book discussion questions to Stiff

Book Discussion Group
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

1- In her introduction to Stiff, Mary Roach remarks that "Death. It doesn't have to be boring." What do you think about death before and after reading the book? Why is it that we do not discuss this topic with others?

**I thought the distinction between death and dying was interesting. Mary Roach said watching her mother die was traumatic, but then once she had passed away the dead part was bearable. I think a reason we rarely talk about this subject is because the only time it really comes up is when someone has been dying. And so then it would be talking about someone's loved one as the cadavier and that is a difficult and even inappropriate subject matter.

2-Each chapter is such a unique and interesting topic on the life of cadaviers, did one stand out more than the others for you, and why?

**I thought the "Eat Me"chapter was the worst. I was reading this chapter by my four year old daughter and I must have been making squeamish faces because she kept asking me what was wrong. I also found the first few chapters to be very interesting due to the novelity of the topic. I had no idea there were so many uses for cadaviers.

3-What did you think of Roach's use of humor? Did it help make a grim subject matter more approachable or merely distract from the content?

**I loved Roach's sense of humor. In fact, it is totally my sense of humor! I did not find it distracting or disrepectful. There are many examples to choose from, but i will quote just one such humorous aside about the many uses of gelatin located on page 139. "What I am getting at here is that if you're going to worry about mad cow disease, you probably have more to worry about than you thought. And if there's any danger, which I like to think there isn't, we're all doomed, so relax and have another Snickers."

4-In the conclusion to Stiff, Roach discusses whether it is appropriate or reasonable to attempt to control what happens to your remains after death. Do you think it is more important to honor the wishes of the dead or the wishes of those whom the dead leave behind? Why?

**Before reading Roach's arguments I would have said it is more important to honor the wishes of the dead. But maybe that is just our culture. We do what the dead have requested especially in those deaths that are not unexpected. But I think Roach made a good argument for honoring the wishes of the living. So I guess basically I am torn. I can see both sides and I am not really convinced either way.

5-The last chapter of the book, Mary Roach sums up what her plan for her own body after she passes away. Did she have a plan already, has it changed? Or, has this book helped you to get a better idea of what you want to do when you die one day?

**I have always been opposed to being embalmed. I do not like funerals much at all either. I have said for years I just want to be buried immediately in a burlap sack. I am also currently an organ donor. But now I really like the idea of composting. Also I am certainly not opposed to donating my body to science.

A GREAT BOOK!

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadaviers

Author: Mary Roach

Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company (2003)

ISBN: 0393324826

pages: 304

genre: popular nonfiction

4.5 (out of 5) STARS

Annotation: A look inside the world of forensics examines the use of human cadavers in a wide range of endeavors, including research into new surgical procedures, space exploration, and a Tennessee human decay research facility.

Summary: Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender reassignment surgery, cadavers have been there alongside surgeons, making history in their quiet way.

In this fascinating, ennobling account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries—from the anatomy labs and human-sourced pharmacies of medieval and nineteenth-century Europe to a human decay research facility in Tennessee, to a plastic surgery practice lab, to a Scandinavian funeral directors' conference on human composting. In her droll, inimitable voice, Roach tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them. (www.goodreads.com)

Evaluation: This was a wonderful book! Nonfiction takes me a lot longer to read than a novel but I still enjoyed this book. The topic was also a bit graphic but I thought Roach handled it with wit and respect. Overall, a very splendid read. Please see my post with my responses to the discussion questions which will give more of my opinions of this book.

Read-a-likes:

Bonk by Mary Roach

Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy by Melissa Milgrom

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

The Family That Could Not Sleep: A Medical Mystery by D.T. Max

Round Ireland with a Fridge

Round Ireland with a Fridge

Author: Tony Hawks

Publisher: St. Martin Griffin (1997)

ISBN: 0312274920

pages: 264

genre: popular nonfiction

3 (out of 5) STARS

Annotation: Recounts the author's experiences hitchhiking on a bet all the way around Ireland with a small refrigerator, and shares his impressions of the people and places along the way.

