Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol (#1): Book Review

(Book Review--Reading Books with my Kids, Rereads, Children's Books)

Started: August 18, 2026

Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol (#1): Book Review

Thoughts on Reading Books With My Kids (and other ramblings): https://youtu.be/7c8ZdCE2Ghk

Related Playlists

Reading Books with my Kids Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4x4uFhbpUIJ75wP-6tRNlq&si=S1NnzbyYtagpzTvo

Book Review Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7&si=EJ7CG8iO9IouNaYY

Books I Read in 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7YYl7seud9ov0n6dtdHzvj&si=iMERlWtiF0Rq2-uy

Young Adult Literature: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5xhu8yD4fcSu3Lw6jJNDxS

Rereads Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5dMXnK5v4Yc7a8MF5p32Bx&si=HJZkQ7gk8J-EXB9f

Barack Obama tan suit controversy--Interesting Random Facts

On August 28, 2014, U.S. president Barack Obama held a live press conference in which he discussed the prospect of escalating the U.S. military response to the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS). He wore a tan suit for the conference, designed by Martin Greenfield Clothiers. It received considerable attention, with whether it was appropriate for the subject matter of terrorism being discussed in the media. The issue remained prominent for several days and was widely discussed, often humorously, on television talk shows.^[a]

Robocop (1987): Movie Review

Links to stuff mentioned:

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein: Book Review: https://youtu.be/F4FD3NxLJF0

Roger Ebert's review of this movie: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/robocop-1987

This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:

https://youtu.be/HgneyXvRI04  

and HERE: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2018/12/vlog-scripted-book-reviews-i-ramble-on.html

In this case, the old blog post is here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2014/04/robocop-1987.html

Related Playlists:

Movie Reviews playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6N06WoIoV2fLb6xRYrepTk&si=EDHi2_Y41ACLnCmA

Scripted Movie Reviews playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x49ts8TV1DbXQo8zN_e65us&si=_gzqGAmaz337NVCP

Scripted Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5BKcEIufNKlS58JHU_glyL&si=Pje0KQqIqOgWGGUI

Movies I Saw in 2014 Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4WRnfM_TDQClWj8OOCg9f_&si=Uu6SYX9o1qm1Ndhc

7 Stars Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6c43OnKT_AjWtENJ2ixmRC

James & Shirley Balk Family Park, Cannon Township: Guide to West Michigan

(Travelogues--West Michigan)

James & Shirley Balk Family Park, Cannon Township: Guide to West Michigan

Address: 7601 Belding Rd NE, Rockford, MI 49341

This is part of my project to document places of interest in West Michigan.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see the bottom part of this blog post here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2026/01/guide-to-west-michigan.html

Related Playlists:

Travelogues Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x71JnPJ1gs_uaswSALX-7V9

West Michigan Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4D-0HPmovcbB6cCqlVVGEL&si=IEFmZ3UMgJxI0F4F

Kent County Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5EOMa9ZWDBtdpQFwtlk_ev&si=t8952PnDfrJQTvBY

Cannon Township Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6hkF2A59svTyIrJ15P8d8j&si=KiNUNTLvjcFxfewr

Brower Lake Nature Preserve, Courtland Township: Guide to West Michigan

(Travelogues--West Michigan)

Brower Lake Nature Preserve, Courtland Township: Guide to West Michigan

Address: 8748 Je-NE-Be Dr NE, Rockford, MI 49341

This is part of my project to document places of interest in West Michigan.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see the bottom part of this blog post here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2026/01/guide-to-west-michigan.html

Related Playlists:

Travelogues Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x71JnPJ1gs_uaswSALX-7V9

West Michigan Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4D-0HPmovcbB6cCqlVVGEL&si=IEFmZ3UMgJxI0F4F

Kent County Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5EOMa9ZWDBtdpQFwtlk_ev&si=t8952PnDfrJQTvBY

Courtland Township Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT69CO-TzESU&si=lECf6qMGIIopK-39

Luton Park, Cannon Township: Guide to West Michigan

(Travelogues--West Michigan)

Luton Park, Cannon Township: Guide to West Michigan

The address to the south parking lot is: 5871 Kies St NE, Rockford, MI 49341

According to Google Maps, this park is located mostly in Cannon Township, with just the North entrance part being in Courtland Township.  However, on this trip, we didn't actually make it to the North entrance parking lot, so I'm just going to count this trip as only Cannon Township.

