Gory Details by Erika Engelhaupt

Title: Gory Details

Author: Erika Engelhaupt

Genre: Non-fiction, Science

Do you love science? If you do, Gory Details is for you. It‘s a collection of essays exploring questions that the author, a science editor, has wondered about. Written in an easy to read style with plenty of humor, this book will fascinate anyone curious about our bodies and the natural world. It definitely has some pretty gross parts but those can be skipped over if needed. It can be read straight through or you can jump around reading what interests you.

- Lisa

Check out Gory Details by Erika Engelhaupt @ the library!

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Faren Joy Fowler

Rosemary Cooke spent the first five years of her life joined at the hip with her beloved sister Fern.  One day, Rosemary is sent away to her grandparent's house for three weeks only to be returned to a different house with no explanation. But as distressing as this might be for a five-year-old, the worst is yet to come:  Rosemary cannot find Fern anywhere.  What happened to her sister?  Why will no one in her family speak Fern's name?  Why is her older brother so angry all the time?  The once motor-mouthed child withdraws deeper and deeper into herself as her family begins to self-destruct around her.

Fast forward almost ten years and we find Rosemary in college at the University of California, Davis.  She hasn't thought about Fern in ages.  She barely even thinks about her brother Lowell who disappeared at the age of 18 and became what amounts to a domestic terrorist.  Rosemary is pulled into the path of an unusual girl named Harlow and suddenly many things from her past return to her all at once.  Will she be able to find any answers about Fern?  Will Lowell return even for the briefest of moments? Karen Joy Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves is an interesting look at the institution of family, scientific experimentation and self identity.

Inferno by Dan Brown

Instead of religion, Dan Brown tackles science in this fast paged, page turning read that will leave you on the edge of your seat.  It begins with Professor Langdon (of Da Vince Code fame) in a Florence hospital suffering from a gunshot wound and amnesia.   After a woman breaks into his room and starts shooting he escapes with the help of a doctor.  Trying to figure out why he’s in Florence with people shooting at him leads Langdon on a path though the great art and buildings of the city.  As in Dan Brown’s other books the history, art, literature, and science are real.  Check out Inferno@ the library!

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Mary Anning is a poor, working class woman living in Lyme Regis, England, a beach community. Elizabeth Philpot is a spinster with a passion for fish fossils.  Together they hunt fossils along the beach and find many varieties that were previously undiscovered.   Their friendship is tested by a fossil collector from London and questions raised about the authenticity of Mary Anning’s finds.   The novel begins in 1804, a time when women were not allowed out alone and their contributions to science were attributed to men.  Both of these women did live in Lyme Regis in the early nineteenth century and made valuable contributions to the study of fossils, though they were unacknowledged at the time.  Tracy Chevalier succeeds in making fossils fascinating with a novel that makes the beaches of England come to life.  From the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring, Remarkable Creatures is a richly drawn historical tale that brings little known people from famous moments in history vividly alive.

The End of Overeating by David Kessler

Why do some people have more trouble with their weight then others? Do obese people face some of the same challenges as alcoholics, drug users, and others with addiction problems? The author, who also struggles with obesity, looks to science for answers. He also discusses how the food industry processes food to make it more profitable and for some additive. There's a lot to digest in David Keller's book, but it does offer a solution to the obesity problem in the United States through behavior modification. If you often wonder or question your relationship with food, especially as the holiday season with all its sweet and savory treats looms near, The End of Overeating can offer some answers.