Oct.19, 2009

I finished several books since my last post:
The Medicine Cabinet of Curiosities : an unconventional compendium of health facts and oddities from asthmatic mice to plants that can kill, by Nick Bakalar, 2009. Non-fiction. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? The title pretty much explains it all. But it was hit and miss. The book is broken up into short sections about various medically-related stuff. Basically, this guy just took a bunch of facts that are readily available and mashed them into a book. I'd skip it unless you REALLY like this subject. Rating = 2.

The Dangerous World of Butterflies : the startling subculture of criminals, collectors, and conservationists , by Peter Laufer, 2009.  Non-fiction. This guy, a reporter and author of many books on more serious topics, explores the world of butterfly collectors, watchers, exhibitors, and breeders. I admit to being very prone to collection-obsession myself (although I can usually fight it off), so I always find books about collectors interesting, especially if they relate to natural history. (I'd recommend The Orchid Thieves, by Susan Orleans, as a well-written example of the genre). This one is well-written, and interesting, although the author (apparently also a radio talk show host) really slants the stories towards his view, and inserts quite a bit of unnecessary political commentary as well. I guess I feel he didn't pursue what I thought were some of the more interesting aspects of the story, at least not all the time. But, I enjoyed it overall. I rate it a 3.

The Wild Trees : a story of passion and daring , by Richard Preston, 2007. Non-fiction. You may know this guy, as I did, from his mid-1990s mega-selling book about Ebola in particular and emerging viruses in general. If you never read it, it still stands up today, even though many of the revelations in it are a little dated. The Hot Zone will give you chills at times. He also wrote a book about Mad Cow disease and the theory (fairly much accepted now, I think) that it is caused by a prion, rather than the traditional bacteria or virus, which was also a good book. Anyway, this one is defiantly a digression from the deadly pathogen genre. This book is about the tallest species of trees, especially redwoods, and the people who learned to find, climb, and research these massive behemoths. As with the other books I've read by this author, the book is a tauntly written, quick-reading, and engaging tale of true-life adventure, obsession (with giant trees- that's a little unique), and scientific exploration. Of course, I thought the subject was fascinating anyway. I really enjoyed this; I chewed through it in part of one evening. I'd rate this one a 4.

I also read one Graphic Novel of note:
Amulet : Book 2- The stonekeepers curse, by Kazu Kibuishi, 2009. I haven't read Book 1 of this magna series, but it looked interesting, so I gave it a go. Kind of a weird mix of fantasy (evil, dark elves), steam-punk, sci-fi, and Warner Brothers-looking cartoon animals mixed with people. But well-done, with nice art (especially some panoramic landscapes), and an engaging cast. I'll read more of this series. Rating = 3.