Author Janine Benyus Biomimicry looks at the ways in which we can learn by studying nature. By (surprise!) biomimicry, as it’s called. This book is surprisingly well-written, thorough, and imaginative. JB’s incredible enthusiasm for the topic is infectious, and helps make the book a quick read. You’ll find yourself quite unexpectedly agreeing that, yes, mussels […]

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami I got this book because 1) I remembered someone, sometime, mentioning the name “Murakami” as someone they thought I’d like to read and 2) it was cheaper than The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (also by Murakami). Two not particularly bad reasons. Also two not particularly wonderful reasons. Fortunately, I […]

Not many words come to mind to describe this book. But I liked it. Immensely. It seems like it’s probably the sort of writing that would polarize people’s opinions. I can’t say for sure, because I didn’t hate it nor do I know of anyone who hated it, but I also know of no one […]

Here it is, the thoroughly unnecessary year-end list that you haven’t been waiting for, i.e., some-books-I’ve-read-in-2003-and-think-you-might-like-to-read. Split into two groups, you will find (1) books that I would recommend with blind fervor [“must-reads”] and (2) books that are fun, competent and/or generally good to read [“decent books”], and that I would recommend, but not as […]

Inamorata by Joseph Gangemi: On a scale from brutal to brilliant, this falls somewhere in between but generally on the positive side of things. My greatest complaint—a minor quibble, really—is with the phrase “never fall in love with a medium,” which first assaults the reader on the back cover: “…the man of science breaks the […]

On a whim (and on the colorful eccentricities of the cover) I picked up My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist (by Mark Leyner) in a used bookstore, bought it, and read it. I’d never heard of the author, and the title certainly wasn’t something I remembered having seen before. But the book turned out to be a delightful read. Seventeen short stories, even though the back cover mentions only 16. I’m incredibly suspicious that it’s probably the sort of book that you’d either love or hate. It’s kind of polarizing.

King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon by David Montgomery maintains a peculiarly optimistic slant despite its decidedly catastrophic smell. “There’s hope for this dicey fish yet, but don’t hold your breath” seems to be the general mantra. On Friday I had maple-glazed salmon for dinner. It simply appeared there in front of me and looked too good not to eat.