Im a died in the wool info junkie. Print works best for me; TV is too intrusive and I like to make my own images, especially if they are going to be disturbing (ie news). As a result of temperament or neurological quirkiness, I print-surf the way others channel surf. I like to read and I love esoteric tidbits. When I was a kid I spent a summer reading the Encyclopedia Britannia and the subsequent school year boring the pants off any one within earshot. I also loved Ripley's Belive it or Not, World Almanacs, my mother's lurid Nursing textbooks (esp. infectious diseases-- elephantitis and testes do not mix well) and my father's collection of psych books (Fritz Perls's In and Out of the Garbage Pail was a favorite, maybe because like the ID textbook, it also had pictures.)
I usually have 6 to a dozen mostly-non-fiction reads in rotation next to my bed. Here's a peek from one weeks's playlist.
The Emperor of Scent, by Chandler Burr. Part investigative journalism, part academic muckwrecking and part fawning biography, the author delves into the world of the brilliant mind of perfumophile/scientist/madman Luca Turin and his hopes to shake up acadamia with a new theory of olfaction. It may sound dry-- and I expect it was, for some-- but there's human drama aplenty. And to this recent anosmiac, the immersion into the world of smells and Turin's vivid word-pictures describing them were welcome Nose Porn. Chandler's a great writer. I can't vouch much for his scientific scrutiny pedigree but it all made sense to me, and his ability to weave an intoxicating sentence inbtween the lengthy descriptions of chemical coding and how molecules vibrate their way into olfactory experience was fascinating, even if loudly decried by the Shape Theorists.
For a nov
el introduction to Anosmia, local author Keith Scriber's new book The Oregon Experiment starts with a scent scene-- rising mint in the air on a dark night drive. The protagnist's wife is a Professional Nose (perfumeir) recovering from anosmia. It's a side story but an important one.
Escaping my current obsession I read
Welcome to the middle path
- Jana Svoboda, LCSW
- Sporadic photos and notes from a Psyche-midwife, cheerleader, anthropologist--aka clinical social worker in therapy practice. Photos are usually mine except for those of historical events/famous people. Music relevant to the daily topic is often included in a web video embedded below the blog. Click on highlighted links in the copy to get to source or supplemental material. For contact information, see my website @ janasvoboda.com or click on the button to the right below. Join in the conversation.
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