qebo’s 2013 books (2)

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Other threads
Non-Fiction Challenge : the relevant subset of this thread
ROOT Challenge : old books read (goal: >= 2 / month), new books acquired (goal: <= 2 / month) – HAH!
Scientific American : summaries, if I stick to the plan...




Currently Reading

Read But Not Yet Reviewed

January
#01: Needle by Hal Clement -- (Jan 1)
#02: Through the Eye of a Needle by Hal Clement -- (Jan 4)
#03: No Impact Man by Colin Beavan -- (Jan 8)
#04: The Social Conquest of Earth by E. O. Wilson -- (Jan 10)
#05: Tulipomania by Mike Dash -- (Jan 17)
#06: Atlantic - January / February 2013 -- (Jan 20)
#07: Scientific American - January 2013 -- (Jan 24)
#08: Them by Jon Ronson -- (Jan 25)
#09: Hiero's Journey by Sterling Lanier -- (Jan 28)

February
#10: The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson -- (Feb 1)
#11: Among the Creationists by Jason Rosenhouse -- (Feb 3)
#12: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline -- (Feb 16)
#13: Scientific American - February 2013 -- (Feb 18)
#14: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan -- (Feb 20)

March
#15: Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson -- (Mar 11)
#16: Toms River by Dan Fagin -- (Mar 15)
#17: Atlantic - March 2013 -- (Mar 16)
#18: The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins -- (Mar 17)
#19: Scientific American - March 2013 -- (Mar 20)
#20: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn -- (Mar 22)
#21: In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming -- (Mar 24)
#22: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn -- (Mar 28)

April
#23: Atlantic - April 2013 -- (Apr 4)
#24: Desperately Seeking Snoozin' by John Weidman -- (Apr 29)

May
#25: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld -- (May 4)
#26: Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld -- (May 11)
#27: Goliath by Scott Westerfeld -- (May 18)
#28: Wild by Cheryl Strayed -- (May 25)

June
#29: Chrysalis by Kim Todd -- (June 9)
#30: In the Mind's Eye by Arnold Lazarus -- (Jun 30)

July
#31: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick -- (Jul 5)
#32: Chasing Monarchs by Robert Michael Pyle -- (Jul 6)
#33: Paradise Lot by Eric Toensmeier -- (Jul 13)
#34: Only a Theory by Kenneth Miller -- (Jul 18)

August
#35: Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver -- (Aug 3)
#36: Columbine by Dave Cullen -- (Aug 9)
#37: Odds Against Tomorrow by Nathaniel Rich -- (Aug 11)
#38: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly -- (Aug 16)
#39: Atlantic - May 2013 -- (Aug 31)

September
#40: The Dervish House by Ian McDonald -- (Sep 2)
#41: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon -- (Sep 4)
#42: Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel -- (Sep 9)
#43: The Wildlife Gardener's Guide by Janet Marinelli -- (Sep 12)
#44: W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton -- (Sep 19)
#45: Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton -- (Sep 24)
#46: Atlantic - June 2013 -- (Sep 24)
#47: Atlantic - July/August 2013 -- (Sep 28)
#48: The Pine Barrens by John McPhee -- (Sep 30)

Well, I'm not fully recuperated from my mystery illness, but things seem to be headed in a positive direction so here's an optimistic fresh start for spring...

#10: The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson – (Feb 1)
(Science, Religion, and History group read)

Cholera originated in India. It is mentioned in Sanskrit texts circa 500 BC, and 2000+ years later it had not spread much beyond. By the late 1700s, it was affecting British soldiers in India. By the early 1800s, it had spread further into Asia, to Turkey and Persia and Japan and Russia, and to the US. In the 1830s, it hit England. Over the next two decades, outbreaks would flare and subside, leaving tens of thousands dead.

Cholera thrives when drinking water is contaminated by sewage, especially in a dense population with an unbroken cycle and readily accessible victims. The initial symptom is an ordinary upset stomach. The significant diagnostic symptom is the evacuation of water with small white particles, “rice-water stool”. Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The small intestine has two cell types, which absorb and secrete water, maintaining a balance. Cholera covers the surface and injects a toxin disrupting the balance, so water is expelled with epithelial cells. The dehydration reduces blood flow, the heart pumps faster to compensate, blood vessels at the extremities constrict, gallbladder and spleen shut down, kidneys fail, waste accumulates. Until death is near, blood flow to the brain continues, so the victim is fully aware. The cure is simple: drink water to counteract the dehydration.

In the summer of 1854, when cholera terrified and devastated the neighborhood of Soho in London, eventually killing nearly 700 people, cause and cure were unknown. The predominant theory of disease was miasma, foul air, associated with poverty both by people who disdained the poor and by people who advocated on their behalf. This theory was accepted by the medical and political establishment, and by people who were otherwise reformers, such as Florence Nightingale and Edwin Chadwick, and there was certainly enough foul air in London to support it intuitively. The critical issue was of more precise correlation.

Until 1815, the London drainage system was intended for surface water, and putting sewage into it was illegal. Sewage, poured from buckets or flushed from water closets, instead went into cellar cesspools, which were emptied by the “night soil men”. Edwin Chadwick, head of General Board of Health in 1854, had pressed over decades for state engagement in the health of its citizens and investment in infrastructure, and championed the Nuisances Removal and Contagious Diseases Prevention Act of 1848, which required sewage to drain into a central system that emptied into the Thames. Meanwhile, a miscellany of pipes supplying water to wealthy homes had consolidated into ten major firms, each supplying water to private homes or public pumps in an area of the city, with intake pipes in the Thames. Parliament had ordered all intake pipes to be set above the tidewater mark by 1855, and some companies complied immediately, but others were holding out until the deadline. London infrastructure was on its way to improvement, but the previously clean Thames was in a state of worst case scenario for cholera. In 1849-1849, a cholera outbreak killed 15,000 people.

John Snow had become famous as the inventor of a device to control the dosage of ether, and was invited to administer chloroform to Queen Victoria when she gave birth in 1853. In the 1840s he set his mind to cholera, reading accounts of epidemics and details of deaths, and requesting information from water and sewer authorities. In an 1849 monograph, he argued that cholera was caused by an unknown agent ingested by drinking water contaminated with the waste of victims, not by miasma. Despite his reputation, this theory was received with skepticism. He did, however, persuade William Farr, city demographer and author of Weekly Returns of Births and Deaths, to track where victims got their water. His office, as it happened, was a five minute walk from Soho, so when cholera erupted in 1854, he was in a position to make door to door inquiries. Suspicion fell on the Broad Street pump. The local Board of Governors removed the handle, and the outbreak subsided.

Henry Whitehead was the assistant curate of St Luke’s Church in Soho. From his normal social rounds, and his calls to houses where people were dying, and he could see that cholera did not correlate with the cleanliness of the house. Giving a sermon after the cholera had subsided, he noticed a disproportionate number of poor elderly women in the pews who had been spared. He published a monograph on his observations and inquiries.

When the Board of Governors formed a committee to investigate the cholera outbreak, both Snow and Whitehead were invited to join. The significant contribution of John Snow was a map. To an existing map of cholera deaths and sewer lines, he added water pumps and a Voronoi diagram showing which houses were nearest which pump. The map made the connection clear; rather than a circular area of miasma, the shape was like an amoeba with deaths along streets leading to the Broad Street pump. The significant contribution of Henry Whitehead was the index case. Researching city records of deaths, he found reference to an unnamed baby who had died immediately before the cholera outbreak, in a house across the street from the Broad Street pump. He consulted the baby’s mother, who described soaking diapers and tossing the water into the cellar cesspool. Excavation revealed a decaying wall between the cellar and the pump.

In retrospect, the case was closed. In the real world, the miasma theory persisted until another cholera outbreak in the 1860s shifted opinion to the water theory. John Snow died in 1858. The cholera bacterium had been seen under a microscope by Filippo Pacini in 1854, but this was ignored until rediscovery by Robert Koch 30 years later, and general acceptance of the germ theory of disease.

This bare outline summarizes, but doesn’t do justice to, the engaging story telling that occupies most of the book. The conclusion is enthusiastic and perhaps longer than necessary praise of visualizing data in maps and local knowledge, and forms of communication at the intersection that get citizens involved in government action, which I skimmed because it overlaps with Steven Johnson’s later book Future Perfect.

Congratulations on feeling better and on your shiny new thread!

Great review of the Ghost Map. I've given in a thumbsie.

You've been doing some great reading. I'll look forward to seeing your reviews ... but the IMPORTANT thing is to keep on taking care of yourself!

Fabulous review of The Ghost Map, Katherine. Your discussion of the pathophysiology of cholera was spot on, and you're right in emphasizing the importance of Snow's work into the later work of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, and the subsequent development of the germ theory in the late 19th century. I've owned this book for several years but haven't read it yet, probably because much of the story was familiar to me from my microbiology, public health and medical school coursework. I'll make it a priority to read it this year, along with The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle by Eric Lax, which my best friend's wife absolutely loved.

I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better, and I hope that you continue to improve. I also hope that you'll feel well enough to join us in Philadelphia next month.

6: Aw, thanks!
7: The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat has gone onto the wishlist, though I'm not sure how much disease I wish to be reading about at the moment. I REALLY want to get to the Philadelphia meetup! Hope to get sleeping under control and build up stamina by then.

