Proust

I’m a train book creeper.

General Geekiness

While riding the subway, seeing what other people are reading is half the fun. I’m the sort of person who can’t read on subways, preferring to people watch, talk with friends, annoy the car with dramatic readings of the backs of Agatha Christie novels, etc.

But I love to see what others are reading. You get a wide variety on trains. The college kids finishing their homework. People reading foreign language newspapers. The current New York Times bestseller (I was surprised to see only one reader of The Lost Symbol on the train last Saturday) or other popular works. It made me happy to see someone reading Proust.

But the most popular train book I’ve seen? Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It’s everywhere. I haven’t read it (and don’t plan to) but I like the cover, and that’s probably why I notice it. Conceptual typography is brilliant.

What’s on the Bookshelf? Vol. 6

What's On the Bookshelf?

Proust was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer

CC/sea turtle

CC/sea turtle

I like reading science books on occasion. Not text books, but books on a subject, like Dava Sobel’s Longitude.

Proust… wasn’t of my chosing–it was assigned reading. But I’m glad that it was.

Lehrer examines eight different artists from turn of the century Paris and how their works preexamined (not the right word) ideas that neuroscientists are working on, such as how we taste (Escoffier), and how we process grammar (Gertrude Stein).

My favorite chapter was the one on Escoffier, the creator of the cookbook and (for all intents and purposes) what we think of as French cooking. Of course, I was also watching a Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations marathon before and after finishing this section!

If you want a good, entertaining and educating read, this is the book for you.

My summer reading list

What's On the Bookshelf?

It’s only the beginning of April, but I’m already thinking of what I’m going to read this summer. So, in no particular order:

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Shining by Stephen King

Proust was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer

Moon by Tony Fletcher (reread)

Love Over Scotland by Alexander McCall Smith

Let the Right One In by John Lindqvist

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

And a bunch of other things that catch my fancy, I’m sure.

Any suggestions?