Frontline of Discovery

This is another great publication from National Geographic. As the title says, this book is about major breakthroughs in recent technology. I should start off by telling you NOT to read this book unless you're into stuff like how composite materials are constructed, different kinds of cancer, REM sleep....I read this more for the medical part, which it deviates from after the first few chapters. I love the medical field, and I hate fiction, so I wanted to read something that was easy enough to understand but still had pleanty of good information. This was also at a used booksale for 50 cents, and anything under a buck can't be beat. This book loses some credibility too, because it's about 10 years old. Some of the medical devices it talks about are a little out dated, but not by much.

Notice how I said that "I" hate fiction. Now by no means am I trying to down fictional literature, it's just that I don't believe in spending so much time getting to know fake people in a made up story. Which is kind of ironic, because I love film. I was talking to Patricia awhile ago about this, and she said something along the lines of "There are somethings that can only be taught through reading about the experiences of others, rather than facts." I agree with that to an extent. If you wanted to know more about mountain climbing for instance, you'd probably do best reading a Jon Krakauer book. Remember that name? You should. We read one one his books in 10th grade. I should also mention that he is a NONFICTION writer, which is exactly the point I am trying to make. Anything you can learn from a fiction book, you can probably learn the same thing from a nonfiction book.

The only fiction books that really stick out to me at all are the ones that are either (a) notorious for having some kind of extreme content, or (b) have made a huge social impact. That's why I always like hearing Ms. Fletcher talk about her stash of "banned books". Those are the ones I find appealing.

But hey, that's just me.