Our April book — Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

What’s it about?   An exhilarating meditation on nature and its seasons — a personal narrative highlighting one year’s exploration on foot in the author’s own neighborhood in Tinker Creek, Virginia. In the summer, Dillard stalks muskrats in the creek and contemplates wave mechanics; in the fall she watches a monarch butterfly migration and dreams of Arctic caribou. She tries to con a coot; she collects pond water and examines it under a microscope. She unties a snake skin, witnesses a flood, and plays ‘King of the Meadow’ with a field of grasshoppers.  (summary courtesy of GoodReads)

When are we discussing it?  April 18, 2012  at 7:00 p.m. in the Group Study Room

How do I get my hands on a copy?   The library has several copies of the book.  If they are all checked out, please ask at the Reference Desk about the possibility of interlibrary loan (or we can check to see if it is on the shelf at a nearby library).

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More books by Mary Roach –

Since the group discussed Stiff last night, I wanted to include information about Mary Roach’s other books:

 

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife  (which might be a good follow-up to Stiff)

(and here’s the link for her Ted Talk)    

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (we’ll be discussing this book in December, 2012)

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Thoughts on Stiff by Mary Roach

The group met last night to discuss Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach.   We had a very lively discussion, and everyone really enjoyed the book.   Here are some of the highlights of what people had to say:

• “It was awesome!”
• “It limits your conversation (about what you’re reading), but its so funny!”
• Readers really liked the author’s tone, and how the book was both really informative, and really interesting.
• Some people found certain chapters or sections difficult to read, mostly the part about the research on dogs, and the chapter titled “Eat Me.”   We discussed the author’s ability to detach herself from certain things, and how her sense of humor would certainly help with this.
• The book raised a lot of questions for readers, including what they thought about their own choices (cremation, green burial, etc.)
• We appreciated the author’s discussion of how different cultures approach death, and found this informative and interesting.

Overall, people really enjoyed this book, and Roach’s writing.  As one person put it, “She left no rock unturned.”  She asks the questions that many of us may be curious about, but don’t ask, ourselves — and we appreciated her fearless curiosity.   For some of us, the book turned out to be much funnier than we had anticipated — and our discussion was pretty animated.

If you have read Stiff, and would like to share your own thoughts on it, please feel free to leave a comment!!

 

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Upcoming book discussion: Stiff by Mary Roach

Please join us for our discussion of Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. Author Mary Roach is known for her books that venture into territory many of us may be curious about — and her own frank curiosity has generated some very interesting books. In this book, Roach explores the lives of our bodies….. postmortem. This New York Times bestseller has been described as being “morbidly fascinating” and “oddly fun,” — and we anticipate it will generate some thoughtful conversation.
We will be discussing this book on Wednesday, March 21st at 7:00 p.m. in the Group Study Room.

And please stay tuned for our summary of what the group thought of the book.

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