Great review of The Ghost Map. It's had a bit of a revival here in the last few months on LibraryThing and I'm glad a lot of people read it. I have The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat and can attest to its quality. It gets away from the traditional story of Alexander Fleming "accidental discovery" and gets into the real story of antibiotics. You'll enjoy it.

Glad you're feeling better enough to start a new thread and post such an interesting review. I knew the basic story but enjoyed the details and background you provided.

Great review of Ghost Map - incredible to think how long it took to figure some of these things out. (And how much we take for granted).

I am so glad to hear you are on the mend.

Yea! Qebo's back! I too loved Ghost Map. I found the lives of both John Snow and Henry Whitehead fascinating. The use of visual data is so common now that we take it for granted; GPS, Mapquest, geocaching, interactive maps, visual data everywhere and in every profession. But it seemed to me that it took an uncommon mind to apply it as Snow did in 1854. I also liked how the author captured the sense of urgency that drove the two men. They both felt a personal responsibility that made them take risks, either with their careers or their lives.

Have you read The great influenza : the epic story of the deadliest plague in history by John M. Barry? I liked that one too, although be forewarned that it focuses on the US not the world impact. I had no idea before reading the book about the troop trains to the US coast that arrived full of dead men, nurses that caught it and died in a few hours, the mass graves in Philadelphia. Also very readable.

12: I have it, but I haven't yet read it. (So often this is the story...)

I haven't read The Great Influenza but I really like Barry's book about the huge social impact of the 1927 Mississippi flood, Rising Tide, which I read about 15 years ago.

Hi Katherine. Good to hear you're starting to feel better. And a great review of The Ghost Map which I have a copy of but of course haven't read yet. I can't wait to hear your comments about Toms River. I have about 100 pages left of it. I remember reading about John Snow in TR when he was talking about the history of epidemiology. I love when books overlap.

Welcome back! Here's to continued recuperation.

15: The Toms River review may be awhile; it's #5 in the queue, though fortunately the books before it are not obligations and I can skimp. Yes, the overlaps are satisfying, I can relax from full attention when I realize oh I know that! Also overlaps with The Emperor of All Maladies.
16: I'm not sure how back I am, still have annoying undiagnosed symptoms, but the major trouble in recent weeks has been insomnia, and this seems to be somewhat under control now. Better living through chemistry. Hopefully temporary; never been a problem before.

Glad to hear you are feeling a bit better. I'm looking forward to your reviews of Ready Player One and Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore--while both were enjoyable, I liked one much better than the other.

18: Quick reviews: Ready Player One was a blast, I was completely (and rather unexpectedly) immersed and would happily reread to absorb more details. Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore had appealingly quirky characters, but I never bought into the motivation and was irritated by the end.

Great review of The Ghost Map, I finished it a few weeks ago, but I'm running WAY behind on my reviews at the moment. I really should catch up!

Good to hear you're feeling better.

Yes yes, very very glad you are feeling better. Glad you found a read that was immersing.

>19 qebo: Yup, you got it right, Katherine! ;-)

Katherine - hope you return to the fold soon!

Good evening, and Happy Spring!

Glad to see you back, Katherine. I have *Mr Penumbra* waiting in the wings, so I only skimmed your reaction. I jumped on a copy of Ghost Map, but it's really going to have to wait.
I hope you feel better and better - well enough to do the meet-up easily. I wish, I wish that I could go too.

Pleased to be able to drop into a reasonably short thread, Katherine. I haven't been around LT much lately. Your review of The Ghost Map makes me want to rush right out and get it. Not that I don't have anything else to read...

Hmm, I haven't been here in awhile, and I've fallen behind in reading too. Still nowhere near 100%, and the main issue now is insomnia. I'm stuck at the computer for work, and other times it's easier to cope if I move around, don't want to read anything I care about because I can't concentrate. The weather has been cooperating for gardening.

Katherine - hope you're back to full strength very soon. Insomnia is such a pain.

Try sitting out on your deck/in yr garden, wrapped up and w a mug of hot milk with a dash of something in it. Don't lie in bed fretting. Our brains know we should sleep at night so you can remind it that it is night. Works fine, even with city night lighting - used to do this in PH when I had a bout.

Apologies to everyone else, what follows is a bit gross --- but I saw the most interesting thing the other day. I've been obsessing with our frogs ever since an article in Northern Woodlands (which I have now posted on my icebox) on frogs, delineating the orderly procession in which each group appears, makes a lotta noise, lays eggs and subsides. So I've been looking at the different egg blobs and watching them grow and change and I saw the leeches (oh we have them, have to swim fast in this pond) crawling around the blobs - yep - going in and eating the 'poles. It was a sight and a half. Salamanders too. I'm astonished I never noticed before, although, the leech situation has gotten more intense over the years. The 'feeder' pond - smaller and where a lot of the water that goes into the pond from a long ditch, where the water has a chance to 'clear' before going into the big pond, has almost no leeches in it and not as many salamanders either. Way more of those eggs appear to be 'making' it.

In our other nature news we have a pair of Canada Geese who do appear determined despite our efforts to be obnoxious and annoying (they aren't afraid of one corgi, sadly) to nest. We can't figure out though where the nest is or if they even have one yet.

Back to add - you've been reading some good stuff - will look forward to reviews when you can get to them.

29: Yeah, I'm developing rituals, and yours looks to be a good idea. What happened is the virus that hit me in February dragged on with residual effects and cascaded into anxiety and insomnia, a doctor prescribed Ambien, and now my chemistry is all messed up, can't sleep without it and and sleep poorly with it. Ambien is the devil. I'm now seeing a different doctor, who is less into quick fixes and more into nudging the body to heal itself. I'll get through this, but it'll be a long haul. A humbling experience.

I'm astonished I never noticed before
Sooo cool, in a creepy sort of way.

Sorry about your sleeping problems. I once had a doctor tell me that I needed to not worry when I couldn't sleep (!), but consider it a natural part of my body's rhythms that my body would eventually adjust on its own. Of course, then I started worrying about not worrying! Seriously though, I found that if I could do something that took my mind off worrying, I would eventually go back to sleep. Some things that help for me are memorizing poems that I can then recite to myself, doing crossword puzzles, and watching stupid movies on TV (my sweetie has different sleeping hours from me, so I'm not disturbing him by doing this).

Ambien is the devil. I do know that often medications are necessary and indeed lifesavers, but I think there is much too great a rush to medicate for things that can (and should) get better more organically, sleeping problems included.

Katherine, it's nice to see you here although I'm sorry to hear about your health and sleep woes.

Lucy, I always love your wildlife stories. We have a nesting pair of geese as well. Another pair visited the other day with two babies but the "resident" pair are still sitting on the nest.

I'm not sure ours have a nest - they fly in every morning at around ten and hang around all day and then disappear, I walked all around this morning looking for it, but nada.

I have heard terrible things about Ambien before.

Sorry to read about your insomnia, Katherine. Wishing you well and a good night's sleep.

I hope you are able to conquer your insomnia soon, Katherine. I know how draining sleep issues can be.

Attending the Philadelphia meetup was a question of whether I got enough sleep the night before, and the answer was... sort of. Enough to get by on, though I was spacey and faded early. Glad I went. The meetup is still in progress. Photos are beginning to accumulate: http://www.librarything.com/topic/151277#4103771 .

Now maybe I’ll be sufficiently inspired to catch up on the backlog of 13 reviews... but today, if the rain holds off, is a gardening day.

Thanks for posting the link to the meet-up pictures, Katherine. I had at one point hoped to attend, but other things intervened. I'm looking forward to those 13 reviews! It's nice to know that others are behind as well.

How'd that "rain hold off" thing work out for you? It was gray and dreary here, and spitting rain from time to time. Being away all day yesterday meant that lots of other weekend must-do's had to happen today. So in a way it was good the weather was iffy -- otherwise I would have been lured outdoors.

It was really nice to meet you in person!

It was gray and dreary all day here too, unsurprisingly, with a misty not-quite-drizzle in the morning, but no actual rain, so I've been outside shuffling dirt around and planting blueberry bushes. This was my big to-do of the weekend. Yes, it was nice to meet you!

I'm glad you're feeling better, Katherine. I'm sorry I didn't get to the Philadelphia meetup, but hopefully I will see you in September!

I've fallen so far behind I missed your being under the weather entirely, but I'm glad you are feeling better now. I'll try to keep up from now on.

I am so sorry to read that you have been so ill. Insomnia is so hard to deal with as going without sleep affects every aspect in one's life. I am very thankful that you felt up to the Philly Meet-Up. It was so nice to meet you face to face. I hope to see you again one day.
Your reading pattern has fascinated me. I have you starred now and will be following your reads. I find your reviews very insightful and discerning. I am probably so fascinated because I don't think I would ever be able to understand nor follow some of your reads.
At any rate I hope that you continue to get better & better Katherine.

Stopping by to say I do hope you keep on feeling better day by day - miss you!

I am actually feeling much better, not 100% yet but optimistic that I'll get there. However, given a choice between reviewing books that I read three months ago, and going outside to haul dirt around and watch the plants grow, the garden wins: http://www.librarything.com/topic/153894 . And I'm dauntingly behind in the threads. I was sorta thinking I'd catch up with quick blurbs over Memorial Day weekend, but the weather was too nice.

I'm glad you're getting back out into the garden -- it's so restorative. Thanks for the link to your gardening thread, which I've now starred!

46: It'll be more fun when the caterpillars show up.

