blue_lotus13 | What I've been reading lately

1. Snakebit by Leslie Anthony- I seem to have become a bit of a biologist lately, which is sort of interesting. I really enjoyed this book, which explores the life of a herpetologist. I learned a lot about snakes, and academia. This book was funny and unruly and a lot of fun to read. I have a greater appreciation for the creepy crawlies now :)

2. Babylon Rolling by Amanda Boyden- I wasn't that big of a fan of Amanda's first book, but holy crap did I like this one. It details the lives of five families on one street in New Orleans in the year before Hurricane Katrina. Boyden is able to shift effortlessly between a number of voices, and aptly tackles themes of racism, community, friendship, family and love. Highly recommended.

3. Fruitless Fall by Rowan Jacobsen- Last year, I read over 30 books about bees. This book discusses the role of bees when it comes to pollination and agriculture and how the death of bees will hurt agriculture. I thought it was an excellent book and recommend it to anyone interested in the impact of bees on our food supply.

4. Outrageously Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor- This book was on a list of banned books for teens so I checked it out. Alice is a 13-year-old who is interested in sex and sexuality. I think this book did a good job of discussing how teens learn about sex. It was a very quick and funny read.

5. Food Matters by Mark Bittman- Bittman takes a page from Pollan and discusses the problems in our food supply and the environmental impact of how North Americans eat. He then finds a way for us to discuss how we should eat to be more ethical and environmental. He also includes recipes. Highly recommended, especially if you want to eat ethically and know more about the food system.

6. Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell- This is basically a memoir of what it's like to be poor in Paris and London. It's a good read, but I can't say that I enjoyed it because it's extremely painful and parts of it are gross. Still, Orwell is a master and there's a lot that can be learned from him.

7. Night of the Gun by David Carr- I need to remember that addiction memoirs can take over my life. This book is an addiction memoir written by a journalist. He uses his journalistic techniques to explore his past, interviewing and documenting his own cocaine addiction and his salvation which happened when his coke addicted partner gave birth to his twin daughters. This book was horribly disturbing, but compelling. Carr doesn't make himself look like a hero, and he explores many ideas about how we create and preserve our own memory.