Calling all French lovers – you have to read The Story of French. I can’t imagine the kind of dedication it must take to write such an informative and interesting book, but I’m definitely grateful to the people that did it. It’s a reference book on my favorite subject that reads more like a novel – I enjoyed it immensely.
Books
Looking for a book
This is a test of the power of the internet:
About 10 years ago, I read a book with a couple of really funny lines, and I’d really like to know what the book was. As I recall, it was sort of Carl Hiassenish. One line was something like “he wore an old blue blazer kind of smile, practiced and worn in.” Another line went something like “the wind cut through his clothes like a saw through ribs.” I’ve Googled approximately three million variations of these phrases, but no luck so far. Any idea what book this could have been?
A History of the World in 6 Glasses
I’m reading an interesting book: A History of the World in 6 Glasses, by Tom Standage. According to the author’s extensive research, six drinks – beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca Cola – have shaped the world in ways that I could never have imagined. I’m not a history buff, but somehow the retelling of previously dull facts and events through these six drinks is absolutely fascinating. For example, one drink that holds pride of place in American history – think Boston Tea Party – had a “partner” that I’d never before heard mentioned in conjunction with it. The book has a few repetitive passages here and there, but overall it’s a great read.
PaperBackSwap
Now here is an idea whose time has come: PaperBackSwap is an online used book store, where you can trade the books you don’t want for the ones you do. There are no membership or per-book fees – you just list your books, wait for someone to order one, mail it,* and earn a book credit, which you then use to order a book for free.
*The USPS media rate is $1.59 for a typical paperback, which is much cheaper than the 3.50 shipping charge for used books at Amazon.
Dan Brown
I just finished re-reading Angels & Demons (the prequel to The Da Vinci Code), and I was struck once again by two things: Angels & Demons is far and away a better book, and Dan Brown isn’t a very good writer. I mean yes, of course, the plots are fascinating and the detail second to none, but his writing style is almost childlike at times. In Angels & Demons, for example, at one point the protagonist learns a little factoid about wind resistance, and the author foreshadows its importance, but not very well – it just sounds stupid. Have you noticed anything like this chez Dan Brown?
A Secret to Longevity: Vegetarianism
A doctor of Chinese medicine who studied the lives and eating habits of centenarians explains in his new book that vegetarians (and even semi-vegetarians) had fewer degenerative diseases and cancers than those who ate meat every day.
The book has hundreds of other tips divided into 6 chapters: What you eat, How you heal, Where you are, What you do, Who you are, and Bringing it all together. It’s an interesting look at the similarities in lifestyle and eating habits between people who live to be a hundred.
Secrets of Longevity: Hundreds of ways to live to be 100, by Maoshing Ni