I should have sent you some of mine. They were tearing up my sweetpeas and tomatoes--lots of baby hornworms--but I think I've got them under control now. The fritillaries are laying eggs on the passion flower vine, which is perfectly okay with me!

Garden is so much more important.
Today I walked through a hatching of butterflies - I need to look them up, yellow and black, a bit like monarch but not monarch. The name is on the tip of my tongue. I had thirty of them swirling around me, lovely. Viceroy, I think - though these seemed very yellow to me.

Mmmm, love my Passion Flowers even though one vine is threatening to take out our chimney.

>49 sibylline: Viceroys are the ones that look like monarchs, but they are pretty orange. It could be either the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail or the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Both of those are yellow and black.

Katherine

I'm stopping by to say how lovely it was to meet you.

I guess maybe the Eastern Tiger then - thank you Karen - amazing how fast the details fall out of one's head!

#11: Among the Creationists by Jason Rosenhouse – (Feb 3)

Jason Rosenhouse is a math professor whose hobby is attending creationist conferences. In 2000, he moved from New England to Kansas for a postdoctoral position that included coordinating the Kansas State University teacher certification program with Kansas Board of Education math standards, so he became inadvertent witness to controversy over evolution in public education. A few years later he moved to Virginia for an assistant professorship at James Madison University, not far from Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Lynchburg.

I’ve been reading his blog for years, expected to pick up this book eventually, tossed it into the e-shopping cart when it didn’t make the cut as a Science, Religion, and History group read. I can’t fully tell whether he gets it, accurately presents the perspective of insiders (creationism strikes me as so dull that I wonder why anyone would want to hang onto it, and the dishonesty of the Intelligent Design people makes me seethe), but others have said he does a pretty decent job for an outsider. His tone is not completely devoid of snark, but is not unsympathetic either. The gist is that he can understand why, if certain aspects of Christianity matter deeply, then evolution would be difficult to accept, and a compromise of theistic evolution would be unpalatable. It is not as simple as literal vs metaphorical meaning of the Bible, but more about the relationship between humans and God that is disturbingly called into question.

The chapters are organized around three conferences (the 2005 Creation Mega-Conference in Lynchburg VA (focus on young earth creationism), the 2007 Darwin vs Design conference in Knoxville TN (focus on Intelligent Design), the 2008 Conference on Creationism in Pittsburgh PA (focus on “scientific” creationism)), and the Creation Museum in Petersburg KY, with summaries of conference presentations, anecdotes of conversations with participants, discussions of theological and philosophical issues. His emphasis is not so much on refuting creationist claims, but more on exposing strategies employed by creationists of various stripes to maintain views at odds with virtually every scientist on earth, with more insight into the appeal than I’d be able to muster, and perhaps a backdrop of his own views mellowing from pure scientific argumentativeness to a more psychologically nuanced understanding of the trouble spots.

He is not unsympathetic because he is not anti-religion. He is an atheist Jew, a combination that isn’t a contradiction; belief (or dis-belief) is not a litmus test for cultural belonging. A chapter entitled “Why I Love Being Jewish” is preceded by this:

As a nonbeliever there are certain words that do not come naturally to me. Words like holy, worship, faith, sacred, prayer, numinous, divine, and perhaps most of all, transcendent. When I hear people use such language, it usually just sounds pretentious and overwrought to me. I do, however, get occasional glimpses into what “transcendent” might mean. What other word adequately captures the gloriousness of humanity’s journey from frightened and primitive beginnings to ever greater understanding of the world?

Would you really like to know how to honor scripture? You do not do it by burdening the ancients with notions of infallibility, or by acting as though their simplest thoughts were expressed in poetry and metaphor, or by twisting their plain words into a form more consonant with modern science. You do not honor them by pretending they were possessed of special insight. They were just people, no different from anyone today, doing their best to make sense of their world. Reading their literature instantly connects you to fellow human beings far removed in space and time, not because of the answers they provided, but because of the questions they asked.

You honor scripture by seeing it as one link in a long chain.

Recommended for its succinctity (219 pages), clarity (e.g. a preface that outlines the chapters to follow), and straightforwardness, as well as its sincere (and IMO successful) attempt at insight.

I’m not doing so well on the reviews, am I? And I’m so far behind in the threads that Your Posts was mostly read long ago, and Starred is frightening; everyone has moved on. I’m not where I oughta be in the reading either. After three months of illness, since I recovered enough to be physically functional, I haven’t been so keen on sitting around inside. And this time of year, the garden is a busy place: http://www.librarything.com/topic/153894#4179560 . Maybe this one review will get me rolling; it's been an obstacle for awhile and the next few should be easier.

#12: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – (Feb 16)

This book was an absolute blast from beginning to end. I’m too old to have been steeped in 1980s pop culture, and despite rave reviews from others I expected to feel somewhat out of it, but I was immediately caught up in the story. It’s the year 2045, and as the political, economic, and natural world has disintegrated, the virtual world of OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation) has become both an escape from danger and demoralizing limitations, and more real than reality. OASIS creator James Halliday, born in the early 1970s, dies, leaving his fortune and control of his company GSS (Gregarious Simulation Systems) to the first person who solves the puzzle he devised: a series of Easter Eggs that hold three keys to three gates and additional challenges.

When the story begins, teenager Wade Watts, operating from his sanctuary in a demolished van in a junkyard with scavenged equipment, in secret from his dysfunctional family, has found the first key, despite the constraint that he can’t leave the virtual planet of his virtual school without virtual money. Or rather, his avatar Parzival has, and it is his avatar’s name that appears on the score board and revives a competition that had stagnated over several years without notable progress. Instantly Parzival is famous, sought by the evil IOI (Innovative Online Industries), which wants control of GSS and OASIS for its own nefarious purposes, and whose soulless employees with their “Sixer” IDs begin to show up on the score board, shuffling up and down in the rankings with Parzival, his old school friend Aech, his new tech blogger friend Art3mis, and a smattering of other gunters (egg hunters).

Along with completely geeky immersion in 1980s video games, Wade/Parzival has a recognizable array of human concerns with an avatar twist. To what extent should he compete or cooperate with Aech and Art3mis? And Aech is surely a teenage boy because there are strict rules for enrollment in school, but is Art3mis really an attractive young woman? Success in the virtual world yields virtual money, which can be turned into real money, with real identity, in theory, obscured. Wade becomes increasingly virtual, protected by security systems and enhanced by expensive equipment, as he also becomes increasingly real, caring more than ever before about other people and the state of the world.

I loved this book for its earnestness. The video game concept could’ve seemed gimmicky, but it didn’t. I felt the affection and nostalgia, and if the story was an excuse to showcase insider details, lots and lots of them, it was also engaging on the ordinary merits of identifying with a flawed but maturing protagonist.

#13: Scientific American – February 2013 -- (Feb 18)

Read cover to cover but who knows whether I'll ever get around to summarizing. Not my highest priority.

Katherine, it's great to see your thread back at the top of the queue!
I hope you're sleeping well and enjoying summer. I don't blame you for entering the *SA* summary rather low on your list. If I had read it, I'd be so thrilled to have gotten through it that the idea of doing more wouldn't occur to me. My hat's off to you!

#14: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan – (Feb 20)

In contrast to Ready Player One, which I adored, I expected from the description to enjoy this one more than I actually did. It has all the right ingredients: appealingly quirky characters, computer programming geekery, cryptography, an obscure bookstore, and yet... I never bought into the motivation of the mysterious patrons, and I was irritated by the end. The whole thing seemed forced somehow, a bunch of ideas without a moral core. I liked the people, and I wanted to care, but meh. Still, I'd probably read another book by this author out of curiosity.

58: Heh. The real reason is that I haven't the slightest memory of the articles, even at the best of times I have to reread and summarize before much sinks in, and after the triumph of finally catching up last year, now I'm four months behind. I may have to skim, and start fresh next year. Thanks for visiting!

#15: Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson – (Mar 11)

In 1912, a Miracle occurs: all of a sudden, Europe is replaced by an equivalent but distorted region with familiar geographical familiar but a different set of creatures who seem, from fossil evidence, to have evolved naturally along alternate paths. The people of Europe are gone, but people elsewhere retain memory of its previous existence. American Guilford Law was 14 years old at the time of the Miracle, and while prevailing opinion presumes an act of God, he is convinced of a scientific explanation. In 1920, he joins an expedition up the former Rhine River as its photographer, bringing his wife and daughter as far as the frontier town of New London. The expedition disappears, his wife and daughter depart for civilization. We know he survived because it’s his POV. Weirdnesses creep in, dreams of? conversations with? an alternate self who died in war, and interspersings of other characters with similar experiences. As decades go by, he realizes that he is not affected by injury or aging. I read this while I was sick, and wasn’t paying sufficient attention; I was confused for stretches, and not engaged by the snippets through time. I got the gist, but didn’t care for the shifting scale; I was in it for the expedition and alternate evolution; I tend to tune out when it gets galactic. Reviews are mixed, so I’m not sure how much was me and how much was flaw in the novel. I doubt that I’ll try this one again, but the author’s ideas and characters have a good enough track record that I’ll read others.

Well that's four down and fourteen to go. Next up will be more difficult, the excellent ER book Toms River, which at this point is not E at all, but deserves a thorough review.

Delurking to say you have been quite the busy reader! Very interesting and thought provoking review of Among the Creationists. It is a topic I take interest in from time to time. Curious to check that one out to see where my thoughts may coincide / differ.

