Re: The Long Thaw

The Long Thaw, by David Archer promises to give a long view on how global warming could affect global climate, not just in our lifetimes but as far as we can imagine. For that view, the book looks to the geological past. The periods to look at may be the Cretaceous, when the sea levels […]

Re: My Bread

Although I’ve decided that I like a bit more structure in my breads, I enjoyed Jim Lahey’s My Bread. Remember, this is not my bread, but Jim Lahey’s bread. And it’s his book.

Re: The Shameless Carnivore

Some people get obsessed with bread. Some people get obsessed with meat. Scott Gold is the latter, which led to him writing The Shameless Carnivore.

Re: Cheating Death

Sometimes I feel so easily influenced. Sanjay Gupta was so entertaining during his Colbert bump, I rushed right out and requested his book from the library. And Cheating Death: The Doctors and Medical Miracles that Are Saving Lives Against All Odds is totally worth the wait. The book spins out stunning tales, like the skier […]

Re: Nudge

Yet another in the current series of popular books with one-word titles, Nudge, by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein contends that we should apply recent research about human behavior to present choices to people in a way that will nudge them into choosing well. They call this “libertarian paternalism.” Libertarian in that they […]

Re:Stalking the Wild Asparagus

If you’re interested in foraging wild foods, there are good resources on the web, but a library copy of Stalking the Wild Asparagus, by Euell Gibbons has its own charm. The title essay tells how as a youth he went looking for something, anything for his family to eat and found armloads of wild asparagus. […]

Re: Alex & Me

Considering how much I like talking animal stories, it’s not surprising that I read the whole of Alex & Me, by Irene Pepperberg, all at once. You may have heard of Alex, a gray parrot who was taught to use English words as labels by Dr. Pepperberg. You may have heard her telling Alex stories, […]

Flow: Writing vs. Solitaire

Even if you haven’t read Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, you’ve probably read something that refers to it, and you’ve most likely experienced a “flow” or “optimal experience”, even if it’s just doing crossword puzzles. Often writing is given as an example of a flow experience. Oh, really?

Re: Time, Love, Memory

Time, Love, Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest For The Origin of Behavior, by Jonathan Weiner is so engrossing, I nearly missed my stop. The biologist in the subtitle is Seymour Benzer. As he worked at Caltech, it was weird for me to read about him and familiar things–Tech offices, the jacarandas–when I don’t […]

Re: Falling For Science

Falling for Science: Objects in Mind, edited by Sherry Turkle selects from 25 years of student essays recalling objects that fascinated them as children, complemented with similar (if longer) essays by mentors and practicing scientists. The writers recall things that utterly absorbed them, things that taught them about the world, its structure and function. Sometimes […]