Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

My latest read is Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, a memoir by Rhoda Janzen. Rhoda Janzen was living her life as in English professor when her husband dropped a bomb on her: he was leaving her for a gay man named Bob. Within that same week, she was in a car accident. She decided to take her sabbatical and head back to California to her Mennonite family.

The book focuses on her time back at home, reconnecting with her Mennonite roots. She reflects on her life growing up Mennonite. She reminisces on such things as the food they used to have to bring to lunch at school, such as borscht, or her desire to dance while growing up. She also delves into her relationship with her ex-husband and how it came to end. Her visit home is a healing process, not only physically, but emotionally.

Overall, this is an OK read. The book starts out strong but sort of drags out towards the end. It was interesting to learn about the Mennonites, since I didn't know too much about them before reading the book. Also, it's an interesting going back home story. Though Mennonite culture was not central to her adult life, Janzen never forgot where she comes from, and speaks of her Mennonite life fondly.

So, if you are looking for a  pretty easy read, that will help teach you more about Mennonite culture, this would be a good book to read.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Beaufort Diaries

Recently I read a nice short read, a graphic novel by T. Cooper, The Beaufort Diaries. The husband insisted I pick it up at the "going out of business Borders" since it had a bear on the cover and would provide me fodder for my bear blog.

The Beaufort Diaries centers around a polar bear named Beaufort. He got separated from his mother via an ice floe. He headed south and eventually made it to Hollywood. While waiting tables, he gets a part in a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio about global warming. The film wins critical acclaim and Beaufort is the new hot thing in Hollywood. Then things go down hill for Beaufort. He passes on a part in The Golden Compass 2, his movie Bear bombs at the box office, and he gets hooked on drugs and alcohol. But don't give up hope, Beaufort finds himself again in the theater.

Overall, a quick entertaining read dealing with some real grown up issues. A short film based on the book was shown at the Tribeca film festival. You can check that out at my bear blog (click here).

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Up in the Air

About a year ago, I watched the movie "Up in the Air" starting George Clooney. I really enjoyed the movie, especially the story line.   I had heard the novel itself was very good, but didn't have a chance to read the novel by Walther Kirn until recently. Let me say this, if you have seen the movie, you have a different story coming at you in the novel. Needless to say, the movie was loosely based on the book.

The story focuses around Ryan Bingham, a man who lives his life constantly in the air, flying from destination to destination. Ryan works in the field of career transition counseling. That is, he is brought in by companies to fire people, but he makes it seem less traumatic by counseling on their strengths and weaknesses for them to use in their future endeavors. On the side, Ryan goes around as a sort of a motivational speaker for the business sector.

Ryan has spent so much time flying, he is well recognized by several of the employees of Great West airlines, with which he is trying to earn one million frequent-flyer miles. Additionally, he knows the layout of the rooms in Homewood Suites, and is a loyal customer of Maestro car rentals. He secretly hopes he is being pursued by head hunters from a company called Myth Tech. However, he has a great disconnect from his own family back home in Minnesota, who are dealing with the planning of his sister Julie's wedding.

If you enjoyed the movie, I think you will enjoy the book, even though the two are nothing alike. I'm serious, they share the name of the main character, what his job is, the fact that he is trying to earn one million frequent-flyer miles, and that there is a sister getting married, but that is about it. Still, the book kept me captivated and it was quite an enjoyable read. 

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk

Alright, so today I bring you yet another David Sedaris book of short stories, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. Think of this set of stories as a modern day, bad ass Aesop's Fables. What I really like about this set of stories is that Sedaris assigns both likable and unlikable human qualities to animals. My favorite stories include The Toad, the Turtle and the Duck, where the cast of characters are waiting in line for something in the swamp, The Mouse and the Snake, where a mouse cares for a baby corn snake, and The Grieving Owl, where an owl befriends a hippopotamus at the zoo. The stories are funny and you can easily knock this book out in a couple of hours. Another thing also enjoyable about this book are the illustrations by Ian Falconer, who is known as the author and illustrator of the Olivia the Pig books. Each story has at least one illustration associated with it, which is just as amusing as the story. Over all, this is a fun, quick read that I would recommend.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Barrel Fever by David Sedaris

Alright, today I bring you the second book I've read by David Sedaris, Barrel Fever, a collection of short stories and essays. This set of stories is not autobiographical like they were in Me Talk Pretty One Day. There are several amusing stories, like The Last You'll Hear From Me, a letter being read at the funeral of girl who committed suicide. Another one I like, though it had a slightly disturbing ending, was Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family. Santaland Diaries is an autobiographical essay about David's time working as an elf at Macy's during Christmas time. There are several stories in which homosexuality is either an underlying or active theme. If you are uncomfortable with that concept, then you probably won't enjoy the book. However, if you don't care, like I do, you should find all the stories amusing on some level.


Tuesday, September 27, 2011

American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

My most recent read is something I don't normally read about, history. I've never been a big history fan. I think it stems from my history class in high school. The teacher really didn't care, and therefore didn't make it something that interested me. However, living right outside of Washington D.C., you can't help but be inundated by history. I've become interested more and more by the founding fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson. The Jefferson Memorial is one of my favorites to visit. Recently, the hubby and I made a trip to Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello. You can read about it and see  pictures of our visit at my other blog (click here). We loved our visit and learning more about our 3rd president. With our local Border's going out of business, we finally decided to pick up a biography about Jefferson.


We chose American Sphinx:  The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph Ellis since it was a well known biography of Jefferson and was a National Book Award Winner. This book examines several different time periods in Jefferson's life, starting with his time in Philadelphia, examining his life in France, his tenure as president, and ending with time in Monticello.

