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At New Edition we not only sell books! Everyone here loves to read, discuss, and even have their opinion heard about what they've been reading. We've set up this book review page to allow our staff post their thoughts and reviews about all the latest releases as well as the classics and a few personal favourites as well. We also have the ability for everyone to drop in and comment about our reviews and the books to get your own thoughts!

PREVIOUS REVIEWS | MORE REVIEWS

SELECT A REVIEW Alex's Adventures in Numberland Together Alone - The Story of the Finn Brothers The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work Desert Imperial Bedrooms Erotic Poems Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It The Rehearsal Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine The Authenticity Hoax - How We Get Lost Finding Ourselves Everything Flows Nine Lives The Grand Design: New Answers to the Ultimate Questions of Life Just My Type In Search of the Multiverse The Empty Family Don't Sleep There Are Snakes The Sound of A Wild Snail Eating Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid

The Empty Family

Written by Colm Toibin

Reviewed by Essie

/ 5

An Irish production designer in her late 70s has a chance encounter with the widow of her ex-lover. A young leftist dissident returns to post-Franco Spain to discover it has been altered almost beyond her recognition. Two Pakistani men establish a clandestine relationship in Barcelona.

The individuals in Colm Toibin's latest book of short stories, The Empty Family, find themselves in various and sometimes overlapping situations of loss, exile, love, alienation and homesickness, and despite their different backgrounds and eras, a similar state of contemplative solitude. But the characters rarely descend into self-pity and although the stories are at times heartbreaking, it would be wrong to over-emphasise a mood of sadness or despair. Rather, any resolution tends to come in the form of acceptance and the solidification of reality - recalling his mother's death in One Minus One the protagonist notes that he will not be "given a second chance" but says that "this struck me almost with relief", and in Pearl Fishers, the narrator claims that no matter "how long and solitary the night to come, I would not exchange any of it for the easy rituals of mutuality and closeness that Grainne and Donnacha were performing now".

In many of the stories much of the significant action has occurred in the past, and the power of style and prose in this collection carries equal weight through the book as do the actual events themselves. The collection showcases Toibin's exceptional ability to distil delicate states of emotion, ranging from longing, regret and loneliness to relief, acceptance and tranquility.

RRP: $30.00

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In Search of the Multiverse

Written by John Gribbin

Reviewed by Matthew

/ 5

John Gribbin has been hailed as the patron of popular science writing and when reading his book 'In Search of the Multiverse' you can come to appreciate why. Gribbin takes you on a journey to explain why the Multiverse Theory is the most appropriate and justified theory thus far and while this may not be the opinion of all physicists, the theory satisfies all the tests of quantum mechanics and general relativity and provides a few explanations that previous theories such as the Copenhagen Interpretation could not.

Gribbin is aware that indeed there are still a few problems with the theory (in fact several theories are introduced, all variations on the theme) and it will take some time and a few revisions to clean up the rough edges as it were, but that's no reason for something that may seem so illogical to be written off; especially when you consider the subject matter, quantum mechanics requiring you to check your logic at the door in most cases.

In short the Mutiverse Theory suggests that at the quantum level every possibility is realised (not in the same way that certain personal development books have hijacked the idea to mean thinking about something will make it happen, this is naïve and frankly offensive to the real science), multiple universes that share the same outcome collapse back into one and those that differ diverge and never interact again. There are many reasons offered by Gribbin that support this, most notable for me was the reasoning why gravity is such a weak force compared with the other three forces (strong nuclear, weak nuclear and electromagnetism) and could be a step in the right direction for the discovery of a uniform theory of the forces.

Whether you agree with Gribbin or not, 'In Search of the Multiverse' is an enlightening read and a clear voice in the often baffling banter of cosmology (I finally understand how the universe could have been created from a quantum fluctuation, from literally nothing!). $26.95

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Just My Type

Written by Simon Garfield

Reviewed by Matthew

/ 5

In 'Just My Type' Simon Garfield spells out the world of type, the histories, the uses, the errors. This book offers a delightfully frank and open journey that is very readable and accessible, it keeps the topic of text light and insightful without over simplifying the subject, taking us from the time of scribes through the Gutenberg revolution to today's world of instant type choice: extensive lists of fonts ready at a mouse click.

It seems it is very easy to overlook the richness and complexity of type design, good type rarely gets noticed, it's a sacrifice to the message it's carrying (although some may disagree where the type is the message) and yet it can contribute to the making or breaking of a political campaign, the effectiveness of an advertisement, the tone of an inter-office memo or the success of a movie. All of these aspects are discussed in 'Just My Type' including a personal favourite of mine where an anti-copyright infringement campaign used a font they they hadn't paid for! How embarrassing?!

This book will become gospel to the typophile and make converts of the rest, by the end of it you will find yourself inadvertently attempting to pick the font of that sign you just passed or trying to remember whether the previous book you read was in a serif or sans serif (go on, try now). It is a must read for anyone who has spent time considering what font he or she should use for the headers on a report or anyone who ever considered using Comic Sans or Papyrus for anything at all (don't do it!).

'Just My Type' is an engaging and enlightening book, it will have you captivated in its ascenders and decenders, its bowls and loops and its stems and swashes, indeed you need only mention type to a graphic designer to hear a 40 minute soliloquy on the subtleties of the serif, type is exciting with the proper introduction and 'Just My Type' is that. It is also the much needed behind the scenes look into where type began and why type is still evolving and perhaps a sneak peek into where it is headed. An absolutely amazing and expertly executed book, 'Just My Type' will become the unassuming gem of any persons library. RRP $30.00


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PREVIOUS REVIEWS | MORE REVIEWS

SELECT A REVIEW Alex's Adventures in Numberland Together Alone - The Story of the Finn Brothers The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work Desert Imperial Bedrooms Erotic Poems Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It The Rehearsal Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine The Authenticity Hoax - How We Get Lost Finding Ourselves Everything Flows Nine Lives The Grand Design: New Answers to the Ultimate Questions of Life Just My Type In Search of the Multiverse The Empty Family Don't Sleep There Are Snakes The Sound of A Wild Snail Eating Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid