Weird Life: the search for life that is very, very different from our own
David Toomey
ISBN: 9780393348262
Finished August 12, 2014
Exploration of various possible "weird life" based on different chemical, physical, or multiverse arrangements.
This was a really interesting book. I especially liked the progression of relative "weirdness" from extremophiles (hello, tardigrades!) to potentially non-carbon-based life (yay for silicone and extreme environments), to life based around even more peculiar physical/electro-chemical finagling, to the possibilities raised by having different universal constants in different multiverses.
All of that without ever once stepping fully into the realm of science fiction (although some weird life from those pages was referenced) or handwaving explanations.
The only slightly weird digression was the abrupt switch to SETI and the constraints of having life that is intelligent, communicative, and existing at the same (generally speaking) point in time to actually communicate with each other. Not that I didn't enjoy the thought exercises and the background on SETI, but it did seem an odd fit. Which is actually telling, as SETI is sort of the only game in town for finding life, since NASA has gotten cut and governments aren't much interested in science for science's sake.
I live in hope that before I die at the ripe old age of 300+, someone looks back at this book and can compare the examples there with what we've actually found out there.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Tuesday Storytime: Swimming
Following up on our beach theme last week, I got all of my swimming books into the library early enough to move on to swimming, leaving boats for next week.
These are all new to me, and all three are adorable, but Don't Be Afraid, Little Pip is my favorite (not surprised, Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman are a great duo).
Don't Be Afraid, Little Pip
Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman (Bear books)
ISBN: 9780689859878
Plump and cuddly penguins over colorful but soothing backgrounds of beaches and oceans.
It's time for all young penguins to learn to swim, but Little Pip isn't too thrilled about the deep dark ocean. She'd rather fly, but after taking lessons from several birds, she's still grounded, and her final lesson ends with an accidental plunge into the sea! Once in, she learns that swimming is natural, and swimming in the ocean is much like flying in the air. My only quibble is that I would have liked that metaphor to be a little more metaphorical - "swimming is flying" doesn't work well with literal-minded toddlers.
Two Dogs Swimming
Lynn Reiser
ISBN: 0060086483
Naive art of two curly-haired dogs in a primary-colored world of grass and pond.
Spot and Whistle play together. They are well-matched in their games of chase, fetch, and jump - "sometimes one wins, sometimes the other" - but when they are swimming, Whistle can't figure out why Spot always makes it back to the edge of the pond first. The not-so-secret is that Spot isn't actually swimming - he's walking on the bottom, and not going all the way across the pond. Another accidental plunge, and Spot forgets that he needs to walk with one set of legs, and accidentally starts swimming! Now the games are equally matched no matter where they take place. Very cute, with a little touch of dry humor.
Sergio Makes a Splash
Edel Rodriguez
ISBN: 9780316066167
Part of a series about Sergio the pop-art colored penguin.
Sergio likes soccer, fishies, and water, but he can't swim yet, so he's not too sure about the big field trip to the ocean to learn to swim. Bolstered by helpful classmates and a kind teacher, and a good helping of positive self-talk, Sergio takes the plunge (safely ensconced in snorkel, swimmies, and a life-preserver) and learns that the ocean is not just water, it's LOTS of water (with bonus fishies), and great fun into the bargain! While I like the illustrations and narrative of Little Pip, I have to say that Sergio is a much better choice for modeling behavior - Sergio is the only one who chooses to jump into the water - and also for representation of him encouraging himself despite having "scary" thoughts.
Next week, boats!
These are all new to me, and all three are adorable, but Don't Be Afraid, Little Pip is my favorite (not surprised, Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman are a great duo).
Don't Be Afraid, Little Pip
Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman (Bear books)
ISBN: 9780689859878
Plump and cuddly penguins over colorful but soothing backgrounds of beaches and oceans.
It's time for all young penguins to learn to swim, but Little Pip isn't too thrilled about the deep dark ocean. She'd rather fly, but after taking lessons from several birds, she's still grounded, and her final lesson ends with an accidental plunge into the sea! Once in, she learns that swimming is natural, and swimming in the ocean is much like flying in the air. My only quibble is that I would have liked that metaphor to be a little more metaphorical - "swimming is flying" doesn't work well with literal-minded toddlers.
Two Dogs Swimming
Lynn Reiser
ISBN: 0060086483
Naive art of two curly-haired dogs in a primary-colored world of grass and pond.
