Unifying Theory of the Slip into Truthiness

I know a post about something other than food and babies almost seems off topic for this blog these days, but I was listening to my local NPR station the other day and heard an interview with the authors of Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. If you only have a few minutes, the interview is excellent. I haven't read the book, but plan to as soon as it comes to my local library or is released for the Kindle.

Meanwhile, I've downloaded the following books to my Kindle for our impending trip.

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by by Randy Frost and Gail Steketee, also found via an interview with Pat Morrison on KPCC.

Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs by Ellen Galinsky, with whom I thought I heard an interview on NPR, but actually I read about her over at this post on the Motherlode blog at the New York Times. Ahh, this post does have something to do with babies afterall. Satisfyingly topical, yes no?

The Help by Kathryn Stockett, with whom I'm sure I heard a radio interview that I just cannot find because I was taken by her accent and her humility in the face of a successful book by a white woman about black women. And the sample was VERY compelling. Of course, the black woman who is the main character of the opening of the book is a nanny, so this is also on topic.

Also on topic, but not on my Kindle, are the following "real" books that I recently purchased and am working my way through:

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee. I started this in Bloomington, Indiana, but there are not enough renewals available at the public library to get through this 896 page brick of awesomeness. I believe I checked it out after Alton Brown's book sung its praises.

Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman.

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg.

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