Week 12 - Reader Advisory Matrix

1. Where is the book on the narrative continuum?

This book is pretty solidly narrative, reading like an engaging physics lecture or TED talk.

2.  What is the subject of the book?

The universe of Star Trek and how it might actually work, if it had to fall within the scientific laws of our universe.

 

3. What type of book is it?  Science

4.  Appeal

                a. Pacing:  The book goes in spurts. It is a quick read during some of the stories and examples, but slows significantly during the explanation parts. It's better off reading in chunks.

                b. Characters:   The only real characters in the book are the narrator and, referenced, the characters from Star Trek: The Original Series.

                c. Feel of the story: Light-weight and hopeful

                d. Intent of the Author:  To build a bridge between the pop culture interest in Star Trek: TOS and the actual physics involved.

                e. Focus of the story: Physics and what could be invented in the future.

                f. Does the language matter? It does. The hard sciences are stereotypically not very accessible and since the whole point of this book is to make them more accessible, the choice of language is extremely important.

               g. Is the setting important and well described? Setting isn't extremely important to this book, though it does play a role. To help make his information more interesting the author frequently has the reader 'imagine you are on the bridge of the Enterprise'. Having that setting in your mind while reading does help get through some of the drier parts.

                h. Are there details and if so, what? The book is filled with details about physics and how it works. That being said, the details are purposefully kept light and surface level. It is a book to throw around ideas and theories about futuristic physics. It is not a textbook to teach you physics.

                i. Charts and other graphic materials: The book contains a few charts and illustrations. It also has a series of black and white photos in the center of the book showing real life awesome achievements in scientific research.

                j. Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience? This book has a major focus on understanding. It takes all of the random, science-y sounding terminology tossed around in an episode of Star Trek and makes the reader really understand what the character means when they say those things.

5. Why would a reader enjoy this book (rank appeal)?

            1.  The feel of the book - Star Trek is inherently a hopeful future, where mankind has been able to work together to overcome a lot of the issues we now face. And while this book doesn't go into the philosophical aspects of human nature, it makes the science of the series seem almost within our reach.

            2. The language used. I will freely admit, I have a BA in English. I took exactly one science class in college and that class could have been retitled "Chemistry for Dummies". I expected to want to be able to understand and enjoy this book, but I didn't really expect to be able to. I was greatly mistaken. Sure, it wasn't something I could sit down and read in one sitting, but it was comprehensible. Even to me.

            3. The pop culture draw. A lot of the people who like Star Trek have some type curiosity toward the world around them. The whole premise of the show is exploration, not only of the world around us but of us humans as well. This book presents a chance to turn that curiosity on the idea of Star Trek itself.