Spot and Whistle play together. They are well-matched in their games of chase, fetch, and jump - "sometimes one wins, sometimes the other" - but when they are swimming, Whistle can't figure out why Spot always makes it back to the edge of the pond first. The not-so-secret is that Spot isn't actually swimming - he's walking on the bottom, and not going all the way across the pond. Another accidental plunge, and Spot forgets that he needs to walk with one set of legs, and accidentally starts swimming! Now the games are equally matched no matter where they take place. Very cute, with a little touch of dry humor.
Sergio Makes a Splash
Edel Rodriguez
ISBN: 9780316066167
Part of a series about Sergio the pop-art colored penguin.
Sergio likes soccer, fishies, and water, but he can't swim yet, so he's not too sure about the big field trip to the ocean to learn to swim. Bolstered by helpful classmates and a kind teacher, and a good helping of positive self-talk, Sergio takes the plunge (safely ensconced in snorkel, swimmies, and a life-preserver) and learns that the ocean is not just water, it's LOTS of water (with bonus fishies), and great fun into the bargain! While I like the illustrations and narrative of Little Pip, I have to say that Sergio is a much better choice for modeling behavior - Sergio is the only one who chooses to jump into the water - and also for representation of him encouraging himself despite having "scary" thoughts.
Next week, boats!
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Nonfiction: You Are Not So Smart / You Are Now Less Dumb, both by David McRaney
Books that originate from blogs are always very interesting to me, especially when they're on a pet topic like neurochemistry, behavior, and psychology.
I read these back to back, on August 5th and August 6th, and I probably should not have - they're a little repetitive even inside themselves, and even more so when compared to each other. I know that it's the type of book where people can be presumed to read chapters at random, or to read the second book before the first, but it was a little jarring.
You are Not So Smart
David McRaney
ISBN: 9781592406593
You are Now Less Dumb
David McRaney
ISBN: 9781592408054
Both Nonfiction; behavioral science and neuro-psychology.
First off, I saw these float through the library, and was really taken by the cover, so congratulations on mastering that specific portion of influence and marketing.
Once inside, the short chapters didn't quite ever get deep enough into the crunchy bits for my taste, but I fully realize I'm an outlier who reads actual journal articles because they're interesting. (They'd be more interesting if statistics weren't as impenetrable to me as Mandarin Chinese, but one must persevere.) The topics were a bit scatter-shot, and I think this more than anything reflects the blogged origins of the book. There just wasn't much connection or build between the chapters, and that is much more reminiscent of a blog, where each post is pretty much taken on it's own unless it specifically references another. In a book, even nonfiction, the ebb and flow of an overall narrative structure (which, ironically enough, is addressed in decent length in both books) makes the journey through the pages (see, I'm even doing it here) seem more enlightening and fulfilling.
It's the difference between those amazing Japanese conveyer-belt eateries, and a good 4 star restaurant.
In the first, you get to pick and choose, and each dish is designed to stand alone. You eat too much because you want a little bit of everything (and if you're American, you waste more than you should by tasting and then not finishing when you didn't like it), you don't really have a set beginning or ending (oooh, I just sat down, but mochi is coming through right now!) and there isn't any exterior cue for you to stop eating (other than the incriminating pile of plates you accumulate) until you finally waddle your satiated way up to pay the amazing low price for your gastronomical sins.
In the second, you have a narrative established. Everything from the table (dressed in crystal, heavy utensils, and vivid white cloths) to the high-class music (played softly) and the lighting (also soft) makes the meal into an experience rather than a simple dinner. As for the food, there's an order there also. Appetizer, soup, salad, entree, dessert, a drink (or two, or three - no more than three in this environment) and a helpful menu and staff optimize your choices into a pleasing progression that ends with you happily forking over a ridiculous amount of money for your experience.
I read these back to back, on August 5th and August 6th, and I probably should not have - they're a little repetitive even inside themselves, and even more so when compared to each other. I know that it's the type of book where people can be presumed to read chapters at random, or to read the second book before the first, but it was a little jarring.
You are Not So Smart
David McRaney
ISBN: 9781592406593
You are Now Less Dumb
David McRaney
ISBN: 9781592408054
Both Nonfiction; behavioral science and neuro-psychology.
First off, I saw these float through the library, and was really taken by the cover, so congratulations on mastering that specific portion of influence and marketing.
Once inside, the short chapters didn't quite ever get deep enough into the crunchy bits for my taste, but I fully realize I'm an outlier who reads actual journal articles because they're interesting. (They'd be more interesting if statistics weren't as impenetrable to me as Mandarin Chinese, but one must persevere.) The topics were a bit scatter-shot, and I think this more than anything reflects the blogged origins of the book. There just wasn't much connection or build between the chapters, and that is much more reminiscent of a blog, where each post is pretty much taken on it's own unless it specifically references another. In a book, even nonfiction, the ebb and flow of an overall narrative structure (which, ironically enough, is addressed in decent length in both books) makes the journey through the pages (see, I'm even doing it here) seem more enlightening and fulfilling.
It's the difference between those amazing Japanese conveyer-belt eateries, and a good 4 star restaurant.
In the first, you get to pick and choose, and each dish is designed to stand alone. You eat too much because you want a little bit of everything (and if you're American, you waste more than you should by tasting and then not finishing when you didn't like it), you don't really have a set beginning or ending (oooh, I just sat down, but mochi is coming through right now!) and there isn't any exterior cue for you to stop eating (other than the incriminating pile of plates you accumulate) until you finally waddle your satiated way up to pay the amazing low price for your gastronomical sins.
In the second, you have a narrative established. Everything from the table (dressed in crystal, heavy utensils, and vivid white cloths) to the high-class music (played softly) and the lighting (also soft) makes the meal into an experience rather than a simple dinner. As for the food, there's an order there also. Appetizer, soup, salad, entree, dessert, a drink (or two, or three - no more than three in this environment) and a helpful menu and staff optimize your choices into a pleasing progression that ends with you happily forking over a ridiculous amount of money for your experience.
New Arrivals: The Dolphins of Shark Bay, Pamela S. Turner, Scott Tuason
Got a new batch of juvenile nonfiction in at the library, and the standout of the pile was this photo-essay about the dolphins that live off the coast of Australia and use sponges to hunt for a specific type of fish.
The Dolphins of Shark Bay
Pamela S. Turner, photographs by Scott Tuason
ISBN: 9780547716381
Read August 7, 2014
This is simply an excellent book. The narrative follows a set of "sponging" dolphins off the coast of Australia, and broadens out into discussions of dolphin feeding, tourists, dolphin family and social dynamics, the concept of cultural or learned behaviors (in this case, possibly the sponging behaviors) and all sorts of other really interesting dolphin-related information.
Our main human character is Janet Mann and her crew of scientists and PhD students, studying the dolphins of the Shark Bay area. Our main dolphin characters are a loose family arrangement of dolphins with peculiar names: Puck, Piccolo, Real Notch, Blip, Bytefluke, and Google among them.
The whole book is amazing, and anyone who is interested in intelligence and tool use and complex social behavior will find a lot to love here, but my absolute favorite thing is that the book takes interesting subject matters and breaks them down like a scientific problem, right there in the book, showing by example what the scientists are doing and studying, and how they are doing it so that their information is factual, relevant, quantifiable, and repeatable. Truly excellent writing.
My final note is on the photographs - the author thanks the photographer in the credits, mentioning that he "clicked away nonstop" to capture the photographs used, and the dedication really shows. These are excellent photographs, and truly enhance the appeal and impact of the writing and the subjects.
Excellent book all around.
The Dolphins of Shark Bay
Pamela S. Turner, photographs by Scott Tuason
ISBN: 9780547716381
Read August 7, 2014
This is simply an excellent book. The narrative follows a set of "sponging" dolphins off the coast of Australia, and broadens out into discussions of dolphin feeding, tourists, dolphin family and social dynamics, the concept of cultural or learned behaviors (in this case, possibly the sponging behaviors) and all sorts of other really interesting dolphin-related information.
Our main human character is Janet Mann and her crew of scientists and PhD students, studying the dolphins of the Shark Bay area. Our main dolphin characters are a loose family arrangement of dolphins with peculiar names: Puck, Piccolo, Real Notch, Blip, Bytefluke, and Google among them.
The whole book is amazing, and anyone who is interested in intelligence and tool use and complex social behavior will find a lot to love here, but my absolute favorite thing is that the book takes interesting subject matters and breaks them down like a scientific problem, right there in the book, showing by example what the scientists are doing and studying, and how they are doing it so that their information is factual, relevant, quantifiable, and repeatable. Truly excellent writing.
My final note is on the photographs - the author thanks the photographer in the credits, mentioning that he "clicked away nonstop" to capture the photographs used, and the dedication really shows. These are excellent photographs, and truly enhance the appeal and impact of the writing and the subjects.
Excellent book all around.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Emerald House Rising, Peg Kerr
A surprisingly good read, losts in the mountains of old paperbacks.
