What’s Cherokee reading?

Currently

Previously

In The Queue

What’s Chris Reading?

Currently

Nick Offerman’s Gumption – I really enjoyed the first several chapters that were about more distant historical figures. People like Theodore Roosevelt are probably my mental image of gumption without Offerman even suggesting it. The last few chapters have been a little conventional picks (for me anyway) so my interest has waned slightly. Plus summer has been busy so its not just the book.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot – I teach about Henrietta Lacks in biology, because Henrietta Lacks is effectively immortal. While the woman died decades ago, her cells live on in medical research. I had a vague idea about the issues with how HeLa cells were obtained before starting the book.

Previously

John Green’s Everything is Tuberculous – seriously, it is. It all is! I’ve been a big fan of the Green Brothers for years, watching their YouTube channels Vlog Brothers and Crash Course. Seriously, without Crash Course, how would I even teach? Or made it through college?! John Green weaves together the history of consumption with a personal encounter with the modern TB crisis. I was left feeling dismayed (I read this as USAID and international TB funding was threatened) but equally hopeful that humanity could actually eradicate humanity’s biggest killer, if we actually tried. Bonus: I preordered and have a signed copy. Little did I know that John Green keeps track of what he signs all of his books with so its possible to know roughly when the book was signed. Entirely inconsequential information.

The Martian by Andy Weir – I watched the movie first. Ugh. I don’t think you’re supposed to do that, are you? Oh well, I’m sure Mark Watney will forgive. If you’re not a geeky person but still appreciate a story about adversity, difficult journeys, potato farming, and/or extreme loneliness, then try reading The Martian anyway. There’s a lot of calculations that’ll excite the science crowd but don’t get bogged down on the details. This book is a personal struggle and will to live more than anything else. Also: have you ever considered what it would be like to be the only human on an entire planet?

In the Queue

• Timeline by Michael Crichton