This is part of my project to document places of interest in West Michigan.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see the bottom part of this blog post here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2026/01/guide-to-west-michigan.html

Related Playlists:

Travelogues Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x71JnPJ1gs_uaswSALX-7V9

West Michigan Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4D-0HPmovcbB6cCqlVVGEL&si=IEFmZ3UMgJxI0F4F

Kent County Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5EOMa9ZWDBtdpQFwtlk_ev&si=t8952PnDfrJQTvBY

Cannon Township Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6hkF2A59svTyIrJ15P8d8j&si=KiNUNTLvjcFxfewr

Superman: The Man of Steel: Volume 1 by John Bryne and Dick Giordano: Book Review

(Book Review--Superman)

Started: August 17, 2026

Superman: The Man of Steel: Volume 1 by John Bryne and Dick Giordano: Book Review

Part 2: Superman: The Man of Steel: Volume 1 by John Bryne and Dick Giordano: Book Review

Links to stuff mentioned:

* My review of The Death of Superman: https://youtu.be/JCe0O7k32N0

* Superman: The Triangle Era Omnibus Vol. 1: Book Review: https://youtu.be/2m2K-A-DvIQ

Related Playlists:

Graphic Novel Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6NMoYW6CBw6Qj_cqK8DIeb

DC Comics Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6kPikhXNalrSh9BnvzZi2f&si=4rAijTT4v9u_06q2

Book Review Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7&si=EJ7CG8iO9IouNaYY

Books I Read in 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7YYl7seud9ov0n6dtdHzvj&si=iMERlWtiF0Rq2-uy

Superman Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x72oeccW7gGCVROmoVmOpjF&si=NVVB2Mx3LpV0Cbyz

Superman: The Man of Steel Series Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFsyxFSUR_9Y&si=mJrKaW9whW7Ofkrc

Superman: The Man of Steel Volume 1 Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJcnwjiGBCs&si=vPGHE3M14B8Yulh6

Slime Part 7: Story Time ESL Listening

Throwback Thursday. 

Slime Introduction: https://youtu.be/amrpHa-ZBN0

Slime Part 1: https://youtu.be/37b-Qe7Xi4g

Slime Part 2: https://youtu.be/nWrFCfCyywA

Part 3: https://youtu.be/xlhnN5qPJHc

Part 4: https://youtu.be/chwC54P9dWY

Part 5: https://youtu.be/vIUnTPw76rw

Part 6: https://youtu.be/kGSOVya60UA

Part 7: https://youtu.be/5vDC4OYn1bE

Part 8: https://youtu.be/X9JIY7-jX-M

Part 9: https://youtu.be/EGR7Dq48Llc

Suggested Use: Listen first without the transcript.  Then listen a second time while reading the transcript

http://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2014/11/advanced-reading-slime-by-joseph-payne.html

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5QgMDk6npsRN0x3dzBWUTN0VkU/view?usp=sharing

http://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2018/07/slime-part-7-story-time-esl-listening.html

ESL Listening Exercises Playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7xq-zLjulU2DRTjg2TNmAx

Story Time ESL Listening Playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5iqVkM_gjOCM3mdTM3MfUT

Slime Playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5jfKcv2sQOWedxOKHnfIrP

https://sites.google.com/view/reading-and-listening-practice

Persians: The Age of the Great Kings by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones: Book Review

(Book Review--History)

Started: July 29, 2026

Persians: The Age of the Great Kings by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones: Book Review

Links to some of the stuff mentioned:

* The Histories by Herodotus: Book Review: https://youtu.be/_Hgs3liwe_k

* Assyria: The Rise and Fall of the World's First Empire by Eckart Frahm: Book Review: https://youtu.be/R8Igl5zP7iU

* Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek: Book Review: https://youtu.be/wGxf7nx4DsI

* Esther--with additions: Book Discussion: https://youtu.be/8EKs-Dprg9E

Related playlists: 

Books I Read in 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7YYl7seud9ov0n6dtdHzvj&si=iMERlWtiF0Rq2-uy

Book Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7&si=EJ7CG8iO9IouNaYY

History Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x52uI39vSXVrJvUFjdN9QkL&si=dICJTZngZlwi8WIT

Ancient history playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7tomUoLdvaX2CsHML6AjHz&si=Qf1mLHAZmc83xQBg

History Book Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIkbm3A-iqvo&si=uPj0YP3fxtUdHmj9

The Borrowers by Mary Norton: Book Review

(Book Review--Reading Books with my Kids, Children's Books)

Started: July 24, 2026

The Borrowers by Mary Norton: Book Review

Links to stuff mentioned:

The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald: Book Review: https://youtu.be/jD0GcD6z9iU

That review of The Princess and Curdie, in which the author mentions she wished she had spent the money on buying The Borrowers instead: https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/book-of-a-lifetime-the-princess-and-the-curdie-by-george-macdonald-1799686.html

The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne: Book Review: https://youtu.be/CVSlGI2sJoU

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien: Book Review: https://youtu.be/mLlEd5RnLCE

Related Playlists:

Reading Books with my Kids Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4x4uFhbpUIJ75wP-6tRNlq&si=S1NnzbyYtagpzTvo

Book Review Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7&si=EJ7CG8iO9IouNaYY

Books I Read in 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7YYl7seud9ov0n6dtdHzvj&si=iMERlWtiF0Rq2-uy

Young Adult Literature: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5xhu8yD4fcSu3Lw6jJNDxS

The Borrowers Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYBRohQjTP0c&si=gHKN6GQq3l4vleq0