Phineus Gage

Just read Phineus Gage, it was amazing!  If you are interested in psychology or the brain you will love it.  The book was easy to read and has a glossory for the science terms.  Its amazing that a guy live for like 13 years with a giant hole in his head from a 3 1/2  foot rod.  You can probably read it in just a couple a  days. Its one of the shorter books on the list.

"Mountains beyond Mountains" Mr. Hayes's Winter Reading

So I have wanted to read this book for a while.  It has received high praise. 

Here is my Post

Mr. Hayes

Mountains beyound Mountains by Tracy Yoder pg 47-58 Chapter 5

Summary: 

This was an amazing story of a child hood. Living in rural south and driving and living in a big bus with a turret or on a boat in a swamp it was amazing.  You can see how this set him up for dealing with the harshness of the environment but it is also amazing the things he has accomplished from such a background.  I also liked that one brother became a wrestler.  It is hard to imagine what he had to say sometimes to girlfriends and the like but it instantly made me want to meet with him and ask him questions.

Questions:  How did he find privacy? It sounds like he may  have gone outside alot but what else in that crowded space.  How close is he with his siblings now?  He is clearly busy but do they remain close after the close quarters of their youth or they now all very different people who only talk or see each other occasionaly.

Quote:He reads a letter from his father that says "I want you to know how proud I am" and PJ was sobbing.  I think this gets to the whole point of the chapter and how he still works to fulfill his fathers pride even though his dad is dead.  This may be why he feels strange when people praise him for what he does.

Comment:  Parts of his child hood sounded great and other horrible.  I loved being able to wander the woods near my house as a kid and those explorations really helped me  become who I am.   I had a house to come back to that was fairly stable and had room for the family.  Living in those cramped conditions would be tough. I often think most house are to big, who needs that much space but living five years in a bus with 6 people would be rough.  It is also strange how family makes us feel great and keeps us humble.  I thought of my grampa as I read the chapter and how many of my decisions were based on what would make him proud.

Predict:  I think the book will keep leading us more into  Farmers psyche through background stories that help understand the choices he makes.

Format to use in your Post

Thank to Mr. Slowinski for loaning us this format. each post should have:
Name unless it is clear by your posting name.      Book Title      Author    and Page numbers read.

Then based on the chapter read you respond to each item below.
Summarize: What does this part of the book seem to be about?
Clarify: What words do you not know? look up their definitions and record them in the blog
Question: What confuses you or causes you to wonder at this point?  Write down any questions you have and try to answer them. At least on question required.
Quote: Write down an important quote from this section of the book.  Record the page number on which it appears.Why is it important?
Comment: Make observations about what you have read.  React Peresonally. be opinionated;be argumentative; be hones.  How does this part make you think or feel?
Does it remind you of anything personally?
Predict: What do you predict might happen next based on the authors style, tone and plot thus far.

The Place To Put Your Winter Reading Comments

Use the comment button to leave your post.  Remember you need to use Mr. Slowinski's format three times for one book to get credit.  The List of Books:

1.Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

2.Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem

3.A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

4.The Great Influenza by John Berry

5.The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

6.Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

7.My Sisters Keeper by Jody Picoult

8.Mountains Beyond Mountains; The quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

9. In Defense of Food by Micahel Pollan

10.Botany of Desire by Micahel Pollan

11.Gorrillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey

12.Chanda’s Secrets by Allen Stratton

13. Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin

14.The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements  by Sam Kean

15. Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History [Hardcover]

Penny LeCouteur

16. Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks

17. Chasing Molecules by Elizabeth Grossman

18. Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time by Michael Shermer

19. Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival by Bernd Heinrich

 20. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

21. Scat by Carl Hiaasen

22. Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn

23. Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson

24. The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman

25. Big Red Jim Kjelgaard

26. Call of the Wild  by Jack London

27. Double Helix by Nancy Werlin

28. Chemical Chaos by Nick Arnold                           

29. Phineas Gage by John Fleishman

30. Animal, Vegatable, Miracle by Barbra Kingsolver

31. An Inconvienent Truth by Al Gore                  

32. Chew On This by  Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson