Tag: technology

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Books

Review: The Trustee in the Toolroom

 

The Trustee in the Toolroom by Nevil Shute

I give this book a 4 (and a half, if I did halves).

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I really enjoyed this story when it wasn’t making me angry (more on this later), but then I just have anger issues to begin with. This is a really simple and sweet clever story about a man who’s willing to go to great lengths to keep his word- and what’s not to like about that.

The story of Keith Stewart describes the rare instance of a man finding true peace and contentment in his life, career, and relationships. For Keith, the whole world revolves around his workshop and the work he does there writing for a magazine, but he’s no hermit. The one thing he finds that’s more important to him than his work is his word and his love for his family. When Keith finds himself the new guardian of his young niece and the trustee to her would be inheritance, he makes it his life’s purpose to secure a fine future for his new charge, despite not having the means to do so (here’s where I get angry).

As wonderful and miraculous as this story is, Keith’s adventure never would have taken place if someone living comfortably above his station had simply acknowledge and compensated him for what he was truly worth…that’s all I’ll say about that.

The story is told with almost manual precision, but the author’s style and flare with words keeps you pulled into the story. It’s not a fast pace action packed chronicle of a great adventure, but it is indeed a great adventure. Keith literally goes on a journey around the world trying to retrieve a modern-day treasure. He ends up traveling by bus, train, plane, boat, ship, and even helicopter while encountering a great number of interesting characters along the way. To help Keith along on his journey is his forever honest and cheery disposition, his masterful mind, and his unexpected fame.  This is a different kind of underdog story where there is no real favorite, just one man with a purpose fighting against a plethora of obstacles. The reader has no choice but to root for Keith all the way home.

This was a wonderful book to listen to, perfect for my drive home. There is a lot of technical engineer talk that may or may not be interesting to readers (or listeners), but I don’t feel it took away from the overall story. Though I can’t imagine a child or teenager having the temperament for this kind of book, I’d recommend it to anyone else.

This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Books

Review: Cinder

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, book 1) by Marissa Meyer

I give this book a 4.

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Cinder is just as the book and cover suggests, a futuristic retelling of the classic Cinderella story, but there is the brink of a great space war looming in the background. It tells the story of a cyborg teen, a mechanic, commonly referred to as Cinder. There is a mean stepmother and stepsister, but there is also a nice stepsister. There is also a scary plague and some crazy curfews and rules about life as a cyborg. So when Cinder has a chance encounter with the charming Prince Kai, the last thing she wants is for anyone to know about it, especially not him. No one can know that the Prince has associated with a cyborg peasant, but before long, that’s the least of Cinder’s worries.

I’m a fan of fairy tales and all their retellings, so it would have to take quite a bit for me not to like this story, but even with my own personal bias, I think this is a really good story. It is very creative and imaginative. I think what I like most about the story is that Cinder isn’t presented as just another girl. I know she’s a cyborg, but she’ll still a person. What I mean is that, deep down, in most Cinderella stories the girl really does want to go to the ball and dance with the prince and have butterflies flutter across the sky, but that’s not Cinder. Her youth is gone and she has too much else on her mind to even think about the ball, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t wasted a few moments thinking about how cute the prince is.

Then there is the matter of the plague, the threat of war, and the moon people. I was very impressed with the way the multiple conflicts mingled in this story. The whole idea of the traditional love story is almost put on the back burner as the rest of the story takes over. I unfortunately have read too many books and seen to many movies to be kept in the dark about Cinder’s greatest secret. I figured it out pretty quickly, but I was still impressed with how it came together. I have a feeling there will be more action in the follow-up story, simply based on the amount of intrigue and conflict in this one. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to continuing this story.

This review has been posted to GoodReads.

If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Blessings

Count Your Blessings 12: Technology

blessings

Technology

Technology makes our world a better place to live, but we don’t need most of it. I’m grateful for the wheel and other essential objects and ideas like this that have shaped our world, but some of the technology we implement on a daily basis is just silly. Silly or not, I’m blessed to have access to all the advancements that are out there.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords