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John Best

isposdef@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 6 months ago

Graduate student, parent, husband, etc. I listen to lots of audiobooks while doing dishes, vacuuming, and walking the dog. He/him.

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John Best's books

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The Camera (Paperback, 1995, Little, Brown) 5 stars

The advantage of age

5 stars

I learned quite a lot from this book. This is because of, rather than despite, its age. The discussion of gear is wide-ranging, from 35mm film up to large-format view cameras. Despite the fact that I have never used a view camera, the discussion of tilt-shift movements helped me understand the use of smaller-format cameras work. Adams includes multiple experiments, including showing the effect of lenses with different focal lengths in a way that makes full frame vs APS-C crop factor issues make a lot of sense.

Restoring the Kinship Worldview (AudiobookFormat, North Atlantic Books) 5 stars

Selected speeches from Indigenous leaders around the world—necessary wisdom for our times, nourishment for our …

Challenge your assumptions

5 stars

One's cultural worldview provides the lens through which you see the world. This makes it difficult to separate the reality from the filter provided by that worldview. This book provides the outline of an Indigenous worldview, and provides a way to question the dominant culture's worldview. One book cannot change your worldview, but this is a good start.

Understanding Exposure (EBook, 2016, Amphoto Books) 4 stars

Veteran photographer Bryan Peterson demystifies complex concepts of exposure in photography by explaining the fundamentals …

Better than expected

4 stars

The first half of this book goes over the basics of how to to choose aperture and shutter speeds, and felt pretty basic. The second half goes over a number of useful techniques for metering in specific scenarios. The chapter on choosing exposures for flash photography provided a nice introduction to the subject, enough to get started. Overall worth a read if you're looking for more control over your exposures.

Pagan Anarchism (2016) 5 stars

Fantastic overview of the potential in pagan politics

5 stars

This book is an expansion of the author's article here:

usa.anarchistlibraries.net/library/christopher-scott-thompson-what-is-pagan-anarchism

It provides an overview of historical pagan liberation theology and advocates for anarchism that embraces nature-centered religions. Anarcho-primitivism as an approach is criticized. I learned a lot and really enjoyed this book.

Capitalist Realism (AudiobookFormat, 2021, Repeater Books) 5 stars

Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? is a 2009 book by British theorist Mark Fisher, …

Brief but covers a lot of ground

5 stars

This book ties together a lot of strands of modern thought into a coherent narrative about the corrosive effects of capitalism. I'm sure I missed a lot the first time through, so it's on my list for a re-read.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (AudiobookFormat, 2021, Macmillan Audio) 4 stars

It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; …

A hopeful vision of the future

5 stars

It's easy to find dystopian science fiction. It's harder to find science fiction that provides a positive image of the future. It's not a blueprint, but you get the sense of a robust society that has overcome its most self-destructive tendencies. Very on-brand (in a good way!) for the author; if you've enjoyed her other books you will enjoy this one as well.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars (Hardcover, 2020, Tor Books) 3 stars

Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds. Now she's awakened a nightmare. During a …

Enjoyable,

3 stars

I originally found a hardcover copy of this book in a "free books" bin, then borrowed the audiobook edition from the library. I definitely enjoyed it, but I never felt emotionally invested in the characters. The episodic nature of the plot made the book feel very long; whenever I expected things to wrap up another conflict was tacked on.

Beowulf (AudiobookFormat, 2020, Macmillan Audio) 4 stars

A new, feminist translation of Beowulf by the author of the much-buzzed-about novel The Mere …

A masterpiece - try the audiobook

No rating

I listen to a lot of audiobooks. Even if you don't this one is worth trying. It's an epic poem that was certainly passed down orally for generations before it was ever written down. Imagining the changes it would have gone through during that process makes me enjoy this modern-language translation even more. It might not be a translation that hold up forever, but it fits here and now.