45. The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. Interesting book about four plants useful to humans for various reasons. The tulip - beauty. Cannabis - intoxication. The potato - nutrition. And apples. Pollan writes amazing and thought-provoking essays about all. Plus, I learned a lot about Johnny Appleseed - he died owning 32 parcels of land, for one. And everybody wanted his apple trees to make hard cider, not for eating apples.
46. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. "Eat food. Not a lot. Mostly plants." That's the author's advice on what to eat. He talks about how the Western diet has led to epidemics of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, among other ailments. We have gone from eating a mostly leaf-based diet to eating a mostly seed-based diet (corn, soy, meat fed on corn and soy, etc.) What does that mean for us, and for our world? Thought-provoking and disturbing.
47. Covet by J.R. Ward. Hot, hot romance set in the same town as her "Black Dagger Brotherhood" novels. Jim is recruited by the angels to save seven souls. If he wins - good. If he loses - game over, for everyone, all time. This tells the story of the first soul he saves - a man ensnared by one of the seven deadly sins, Covetousness. Rated M for Mature.
48. Dreamers of the Day by Maria Doria Russell. Rather pedestrian book about (I think) the Cairo Conference after World War I, which drew boundaries for the Middle East, thus setting up generations of conflict. Not all that enthralling. I much preferred the author's previous book, The Sparrow and its sequel, Children of God which I read in a previous year.
49. Oryx and Crake and
50. The Year of the Flood both by Margaret Atwood. Dystopian novels about an ecologically shattered future world, where genetically engineered plagues carry off most of humanity. The same event, told from two different points of view, in the two novels. Good story, but depressing.
51. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. Winner of the Hugo Award, it's another dystopian novel about a "calorie man", a fixer from a multinational corporation sent to Bangkok to search out new sources of calories. The Petroleum Era has Collapsed, and genetically engineered plagues have destroyed major portions of the world's foodstuffs (no nightshades - no potatoes, tomatoes, or tobacco). The "Windup Girl" of the title is a genetically engineered New Person - legal in Japan, but here in Thailand she is illegal and is liable to be "mulched" (mulching is widely practiced and the methane generated is captured for fuel.)
Much, much more than I can say in this tiny post. Another dystopian novel (I'm on a roll with those lately) but well worth reading.
52. Love and Capes Vol. I. and
53. Love and Capes Vol II. Terry Leatherwood put me onto this - the comic strip is on-line http://loveandcapes.com/lnc/?p=3]here . Great fun. Abby Tennyson is an independent bookstore owner. Mark Spencer is her mild-mannered accountant. He's fallen in love with her, and he's going to tell her tonight that he's actually "The Crusader", the superhero that patrols Deco City. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman fans will instantly get the comic tropes. A really fun romantic comedy. The whole thing isn't posted on-line yet, so I had to run out and buy the books!
