A Good Read

In previous posts I have discussed music and movies, but today I am moved to write about books.   What a person likes to read can be so subjective.   I like to read the occasional novel (John Grisham is an author I consistently enjoy) and I have found the occasional Janet Evanovich is a be a nice distraction.  But for the most part I like reading what can best be described as "informative, yet entertaining, nonfiction".   Currently I am reading The Disappearing Spoon which is about the history and drama behind the periodic table of elements.  I loved chemistry in college and have always been fascinated by it, so this book is proving to be a captivating and interesting read.  The author also makes liberal use of interesting footnotes, though inconveniently placed in the back of the book.

My absolute favorite author (who uses footnotes both judiciously and hilariously) is Mary Roach.  In fact, I am surprised I haven't talked more about her writing in this blog.   I started with her first book Stiff, which is about the scientific use of cadavers.    After eating that up, I quickly went through her other books, Spook (about the science of the afterlife) and Bonk (about the science of sex).   At this point I was hooked and was then excited to hear that she was coming out with Packing for Mars, about the exploration of outer space.   I bought it the day it came out and read through it with relish. When she stopped by Austin on a book tour, I was out of town, so my husband graciously went to hear her speak and got her to autograph one of my books.   He has since become a fan as well.  He was also able to learn the title of her next upcoming book, which sounds interesting, though I don't want to make any assumptions about the content based on the title.

What makes me enjoy Ms. Roach's writing so much is her thoughtful insight and hilarious commentary on the topics about which she writes.   She is a science writer, so the topics are informative, but in the most interesting way.   Her commentary and writing is thus supported by extensive research.   I mean, this woman contacts the most relevant researchers and gets unprecedented access to the places that can best explain/illustrate the topic she is covering.  For example, while researching space exploration, she got access to Russian cosmonauts and their space program, as well as got to ride in the US's "vomit comet"  the plane which does a parabolic flight to mimic weightlessness.  Awesome!    Through it all, she describes the experience and discusses the topic with grace and humor.

I realized I hadn't written in this blog for awhile, and at the same time I am mulling inviting Ms. Roach to speak at the place I work.   (It is not a stretch at all for her to be a speaker, here, though I personally might do it if I thought it was necessary).  In fact, it was one of my colleagues who suggested inviting her to speak, which I wish I had thought of myself.   This is the same colleauge who shares my love of film and applies it to our work.   So naturally, we get along aces.   Well, I am off to extend the invitation to Ms. Roach.  I hope it works out.