Emerald House Rising
Peg Kerr
ISBN: 0446603937
Read August 1, 2014
Jena Gemcutter works with her father, cutting and setting the best and brightest gems for the nobility and merchants of the kingdom. She's submitted her application to become a journeyman jewelsmith, but all of her hopes and dreams for her future are upset by the arrival of a strange magical noble, and the sudden discovery of her own aptitude for magic.
I love just about everything about this book:
The concept of a Diadem Court, where the line of succession travels between several different royal families.
The idea of magical partnerships creating a more stable and thus more powerful force by balancing out the weaknesses and blind spots of the respective partners. (one quibble; I would have liked more if the energy manifested was required to be masculine or feminine, rather than the people themselves always having to be in a male/female partnership).
The conflict between magicians and nobility was well created and thought out. The resulting "invisible services" industry was a very nice touch, as was the shadowy ranks of the magical nobles themselves.
The sub-plot of Jena's conflicted interests in both magic and gemcrafting was very well handled, as was the development of her relationships and her conflicted feelings about her fiance. I loved that these things remained points of difficulty for her, and that she didn't simply embrace her new abilities and instantly forget about her previous desires or life goals (that happens way too often in fantasy stories).
Finally, the story ends in a solid and natural place, with no pussyfooting around for sequels, but with enough of the world left untapped that a companion book could naturally occur - or not. That is also all too rare for fantasy stories.
The antagonist could have been a bit stronger, and the overall plotting was a smidge meandering, but these were very minor quibbles in an otherwise excellent read.
Overall, I was strongly reminded of Rachel Neumeier's House of Shadows.
Emerald House Rising
Peg Kerr
ISBN: 0446603937
Read August 1, 2014
Jena Gemcutter works with her father, cutting and setting the best and brightest gems for the nobility and merchants of the kingdom. She's submitted her application to become a journeyman jewelsmith, but all of her hopes and dreams for her future are upset by the arrival of a strange magical noble, and the sudden discovery of her own aptitude for magic.
I love just about everything about this book:
The concept of a Diadem Court, where the line of succession travels between several different royal families.
The idea of magical partnerships creating a more stable and thus more powerful force by balancing out the weaknesses and blind spots of the respective partners. (one quibble; I would have liked more if the energy manifested was required to be masculine or feminine, rather than the people themselves always having to be in a male/female partnership).
The conflict between magicians and nobility was well created and thought out. The resulting "invisible services" industry was a very nice touch, as was the shadowy ranks of the magical nobles themselves.
The sub-plot of Jena's conflicted interests in both magic and gemcrafting was very well handled, as was the development of her relationships and her conflicted feelings about her fiance. I loved that these things remained points of difficulty for her, and that she didn't simply embrace her new abilities and instantly forget about her previous desires or life goals (that happens way too often in fantasy stories).
Finally, the story ends in a solid and natural place, with no pussyfooting around for sequels, but with enough of the world left untapped that a companion book could naturally occur - or not. That is also all too rare for fantasy stories.
The antagonist could have been a bit stronger, and the overall plotting was a smidge meandering, but these were very minor quibbles in an otherwise excellent read.
Overall, I was strongly reminded of Rachel Neumeier's House of Shadows.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Tuesday Storytime: Going to the Beach
Back to picking my own topics for storytimes again!
August is pretty much the height of summer here in SC, so I'm celebrating my free choice of topics by spending some time focusing on boats, beaches, and swimming.
Today, the beach!
A Beach Tail
Karen Lynn Williams, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
ISBN: 9781590787120
An expressive black boy explores a beachfront, tethered to his dad by the long tail of a "sandy-lion" he's drawing in the sand.
Gorgeous illustrations, and a great story, and always so very nice to see POC in picture books without that being made a part or a focus of the story. Gregory and his dad (just the two of them) are at the beach, and while dad rests in the shade of an umbrella, Greg draws a lion in the sand. Dad warns him not to leave "Sandy" behind, and Greg complies by drawing the lion a long tail as he wanders along the beach. Eventually the boy realizes he's gone too far from home base, but his "tail" is right there to guide him back, where his dad gently chides that "Sandy has a long tail" before they both head out for a swim. This is my first read of this lovely book, but it certainly won't be the last.
All You Need for A Beach
Alice Schertle, illustrated by Barbara Lavallee
ISBN: 0152167552
Roly-poly people with odd profile outlines populate a slowly-developing beach along with rollicking rhymes.
