STUFF MATTERS: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World by Mark Miodownik tackles a variety of topics centering on the materials that surround us: how can a paperclip made of metal bend but not break? How can pure carbon appear as diamonds but also the graphite in pencils? Why does paper fold so well? What makes chocolate so good? Plus chapters on concrete, gels and glass.An interesting work
In the fourth Father Brown collection (I meant to read #3 first but I got it wrong), Father brown is visiting his friend Flambeau, thief-turned-detective, now happily married and retired, when one of the other guests asks THE SECRET OF FATHER BROWN — how is it possible he solves so many cases? Father Brown replies that he imagines what might drive him to commit a given murder, then reasons who would have the same motive … which doesn’t to fit the series at all, at least not to me. The stories themselves are fair but not great, other than “The Chief Mourner of Marne,” which I really like. Also Chesterton’s insights feel off, like asserting suburban residents have no interest in gossiping about their neighbors.
I’ve had ENIGMA, an eight-issue Vertigo series by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo, on my “to read” list for a while. Discovering it available through my library’s Hoopla service, I checked it out … and didn’t finish it. Protagonist Michael Smith is shocked, utterly shocked when the Enigma and the Brain pop out of one of his beloved childhood comics — what can it possibly mean? After three issues of pretension (did you know killing a fly proves there is no god?) I gave up, flipped to the end, found I hadn’t missed anything.
Cover by Fegredo, all rights remain with current holders.