So happy to see you enjoyed Ready Player One. It is one of my fav reads so far this year. Cline just draws the reader into his world and makes them feel like they belong there along side the gamers. Penumbra's is a hard book to sell if one, like you, have already read Ready Player One. For me, I just had a hard time swallowing all of the Google mantra in Penumbra's. As for Darwinia, I had never even heard of that one before visiting you thread. Suffice to say, I am intrigued.

Nice to see you posting again, and feeling better (if not completely recovered).

Hooray for Ready Player One! I just read and enjoyed that one myself.

I'm sorry to hear about Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour book store, though-- that one sounded promising.

Glad you are feeling better! I think I saw a monarch today, in addition to my omnipresent gulf fritillaries. I felt exactly the same as you regarding Ready Player One and Mr. Penumbra

Good to catch up with you! Among the Creationists sounds intriguing.

I have to restrain myself from running out and buying all the books you've mentioned immediately. All superb reviews. I was going to say, oh don't bother yourself reviewing, but now I've changed my mind!!!!

So glad to see you here and to learn you are feeling more like yourself. Do spend as much time outside as you can however and fuggidaboudLT except when it's raining or something.

I usually recommend that people read Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore before Ready Player One. I like them both a lot but I think the former pales when compared with the latter. Which isn't to say that it's worse, just that Ready Player one is a super-exciting-stay-up-all-night-reading type of book, while Mr. Penumbra is more subtle.

Katherine, glad to see you're feeling a bit better. Darwinia appeals, even though you weren't too sure about it, so I've added it to the wishlist.

Good to see you posting, Katherine!

62 I was very impressed by Toms River. I look forward to your review.

Reviews, I think, will not be happening for a couple of weeks. I'm preparing to go to Europe! My parents sponsor a trip to the destination of choice for each grandchild at age 13. For the previous batch of grandchildren, my parents went along. Now they're over 80 and travel only vicariously, so two other adult family members get to go in their stead. So it's my brother's daughter, my other brother's wife, and me. A whirlwind tour: Rome, Florence, Venice, Lucerne, Paris, London. A package tour, which I'd rather disdained until I went to Japan a few years ago with my nephew, and realized how very pleasant it is to have someone else deal with the practical arrangements. Also nice to be in a secure cocoon when responsible for someone else's child. Alas, I still have to clean the house (because people will be in it) and weed the yard (because the neighbors will see it) and pack.

63,70: Lucy/sibyx put me on to The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson a year or two ago, and I was enough taken by it that I downloaded several others for the future. I like his sciency ideas, but also I care about his characters.
68: It's tempting to skip reviews altogether, but I want to have a bit of something for posterity. Once I'm done with the ER book, the rest should flow fairly easily. I could, I suppose, go out of order...
71: I was very impressed by Toms River too, a non-fiction page-turner, even when I was sick and not concentrating well. It's chock full of post-its, many of which turn out not to be central to the cause, but I have to go through them all.

Thanks everyone for dropping by! I keep saying I'll catch up with the threads, and then I get distracted...

Wow--what an amazing opportunity your parents give to their grandkids. And how cool that you get to go!

I hope you'll be able to post some photos.

74: One of my tasks before this trip was to organize and post the photos from the Japan trip three years ago. Perhaps "organize" was the error that caused the delay.

Your trip sounds like a lot of fun! How many days will you be in Europe?
>75 qebo:: tee hee!

Congrats on the vacation opportunity! Hope you have a great time.

Lovely! That does sound like a whirlwind tour - sometimes packing and tidying to leave is harder work than the trip itself, I've noticed.....

I want to read more Wilson too!

Whoa, that trip sounds WONDERFUL! Enjoy.

That's so exciting! You get to be the cool aunt :-)

I must admit I'm a fan of package tours as well. *Usually* that is not my kind of thing but they just make it SO much easier.

Your trip sounds splendid, Katherine! I look forward to hearing more about it.

Best wishes to you in your travels!

Returned Sunday evening and went straight to work on Monday morning. Now begins the weekend, which is likely to be more devoted to weeding the yard than to photos or LT...

Welcome back, Katherine!

#16: Toms River by Dan Fagin – (Mar 15)

I’m doing a miserable job with book reviews, or rather no job at all. This book deserves a thorough review because it’s excellent, besides which it’s an ER so I’m obligated, but I just can’t dredge up the necessary concentration (and as a practical matter, I can’t read the print in dim light, and in bright light I’m typically either working or outside). So here’s a placeholder, while I move on to brief blurbs about the others.

And finally...

“The very big idea that would transform Toms River and reshape the global economy was born in 1856 in the attic laboratory of a precocious eighteen-year-old chemistry student named William Henry Perkin...” who was occupying a school break with experiments suggested by his mentor, August Wilhelm von Hoffman. The focus of his attention was coal tar, a waste product of coal converted into coal gas and coke. The hope was to synthesize quinine, an amine. The result was a bright purple residue that stuck to the test tube and transferred to a cotton wipe. This was not to be idly dismissed as a failure. In a world of expensive dyes made from snails or insects or lichens, aniline dyes made from industrial waste were phenomenal. Within six months, he had dropped out of school to build a factory near London.

In Basel Switzerland, on the Rhine river, three dye manufacturers (Ciba, Geigy, Sandoz) took advantage of lax patent laws and extended the idea to other coal tar constituents and a rainbow of colors. In 1920, these three formed a partnership and entered the US market by purchasing a factory in Cincinnati OH, on the Ohio River. As in Switzerland, waste was discharged into the river, and as in Switzerland, there were rumors about cancer and complaints about pollution and gestures of governmental concern. ”The Swiss could see what was coming, and they reacted in time-honored fashion: They made plans to skip town.” In 1952, they skipped to a rural area without a formal name, which became known as Toms River NJ. Cincinnati Chemical Works became Toms River Chemical Company.

The factory was built on sand and gravel. The company initially expected that separation of wells for water and lagoons for waste would be sufficient, but the ground was absorbent and the waste corroded the liners, in part because the company crushed waste drums for efficient use of space. By the mid 1950s, employees were complaining about the smell of drinking fountain water in company buildings. The company shifted waste containers to the river, where wells two miles downstream supplied water to the town. By the mid 1960s, employees who were also customers of Toms River Water Company recognized the smell of tap water at home. Neither company wanted to invite investigation, so the chemical company began piping waste to the ocean, and the water company closed the worst of the wells and added chlorine to the others. In 1972, the Clean Water Act established standards and a permit process, requiring waste treatment at an off-site facility, but the chemical company saved substantial money by not complying. This came to light in 1984, when a road buckled, and the ground underneath was found to be saturated with black liquid, traced to a wastepipe leak. A reporter published the list of chemicals from the permit application, and residents petitioned the EPA to refuse renewal.

Meanwhile, cancer. Here the book has bits of overlap with The Emperor of All Maladies in a history of cancer research and The Ghost Map in a history of epidemiology and mapping, and a thorough explanation of why a “cancer cluster” is so difficult to determine: everything clusters by chance, cancer is more ubiquitous than most people realize, cancer is not a single disease. Left to mere statistical analysis, things would have gone nowhere. Instead, a number of intensely persistent people got involved. Linda Gillick’s son was diagnosed with neuroblastoma; when he was 10 and had survived beyond expectations, she founded Oceans of Love and became “the hub of information about childhood cancer in Ocean County”. Lisa Boornazian was a nurse on a cancer ward in Philadelphia; she noticed a disproportionate number of cases from Toms River and mentioned this to her sister-in-law, an EPA hazardous waste specialist, who contacted an acquaintance at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, who requested a formal investigation by the New Jersey Department of Health, which sent a letter to local physicians, among them a friend of Linda Gillick. Loop closed, she contacted Jan Schlichtmann of A Civil Action. Behind the scenes, a chemist ran tests and read studies to determine exactly what the problem was with the water.

This book was a page turner from the start, weaving history and science and law and drama in impressive and fascinating detail. Sooo much more to it than I have briefly outlined. I bogged down somewhat in the court case at the end, but this is because the law aspect is not so much my thing, and the science by then was mostly done. Highly recommended.

#17: Atlantic – March 2013 – (Mar 16)

If I’d kept up with these, I’d have some hope of reaching 75 this year...

#18: The Ancestor’s Tale by Richard Dawkins – (Mar 17)

I read this while I was sick, and compliments to the conversational style, it took my mind off the physical discomfort and didn’t demand great concentration, but it was informative in a manner that allows either picking up bits and pieces or pursuing further. The arrangement is a pilgrimage of humans and other creatures from the present to the origin of life, with 40 rendezvous points at “concestors” (common ancestors) along the way. Each chapter begins with a diagram of the relevant branches of the evolutionary tree, and contains descriptions physiological and molecular features we have in common, with anecdotes of critterly idiosyncrasies and scientific investigations that illuminate how we know what we know, as well as remaining areas of uncertainty or speculation (always noted) about relationships or the exact nature of concestors. It’s a helpful way to look at the complexity that is us, stepping backward to see where we’ve been, rather than stepping forward as if the path was inevitable.

#19: Scientific American – March 2013 - (Mar 20)

And if I’d kept up with these...

#20: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn -- (Mar 22)

I read this because several other LTers said good things, and I’d say good things too. It’s suspenseful, and the main characters are deeply flawed in ways that aren’t immediately revealed. Others have thoroughly disliked them, but I didn’t. Whatever that may say about me...