There are so many interesting tidbits in this book. We learn about his views on slavery. He was torn about ending slavery because he wasn't sure if the slaves would be able to properly incorporate themselves into American life. We learn about the establishment of his beloved University of Virginia, where he was adamant that it have no religious affiliation. We learn about his views on government. He preferred state rights and despised the Supreme Court. We learn about his love/hate relationship with John Adams and the letters they exchanged later in life.

This book was truly interesting and I learned a lot. It can be dense at times, especially when it comes to political dealings, but then it breaks into these wonderful sections about Jefferson's personal views on different topics, and that is what I really enjoyed. So, if you want to learn more about this founding father, I think this is a good place to start.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Handmaid's Tale

I read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood at the suggestion of my dear hubby. He really likes this book, and now I can see why.

Imagine a world where the religious right are in power. There are few women able to bear children, and those that are able to are rounded up and are sent to a school to become a Handmaid.

Handmaid's are assigned to families, each lead by a Commander. Handmaids are expected to take part in a "ceremony" each month in an effort to produce a child for the family she is assigned to.

The story centers around the main character of Offred, a handmaid. This story moves back and forth from Offred telling of her experiences as a handmaid, her time at the school where she learned to become a handmaid, and the time before the religious Gileads took over the country.

I envisioned the main character living a normal life during something like the 80's, and then being forced into this servitude and living in a world that is a weird mix of the middle ages and modern times.

I think the main reason I like this book so much is because it reminds me a lot of 1984 by George Orwell. It's a world where people are being constantly monitored and whisked away to never be seen again if they did something displeasing to the regime.

I highly recommend this book, especially if you haven't read Margaret Atwood before. It is an interesting depiction of what our world could be like if our country was run as a Christian theocracy.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Me Talk Pretty One Day

For today's book review I bring you Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. I know, I know, I'm a little late jumping on the David Sedaris train, please forgive me.


Me Talk Pretty One Day is a collection of short stories about David Sedaris' life. It is divided into two parts. The first part includes several stories about his childhood growing up near the Research Triangle in North Carolina, from when he was older and in college, and post college. The second half of the book is focused on his time in Paris, France living with his boyfriend, Hugh.

I love short stories, and I was really entertained by the stories within this collection. Some of my favorite stories include "Giant Dreams, Midget Abilities", which is about David taking guitar lessons at the bequest of his father, and "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and "Jesus Shaves", which are both about David talking French lessons while in France.

I think the thing I like most about this book is that it is so candid. He's honest about his drug use and his homosexuality. He is willing to share the awkward moments in his life in an honest and funny light. I'm now hooked. Our local Borders is going out of business, and I swiped up every David Sedaris book I could find. I look forward to reading his other collections and I highly recommend this book of short stories, especially if you want to laugh to yourself or out loud.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origins


Today I bring to you Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life’s Origins by Robert M. Hazen. 


Creationists always think they can stick it to evolutionary biologists by going “haha, you can’t explain how life came into existence”.  Well, quite frankly, that is not the business we are in. Evolutionary biologists think about how life has changed over time. But, that doesn’t mean an evolutionary biologist should remain uneducated about the origins of life, which is why I decided to read this book.

Hazen is an astrobiologist in the middle of the current research investigating how life arose on earth. This book is in some ways a personal account about Hazen’s life and his personal quest, along with his colleagues, to figure out how life came to exist. He touches on several different aspects of origins research. He mentions the early work of Urey and Miller, the two scientists who really pioneered origins research. He talks about the competing theories of where life began, at the ocean’s surface with waves crashing against rocks in the presence of violent early atmosphere, or in the depths of the ocean, under extreme pressures at hydrothermal vents.  He ends with talking about how self-replication might have arisen, with plenty other topics in between.

Overall, this book was O.K. I certainly leave feeling more informed about origins research. I also like how he made this book personal to his experiences. A couple things I didn’t like. One was the technicality of the book. While I could understand it pretty readily due to my background in science, I have concerns that someone from the general public might have a hard time with it. The second, he seems to be an apologist to the religious. Even though he seems against intelligent design, on page 80 of the book he states “Isn’t it more satisfying to believe in a God who created the whole shebang from the outset—a God of natural laws who stepped back and doesn’t meddle in our affairs?” Why even evoke God if there are natural laws that explain the observations? Just stick to the science, man!!

Overall, this is a good read to start with if you want to begin to understand origins research. I just wish the author had kept the science and religion separate. 

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Welcome to my new blog!!

Well, this is the second blog I'm starting.  This new blog came about because I got jealous of the hubby blogging about all the books he is reading at darwinbookcats. Plus, I'm reading a lot of good books and I wanted to share!!

What types of books will I review here? Well, I read a lot of popular science books. As a scientist, I love reading about what other scientists are doing and how they present that information to the general public. I try to read fiction when I can. This is something I did all the time when I was younger, but sort of fell out of as I got older and became busy with school and work. I'm trying to get back into it now that I have the time. Also, I love short story collections, and I've been reading more of those lately.

I plan to post as soon as I get done reading a book, which normally takes anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks, depending on my level of busy-ness. Luckily, I take the bus to and from work, so I have designated reading time everyday!!

This blog is called The Science of Reading. One reason for this is because, well, I'm a scientist writing about books. But secondly, reading in general has become a science for me. I have to read a lot of scientific papers for work, and that in itself is a science. Being able to read, comprehend, and retain information for that kind of work takes time and practice. Something that I learned over time. Secondly, fitting reading for pleasure into our everyday lives can be a science. Everyone has to juggle something, work, kids, commuting, and fitting reading in can be quite a challenge.

I hope everyone enjoys this new blog. You can check out my other blog about National Parks and other natural places at iheartnationalparks.blogspot.com.