Book Review: "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is (yet another) look at the history of science. This book is devastating and brutal in it's honesty about the history of the family to whom we owe a huge part of modern science: the HeLa cell line, and the Lacks family. As a scientist, I was not as outraged at some parts of this story as my husband (a non-scientist) but deeply saddened by what was once called "science" and the lack of ethics involved. It was great to get a look at the family behind HeLa, which was glossed over in my classes in college as having come from a "Helen Lane" and that was that. I hadn't realized the scope of the impact that the cell line had on science. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. There are parts that make you hate the doctors and the people who take advantage (intentionally or not) of the Lacks family, and parts that made me glad to be in my chosen profession. I definitely learned a lot about the history of ethics in research science, and how very new that role is.



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I have read 29 of my goal of 75 books for 2011.

Book Review: "Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All" by Paul Offit

Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All by Paul A. Offit

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was a fascinating and horrifying read. It addressed the history of vaccines, as well as the anti-vaccine movement, which started very shortly after the first vaccine (for smallpox, via cowpox) was developed. The amount of misinformation in the world that is used by anti-vaccine activists is truly saddening. Having taken a fair amount of immunology coursework in my educational path to my two degrees, I felt that I was well prepared to read this book; however, the book is written in such a way that even someone with no scientific background whatsoever can benefit from the information therein. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you have children, you should read it. Maybe it won't change the mind of anti-vaccine parents, but it will at least clarify some things for most people. I was also pleased to note that the last 50 or so pages of text are all references. The only thing I wasn't so keen on was the depiction of chiropractors; I feel that the author should have drawn a better distinction between chiropractors who believe that there are no germs and that everything wrong with your body can be fixed by an adjustment and those who believe that having a properly aligned back can help you live a pain free, and therefore healthier life. In the grand scheme of things, though, that doesn't really matter.



Overall, this book is amazing. I had no idea the extent of the anti-vaccine movement (although at least 2 of my sisters and possibly my older brother as well have not vaccinated their children, and my youngest brother is not vaccinated either) and the misconceptions spread by its members until I read this book. I only knew that people claimed that thimerosal caused autism (very, very well refuted by multiple studies). I didn't know that going back to my own childhood there were claims that vaccines caused mental and physical disabilities.



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The Tragic Existence of Spike

Spike doesn’t get along with the other animals in the neighborhood. The dogs won’t play with him; they tease him about his size and claim he’s too rough. He supposes the cats are afraid of him, although none have ever come close enough to ask. He heaves a sigh and lumbers down the street toward home, trying to ignore the shouts and growls from the dogs he passes. Maybe Dr. Frank will want to play when he gets home, but he will probably just work on his new project.  Sighing again, Spike laments his existence as a designer mini-stegosaurus rex.

This story is dedicated to my son, who would probably love a pet Spike.

*tap, tap* Does this thing still work?

Um, hi. I haven't forgotten about this blog, honest. However, it turns out that growing a person saps creative energy about like a really cute leech. Or maybe a non-sparkly vampire. I'm making an effort to at least post some 100-word stories, maybe some other stuff, too, starting today, on a weekly basis. I'll probably post some book reviews from books I've been reading. Anyway, there will be a 100-word story posted just after this, so there you go! There's another one in the works, too!

Book Review "The Irrsistible Henry House" by Lisa Grunwald

The Irresistible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a really, really sad story. It basically begins in a "practice house" where young women in the 20s-60s learned to be housewives and cook, clean, and care for babies. The psychological damage done to these babies by never being allowed to form any constant attachment for the first 2 years of life is really quite sad. The main character still goes on to lead an interesting life, and the author does a brilliant job of discussing a boy's/man's perspective in the world where he's missing the ability to truly love anyone. I think it's a fascinating part of 20th century history that is rarely even mentioned, so I'm glad I read this book, but it was really very disheartening to think of all the children brought up in these houses and then adopted out.



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The Man in White

He walks down the highway. Cars swerve past, honking. His spotless white suit flaps in the wind. He shifts his grip on his brown suitcase, smiles slightly and adjusts his wide-brimmed hat. The gentleman turns, facing the oncoming traffic, and begins to grow, rapidly increasing in mass. Drivers slam on their brakes, cursing loudly as he towers above.

“Remain calm. You will be assisted momentarily. Please remain in your vehicles until my staff has a chance to help you.”

He opens the suitcase. Corpses rain down before the stopped cars. Screams erupt as the dead stand and begin shambling forward.

The Man in White by Tena Kolakowski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

This was my first attempt at a "Drabble" type story- one of exactly 100 words. Thoughts?

My Review of Ancestor, by Scott Sigler

Warning: this review *may* contain profanity. Sorry, Mom.

Ancestor: A Novel



I love this book. I cannot stress enough how incredibly plausible this storyline is when you get down to the science of it. Sigler has created a thriller that grips you deep in the primal gut and won't let you go. It's hard to put the book down. The characters are real, either as hateable people you are happy to see die, or likeable people you want to save. There is romance and love without being sappy or corny, and, true to Sigler's MO, there is lots and lots of violence. I seemed to remember M...more I love this book. I cannot stress enough how incredibly plausible this storyline is when you get down to the science of it. Sigler has created a thriller that grips you deep in the primal gut and won't let you go. It's hard to put the book down. The characters are real, either as hateable people you are happy to see die, or likeable people you want to save. There is romance and love without being sappy or corny, and, true to Sigler's MO, there is lots and lots of violence. I seemed to remember Magnus as being more of a self-cutting psychopath, but that may have been something that changed between the original podcast novel and this version. If you have even an inkling of interest in biology, evolution, or horrifying possibilities, you must read this book.

Oh, and that black and white animal laying on the ground behind those rocks? It sure as fuck ain't no cow.