Birthday Books

This was what I bought with my Birthday Barnes and Noble card, along with a few Christmas Gifts that cannot be named.

Pioneer Woman was not on my list but I have wanted to buy her cookbook for long time and so finally did. She's funny and her life looks fabulous and her recipes look so good, but all I kept thinking when I read it is Erin needs her own cookbook.

The book, Scent of Desire is interesting and basically our sense of smell determines what we like, dislike and who we are really, really attracted to. The seat of scent is often our own biology as well as our emotions. I loved finding out why some of us need salt on our food more than others, (sodium ions within the mouth, the more you have the more salt you require) and why it is that when someone is afraid of animals and in a room with animal lovers, the animal goes straight to the scaredy cat. (Perspiration: that's what animals sense and draws them.)

(It seems so obvious doesn't it? But just because something makes sense after the fact does not mean it was obvious all along.)

All of Dr. Sack's books are fascinating and this one is also about his unusual patients and their ability to compensate and navigate the world after losing certain senses and abilities. Two of the most interesting patients are the concert pianist who can suddenly no longer read music (visual agnosias) and also a writer who loses his ability to read (alexia). The writer is eventually able to read only by writing the words in the air or by tracing the words in his mouth with his tongue. The pianist's agnosia is still progressing but she can play by ear and can identify objects by color, shape and texture. Another great book by Dr. Sacks is, "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For His Hat." (A man could see clearly but recognize nothing.) See what I mean? Fascinating.

Let's Take The Long Way Home was a book I had not heard of, but purchased and enjoyed.

Caldwell was a book critic for The Boston Globe and her book is about her friendship with Caroline Knapp, also a writer. I liked Caldwell's style, and liked reading about the respect each had for one another. I think Knapp nicknamed her The Merry Depressant because Caldwell liked her own company and required isolation and quiet. Knapp's favorite feeling in the world was Mastery. She loved to learn something, perfect it, and master it.

They each worked hard and had demanding inner taskmasters. Their name for their inner task masters were, "The Inner Marine." She also writes, " I had a friend and we shared everything, and then she died and so we shared that, too." A very good book. I was happy that I picked out something without knowing a thing about it and it turned out to be so good.

And last but not least I found some more notecards from children's literature. They are so cute and colorful and I wish they had more to choose from. Well, that was my birthday book binge, and I loved every minute of it. I only wish I had a birthday every week because I am not kidding, I could read a book a day. Well, or at least every other!