#21: In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming -- (Mar 24)

Meh. I’d read positive reviews, was intrigued by the Episcopal priest aspect, and was looking for something not too deep, but this was maybe too shallow, not quite the right balance for me at the time. Doubt I’ll continue with the series.

#22: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn -- (Mar 28)

Gone Girl got me to reading more by the same author, and this was earlier but better IMO. Libby was 7 when she peripherally witnessed the massacre of her family and testified against her older brother, who was convicted and sent to prison. 25 years later, she is contacted by the Kill Club, murder groupies who believe that her brother is innocent and offer money for artifacts and inside information. Libby is apathetic but needs the money, so she gets involved by selecting items from storage and contacting people from her past. As she begins to question her memories, episodes from the past are presented, mostly from the POV of her brother and mother. None of the three is immediately appealing, but all become to an extent sympathetic as motives within oppressive circumstances are gradually revealed.

#23 Atlantic -- April 2013 -- (Apr 4)

And after this I just stopped...

#24: Desperately Seeking Snoozin’ by John Weidman -- (Apr 29)

I read this during a highly unpleasant bout of insomnia, happened to have it around because a friend had raved about it some years before when its techniques solved his problem. This is neither a compelling story nor a scientific analysis; it is an awkward account of one man’s experience plus bits of light research. The gist is: set a sleep period that is no longer than absolutely necessary (e.g. 6 hours), develop a pre-sleep routine, and stick to the schedule and the compartmentalization of “sleep hygiene” (e.g. no naps, no reading or TV in bed), while introducing better habits such as exercise and nutrition. It’s sensible but not unusual advice. What worked for me was emphasis on anxiety reduction after an illness, not precisely this method, but then I didn’t have a history of insomnia.

#25, #26, #27: Leviathan, Behemoth, Goliath by Scott Westerfeld -- (May 4, 11, 18)

Fun fun fun! An alternate history of WWI, Darwinists (with genetically fabricated creature-contraptions) versus Clankers (with giganto walking and flying machines). On opposing sides are Deryn, a girl competently disguised as a boy, who enlists in the military, and Alek, a prince ineptly disguised as a commoner, whose parents were assassinated. They meet when technology goes awry on both sides, and neither is aware of the other’s secret. Worth reading for the perspicacious loris alone. Also got me interested in seeing Istanbul.

#28: Wild by Cheryl Strayed – (May 25)

This is a sort of book that I typically enjoy reading, and get vicarious encouragement from, the “lost to found” of the subtitle. This particular book though, just did not grab me. I kept plodding along and waiting for... something. The author was in her early 20s and married when her mother died of cancer. In grief, she flailed through several drug-impaired affairs. Given an opportunity after divorce to change her name, she chose Strayed as an apt description, and on a whim that became an obsession of equipment purchases, decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, desperately but vaguely hoping for transformation though deprivation and discipline. Apparently it worked; she’s writing near twenty years later, settled and careered. Somehow though, I failed to see the process. There’s not so much about nature; a bear, a rattlesnake, blisters, a few what-an-amazing-view moments. There’s more about people in the past (family episodes that don’t connect into any great insight), in the present (passing encounters with others along the trail), and behind the scenes (a concerned and supportive ex-husband and friends who kept her supplied with letters and care packages). Reviews from others, who responded with emotion and admiration, suggest that the problem is me; I simply didn’t click with the author as a person. I recognized the 20-something attitudes, and maybe wanted more of the 40-something person she became as a result of the experience.

#29: Chrysalis by Kim Todd – (June 9)

This is a biography of Maria Sibylla Merian, late 17th – early 18th century German artist-scientist, illustrator of caterpillars, notable because she placed them in ecological context, observing and recording host plants and life cycles. Her father was a publisher and engraver. Her stepfather was a painter. Her art began with osmosis of family skills and stylized sketches for embroidery. Not much is known about her inner life, aside from a negative comment about her marriage (to an apprentice of her stepfather), which she exited with her two daughters, to a religious community near Amsterdam. During her marriage, she taught embroidery and painting to the daughters of elite families (and she remained in affectionate correspondence with former students for years afterward), and published a book about caterpillars. After the religious community folded, she and her daughters, also artists, set up shop in Amsterdam. (Fun connection: One daughter’s daughter married mathematician Leonhard Euler.) She visited collectors of exotic specimens, and eventually convinced the city to fund her for two years in the colony of Suriname, the source of her most famous book, The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname.

The biography is satisfying in detail about documented events, and not to be faulted for the absence of personal information that simply doesn’t exist. I wanted more illustrations, but suppose there are cost and copyright issues. Its strength is in the depiction of science three centuries ago, and how one woman navigated the social and intellectual constraints.

#30: In the Mind’s Eye by Arnold Lazarus -- (Jun 30)

A family friend lent this to me when I was sick and extremely anxious about the symptoms and potential for duration into forever. By the time I read it, the symptoms and anxiety had subsided, so I wasn’t in the relevant frame of mind. Still, the gesture was kind, and I read the book out of respect. The book was written in the 1970s, and as is often the case with ideas from decades ago, it goes into extensive description and explanation of stuff that seems pretty common now, in the category of cognitive therapy. It is about imagery as a therapy or self-help technique, mentally acting out positive and negative scenarios to overcome phobias or anxieties or dysfunctional habits: imagine how your ideal self would behave in a troublesome situation, imagine going through the actions that will move you toward goals, imagine what will be important when you look back six months or five years from now, imagine how you could constructively react if the outcome you most fear actually occurs, imagine relaxing in a comfortable environment and gradually introduce increasingly difficult elements. In practical terms, I can’t say that any of this was revelationally useful, but I appreciated the tone of reassurance and respect: you don’t necessarily need years of delving into your deep dark past to overcome problems, and you don’t necessarily need professional help either; you can try these techniques at home.

So how’s that for catchup? Instead of spending this lovely day outside, I spent it getting right with LT. 11 down, 9 to go...

Glad you enjoyed the Leviathan trilogy, Katherine. I though they were a lot of fun.

What a bounty of reviews, Katherine! I've had Wild on my radar for some time, and I feel less bad now about putting it off. Leviathan, on the other hand ... maybe it's time.

Wow, that's a lot of good reading!!

Great catch-up and I enjoyed your reviews. About the Strayed, I read a compelling essay by her in one of the "Best American Essay" collections some years ago; when I read about Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail, it sounded like she spun the essay out to book length -- probably a bad idea! Despite being outdated, In the Mind's Eye sounds useful.

What a great variety of reading you have been doing lately, Katherine! I also had a lot of fun reading Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy.

I'm impressed by all your recent reading - I've encountered other reviews of the Strayed which say similar things......

Great reading - I really must get around to the Leviathan trilogy.

>94 qebo: Yay I'm glad you liked the Leviathan Trilogy! They are great fun. You should also check out The Manual of Aeronautics, which is a collection of drawings of everything technological in the trilogy.

100, 102, 104: Wild elicits both admiration and eyerolling. An essay would've been about right.
100, 103, 105, 106: Yes, very enjoyable. The Manual of Aeronautics looks like it would lose something in e-book form, which is how I read the others.

#31: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick -- (Jul 5)

Hugo is an orphan. His clockmaker father died in a museum fire, and his clockkeeper uncle reluctantly took him in then disappeared. This is not known to the authorities. Hugo assumes his uncle’s job of maintaining the clocks at a Paris train station, fearful of getting caught if the stationmaster notices that the time is wrong. Meanwhile, in the ruins of the museum, he discovers an automaton that his father was repairing, and this gives him a purpose. The automaton should write a message when a key is turned, but even if the mechanism can be fixed, the key is missing. Hugo consults his father’s notebook, and steals parts from a toy booth, until the proprietor catches him in the act and confiscates the notebook. In pursuit of the notebook, Hugo meets the proprietor’s goddaughter Isabelle, and notices the key she wears as a necklace... Illustrations and text are not two presentations of the same thing, but play together for the full story. I wasn’t as charmed by the book as others have been, which is not surprising; would’ve been happier with more clock innards and less drama. I was unaware of the historical bits as I was reading; I might be more appreciative with another round.

#32: Chasing Monarchs by Robert Michael Pyle -- (Jul 6)

This is exactly what the title says. A standard map of migrating monarchs shows the eastern monarchs going to Mexico, and the western monarchs going to California. The author set out to follow western monarchs, starting in Washington, according to a set of rules: follow a monarch as far as it can be seen, when it disappears keep going in the same direction until another monarch appears, repeat. Of course the rules are incomplete. What if there are two monarchs going in different directions? What if there are zero monarchs for hundreds of miles? A bit of tweaking kept the spirit of the enterprise. He ended up in Mexico, indicating that the monarchs are not adhering to theoretical purity. Along the way, well, he went here, he went there, he met this naturalist friend, he met that naturalist friend, he saw this butterfly, he saw that butterfly. Not much structure or context; what I learned has been stated in the previous sentence. Well, also that monarchs are sparse; there is a map of his 20 sightings over 7 states.

#33: Paradise Lot by Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates – (Jul 13)

In 2004, two “plant nerds” (the primary and contributing authors) bought a duplex on a 1/10 acre lot of “urbanite” soil in Holyoke MA, with a plan to bring permaculture into an urban context. This is the story of their garden through seasons and years, with background of how each came to permaculture as a vocation, and bits of entwined life as both men marry and their wives introduce ideas and expertise. It is useful for its scale (it does not assume multiple acres and ample space for trees), its attitude (despite relevant education, much trial and error was involved, and the garden remains a work in progress), and its results (an appendix of mostly edible perennials that can make it through a New England winter). They advise a year of preparation, observing sunny and shady areas, testing (and amending) the soil; by this method (sketches are included), they determined the one location suitable for a greenhouse, and a microclimate where tropical plants could survive. The emphasis is on sustainable polyculture, low maintenance (perennials and self-seeding annuals, spreading but not invasive) and high density (multiple layers and multiple edible parts), attractive to wildlife (at least far more so than the average city yard), native when plausible but not ideologically purist. Not great literature, but informative and encouraging.

