"The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" -Jacqueline Kelly

I don't listen to audiobooks often but changes in my commute has really cut down on my reading time. And so I've begun a shift to a little bit o'listening.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is the story of a young girl growing up in Texas at the turn-of-the-century. The book follows Cali from the summer of 1899 to New Year's Day 1900. Cali has an interest in scienec; she teams up with her grandfather to study her surroundings. As she learns, the reader sees how many things in her life mirror those of nature, evolution, and Darwin's theories.

This was a fascinating combination of period technology and modern issues. While characters gawk at horseless carriages, marvel over microscopes, and think the first snow is the end of the world, Cali faces a rocky mother-daughter relationship, annoying brothers, and what to do when she grows up.

Read Also:

Jane Birdsall's "The Penderwicks" series.

Joelle Stolz's The Shadows of Ghadames.

Margaret Sidney's The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.

"The Physics of Star Trek" -Lawrence M. Krauss

I never took a physics class in high school or college. But I'm not totally unaware of things like "every action has an opposite and equal reaction." So I took up this book and while I am rereading many passages because I don't quite get them the first time through, it's making a lot of sense...and poking a lot of holes in Star Trek!

Read Also:

Serenity Found is a compilation of essays about Joss Whedon's "Firefly." Very interesting!