This is a fun one because of the language. The rhymes and rhythm are so much fun to play with, and the conceit of only needing one simple thing for a beach - a grain of sand - AND a few trillion more AND some trees AND birds AND ocean... really makes the pages fly. I've done this one a few times before, and it's always been a hit.
One White Wishing Stone
Doris H Gayzagian, illustrated by Kristina Swarner
ISBN: 0792251105
A National Geographic book, with a doll-like girl playing on a soft-edged, muted, calming beach.
This one is a very beautiful, and very soothing book. A girl plays on the beach, collecting items starting with One white wishing stone, then Two periwinkle shells, and so on, until she has enough collected to build and decorate a sandcastle. Once the waves reclaim her treasures, she keeps the periwinkles and the wishing stone and uses them as talismans that night to recall a beautiful day and anticipate others like it. I love that it ends with the people home and remembering a happy time, and that it shows her leaving most of her collected treasures at the beach where they belong.
August is pretty much the height of summer here in SC, so I'm celebrating my free choice of topics by spending some time focusing on boats, beaches, and swimming.
Today, the beach!
A Beach Tail
Karen Lynn Williams, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
ISBN: 9781590787120
An expressive black boy explores a beachfront, tethered to his dad by the long tail of a "sandy-lion" he's drawing in the sand.
Gorgeous illustrations, and a great story, and always so very nice to see POC in picture books without that being made a part or a focus of the story. Gregory and his dad (just the two of them) are at the beach, and while dad rests in the shade of an umbrella, Greg draws a lion in the sand. Dad warns him not to leave "Sandy" behind, and Greg complies by drawing the lion a long tail as he wanders along the beach. Eventually the boy realizes he's gone too far from home base, but his "tail" is right there to guide him back, where his dad gently chides that "Sandy has a long tail" before they both head out for a swim. This is my first read of this lovely book, but it certainly won't be the last.
All You Need for A Beach
Alice Schertle, illustrated by Barbara Lavallee
ISBN: 0152167552
Roly-poly people with odd profile outlines populate a slowly-developing beach along with rollicking rhymes.
This is a fun one because of the language. The rhymes and rhythm are so much fun to play with, and the conceit of only needing one simple thing for a beach - a grain of sand - AND a few trillion more AND some trees AND birds AND ocean... really makes the pages fly. I've done this one a few times before, and it's always been a hit.
One White Wishing Stone
Doris H Gayzagian, illustrated by Kristina Swarner
ISBN: 0792251105
A National Geographic book, with a doll-like girl playing on a soft-edged, muted, calming beach.
This one is a very beautiful, and very soothing book. A girl plays on the beach, collecting items starting with One white wishing stone, then Two periwinkle shells, and so on, until she has enough collected to build and decorate a sandcastle. Once the waves reclaim her treasures, she keeps the periwinkles and the wishing stone and uses them as talismans that night to recall a beautiful day and anticipate others like it. I love that it ends with the people home and remembering a happy time, and that it shows her leaving most of her collected treasures at the beach where they belong.
Monday, August 4, 2014
High Rise, J.G. Ballard
High Rise
J. G. Ballard
ISBN: 9780871404022
Re-read in February 2014 and August 2, 2014
I first read this in high school, when I was on my giant dystopian kick; 1984, Brave New World, Animal Farm, Utopia, Herland, Handmaid's Tale... For a pretty class-ignorant southern American, it was a real eye-opener to the enduring class consciousness and prejudices in England.
I re-read it again in a happy daze when I first heard that Ben Wheatley was going to be doing a film version of it, and I never finalized my draft review because I realized it was more about my hopes and fears for the movie than it was about my thoughts on the book. I read it again just this weekend in hopes of clarifying, but I don't know that I much have.
On the one hand, this is a really enjoyable read. We have three "protagonists" who are from the highest class of society, the middle class, and the lowest class. We learn in great detail what jobs and heritages compose the three classes, and about the worries, fears, and aspirations of the three specific individuals we follow through the book. The chaos is well-drawn, the situations are fun and gory and individualized, and the premise of a horde of a thousand citizens reverting to animalism is wildly entertaining.
On the other hand, there are some massive problems with the world of the book. Firstly, despite the crazed activities, it's part of the narrative that the residents still go out to work regularly until nearly the bitter end, and despite them falling asleep on their desks, and eventually not coming in at all, no one outside seems to care - the police arrive once or twice, tentatively, and are gently rebuffed, seemingly unconcerned at the vanishing of a thousand people from work and life. The time skips don't make much sense - a week here, a month there; time just vanishes between pages. The supply situation is likewise a bit peculiar - the food begins to run short after the first week or so, and the water lines and pools are vandalized early on, but no one seems to die from dehydration, and only a few are shown starving. Dogs only go so far.