Summary: TV comedian Tony Hawks tries to win a bet by hitch-hiking around the circumference of Ireland in one calendar month, with a fridge. This is the story of Tony's adventures - the people he meets, the difficulties, the triumphs and that fridge. (www.goodreads.com)

Evaluation: Round Ireland with a Fridge was a very funny read. I enjoyed the British humor throughout the book. However, I thought it got a bit old by the end of the novel. I was able to finish it but was rather bored. I do think the read-a-likes look quite interesting and may give them a try.

Read-a-likes:

Not So Funny When It Happened by Tim Cahill

Hyenas Laughed At Me and Now I Know Why by Sean O'Reilly

Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need by Dave Barry

Outliers

Outliers
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (2008)
ISBN: 9780316017923
pages: 285

genre: popular nonfiction
subgenre: business writing

4.5 (out of 5) STARS

Annotation: The general population tends to believe that successful people exist only because of their intelligence, ambition, and hard work, but Gladwell argues there is more to a successful person than meets the eye.

Summary: Gladwell presents a strong argument that there is more to success than just hard work and intelligence. It is important to look at many factors surrounding a successful person.

Part one of the book is entitled: Opportunity. Many people become successful because of opportunities that are presented in their lives. For example, Bill Gates went to a High School that had a computer lab and he was able to spend as much time on the computers as he desired. This was not common at the time. Also, in Canada hockey players are chosen to participate in competition leagues at a young age. A pattern emerged that the oldest, biggest players tended to be picked. The competition league then offered extra practices, better coaches, etc. So by the time the boys were grown, the older boys were, of course, better hockey players than those born later in the same calendar year. Access to computers or hockey rinks or any other such thing is required to make a successful person.

Another important aspect is not just access but many hours of access. The magic number seems to be ten thousand hours. Those that are above and beyond in their field of expertise have clocked at least ten thousand hours doing what they do. In fact, if you practice an instrument for ten thousand hours, you will be successful. It really does not matter your original ability or natural gift, at ten thousand hours, you are an outlier in that field.

Part two of Outliers is entitled Legacy. As much as it seems politically incorrect, it does matter where you are born, your heritage, and your race. One such example illustrated is Korean pilots. Different cultures experience different power distance index (PDI). America has a low PDI. Korea, on the other hand, has a high PDI. Power and status are very important. Korean pilots for many years had very high plane crash statistics. The other Korean officers in the cockpit would never contradict or express concern to the pilot. This lead to many fatal plane crashes.

On a more positive note, Asians tend to be quite successful in math. There are two main reasons for this. First, many Asian languages are much more conducive to learning and understanding math. The language itself lends itself to success. Second, many Asian cultures cultivate rice. Rice growers tend to share many traits in common such as being extremely hard working. Whereas, children from other cultures give up on math, Asians are not afraid to work hard and then succeed in math.

Thus “the outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all” (pg. 285).

Evaluation: Malcolm Gladwell is an accomplished author. His arguments are well thought out and well written. Some nonfiction tends to be dry and difficult to read, but Gladwell’s book reads nearly like fiction. After each point he is able to show evidence often with stories about people that make the reading enjoyable.

I particularly enjoyed the section about how everyone who clocked ten thousand hours in any field would be an expert. I love to quilt and have roughly estimated that I have put around five thousand hours into the craft. I think my quilting looks quite nice, personally! To be successful quantity is as important at quality, or maybe, better said, the quality will improve as the quantity increases. But there must be quantity.

The second section of the book about legacy was very important because we like to believe we are completely individual and although we may not be an island we can distance ourselves from our past. However, Gladwell argues this is not the case.

“I realize that we are often wary of making these kinds of broad generalizations about different cultural groups – and with good reason. This is the form that racial and ethnic stereotypes take. We want to believe that we are not prisoners to our ethnic histories” (pg. 170). I would like to add we may be held prisoner may our own individual family and generational patterns of living.

