I'm reading a fascinating book titled Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Harrod Buhner. The author is very knowledgable and makes excellent arguments for herbal medicine over antibiotics.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese - excellent so far.
Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins by Bearzi and Stanford. Dolphins and apes and humans--all quite different, yet alike in many ways. This book explores the parallel evolution and the development of intelligence in dolphins and apes.
The book details the ability *of these intelligent creatures to develop family bonds, form alliances, and care for their young. *The culture, politics, social structure, personality, and capacity for emotion are discussed with wonderful examples. *This dual portrait—with striking overlaps in behavior—is key to understanding the nature of “beautiful minds.”
The last section of the book discusses the perilous plight of these creatures as their habitat is rapidly being destroyed and what can be done to reverse this and save these beautiful min
Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking
I loved this book because it validated so much of what I am--an introvert. *
Our*culture favors extroversion and looks down on introverts. *The author challenges both introverts who may need to develop skills to have a successful life in an extrovert oriented culture and extroverts to learn to appreciate the unique attributes that introverts can bring. *
I found the first section very interesting in talking about how we have moved from a Culture of Character which values virtue and wisdom to a Culture of Personality which values American Idol. *The second section discusses*many the biological factors of introversion and extroversion. The third section discusses Asian cultures which place more value on quiet, studious ness, humility, and careful thoughtfulness. *The fourth section is very helpful because of the advice for living with extroverts and raising and teaching introverted children.
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Well, I was just blown away by this book and its unblinking look into the hideous treatment of Muslim women. Ayaan Hirsi Ali experienced it all from female genital mutilation, to a forced marriage, to death threats because she spoke out against the mutilation, beatings, and honor killings of women under Islam.
If you are a person who thinks of Islam as a religion of peace, I challenge you to read this book.
Florence I read that, and at the same time I read two other books about Muslim women from North African countries, so I get them mixed up. The book you mentioned is about the chick who emigrated to The Netherlands, right? And then to the U.S? She's pretty hard core about rejecting her mother religion.
I think of Islam as being neither peaceful or violent, but those who practice it fall on either side of the coin.
The other books about North African Muslim women were not as good as the Ali book. One of the books I read was about a woman who claimed to have been kept as a sex slave for Osama Bin Ladin. That one was a little Out There. She shared in her book that Osama loved Whitney Houston, thought that she was beautiful and magnificent. Just a tidbit for the day.
Last edited by iris lily; 4-5-12 at 10:03pm.
Me too. I recently read three biographical books that were so forgettable the only thing I remember is that one of them was by Anne Lamott. I think I'll stick with more intellectual pursuits like watching Grimm and Ancient Aliens and driving myself crazy with cryptic crosswords.
I'm reading "I bought Andy Warhol" by Richard Polsky
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