Finally, the decline is just odd to consider. On the one hand, it seems too quick - the slide from polite and civilized citizens and neighbors to cannibalistic speechless pre-humans is a shock. On the other hand, (given the supply concerns noted above) the process takes too long - the looting and rioting and destruction aren't over in one quick galvanized shudder, but a series of slow protracted military campaigns that advance and retreat the tide of chaos over a few months.
As an adult, I appreciate more the subversion of the three endings, but I do wish that more hints had been dropped throughout the narrative, because before the end, I (even knowing what's coming) get very misandric towards the protagonist characters and their personal views of women. This is also where I note that I remain confused that Wilder's wife is named Helen, until the end where he thinks she's named Judith. Now, Judith is a totally appropriate name for that ending, but if she changed her name, or was given that name somewhere, I've missed it each time I read the book. That makes me a little twitchy. This is also where I'll note that when considering his own ending, the character of Dr Laing is an interesting one for Mr Hiddleston to choose, given his current rabid girl fanbase.
As an adult, I finally realize that the names of our three leads give us insight into their characters - Royal, Laing (better perhaps as Lying, or Laying) and Wilder - all show very clearly what drives them, as well as what their ending is to be. A nice touch that I either totally missed as a younger person, or totally forgot about.
J. G. Ballard
ISBN: 9780871404022
Re-read in February 2014 and August 2, 2014
I first read this in high school, when I was on my giant dystopian kick; 1984, Brave New World, Animal Farm, Utopia, Herland, Handmaid's Tale... For a pretty class-ignorant southern American, it was a real eye-opener to the enduring class consciousness and prejudices in England.
I re-read it again in a happy daze when I first heard that Ben Wheatley was going to be doing a film version of it, and I never finalized my draft review because I realized it was more about my hopes and fears for the movie than it was about my thoughts on the book. I read it again just this weekend in hopes of clarifying, but I don't know that I much have.
On the one hand, this is a really enjoyable read. We have three "protagonists" who are from the highest class of society, the middle class, and the lowest class. We learn in great detail what jobs and heritages compose the three classes, and about the worries, fears, and aspirations of the three specific individuals we follow through the book. The chaos is well-drawn, the situations are fun and gory and individualized, and the premise of a horde of a thousand citizens reverting to animalism is wildly entertaining.
On the other hand, there are some massive problems with the world of the book. Firstly, despite the crazed activities, it's part of the narrative that the residents still go out to work regularly until nearly the bitter end, and despite them falling asleep on their desks, and eventually not coming in at all, no one outside seems to care - the police arrive once or twice, tentatively, and are gently rebuffed, seemingly unconcerned at the vanishing of a thousand people from work and life. The time skips don't make much sense - a week here, a month there; time just vanishes between pages. The supply situation is likewise a bit peculiar - the food begins to run short after the first week or so, and the water lines and pools are vandalized early on, but no one seems to die from dehydration, and only a few are shown starving. Dogs only go so far.
Finally, the decline is just odd to consider. On the one hand, it seems too quick - the slide from polite and civilized citizens and neighbors to cannibalistic speechless pre-humans is a shock. On the other hand, (given the supply concerns noted above) the process takes too long - the looting and rioting and destruction aren't over in one quick galvanized shudder, but a series of slow protracted military campaigns that advance and retreat the tide of chaos over a few months.
As an adult, I appreciate more the subversion of the three endings, but I do wish that more hints had been dropped throughout the narrative, because before the end, I (even knowing what's coming) get very misandric towards the protagonist characters and their personal views of women. This is also where I note that I remain confused that Wilder's wife is named Helen, until the end where he thinks she's named Judith. Now, Judith is a totally appropriate name for that ending, but if she changed her name, or was given that name somewhere, I've missed it each time I read the book. That makes me a little twitchy. This is also where I'll note that when considering his own ending, the character of Dr Laing is an interesting one for Mr Hiddleston to choose, given his current rabid girl fanbase.
As an adult, I finally realize that the names of our three leads give us insight into their characters - Royal, Laing (better perhaps as Lying, or Laying) and Wilder - all show very clearly what drives them, as well as what their ending is to be. A nice touch that I either totally missed as a younger person, or totally forgot about.
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