Thursday, April 16, 2009

FACT: Mary Roach is awesome

Yes, I do realize this is the 3rd post in a row about Mary Roach, but after seeing her tonight, I HAVE to mention it.
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Mary Roach spoke today at the Salt lake City Library, filling the main auditorium near to capacity. I'm currently tearing through Spook (okay, I'm listening to it on audiobook), and after tonight, Mary Roach is rising quickly on my list of favorite people.

Roach spoke for an hour and a half, but it seemed like twenty minutes. I could have heard her go on all night, and I think the entire auditorium felt likewise.

I wish we had more science writers like her. I honestly feel that she is one of the greatest science communicators we have today. She makes science interesting to people who might not otherwise be interested, and shows how hugely varied scientific inquiry can be, tackling everything from rotting corpses to G-spot stimulation. Also, those two topics should NEVER EVER be mentioned in the same sentence again. (She mentioned her next book would have something to do with space exploration and astronauts. Can't wait!) And on top of all of that, Roach is hilarious. I mean RIDICULOUSLY hilarious.

Whether or not you are planning on reading Spook for the next SCS book club or not, I can't recommend Roach's books any more strongly.

3 comments:

  1. FACT: YOU are awesome. My husband just forwarded this to me at the end of a long exhausting day on book tour. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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  3. Wow. I'm honored that you took the time to add a comment here, even it if WAS in response to a gushing post full compliments. If you happen to read this, I stand by my statement: I honestly feel you're among the best science communicators we have, mixing humor, curiosity, and the thirst for scientific investigation on topics that may not immediately jump out as ideal topics for popular science writing.

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