Books Consumed

1) Chrysalis: Maria Sybilla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis by Kim Todd (1/6/2012) – This is a fascinating study of an amazing woman, the development of the study of natural history, European women’s roles during the Age of Reason and, oh yes, insect metamorphosis. So good.

2) Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick (1/9/2012) – SF/fantasy novels are one of my guiltiest pleasures. This was one of the most surreal of those guilty pleasures I’ve ever encountered.

3) American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis (1/21/12) – Totally fascinating, and eminently quotable. Although it does seem that Joseph Ellis might be painting our founding fathers with the crazy brush – but that humanizes them in ways I didn’t know were possible.

4) The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card (1/24/12) – Wizards, gods, kids growing up. Typical Orson Scott Card, fun and addictive, completely void of redeeming value.

5) Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol (1/22/12) Lovely.

6) Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester (2/4/12) Reminding me of why I have been so fascinated by volcanoes at various points in my life. Earth science: it’s intense!

7) Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon’s Army & Other Diabolical Insects by Amy Stewart (2/7/12) Soooooooooo grooooooooss and so good.

8) What we eat when we eat alone by Deborah Madison and Patrick McFarlin (2/9/12)

9) The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein (2/19/12)

10) Weeds: In Defense of Nature’s Most Unloved Plants by Richard Mabey (3/10/12) – I particularly enjoyed this one for its perspective on the way things have purposes and uses, and differentiating between those concepts. That may not have been the point, but it helped my brain.

11) 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (3/12/12) I didn’t ever want it to end.

12) Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick (3/23/12) So rough to read, but so worth it if you live in the United States.

13) Dancing Naked in the Mind Field by Kary Mullis (3/30/12) Brilliant people are often crazy. Just in case you forgot!

14) The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster’s Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture by Joshua Kendall (4/10/12)

15) The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America by Russell Shorto (4/28/12)

16) Foundation by Mercedes Lackey (4/30/12) Man, fiction is fun and easy to read!

17) Curriculum Vitae by Muriel Spark (5/6/12) Like listening to my grandmother reminisce, if my grandmother was a divorced, Catholic, feminist Scottish novelist.