booklish booklist #2b
My friend Ros-of-no-blog continues her two-parter with the best non-fiction... in her opinion. (Do you agree?) Maybe you'll be inspired to try something new! (I like the idea of the Elaine Morgan book when my brain's dusted itself off enough to try it).
The Oxford English Dictionary
Or to be precise, the Concise OED, since I have neither the money nor the space for the full version! A ripping read... All right, maybe not, but completely indispensable. [Yes, we had the full version in my old linguistics department- all 100 volumes!- or it seemed like that many...]
The London A-Z
Even slimmer of plot than the OED, but equally indispensable if you live and/or work in London. Sweets: The History of Temptation by Tim Richardson
Fascinating history of sweets through the ages and across the world, written by a man who styles himself a confectionery historian (and who wouldn't like to put that under "Occupation" on their passport?!)
The Descent of Woman by Elaine Morgan
A more female-centric view of human evolution, arguing for the Aquatic Ape theory that frankly makes rather more sense than the Savannah theory. Some priceless digs at the more pompous male proponents of Savannah theory, who have attributed all sorts of ridiculous things to sexual selection... [not much Ros isn't an authority on- at least i know more than her about trashy TV! ha! I didn't know what she was talking about but this explained it for me- it's fascinating. Thanks Ros!]
Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind by Donald C Johanson
The story of the discovery of "Lucy", one of the earliest hominid/hominin skeletons ever found. Absolutely fascinating.
The Diamond-Makers by Robert M Hazen
The story of the quest to make synthetic diamonds, right from the very beginning through to the modern day. Apparently peanut butter makes pretty green diamonds! [ros is a very talented jeweller, when she's not making babies or getting chemistry degrees!]
And there's more! (that's the kind of enthusiasm were looking for! although if you're less enthusiastic, we* still want your lists too**!)
Honourable Mentions:
Bonus book because I couldn't narrow it down to 6 - The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins Dawkins writes well, and accessibly, making what could be a complex theory very interesting and understandable. He's also married to Lalla Ward, who played the Doctor's assistant Romana during the Tom Baker years...
Lastly my son's favourite book, which is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He's only 4 and a half months old, so six books is pushing it a bit, although he does like his That's Not My books (we have Dragon, Dinosaur, Monster and Robot) and we're waiting for Amazon to deliver Meg and Mog, which I'm looking forward to! [I'll expect your little boy's full list in a year then, shall I?]
*"We = Me and the little frog in my pocket. Me and my tapeworm. Me plus the cat. The royal We. Maybe even the patronizing-medical-professional We." (Joshilyn Jackson).
**I'm not kidding- send me (us) your lists!
Coming soon: Keris's booklish booklist (try saying that with a lisp!) -and she's breaking the no-picture stalemate! Email me with your list, any other book news/comments/opinions etc- what are YOU reading? (Cereal packets count! Kind of...) Email me & fill me in.
The Oxford English Dictionary
Or to be precise, the Concise OED, since I have neither the money nor the space for the full version! A ripping read... All right, maybe not, but completely indispensable. [Yes, we had the full version in my old linguistics department- all 100 volumes!- or it seemed like that many...]
The London A-Z
Even slimmer of plot than the OED, but equally indispensable if you live and/or work in London. Sweets: The History of Temptation by Tim Richardson
Fascinating history of sweets through the ages and across the world, written by a man who styles himself a confectionery historian (and who wouldn't like to put that under "Occupation" on their passport?!)
The Descent of Woman by Elaine Morgan
A more female-centric view of human evolution, arguing for the Aquatic Ape theory that frankly makes rather more sense than the Savannah theory. Some priceless digs at the more pompous male proponents of Savannah theory, who have attributed all sorts of ridiculous things to sexual selection... [not much Ros isn't an authority on- at least i know more than her about trashy TV! ha! I didn't know what she was talking about but this explained it for me- it's fascinating. Thanks Ros!]
Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind by Donald C Johanson
The story of the discovery of "Lucy", one of the earliest hominid/hominin skeletons ever found. Absolutely fascinating.
The Diamond-Makers by Robert M Hazen
The story of the quest to make synthetic diamonds, right from the very beginning through to the modern day. Apparently peanut butter makes pretty green diamonds! [ros is a very talented jeweller, when she's not making babies or getting chemistry degrees!]
And there's more! (that's the kind of enthusiasm were looking for! although if you're less enthusiastic, we* still want your lists too**!)
Honourable Mentions:
Bonus book because I couldn't narrow it down to 6 - The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins Dawkins writes well, and accessibly, making what could be a complex theory very interesting and understandable. He's also married to Lalla Ward, who played the Doctor's assistant Romana during the Tom Baker years...
Lastly my son's favourite book, which is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He's only 4 and a half months old, so six books is pushing it a bit, although he does like his That's Not My books (we have Dragon, Dinosaur, Monster and Robot) and we're waiting for Amazon to deliver Meg and Mog, which I'm looking forward to! [I'll expect your little boy's full list in a year then, shall I?]
*"We = Me and the little frog in my pocket. Me and my tapeworm. Me plus the cat. The royal We. Maybe even the patronizing-medical-professional We." (Joshilyn Jackson).
**I'm not kidding- send me (us) your lists!
Coming soon: Keris's booklish booklist (try saying that with a lisp!) -and she's breaking the no-picture stalemate! Email me with your list, any other book news/comments/opinions etc- what are YOU reading? (Cereal packets count! Kind of...) Email me & fill me in.
Yay! I'm famous! (again... ;-))
Thanks for letting me bend the rules to breaking point, Di!
Ros
Posted by
Anonymous |
Friday, July 28, 2006
hee hee! You're welcome Ros- you've been a star contributor :)
Posted by
Highlights from two years of blogging. |
Friday, July 28, 2006