This and That

Michael Pollan fans might be interested in this interview. In case you don't know who Michael Pollan is, he wrote several wonderful books. The most recent, Botany of Desire, came out in 2002. It's about apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes and how the domestication of these plants affected human development. Pollan is also the author of Second Nature: A Gardener's Education and A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder. Both of these books are wonderful. On another note, I had this wild idea that maybe one or two people might be interested in an update about how I'm doing on my New Year's Resolution. I have been very good and all new acquisitions have been shelved in the library no matter how much I wanted to stack them on the pile. I have also been making it a point to read only from the books on the pile. Between these two things and the removal of a few tomes to the library I was down to 51 books. I was so proud that I told my husband. Big mistake because not long after that I was reading something about Ian McEwan and made the comment that I should read him sometime. My Bookman disappeared into the library and came back with Atonement. "Here," he said handing me the book, "put this on your pile and read it." I was weak. I started reading it instead of something from the pile. Now I'm trying to figure out if there is some kind of irony or sick cosmic joke lurking behind the title of the book that took me off my resolved path. One more update. I'm making my way through Don Quixote. I have read through chapter 15 and am still enjoying it. Taking it slowly and knowing there a at least two people who will give me a hard time if I quit helps immensely. And finally, thanks to everyone for all of the kind comments these last few days. My sister is working very hard to make sure I don't get a big head. What else is a little sister for?