#34: Only a Theory by Kenneth Miller -- (Jul 18)

Following up on his testimony at the Dover PA Intelligent Design trial, the author refutes several standard examples of “irreducible complexity”: the mousetrap analogy, the bacterial flagellum, and blood clotting, and suggests questions that ID proponents could ask if they were really scientists. Short (just over 200 pages), coherent, and civil; worth a read as either introduction or refresher.

#35: Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver -- (Aug 3)

I read this for the monarchs, but got drawn into the story. As Dellarobia is escaping her rural Tennessee life, a trap of teenage pregnancy and marriage that disrupted her hopes for college, she happens upon a gathering of monarchs in a mountain forest on family land, and is stunned into returning home. She keeps the discovery secret, merely suggesting caution when her in-laws announce a plan to sell the forest land to a lumber company, and a group hikes up to see what’s there. Controversy and butterflies attract tourists and scientists, the church congregation and minister get involved, family complexities are revealed, and Dellarobia’s world is expanded as she assists the scientists and recalls atrophied abilities. Is the dislocated migration miracle or warning, survival or doom? Yes, maybe too heavy on the red-blue stereotypes and climate change lectures, and the wrapup is a tad too neat, but the characters are charming (notably the irreverent friend and the 5-year-old budding scientist son), and the presentation of science in social context is a welcome feature.

#36: Columbine by Dave Cullen -- (Aug 9)

I got this book after Sandy Hook. It is a detailed account, published a decade after the fact, of the Columbine HS massacre: the year plus of preparation and warning signs, the aftermath among survivors. Unsurprisingly, many anecdotes and speculations swirling around at the time were not true; a decade to disentangle seems about right. The portrayal is of a folie à deux, with Eric Harris as psychopath and Dylan Klebold as depressive, neither a pure case. Some of their messed up thinking slipped out to family and friends, setting off alarms and gestures of intervention, inadequate and unsustained, because who would’ve believed how deep it went? Other perspectives exist, but I’d just as soon not spend any more time with these people, so I’ll hope this one is good enough.

#37: Odds Against Tomorrow by Nathaniel Rich -- (Aug 11)

Mitchell Zukor is terrified of the worst case scenarios he imagines, and copes by calculating probabilities. Mere mention of any conceivable event, asteroid or epidemic or nuclear attack, sets off obsessive research into precedent and prevention. After college and a stint at a cubicle job, he is recruited by consulting firm FutureWorld, which exploits a legal loophole: a business that has prepared for disaster cannot be held financially responsible, and FutureWorld is protected by a limited liability clause. Mitchell’s visceral and expressive fear persuades business executives to pay for advice, whereas his boss is too obviously in it for the money. Meanwhile, he corresponds by snail mail with Elsa, a college acquaintance who has gone off the grid in New England, and wonders how she can remain serene when her medical condition could kill her at any random moment. Then an actual disaster strikes, a Katrina-like storm and flood in New York. Mitchell and his colleague Jane navigate the city by canoe, and head north to find Elsa.

I was drawn in by the first half, and felt somewhat let down by the second half. Can’t entirely say why. I would’ve preferred more of Elsa (the initial set-up suggested a pervading theme, but follow-through was sporadic) and less of Jane (who appeared suddenly and I didn’t realize for awhile that I should care), but also there was a switch in tone, from satire to drama, and maybe that was the point, neurosis meets reality, but I didn’t quite make the adjustment.

#38: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly -- (Aug 16)

Calpurnia is eleven and three quarters in the summer of 1899, and her Texas town is in the midst of a drought. She wonders why this summer there are two types of grasshopper, when normally there is only one, and bravely enters her grandfather’s sanctuary-laboratory to ask. A bond is established. He lends her On the Origin of Species; excerpts introduce each chapter. She begins a notebook of observations, and becomes a collaborator in experiments and explorations. There’s not much plot, mostly episodes of science and family: a possible new species of vetch photographed and sent to the Smithsonian for confirmation, several brothers smitten with her best friend, mother dreaming of a debutante. Calpurnia chafes against the expected destiny of a girl; cleaning and cooking done once just have to be done again, and she would much rather be investigating than sewing or knitting or tatting.

I am not as enthusiastic about this book as others have been. I was especially irritated by the detachment of the grandfather, who lives with the family but doesn’t remember the names of the children; it’s not cute, and there is no explanation of his behavior. And I was somewhat irritated by the division of the world into girl stuff and boy stuff; coordination in craftwork is not an irrelevant skill for a scientist. However, I was reading this as an adult, out of mild curiosity (clicked for the e-book when another LTer reviewed it favorably) and I haven’t been faced with the task, apparently still not so easy, of finding encouraging books for a girl.

Almost caught up with reviews. One ER to go, and I hope to finish reading one more book by the end of the month.

Flight Behavior sounds intriguing and reminds me I need to read more Kingsolver.

Too bad Odds Against Tomorrow was a disappointment; that one looked promising.

117: Oh, it is promising, and others have given it high ratings. My reviews may be too entangled with my mood at the time.

A great set of reviews, Q - thoughtful and helpful -

Wasn't there some kind of monarch disaster earlier this year? Someone just mentioned it the other day and I've been meaning to go read up.

The Mexico numbers have been going down. I doubled the milkweed in my yard this year, but I’ve seen exactly one monarch and zero caterpillars. An article in the local newspaper confirms that it’s not just me: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/888234_Where-have-all-the-monarch-butte... .

The swallowtail caterpillars, however, are abundant: http://www.librarything.com/topic/153894#4264320 .

Today is my Thingaversary! 6 years, so I get 7 books. I’ve had an Amazon order waiting for the final click, just went through...

How Bad Are Bananas by Mike Berners-Lee -- recommended by karspeak/Karen: http://www.librarything.com/topic/147085#4219869
The Wildlife Gardener's Guide by Janet Marinelli -- "people who bought..." and/or noticed on the Brooklyn Botanic Garden web site
Perennial Vegetables: From Artichokes to Zuiki Taro by Eric Toensmeier -- another book by the same author reviewed above
Tinkering with Eden: A Natural History of Exotic Species in America by Kim Todd -- another book by the same author reviewed above
Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar -- group read

The City & The City by China Mieville -- recommended by sibyx/Lucy and others on her thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/157399#4245880
Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel -- I've gotten interested in Turkey, and this was recommended in a guide book

Oooh The City and the City - my favourite.

#39: Atlantic – May 2013 -- (Aug 31)

I actually began this in May. Took awhile.

So, can I read 36 books in 4 months? I probably _can_ , but I'd need to choose carefully, and I'm not sure I want to.

123: Your enthusiasm contributed to the purchase.

Congratulations on your Thingaversary!!

Happy Thingaversary!

Happy Thingaversary! Glad to see you are celebrating appropriately.

Happy Thinga!!!

Re monarchs - It does sound as if a serious milkweed planting campaign has to happen. We have some and usually have lots of monarchs, but I can do more. It also sounds from the articles I looked at as if drought and wildfires in some critical places at the worst possible time wreaked extra special havoc this year.

Generally I've seen few butterflies around this summer - don't know if it's all the rain or what. Mourning Cloaks probably the dominant sighting this summer.

Up at 6am to go to New York for the day. LT meetup and Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Great to see you today! How was your further adventures at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden?

And now I've arrived home... The Brooklyn Botanic Garden needs more labels.

Okay, I've caught up on your thread by skipping the description part of the books and reading only the end with your reaction. All of your last three were already on my radar as things that I might like to read eventually, so I've dodged any *new* book bullets, anyway.

Happy belated Thingaversary!

134: Heh. Mine's easy. Now go catch up with Darryl and Suzanne.

And now I'm back at work. Can't you tell? Limits to what I can do before the weekly conference call later this morning, because the bosses have a habit of conversing over the weekend and switching to some new grand scheme, rendering much of what I did last week irrelevant. Because, they say when I express doubts, a startup has to be flexible. Well yes, but they’ve been starting up for a decade, and I think maybe it’s time to pick a direction and stick with it long enough to produce something tangible.

>135 qebo: Heh. Maybe first I should update my own thread with the last six books I've read....

Washington DC National Book Festival meetup report.

Thanks for the link to the meetup report!

Yea! I finally caught up on your thread. Sorry you had back to back illness then insomnia. I had insomnia this summer and was sleeping so little that it was hard to function. Tried taking Ambien, but it was awful! I got so dizzy and nauseous that I would have to lie down in the garden or wherever I happened to be. Stopped that asap. Instead I found melatonin to be helpful getting my sleep cycle back on track, and it's over the counter.

Love your meetup notes and, of course, reviews. I read a Kingsolver novel this summer too: Prodigal Summer. Lots of moth love. I liked it.

