I got a little behind here. Last weekend I read Tale of the Unknown Island by Jose Saramago, which I'd checked out of the library. I'd started reading it once at Powells but balked at the pages per dollar ratio and didn't buy it. It's a brief little tale. Not quite a fairy tale but somewhat of that feeling.

I finally finished Guns, Germs and Steel a few nights ago. Definitely worth a read, but there were quite a few places that I thought he got rather repetitious. I don't really know how much support he has with the scientific community, but his conclusions about why various civilizations ended up the way they did seemed plausible. I don't know how we'll ever know for certain though (unless time machines are ever developed... and with a fast forward feature).

I'm working White Apples by Jonathan Carroll now in preparation for the reading next week. I've liked everything I've read by him, so I don't think this will be an exception.
posted by Kristin Buxton at 1:36 PM