Good Reads & Views

Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach
Nonfiction

What it's about: Roach takes readers on a trip around the world, talking to people whose job it is to minimize friction between animals and humans. Whether learning about thieving monkeys in India or mountain lions in California or the ubiquitous mouse, she strives to find ethical ways to control what some call pests.

Why you might like it: Roach is a funny writer! If you enjoy popular science, this is the book for you.

Reviewers say: “Roach writes splendidly about the often-surprising challenges inherent in coexisting with other animals in their natural habitats” (Booklist); “This eminently entertaining outing is another winner from Roach” (Publisher’s Weekly).

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Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Nonfiction

What it's about: Kimmerer is a trained scientist and uses her knowledge of botany and the stories of her ancestors to skillfully point out how we need to listen to the natural world. She covers the indigenous concepts of gift giving and gratitude and how plants and animals have much to teach us, if only we listened.

Reviewers say: “Anyone who enjoys reading about natural history, botany, protecting nature, or Native American culture will love this book” (Library Journal); “A smart, subtle overlay of different systems of thought that together teach us to be better citizens of Earth" (Kirkus Reviews).

Good to know: This is wonderful on audio. The author has a melodic and soothing voice and does an excellent job narrating. This also makes a good choice for nonfiction book groups.

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Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Nonfiction

Not for the squeamish, this bestseller by a popular-science author is an often laugh-out loud funny but respectful and serious book on the important part cadavers have played throughout human civilization. Cycling through chapters with titles from “Crimes of anatomy: body-snatching and other sordid tales from the dawn of human dissection” and “How to know if you're dead: beating-heart cadavers, live burial, and the scientific search for the soul” to “Out of the fire, into the compost bin: and other new ways to end up”, this tome is an interesting and enlightening read.

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
Nonfiction

This highly readable and enjoyable 2011 National Book Award winner tells the story of the development of modernity, by way of apostolic secretary Poggio Bracciolini. A humanist who turned avid book collector, Poggio scoured monasteries for ancient Latin texts and, in 1417, discovered De rerum natura, or “On the Nature of Things” by Lucretius, a Roman poet and philosopher who was born in 99 BCE. Lucretius was a follower of Epicurus and his verse seeks the pursuit of happiness as the highest goal in a life void of superstitions and religious dogma and the accompanying threats of punishment in the afterlife. The discovery of this book fueled the Renaissance, inspiring personalities such as Botticelli, Galileo, Darwin, Montaigne, and Shakespeare, among others.