Does the Body Good

I just finished reading The Body ~ A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson, which I stretched out over three months so I could enjoy it slowly. Like all of his books this is an information-dense yet easy to read resource.

The Body is indeed focused primarily on the wonders and oddities of the human body, covering all of the parts, systems, functions and disfunctions. In the hands of another writer it might read like any boring anatomy and physiology text; the talented Mr. Bryson effortlessly interlaces the facts with historical background, the people who have contributed to our understanding of the subject, and his own wry commentary. As always the combination is fun and really entertaining.

As a former medical professional I have a fairly decent understanding of the human body, and yet I learned things I didn't know -- such as how exactly Alzheimer's progresses and affects brain tissue. That, I admit, was a bit distressing, as I lost Dad to the disease, but it explained much that I didn't understand about his decline. There is also a section on infectious diseases that (like COVID-19) illustrates the deadly and mysterious nature of viruses.

The Body is not a book for anyone who is very squeamish, modest, religious (or a hypochondriac, for that matter), but it does provide amazing insight into these vehicles that carry us from conception to death. The author also covers both of those subjects, too, and is very matter-of-fact about them and the most personal bodily issues. He does this with marvelous candor that at the same time doesn't offend. I would rate this book perfectly suited to older teens as well as adults -- unless they're squeamish, modest, religious or hypochondriacs, of course.

I think Bill's books about his own life and the various places in the world he has lived or visited rank slightly above his scientific books like The Body, as he is never funnier than when he examines himself. He makes a few mentions and references in this book but overall didn't relate it directly to his own body experience, which is the only complaint I have about it. I would have loved to hear more stories from that POV.

I highly recommend The Body as a terrific read and something of an eye-opener about the one space you will live in for the rest of your life.

Comments

nightsmusic said…

I don't know that I've ever read anything by him, but as a former medical person myself, this is probably something I'd love so I need to find a copy. Thanks for the rec!

March 14, 2020 at 11:53 AM

Downsizing

This was my fabric stash once I sorted everything -- 22 full bins. I spent a day taking out and boxing up what I could part with, with the goal of trying to reduce it by half, so I'd have 11 bins. I was very strict with myself, and removed everything that for one reason or another I was sure I wouldn't be able to use. This is what I ended up with -- 12 bins of fabric that I'm keeping. It's not quite half, but close enough. Half of what I took out went to a local quilter friend, a school and Goodwill. These four tightly-packed bins will be going to the local quilting guild once I make arrangements with them for a drop-off place. I am relieved and a little sad and now determined to control my impulses to thrift more fabric. I don't want to do this again, so until I use up six bins, I can't for any reason bring any new fabric into the house.

In Progress

I promised myself I would show you the good, bad and ugly of my cleaning this year. This is what it looks like when you dump thirty years' worth of stashed fabric on the floor -- and oy, what a pain in the butt to pick up again! This is what it looks like after it's been sorted, folded and placed in containers, which took me about a week. Now the hard part is to downsize my stash by at least half, I think (that's my goal, anyway.) I've already e-mailed the president of the local quilting guild, a local friend who is a quilter, and a public school art teacher I know to see if I can donate some of the excess to them. The rest will go to Goodwill. Already I've reduced my vintage textiles from two bins to one, and my scraps from three bins to one. It's probably the hardest clean-out I've done, which is why I saved it until last. I know I have too much fabric, more than I can use in my lifetime -- but at the same time, I love it. So I have to

Other Stashes

Along with clearing out the spare bedroom and tidying my office and our guest bedroom, I decided to reorganize some of my stashes. This is all the yarn I have on hand, sorted by color. It looks like a lot, but lately I've been using up a minimum of half a bin every month, so this is approximately a year's supply. All of my solid color cotton perle thread. I go through a lot of this every year, too. I need a container in which I can fit all of it together, but I haven't found the right one yet. I won't show you all of my fabric -- I'm still reorganizing this stash -- but I went through everything and donated two bins of fabric I won't need to the local quilter's guild.

Valerean

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