“But the simple truth is that if you want to understand what happened in those small towns in Kentucky in the nineteenth century, you have to go back into the past- and not just one or two generations. You have to go back two or three or four hundred years” (pg. 170).

Although we may always admire outliers, now we know there is more than meets the eye.




Malcolm Gladwell

More to read by Malcolm Gladwell:
The Tipping Point
Blink




"In the Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell changed the way we understand the world. In Blink he changed the way we think about thinking. Outliers will transform the way we understand success.”

Additional readings:
Bonjour Laziness by Corrine Maier
The Starbucks Experience by Joseph Michelli

Orange is the New Black

Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison
Author: Piper Kerman
Publisher: Random House (2010)
ISBN: 9780385523387
pages: 295

genre: popular nonfiction
subgenre: biography

3.5 (out of 5) STARS

Annotation: Piper Kerman spent thirteen months in prison for a ten year old drug crime.

Summary:When Piper Kerman was in college she became friends with a motley crew of characters. One was her lesbian lover named Nora who was involved in drug trafficking. Piper traveled the world with Nora just for the fun of it. On only one occasion did Piper help smuggle drug money back into the United States. Five years later this particular drug ring was infiltrated and names were named. Piper was one of those names named. It took five more years for Piper to receive her prison sentence.

Piper was sentenced to thirteen months in a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut for a ten year old drug crime. This book tells the story of the many unusual and interesting people Piper met and lived with during her incarceration.

Piper stood out in the prison for many reasons. She was blond, blue-eyed, middle class, educated and well-loved outside the prison. She had an amazing support group and received letters, magazine subscriptions, care packages, and books on a daily basis. Every time there were visiting hours Piper had people there to see her. Yet despite all this she still had to learn how to live inside the prison. Inside she was the same as everyone else. There was no special treatment. In fact, at the beginning she was quite worried that her differences and privileged life would draw undue attention to herself. What she found though was a great capacity for love and compassion not only towards the other inmates but directed toward her as well.

Evaluation: The basic writing style of this book was average, but still commendable. Occasionally memoirs can be painful to read; such as Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Prison by Malika Oufkir and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. The stories are amazingly interesting but the writing leaves something to be desired. On the other hand, Orange is the New Black has an acceptable writing style and I did not find it painful to read. Periodically, I got a bit bogged down but overall I quite enjoyed it.

I greatly enjoyed the stories Kerman portrayed. There were many interesting people and experiences discussed in this book. I also found the social commentary on prisons, prison life, and woman prisoners to be interesting and thought provoking.

One such comment by Kerman warrants much consideration. “Our current criminal justice system has no provision for restorative justice, in which an offender confronts the damage they have done and tries to make it right to the people they have harmed. Instead, our system of “corrections” is about arm’s-length revenge and retribution, all day and all night. Then its overseers wonder why people leave prison more broken than when they went in” (pg. 181).

This book brought to mind an article I was recently reading entitled Prison Without Walls. Both authors seemed to have arrived at a somewhat similar conclusion that our criminal justice system is ineffective and does not accomplish much of anything. “Criminals typically differ from the broader population in a number of ways, including poor impulse control, addictive personality, and orientation toward short-term gratification rather than long-run consequences. More than a fifth of all incarcerated criminals are in for drug offenses, and a large portion of the others abuse legal and illegal substances. If one were to design a criminal-justice system from scratch with these characteristics in mind, it would be difficult to come up with something less effective than what we have today” (Wood, 92).

Wood, G., Prison Without Walls. The Atlantic. Sept. 2010. Pg. 86-96.


Read-a-likes:
Life on the Outside by Jennifer Gonnerman
Going up the River by Joseph T Hallinan
A World Apart: Women, Prison, and Life Behind Bars by Cristina Rathbone
Forget You Had a Daugher: Doing Time in the "Bangkok Hilton" by Sandra Gregory
13 Women by Karlene Faith
The Farm: Inside a Woman's Prison by Andi Rierden