Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

source: free copy via Amazon Prime membership
title: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
author: Caitlin Doughty / Twitter
genre: memoir
pages: 242
published: September 15, 2014
first line: A girl always remembers the first corpse she shaves.
rated: 4 out of 5

blurb:
Most people want to avoid thinking about death, but Caitlin Doughty—a twenty-something with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre—took a job at a crematory, turning morbid curiosity into her life’s work. Thrown into a profession of gallows humor and vivid characters (both living and very dead), Caitlin learned to navigate the secretive culture of those who care for the deceased.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes tells an unusual coming-of-age story full of bizarre encounters and unforgettable scenes. Caring for dead bodies of every color, shape, and affliction, Caitlin soon becomes an intrepid explorer in the world of the dead. She describes how she swept ashes from the machines (and sometimes onto her clothes) and reveals the strange history of cremation and undertaking, marveling at bizarre and wonderful funeral practices from different cultures.

Her eye-opening, candid, and often hilarious story is like going on a journey with your bravest friend to the cemetery at midnight…..

*trigger warning for delicate subject matter for some readers*

 

Gulp By Mary Roach

I am an Amazon affiliate.
source: Purchased
title: Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
author: Mary Roach (Twitter)
genre: non-fiction/science
pages: 348
published: 2013
first line: In 1968, on the Berkeley campus of the University of California, six young men undertook an irregular and unprecedented act.
rated: 4 out of 5 stars

Blurb:
The alimentary canal — the much-maligned tube from mouth to rear — is as taboo, in its way, as the cadavers in Stiff, and as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. In Gulp we meet the scientists who tackle the questions no one else thinks —or has the courage —to ask. How much can you eat before your stomach bursts? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? Can wine tasters really tell a $10 bottle from a $100 bottle? Why is crunchy food so appealing? Can constipation kill you? Did it kill Elvis? We go on location to a pet food taste-test lab, a fecal transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal. Like all of Roach’s books, Gulp is as much about human beings as it is about human bodies.

My thoughts:
Mary Roach one of those authors I discovered through book blogging years ago. I have been meaning to read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers for a while, but I had a copy of Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal on my shelves and finally dove into it. I have zero recollection of purchasing this book, but I know I bought it at some point a few years back.

This was an interesting reading experience. The author has a knack for infusing humor into her writing, she grossed me out a little but also made me laugh.

Mailbox Monday 3.2.15

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Mondays are always nicer when books are involved right? This past weekend flew right on by and I ended up going to the bookstore on a whim and to my local library to get some research done for a class assignment. The library visit was extra nice because once a month they have someone come and play the piano that is set up by one of the reading areas. It was really nice to browse the shelves with soft, live piano music playing in the background.

I took the above Go Away I’m Reading pic at my local Barnes and Noble and I’m tempted to grab this little sign next time I pop in. I think it would look nice sitting on my bookcase.

For this weeks MM post I am highlighting two books….