Roach writes the best kind of science- compulsively compelling and delightfully accessible. In her third book, she delves into the history and current state of sex research. With short sections ranging from artificial insemination of farm animals to the study of rats in polyester pants (really!). Extremely informative, occasionally shocking, often hilarious, and always entertaining, Roach knows how to present science in a way that keeps you coming back for more.
Ritual Sacrifice in Ancient Peru edited by Elizabeth P. Benson and Anita G. Cook 2001 (211 pgs)
More accessible than you’d think, the intriguing essays by various experts focus on textile, pottery, and forensic evidence of sacrifice among the pre-Incan societies in Peru.
Posted in art, forensics, history, non-fiction
Fugitives & Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon by Chuck Palahniuk 2003 (175 pgs)
Fun little guide to Portland-town. Not your typical “go here, do this” travel guide. Palahniuk manages to capture the “keep Portland weird” spirit. Good fun, even though many of the places/events he writes about are now defunct. My favorite is the self-cleaning house- that’s a genius invention that I’d love to visit.
Posted in humorous, non-fiction
Partial reads:
The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodward (383 pgs/read 150) 2007
What I love about this book, is that it doesn’t veer into hyperbole or romantic notions about pirates. Life among the sailors of the day was nothing like the glamorous or romantic ideals we have, it was bleak and brutal and often short. Woodward sticks to the facts, drawing from historical documents and using direct quotes only rather than made-up dialogue. Truly informative, well laid out, and constantly interesting. The included documents (maps, ship silhouettes and relative sizes, values of everything from a galley to a barrel of ships biscuits to an adult slave) are informative and intriguing.
Why I stopped: came up due before I had a chance to finish. Ordered it a second time but I’d lost the urgency.
Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link (272 pgs/read 100ish) 2005
Quirky, captivating short stories. In one story, a family find their new home becoming haunted piece by piece. First a clock, then a pair of pants, then a bathroom. In another story, two young men man an all-night convience store near a chasm full of zombies. Link can make the most bizarre occurrances seem natural.
Stopped?: Fun, but I kept never getting back to it.
Inventing Beauty: A History of the Innovations That Have Made Us Beautiful by Teresa Riordan (307 pgs/read 150ish) 2004
A lot more interesting than you’d think & fun to skim. The illustrations (everything from the first patent of a mascara applicator to bustles through the ages) are fascinating.
Stopped?: waaaay overdue, every time I pick it up to return I get hooked again. Dangerous! I’ve got to get rid of it.
Mirabilis by Susann Cokal (389 pgs/read 30) 2001
Bizarre story of the village outcast who begins performing miracles.
Stopped?: somewhat interesting, but not enough to make me invest in it.
The Rough Guide to Blogging by Jonathan Yang (200pg/read 100ish) 2006
Fairly helpful. Walks you through blogs from step one. Well laid out; I’d recommend it to anyone interested in blogs.
Stopped?: read everything applicable.
Posted in magic, non-fiction, pirates, unfinished, zombies
Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Joan Druett (284 pgs) 2007
An absolute page-turner. Two crews shipwreck on the same desolate island four months and 20 miles apart. The stories of their survival (or lack thereof) are compelling.
Druett first introduces the five-member crew of the Grafton. Through unity of purpose, specialized know-how, and hard work they are able to eke out a bearable existance. It’s amazing to witness the extent to which they are able to overcome their surroundings. They build a sturdy shelter complete with mortared fireplace, they perfect a method of hunting seals and sea lions- curing the hides and using the oil for lighting, they process shells to make soap, they even build a forge. At every turn they overcome obstacles large and small to further their goals of survival and rescue.
Not so for the survivors of the Invercauld. Stranded with the entirety of their ship sunk to the bottom of the sea, they are left with no resources and little first-hand knowledge. Spurred by infighting and lack of leadership, the crew disintigrates.
Arranged chronologically, the book reads like a thriller- setting you up with an example of the ingenuity and adaptation of the Grafton crew before introducing the ineptitude of the Invercauld survivors, then cutting back and forth between the two. The result is gripping.
Posted in adventure, history, nature, non-fiction
Let Me Go by Helga Schneider (166 pgs) 2004
Helga was four and her brother eighteen months old when their mother abandoned them. Bad enough on it’s own. But she abandoned them to join the SS and become a guard in concentration camps. Helga only saw her mother twice after that. Once 30 years later, and once 27 years after that, shortly before her mother died. This is the stream-of-consciousness flash-back interspersed chronicle of that last visit. Her mother remained unrepentant and unapologetic, seeing nothing wrong with her decision to leave her children or her work in the concentration camps. Interesting focus for a holocaust book- simultaneously an insight into a guard’s justification and a daughter’s appalled questioning.
Posted in biography, non-fiction
Libby, Montana: Asbestos and the Deadly Silence of an American Corporation by Andrea Peacock (244 pgs) 2003
A great author can make you not just care about the people they introduce, but actually feel like you know them, make it feel a personal loss when they are gone. It’s an expecially rare talent for non-fiction.
With this book, I felt like I was sitting around my Grandpa’s kitchen table sharing stories of “I remember when…”. A judicious use of direct quotes, placed in their larger context enables the story to resonate in a particularly immediate way. And the personal family experiences make the story of the decades-long poisoning of a small Montana town by the W.R. Grace Asbestos company that much more tragic.
I was reminded of a photo-essay book I stumbled across and fell in love with, The Alpine Tavern by James Cloutier. It contains photos of folks in a small Oregon town. Genuine, down-home folks, whose lives are etched in the lines on their faces. You feel like you know, and like, these people. In Libby, Montana it’s the same. You can’t turn away from the fact that these are real families whose lifes were destoyed for generations. And the loss feels personal.
Posted in crime, non-fiction
Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart (258 pgs) 2007
Another NPR gem, this slender bio was penned by a 83-yr-old remembering the best summer of her life. Bursting with wide-eyed exuberance, small-town Marjorie recalls the summer of 1945 that she and a college friend spent in New York City. To their amazement they gained employ as pages at Tiffany & Co, becoming the first women ever on the sales floor.
Marjorie takes as much joy from the simple pleasures as she does from her brushes with history. She sparkles with wonder as she recounts glimpses of the stars and social elite who graced the doors of Tiffany. And she blissfully recalls heading downtown to get a glimpse of the small plane that struck the Empire State Building, and joining 50,000 other celebrants in Times Square on V-day. Yet even simple anecdotes like going for desert at a prestigious restuarant or dropping a box of pearls in the elevator become grand adventures through Marjorie’s eyes.
Posted in biography, history, non-fiction
Bronx D. A.: True Stories from the Sex Crimes and Domestic Violence Unit by Sarena Straus (320 pgs/read 130) 2006
The Bronx District is one of the highest crime areas of the country, with one of the lowest conviction rates. Maximum burn-out time for a D.A. is 5 years. Straus shares her experiences during her 3 years.
Not particularly gripping.
Posted in crime, non-fiction
attack of the 50 foot book 