Recent weather in Minnesota--and we've had a lot of it lately--has us all watching the skies. And there's a book to help us make sense of it all: The Cloudspotter's Guide by the wonderfully named Gavin Pretor-pinney, explains the difference between cirrus and cummulonimbus and tells you when you can lie back and imagine bunnies … Continue reading Looking Up
Going Back
I haven't been tempted to read a novel set in the dark, Paleolithic past since the thirteen-year-old me read The Clan of the Cave Bear. But now the Guardian is up to episode twelve in its podcast of Michelle Paver's Wolf Brother, and I'm a bit tempted to revert to an earlier time. To make … Continue reading Going Back
Toddle On Down
The library at the Chicago Botanic Garden is playing host to not one, but three first-edition books by Charles Darwin. Through October 28, you can seeOn the Origin of Species by Means of Natural SelectionNarrative of the surveying voyages of his Majesty’s ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836, describing their examination … Continue reading Toddle On Down