Cod, Salt, Zero

Here's another interesting list from Nancy Pearl, inspiration for the librarian action figure with amazing push-button shushing action! (For Christmas ... please?) She's become something of a regular on National Public Radio, offering up interesting book ideas. A recent installment addresses microhistories (check out the show here), those nonfiction books that look at a seemingly small phenomenon from a historical/anthropological perspective. Here's her list:

1. Cosmopolitan: A Bartender's Life, by Toby Cecchini

2. Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, by Mark Kurlansky

3. Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance, by Henry Petroski

4. Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife

5. E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis

6. One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw Witold Rybczynski

7. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach

8. Salt: A World History, by Mark Kurlansky

I have read three of these books: Cod, Salt and Zero. They were all good. I liked Zero the best. Interesting tidbit: Some ancient cultures found the abstract idea of nothingness to be so alien that they didn't even have zero in their number system. It makes sense if you think about it. And then you start to realize the mysterious, terrifying power of 0!!

Nancy Pearl also has an intriguing list of best spy novels. I'm thinking of choosing her No. 1 pick, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre, for my book group, as an eclectic change of pace.