Books I read in November

Ghost Orchid

The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean.

Not a new book, but my favorite this year.  I finished it (audio book) in no more than a week.  I didn’t have any previous knowledge about orchids and yet I didn’t feel lost even when the characters mentioned a few scientific names and technical words.  I admit I didn’t recognize half of the flowers and plants the author wrote about, however the description and how the stories were portrayed made me understand the beauty and complexity of why would a person get obsessed over a *plant*.

I enjoyed the way she went back and forth with the main character John Laroche. I loved how the author would take  me into the middle of a swamp in Florida and her attention to detail, I’m grateful I read this book at the beginning of winter, I would have suffer reading it during summer, ha!  The book was overall delightful, I hated it when it ended.  I really thought at the beginning I was going to end up buying an orchid, but the more I learned about everyone’s experiences with orchids, the less I wanted to get one.  I’ve only taken care of a few cactus in my life and they are all happy back in Panama under my mom’s care.

Adaptation, the film, I’m so ready to watch it again after reading the Orchid Thief.

My Friend Dahmer Book

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

I didn’t even dare to tweet about this book when I was reading it, there was no way around it to explain in 140 characters that I’m not crazy for reading this book, that this was the title and it’s a graphic novel by a guy who went to the same school with Jeffrey Dahmer.  Backderf did a great job at placing you at every scene, sometimes it could be a bit scary because though one knows this is just a book you are reading, you also know this actually happened.

The book makes you feel sad for Jeffrey Dahmer as a teenager, then as he changes and becomes an adult and he’s aware of the darkness inside his mind and his actions, I could only feel frustration and anger.  So sad the more you learn about all the things he did.

Putting a side this horror true story, the artist has a lot of talent, I hope he comes up with another book soon, maybe this time with a hopeful, true and happy ending story.

Packing for Mars Book

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

I’m still listening to this audio book.  It’s such a funny coincidence that I I picked this book up at the library and next day I found out that NASA is having a Social Media event with Astronaut Joseph Acaba, I sent my application and yes they invited me!

I’m not really fond of the voice of the reader, but at least I can say that it keeps me interested and awake.  Just when the author throws in a few details that I feel I’ll have to stop the CD and wait until I get to the office to google a few words, she comes up with a few notes and I can get a pretty good idea of what she was talking about.

It’s hilarious the things I used to believe about astronauts when I was a little girl, I thought they only had to work out to stay in shape, and they needed to know science, get in a rocket, poof sent to space and do fun walks, and  hang around weightlessness for all that time.

I really recommend this book, I already read Stiff by the same author and she not only narrates stories, she becomes part of it, she takes you, pushes you, you could say is a physical book and I’ve loved every single bit of it, I still have the last CD  and I’ll probably finish it this week.

You don’t need to love science to love this book, if you are a curious person, this book is for you.

After it’s over I’ll see what new story I jump into!