Books From the Last Couple Of Weeks

Thoughts of a Grasshopper: Essays and Oddities by Louise Plummer-
Very short and funny read.  I liked Plummer's personality and outlook on life.  After reading several duds, this pulled me out the depressing 
reading funk I've been in.  


The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
A multi-layered tale of medical ingenuity, ethics, race relations and family ties.  It is the true story of a poor black woman named Henrietta Lacks who died of cervical cancer in 1951.  Pieces of her tumor were sampled and become the first "immortal cells" or tissue that lives and grows outside of the human body.  These cells go on to become a multi-billion dollar industry and were instrumental in developing chemotherapy, the polio vaccine and the foundation of major medical advances up until today. The science in this book is enough to dazzle the mind but Skloot manages to show the human side of this story but telling the story of the Lacks family.

Skloot's writing transitions effortlessly between the past and present as she balances the intimate story of the Lacks family against an an epic number of medical advances and scientific findings spanning 60 years and several generations.  The book is well written and interesting and nonjudgmental in a way that really invites the reader to think for themselves.  I never would have thought that such a scientific topic could be so personable. 

In my own opinion, the most disturbing part of the book was not the debate on tissue rights or informed consent.  It was what happened to Henrietta Lack's family after she passed away.  The level of abuse and the lack of education was gut-wrenching.   

The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie by Alan Bradley
A fabulous new series by a (70 year old) first time novelist. I'm ready to download the second two books immediately. This book was slightly predictable and entirely charming and mischievous. Who knew that humor and murder went quite so well together?  I spent much of my childhood devouring Nancy Drew books but Flavia is so much more interesting to read as an adult.  I loved Flavia, the delightfully quirky and somewhat disturbed 11 year old little girl.   Her vocabulary was especially entertaining as is her passion for poisons and chemistry.  A fun light read.