Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach



Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach


When looking for a new book to read, I tend to always choose fiction.  Non-fiction books have always been more of something I would pick if I was looking for a way to fall asleep.  Imagine how thrilled I was to stumble upon an author of non-fiction that actually made me fascinated about what I was reading.  Unbelievably, what I was reading was largely about the digestive process.

Getting excited about reading facts of saliva, stomach acid, and flatulence is quite an accomplishment on the author’s part.  Mary Roach has a knack for asking all of the questions you’d never think of yourself.  “Why DO dogs like the taste of their food?  Why are WE disgusted by some foods we’ve never even tried?  What WOULD happen if I were to be swallowed by a whale?”  The answers are as surprising as they are funny.  Mary Roach writes with such curiosity and wit that she pulls you into the disgusting world of your insides and you never even flinch.

Quoting facts about colonoscopies gone awry and the smell of cow manure might become a little bothersome to those around you while reading this book.  I myself received several strange looks after trying to bring up facts from Roach’s book at the dinner table.  However, it is absolutely worth it.  A science read that is accessible and entertaining is just too good to pass up.

Roach has written several science-oriented books, many of which we have in Stoxen Library.  You can find this book with the call number QP145 .R53 2013.  

- Cindy Thronburg, Library Assistant

No comments:

Post a Comment