How Relationships and the Brain Interact To Shape Who We Are", and it is exactly what it says on the tin. Siegel is one of the experts in this field, and for this revised edition he has pulled together all the hottest research to give a fairly cutting-edge picture of what we know about interpersonal neurobiology. And I'm assuming that this was written primarily to serve as a graduate level textbook or survey of the field for clinicians or researchers. Because here's the thing: THE JARGON IT BURNS. I am perfectly capable of wading through psychological jargon, okay? I used to do it professionally, and still do, in a sense. But there are more and less jargon-y ways to write about psychology, while still being precise. And there are more and less mellifluous ways to construct a sentence out of jargon. I forgot to bring the book home to give you a sample (maybe I will add one tomorrow), but OMG the jargon is just so thick and so clunky it is painful to read.
And if all the content in the book were new to me, it would totally be worth it to ride over the verbal equivalent of washboard gravel, because this information is valuable. But I already know about 2/3 of what's in here, and I just want to brush up on the remaining 1/3. So it is a painful experience and not particularly rewarding, and I don't anticipate being done with it any time soon.
At home: Still haven't read the last chapter of How the mouth changes its shape, by
breathedout. (This is the post-WWII genderswap Sherlock AU). Chapters 19 & 20 were posted while I was out of town. I've read 19, and I'm just waiting for some peace and quiet so I can really enjoy the final chapter with no interruptions and some time to wallow in it afterward. Um, chances of peace and quiet around here... yeah.
What I just finished:
Well, over vacation I read The Sleeping Partner, by Madeleine Robins, as well as the first two Tiffany Aching books. I think I will save Tiffany for a different post. The Sleeping Partner is the third Sarah Tolerance mystery, and I enjoyed it quite a lot, in the way that I enjoy the mysteries that I enjoy. Which is this: I had to sit here and stare into my glass of whine ::OMG, I am leaving this typo in place:: and nibble on a few almonds before I could even remember what the mystery was about, and I just read this the day after Christmas. But I could remember every single relationship nuance between the recurring characters. This is what I love about mystery series: I love getting to know detectives, because they are smart, observant, competent people who care about truth and justice. These are people that I want to spend time with. The mysteries are mostly there to give them something to *do*. I like Sarah Tolerance and I like Sir Walter and I like Sarah's relatives, and I hope there will be more books.
What I'm going to read next:
I bought Code Name: Verity a few months ago, but I just don't know, guys. I don't think I have enough spare coping ability right now for fictional heartbreak, and the impression that I've gotten from everyone is that my heart *will* be broken, right? I think for now I'd better stick to watching detective show reruns while I knit.
This entry was originally posted at http://loligo.dreamwidth.org/436235.html.
comments on that entry. Comments on Dreamwidth preferred.