Yes, it is still hard to find good girl lit with active, science-y heroines. My daughter is ten and finds a lot of her own books now, but I still try to find some good stuff and throw it her way. Unfortunately most of the animal books star boys: My Family and Other Animals, Rascal, My Side of the Mountain, etc. She still loves them, but it would be nice to have some girls in there. For her re-enactment of a famous person born before 1950 project last year she was Rachel Carson. :-)

140: For her re-enactment of a famous person born before 1950 project last year she was Rachel Carson.
Oh cool. Silent Spring was on display in the bookstore at the train station, and I picked it up for consideration, because I've never read it, but I was mostly successful in talking myself out of new books when I have so many at home.

Hmm, moths? Maybe I should take a look at Prodigal Summer.

All these meetups are my current excuse for getting behind on reviews. The real bottleneck has been the ER Toms River, but I went through the post-its during the Labor Day Readathon weekend, so the review itself shouldn't be difficult, and reviews of the other books can be token gestures. I am sooo tired of this thread. Maybe if I put forth effort to get caught up this weekend, some lurkers, if I still have any, could chip in the occasional frivolous post to get me to 200?

I have another ER to read, The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart, which is fun, but the print is pale and strains my eyes in dim light, and that's when I generally read.

frivolous post.

142: You should make me do some work first.

I think the work should be optional.

Not to put any pressure on you but I'm really looking forward to your comments on Toms River. I got all the way up to the court case and then put it aside so I need some motivation to finish it.

I had fun catching up with you and am glad you're feeling better. I didn't realize there had been a meetup in NYC so that was added bonus.

145: I got bogged down in the court case too, didn't care so much about the details, so I stopped flagging pages with post-its and sped up the reading to get the gist.

I ordered a Little Free Library box today. May take awhile to get it installed and organize the process, but seems worth a try. My street corner is a bus stop, and I'm a few blocks from an elementary school and a middle school, so lots of kids pass by. Not that I have books for kids, but I have family members who might now that their kids have aged out.

Oh, exciting that you're getting a Little Free Library! That's one of the few things that makes me wish I had a house.

148: It'll be awhile, 2-6 weeks for delivery, and then it needs a secure post.

Well, you finally drew me back into your thread with the report that you ordered a Little Free Library. I have to see how this develops! :)

It was so nice to see you again at the National Book Festival. Let me know if I can help you with anything regarding your new Little Free Library. I'm so excited for you!

First it was native plants: next it will be a Little Free Library...
What will come next?

*dramatic sound*

:D

150: You are an inspiration!

Answer to question in msg #150:
Your Little Free Library as an Ingress portal.

Heh!

Your Little Free Library, that is marvelous! I wish I could have one, but it's not practical. No one walks on our main road and no one could pull over their car safely unless I put it somewhere they'd never see it!!!!

I'm so excited you are getting a LFL! I would love to have one but we are on a cul de sac in a not very well traveled area. Your situation sounds perfect. Keep us posted!

> 154

Laura,

There is a LFL that I occasionally visit near Catonsville, Maryland. It is stewarded by a Bookcrosser who lives "on a cul de sac in a not very well traveled area". I found it on the map at the littlefreelibrary.org website. I stop by that LFL each time I visit my friend (Barbara - who qebo now knows!) in that city. My LFL has not been mapped yet although I've had it registered (they took my money!) over two months ago and complained about it not being mapped. :(

You'll have to post pictures when you get your LFL. I've wanted my better half to build one, but maybe a kit would be a better idea.

156: I don't have the tools to build one. I considered getting an unfinished one and painting or staining it, but decided this was likely to add several months to the time frame while I scouted around for supplies and made decisions and sheltered a space from the cats and such, so I'm getting one that's already stained, can decorate further if I wish, but don't have to.

>155 SqueakyChu:: interesting! I used the map myself not long ago and discovered there's one nearby. Which reminds me, I really should drive by and check it out.

> 158

Do that! I'm going to check out a couple new ones in the Baltimore area myself today! When you get back, add the one you visited to LT Local as most of the LFLs are not listed at all.

LFLs are as much fun as Ingress, Markeroni*, and geocaching, but have the advantage of FREE BOOKS!

*Played by a number of my BookCrossing friends.

159: Markeroni
Sigh. Looks like Lancaster needs work, but lemme deal with Ingress first.

We have a LFL in our town already which I think I had heard - so that is probably sufficient! I must visit it though and take something good to put in it.

Quick link: http://littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap/ .
Not up to date. SqueakyChu is missing.

> 160

qebo, do NOT get sidetracked until you have your LFL up and running! :)

>162 qebo:

These people at LFL are making me crazy. I registered my LFL over two months ago. They took my money. I wrote to them about the missing mapping. They have my pics. They say that there are too many LFLs for the few people that map them. It will eventually be mapped (or so they say). I really can't see how mapping can take all that much time. I'd do it myself if I could. Mapping is really important to get the word out about any individual LFL that is sort of "off the beaten track" as is mine.

Ooh, Markeroni does sound like fun. But I wonder if that's another thing that's better with or requires a smartphone.

Madeline, did LFL give you anything for your money so far?

I still think registering your LFLs as Geocaches might be a good idea, because that would be another way of attracting more people.

You could also change the Local status to "Library". It has library in the name, after all, and is a place where people can get books for free!

Is there a LibraryThing group for Little Free Libraries? LT could be another way to generate interest.

164: Yeah, that is annoying. When is "eventually"? Who is "They"? The contact form on the web site? I'd contact specific people directly and volunteer. The map is rather crucial to the community aspect, and two months suggests a broken system.

> 165

Markeroni does not require a smartphone. It requires a camera. My BC buddies always stop en route to any function if they see a historical marker. They put their "marker" (a Beanie Baby, for example) on the historical marker and take a picture. That's proof they were actually there in person. Each person has a different "marker".

I just gave up my job as CSA newsletter editor and am presently not looking for a new time sink. No Markeroni for me! :)

Little Free Library, in exchange for my $35, gave me a handcrafted official sign to attach to my LFL and a "steward kit" which is mostly information for myself and visitors to the Little Free Library. the "mapping" is done only after the LFL has it's official sign posted and a picture of the LFL taken with the official sign attached.

I don't want anything besides book in my LFL. Isn't Geocaches for all sorts of things?

You could also change the Local status to "Library". It has library in the name, after all, and is a place where people can get books for free!

I'll have to think about that. I was just going to ask Jeremy...until I realized he's not here any more. I don't think people use LT Local to find libraries. People know where their local libraries are. They use it more for book stores (I'd imagine).

There are not enough LFL stewards here to make a successful LT (or BookCrossing) group. There are no listservs or discussion groups either. The best thing I've found so far is for my LFL to "like" other near-by LFLs with FB pages. That way we can follow each other on FB, get ideas from each other, and visit each other's LFL.

> 166

I don't want to volunteer to do their mapping because I hate working with their map (which seems to jump all over the place and is hard to use). I will continue to annoy them if LFL #7720 does not get mapped soon.

People know where their local libraries are.

You would think. But at our town parade and festival this year, the Friends of the Library had a table set up with brochures, etc. I don't know how many people came up and said they didn't know that we had a town library. One person who had just moved here said that she had even asked at the town hall and was told that we didn't have one! It's not as though it's a small library either, although it isn't in the downtown area, and it's part of one of the most active library systems in the US. I was shocked.

ETA: Our town has 11,000 people

I'm shocked, too.

I have spent The. Whole. Day. on reviews, and finally finally finally finished the review for Toms River, six months after I read it. I'm unthrilled with the result, but I can't stand to have it sitting on my desk any longer.

Yay!!! You may be unthrilled with the result but I'm sure I will get a lot out of your review of Toms River.

Hi Katherine

I understand what you mean regarding writing reviews. At times it seems a chore. for me, there are times when what I want to say about a book runs short of the feelings I have.

Hello to you.

#40: The Dervish House by Ian McDonald -- (Sep 2)

Istanbul in the near future, 2027, with interlocking tales of six people who reside in a former dervish house: (1 & 2) wife Ayse an antiques dealer and husband Adnan a commodities trader, she seeking an illegal and possibly mythical artifact for a hefty fee, he scheming with work buddies to reroute a gas pipeline and buy low and sell high, (3) Leyla, a young woman from a rural town with the prospect of escaping via a marketing degree, connected by an aunt to a cousin’s startup company, which hands her the task of soliciting investment capital for DNA data storage technology, (4) Necdet, a young man not quite right in the head, taken in by his brother who is there to revive the religious community, (5) Can, a boy with a heart defect that is set off by loud noises so his parents make him wear sound-canceling ear devices, who passes the time with shape-changing bitbots, (6) Georgios, a retired economics professor, who hangs out in a teahouse reminiscing with fellow Greek expatriates and is recruited to participate in a government forum on terrorism and security.

The story begins with a bomb in a tram, and continues for five days of a heat wave and unfolding intrigue, as characters are caught up in or witness the event. The bomb is peculiar, apparently not intended to kill. Necdet, on the tram at the crucial moment, begins to have visions of djinn. Can sent a bitbot to take a look at the chaos out of curiosity, and happened upon a surveillance robot with a more serious agenda, which he reports to Georgios. This is a near future of nano-everything, smoothly interwoven not as gee-wiz but as an everyday thing, layered over history. I was confused much of the time, though the author helpfully had character conversations summarize episodes, which gave me enough of the plot to continue on. I’m not much for terrorism or schemes, so I focused on Can, Boy Detective, and his bitbots, and hoped things would turn out OK for Leyla. Which may not be what I was supposed to do. I’m sure I missed all sorts of subtleties and themes. Oh well. I’d try another by this author, now that I sort of know what I’m in for.

