With the month shaping up to be a hot one, and possibly a sign of withering temperatures to come in July and beyond, staying home and reading became more appealing. Unfortunately sleep problems, and some medical issues made it difficult to get any reading done except by carrying my phone around with me and playing audiobooks while I worked around the house. But at least I was reading. So in June…

Michael Pollan (Oh Michael, how you bewitch me!) The first two are rereads.

The Botany of Desire — In four very different plants — the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato — Pollan explores the basic human desires for sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control by discussing how each plant has been shaped by those desires. It’s a particularly interesting book in light of the current issues surrounding GMOs. And in fact, the section on the potato delves deeply into that very issue as Pollan explores Monsanto’s New Leaf potato and how it has changed agriculture. As always, Pollan’s treatment of his subject is even-handed, driven more by intellectual curiosity than by any unstated agenda. If he has an opinion he’ll tell you!

How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence — This one was even more fascinating the second time around. It really does need to be read with the same open-minded tolerance that Pollan shows for his subject, with a willingness to explore the claims for and against these substances without judgment. This time around I became convinced that if I was ever to be diagnosed with some serious and potentially terminal illness, I would very much want to undergo psychedelic-assisted therapy. And yes, I know (as does Pollan) that all of this is anecdotal, but does that really matter when you’re giving relief to the sick and the dying, or helping someone overcome addiction or depression? If the therapy works, does it matter if the so-called revelations of the drug experience are real or not? I say no, and can’t help but feel that those who insist that yes, it matters, are the same people who say things like “Nut up!” or “Quit bellyaching, suffering is good for you. Builds character!”

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual By: Michael Pollan – A short but important book if you’re at all concerned about what you eat. Pollan has three rules: 1) Eat food, 2) Not too much, 3) Mostly plants. He goes on to break down these three rules into sub-rules that explain the ins and outs of following the main rule. And within that total of 64 rules (I think. or 65) there’s a lot of food wisdom including “break the rules occasionally.” It’s a solid basis for healthy eating but tailored to real people. Highly recommended.

Fiction

The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Dupin Stories – Poe — Many years ago, too many really, I had a class entitled “the Ratiocinative Poe.” It has, in fact, been so long I don’t even recall what we read much less any of the insights I got out of the class and my reading. I’m pretty sure I’d read Murders before because I knew the solution to the mystery. The Marie Roget mystery was new to me and more than a bit annoying, if I’m being honest. And Purloined Letter was probably my favorite of the three in spite of Dupin’s insufferably smug explanation. It’s pretty clear as you read, where Arthur Conan Doyle got much of his inspiration for structure and even character. Dupin seems very much a cross between the Holmes brothers, and of course the narrator is a proto-Watson. Still, the stories are fun, and probably better in audiobook format than in print. At least I find my tolerance for seemingly endless digressions and pronouncements to be much higher when I’m listening to a story. Even so, I did find myself tuning out on occasion, and I don’t really recall the ultimate solution to Marie Roget’s case. But then I didn’t much care who killed her or why.

Neuromancer – William Gibson — While this is a reread for me, the last time I read it was not long after its publication in the mid-80s, so it might as well be the first time, or a first time since I’m doing this via audiobook this time around. And yeah, I’ve forgotten a lot, but I’m getting a lot more than I did when I read it umpty-gazillion years ago. My real question was “Will this blow my mind today the way it did all those years ago?” And the answer is no. I enjoyed the heck out of it, but it wasn’t magical this time around. I suspect that, for me at least, it’s a story that was at its best on the first read.

Alice Isn’t Dead: A Novel By: Joseph Fink Narrated by: Jasika Nicole – This was an impulse buy. Audible was having a 2 for 1 sale and I wanted Neuromancer, but wasn’t sure what to choose for the second book. For whatever reason I chose this one, and I’m glad I did. If you know me well you’ll know that horror isn’t a genre I normally get into. Real people doing real people things scare me far more than fiction ever could. But this book creeped me out. It’s just effin’ weird, and unsettling, with an anxiety-ridden protagonist with whom I could absolutely identify, one who makes up her mind absolutely to do one particular thing. Absolutely, no question she’s going to do it, she’s going to get out of this mess she’s gotten herself into and have a quiet life somewhere. Except she can’t. She has to follow through because in the end, it’s too important not to. And given how heebie-jeebie-inducing her monsters are, I get both the desire to flee and the realization that someone has to fight them, and she’s there on the front line, so… Ultimately I’m not sure how I liked the resolution of the book, but I can’t really discuss it too deeply because to say anything much about how the story ultimately plays into our own political climate would be to give too much away. I’m glad I stuck with it, even if it turned out to be not what I expected. But then I don’t know what I expected. Or wanted. Beyond a decent read, that is, and I did get that.

Louise Penny

Still Life, A Fatal Grace, The Cruelest Month – The first three Gamache novels, this time in audiobook format. There’s nothing syrupy about these novels, but they radiate warmth and comfort as well as telling ripping good mystery yarns. Gamache is a wonderful character surrounded by equally wonderful characters. In fact, characterization is possibly Penny’s greatest gift. Even the village of Three Pines is a character in its own right. If you haven’t read Penny, you are missing an enormous treat. Penny also has a novel, co-written by Hillary Clinton, coming out in October.

A Rule Against Murder: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel By: Louise Penny Narrated by: Ralph Cosham – Gamache #4, which takes place outside of Three Pines, but includes characters already beloved of Gamache fans, including the adorable Reine Marie. We also start to get a closer look into Gamache’s life, his family, and how he thinks. We start to see that Jean Guy has some serious issues that go well beyond Gamache. And we meet the unforgettable Bean.

Non-Fiction

Janis – Holly George-Warren — I was never a fan of Joplin’s in spite of getting kind of a kick out of Mercedes Benz. Can’t tell you why beyond the fact that her voice simply didn’t do it for me. But a FB friend included this bio in her May reading list and it sounded interesting enough to consider. And when I resurrected an old project that is set in the 60s, I thought maybe reading this might be a good idea. I was right on both counts. It is an interesting and informative book. Can’t say I find Joplin any more appealing as a person than I do as a singer, but I do rather feel for her because her needs and desires seemed to be so opposed that it would have been a miracle if she’d managed to be sane and happy. She got to perform, she got to be famous and her name still counts for a lot. That’s not nothing. Thanks, Liz, for the rec.

Albert Einstein, Creator & Rebel By: Banesh Hoffmann , Helen Dukas Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon — I wish I had enjoyed this more. I might have finished it. But for me, the best thing about it was Wanda McCaddon’s no-nonsense narration, the same crisp, authoritative voice she brings to so many of Barbara Tuchman’s audiobooks. As for the content… well frankly I felt it was messy and disconnected. I’d finish listening to a section and not be able to tell you what I’d just heard. I finally gave it up in favor of Neuromancer and I doubt I’ll go back to it.

The Writer in the Garden By: M. F. K. Fisher , Jamaica Kincaid , Stephen Lacey , W. S. Merwin , Michael Pollan , Vita Sackville-West , Edith Wharton , Jane Garmey – editor Narrated by: Boyd Gaines , Deborah Hazlett , Simon Jones , J. D. McClatchy — I was so completely enchanted by this book, particularly the sections that discussed roses, that I bought it as a gift for The Housemate, who has become quite a wonderful gardener. I was that certain she’d love it. It’s a short read/listen, and a lively one, both rhapsodic about the joys of a garden and a little bit acerbic as well. If you’re a gardener, or would like to be but can’t for whatever reason, this book will make your heart happy, and almost certainly make you laugh out loud.