Packing for Mars by Mary Roach

March 21, 2018 by Christina

Nonfiction — print. W.W. Norton, 2010. 334 pgs. Library copy.   Subtitled “The Curious Science of Life in the Void”, Roach’s book questions the efficacy of a plan by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to send a manned craft to Mars by 2030. At the time of the book’s publication in 2010, (wo)man has landed on the Moon and spent months orbiting over Earth in the International Space Station. Yet questions remain about the effect of zero gravity on the […]

Categories: 2018 Reads, Asia, Book Club, Europe, Japan, Nonfiction, North America, Russia, United States • Tags: Mary Roach

Gulp by Mary Roach

March 22, 2017 by Christina

Nonfiction — print. W.W. Norton, 2013. 348 pgs. Library copy.  Subtitled “Adventures on the Alimentary Canal”, Roach’s book guides readers on the journey of their food — from the saliva generated at the smell of food to the stomach and then onto the colon and the way out. The path isn’t without a few side trips to answer questions like can one survive being swallowed alive, can the gas you pass be set on fire, and can you really eat yourself to […]

Categories: 2017 Reads, Book Club, Food, Nonfiction • Tags: Mary Roach