#41: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon -- (Sep 4)

An autistic boy discovers the neighbor’s dog dead, killed with a garden fork. His teacher wants him to write a story, and he is a fan of Sherlock Holmes, so he decides to write a murder mystery about the dog. This is his voice, and it is extremely engaging, and informative, as his investigation gets him interacting with the neighbors and trying to understand the social world, when he has trouble matching facial expressions to emotions, and trouble figuring out what people mean by metaphors (he helpfully explains the difference between a metaphor, which is a lie, and a simile, which is not), and trouble with with casual interaction. (I didn’t reply to this either because Mrs. Alexander was doing what is called chatting, where people say things to each other which aren’t questions and answers and aren’t connected.) Lying is a big deal, morally but also because it is confusing. He digresses frequently into math (prime numbers, the Monty Hall problem, a proof that his teacher told him should be a footnote because most people won’t be interested), which is why I have this book; it was a gift from a friend knows that I like this sort of thing. We see both his mind ticking away, and how he is viewed by others as a cluster of Behavioral Problems (* Smashing things when I am angry or confused. * Groaning. * Not liking yellow things or brown things and refusing to touch yellow things and brown things.). We see his father, caring and loyal and advocating in his behalf, but also lashing out in frustration. And then BEGIN SPOILER there is a really really big lie, which threw me out of the story and into WTF territory: He has mentioned that his mother died two years ago, without much emotion, just a fact, but it turns out that his mother left the family and moved away, and has written letters which his father has hidden in a box. END SPOILER. This serves to move the plot along, but I really don’t think the plot needed moving along in this manner. Worth reading regardless.

Oops, double post.

#42: Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel -- (Sep 9)

An old man is murdered in the Jewish section of Istanbul, his apartment marked with a swastika drawn with his blood. Detectives Ikman and Suleyman are called to investigate. A young English teacher was seen in the vicinity, when he is questioned he begins to worry that his sortof-girlfriend was involved, and he is willing to compromise himself for her sake. Suspicion begins to fall on linkages going back decades, to World War II and the old man’s former employer, German and a Nazi sympathizer, and to the Bolshevik Revolution and the old man’s former lover, matriarch of a family of Russian immigrants that includes the sortof-girlfriend. I read this book for atmosphere and history, and there is a fair amount both, but mostly... every single person in this book is so extremely bizarrely unpleasant that I really didn’t care whodunnit. Detectives Ikman and Suleyman are supposed to be flawed but likeable, and to some extent they are, but not to enough extent to redeem the ick factor of everyone else.

#43: The Wildlife Gardener's Guide by Janet Marinelli -- (Sep 12)

I got this because it was mentioned somewhere in my traipsing around in native plant info, and I was about to visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which publishes this book and others of its ilk. It is short and simple and unremarkable information-wise, but it is nicely organized with essentials for attracting birds and butterflies and beneficial insects, basic descriptions of various environments such as forests and floodplains, lists of appropriate native plants for different regions, instructions for spaces as small as a backyard border or window box. Nowhere near exhaustive, but a useful item to have around.

#44: W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton -- (Sep 19)

I got this far, may as well continue the alphabet until the end. Comfortable. Unprofound but not dumb.

#45: Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton -- (Sep 24)

I read this because I loved Among Others, and was intrigued by the concept of the book: Framley Parsonage with dragons. Jo Walton can tell a story, I’ll give it that; I cared about the characters, I wanted to know what happened to them. Otherwise, perhaps my mental image of dragons is all wrong, but I wasn’t ever able to fit them with the events (and especially into the historical backdrop) of this story.

#46: Atlantic – June 2013 -- (Sep 24)



#47: Atlantic – July/August 2013 -- (Sep 28)

Oops, need to fit in another book that I forgot, so I'm doubling up here.

And with this, I am CAUGHT UP for the first time since January. (There's a pesky matter of a few Scientific Americans, but I've written those off as a lost cause for this year.)

Now PLEASE, I beg you all, get me out of this thread!

169: I’m not so terribly surprised about residents, but rather dismayed about town hall.
172: I hope this motivates you to finish! Skim!
173: Hi, Linda!

> 177

At first, your description of Belshazzar's Daughter sounded interesting, However, by the time I finished reading your review, I decided not to pull it from my Little Free Library to read it. Let's see if we get a taker for it there. If not, I'll move it along to my other BookCrossing buddies.

184: I don't think it's junk; the author is a known entity, and recommended in a travel guide to Turkey, which is why I read it, and this is the first of a series that I gather develops the characters of the detectives. Other reviews are positive. I just couldn't take the people, any of them, and when I’m reading a mystery some of the tension is wondering whether someone I care about is all messed up underneath the surface.

I just read and thumbed your review of Toms River. You seemed to have captured the high points as I remember them and it will be a good way for me to get back into the book. For some reason, I think I will mostly remember this book for the history of the chemical dye business which was more interesting than I would have expected.

I need to get back to The Emperor of All Maladies. I got stuck fairly early on in that book when they were talking about the history of chemotherapy. The problem I'm having with learning more about cancer is that so much is still unknown. It's discouraging.

186: I will mostly remember this book for the history of the chemical dye business which was more interesting than I would have expected.
Me too. I'd known nothing. And I was also struck by the problem of industrial waste going back 150 years.

I was also struck by the problem of industrial waste going back 150 years.

Yes! For some reason, I think of it as a much more modern problem. I don't think I thought much about it at all until hearing about the Superfund sites.

Hi Katherine - it is good to get back to your thread. The Little Free Library sounds great!! Has it turned up yet?

I'm sighing about your reaction t o Barbara Nadel. I have several books from *two* of her series here unread, bought based on LT reviews, and one of them is your one. I will read it eventually in case I like it more, but I too like to have at least one likable character when I'm reading mysteries.

Although you didn't love it, I'm curious about the Dervish House after reading your review. Too bad about Belshazzar's Daughter. I too had mixed feelings about Curious Incident. Liked the voice but confused by some plot devices.

Just go ahead and start a new thread--do you need to wait until you get to 200?

Congratulations on catching up!

So I signed up for Markeroni just now. I haven't done anything yet and barely looked around the site, but it seems like fun.

Madeline, I'll have to look into whether Geocaches can be restricted to a certain type of item.

I'm so jealous that you are caught up with your reviews! And add my vote to those wanting to see a picture of your LFL when you have received it and gotten it put up.

190: do you need to wait until you get to 200?
Can't use the continuation feature until 200, despite numerous requests (too tired to look for the relevant thread), and not using it breaks the flow.

Well, we'll just have to do what we can to get you to 200, then!

> 191


So I signed up for Markeroni just now. I haven't done anything yet and barely looked around the site, but it seems like fun.

LOL!! Zoe, for sure, you're a real BookCrosser now. It seems that all of my BC group do that except for me!

> 172

It looks as if the LFL could be a Waymark* on geocaching. I'm not going to do that because I don't want to start playing the game. If others want to do that, it's fine with me.

* "A Locationless Cache could be considered the opposite of a Traditional Cache. Instead of finding a hidden container, you locate a specific object and log its coordinates. New locationless geocaches are now Waymarks."

Oh, didn't know about the 200 rule. That's a pain.

But you are almost there...

In fact,

Ta da!!!!

Bing!!! 201.

Such excellent people here on LT! I've remembered that I finished another book I forgot to log, and and I'm 50 pages from the end of another that's going quickly. Neither will require much review. So I should be able to finish September in September, and move on tomorrow.

Too late to help, but I concur that it is very satisfying to start a new thread on the first day of a new month!

Very good reviews - I have Curious Incident around somewhere - you encourage me to pull it out.

Congratulations on catching up! I also caught up with you - a very dangerous thing to do because you have read so many good books and reviewed them mostly enticingly.
And I could have helped you to the continue number and didn't. Bad Lizzie!
I look forward to your new thread tomorrow.

#48: The Pine Barrens by John McPhee -- (Sep 30)

I’m not sure why I even have this book. Perhaps I tossed this into the pot with another book by John McPhee? I read it now because I’d been writing a review of Toms River which is on the edge of the pine barrens, and because it is short so why not. It was published as a book in 1967 after a run in New Yorker magazine. My paperback is recent. An epilogue of changes since then would’ve been a welcome feature, especially since the last chapter is about schemes in the past and pressures in the then-present to sell and develop the land. Also an index would’ve been nice. 45 years is long enough ago that it’s not so clear how much is time and how much is place. Local characters throughout, not so very exotic, but there is an interesting chapter on forest fires, and a couple of botanical bits stood out for me. (1) This is where cultivated blueberries were developed. In 1911, Elizabeth White read an article in a USDA publication suggesting the possibility of crossing wild blueberries for improved varieties, and invited its author Frederick Colville to use her family land for experiments. The collaboration was commercially successful, and some of the results were named after the “pineys” who collected blueberries, for example the Rubel blueberry. (2) An episode of Edgar Wherry leading a field trip through the woods, pointing to a “weed of civilization”, ebony spleenwort. It is not a pine barrens native, could not be, because the soil is too acidic. It enters as spores, and grows where lime was used for buildings, marking ruins even if there is no other visible evidence.

9 books/magazines in September, so there's still hope for 75 if I choose wisely (= short with a dose of fluff).

Interesting about the blueberry cultivation. I'm from Maine, home of the wild blueberry. Here in Seattle, I planted tall bush blueberries though. Wild berries are yummier, but a killer on the back when harvesting.