On Friday, I might start a series of "blatant theft" posts wherein I steal from other bloggers and follow their great ideas. Some might criticize this as what it is -- theft -- but optimistic others merely see it as sharing of ideas and community. I leave you to take it as you will.
Back to business, though. Reading! Chile over at Chile Chews proposed a wonderful challenge: read some science books. Put down that trashy romance and put away that fantasy fiction. Fantasy, really? (Just kidding, I read my fair share of fantasy.. but no romances. Uck!). Instead, pick up some educational duds and dive into a science (or science-related) book. Ars Hermeneutica (an anti-anti-science organization) is hosting a Science Book Challenge urging readers to read three non-fiction science books this year and share notes and reviews about each work.
I'm happy to say that I'm definitely participating. Here's my list (plus one!).
- Pollan -- In Defense of Food
- Hayes -- The Anatomist: A True Story of Gray's Anatomy
- Andahazi -- The Anatomist
- Schlosser -- Fast Food Nation
- Singer/Mason -- The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter
Do you have any recommendations? How about science-y books that you're reading/have read/might read if you get around to it? Tell in comments!
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3 comments:
I just bought Complications, by some guy whose name I can't spell and the book is downstairs.
Other than that, do text-books count?
What about classics? Cause I also just got the complete Hitchhiker's Guide....
This afternoon I left a comment at ChileChews place trying to pin down better what kind of books I think are most suited to the book challenge. Is it tacky if I just leave a link to that comment?
@confiance: I'm pretty sure that nothing you read falls into categories outside of "banal" or "horrifying." On the text-books, though, Jeff makes a fantastic reply, though he slacked off and merely linked another reply.
@Jeff: Not tacky at all! (Please ignore above comment). Thanks for starting this challenge. I'm psyched to encourage more people to read about science and you've provided a great platform through which to do so.
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