The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life

This is a collection of 44 essays by Bill McKibben. I have been meaning to read works by this author for some time now and have finally done so. I will be requesting more of Bill McKibben's works from the library. Some of the essays are personal in nature, others concern his environmental activism, all are excellent and thought provoking. His works have inspired environmental activists for years including Al Gore. I challenge anyone who cares about saving our planet to pick up something by him and read it.

Intern: A Doctor's Initiation

Although the author, Sandeep Jauhar, a cardiologist, did his internship over ten years ago the memories of this confusing, grueling period in his life remain clear. Mr. Jauhar enters medical school after already completing a PhD program in Physics. He is full of self doubt when he enters medical school and his memoir takes us through the arduous journey of a medical intern then resident. Wonderful read and Sandeep breaks down some of the more complex medical terminology so that laymen unfamiliar with the language of medicine can understand and appreciate his journey.

Riding Outside the Lines

Riding Outside the Lines: International Incidents and Other Misadventures With the Metal Cowboy is another rollicking bicycle adventure by Joe Kurmaskie. I like this guy. He writes well, doesn't take himself too seriously, and makes me laugh out loud. What more could you want from a book. An added bonus is that I learn a bit about the places he rides to,the people and their culture. I look forward to reading more from this author.

The Lives of Rocks

I have read several books by Rick Bass, the author of The Lives of Rocks. I thoroughly enjoy his writing and am always pleased when I pick up something that I have not yet read by him. He writes about nature and man's relationship to it. His writing reminds me of Wallace Stegner. The Lives of Rocks is a collection of 10 short stories all sharing the themes of nature, man's triumphs and losses and love. If you enjoy authors like Stegner or Ivan Doig then you will most likely enjoy Rick Bass.

A Natural Sense of Wonder

Yet another wonderful find at the library, A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature through the Seasons by Rick Van Noy, was an absolute delight to read. Rick Van Noy writes from his own experiences of getting his kids off of the couch and out into the great outdoors. His prose is simple and the book is comprised of narrative essays exploring childhood and nurturing in your children the sense of wonder with the world that we seem to lose as adults. Definitely has inspired me to get my own kids out of the house more.

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

I love the author, Mary Roach. I have read her previous two books: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. She is a funny, articulate writer who is a pleasure to read. She writes about the fringes of scientific discovery and does it in an always informative and often humorous manner. Bonk is about the science of sex with all its wonders and weirdnesses. This book answers the what, why and how of sexual physiology and makes you laugh along the way. Highly recommend.

Greasy Rider

Another library book and a good one, Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-Oil-Powered Car, and a Cross-Country Search for a Greener Future is basically about two guys who travel from Vermont to California making stops at green alternative places like Al Gore's mansion (which is really not all that green when you take into account it's massive size), Fort Knox's geothermally-powered complex, Google, Dartmouth, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a wind-turbine farm, and the world's first green Wal-Mart. They raid restaurant used vegetable oil barrels along the way and make the trip entirely on this alternative fuel. Very funny, very informative and a great read. Made me crave french fries though.

Young Irelanders

I recently checked out this collection of short stories by Gerard Donovan from the public library. Mr. Donovan is an Irish writer living in New York City. Most of the stories in this collection were readable and somewhat enjoyable with a couple of really good one and a couple of duds. Overall I liked it but would not rush out to read anything else by him.