Pollinator Week

Pollinator Week 2025

"Pollinator Week is an annual celebration that raises awareness about the importance of pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, to our ecosystems and food supply. In 2025, it will take place from June 16 to June 22, with various activities to promote pollinator health and conservation." - says an AI generated response to a query.

While about five years ago I wrote an essay on this topic, this year I am just going to share some photographs.

All writing and images ©Cliff Hutson unless expressly noted. Do not use without permission.

Reading Log: February 2025

 The books I read in the month of February 2025

February 2025 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Of Ice Packs and Men," Rick Bass

"Orange County," Gustavo Arellano

"How to Change Your Mind," Michael Pollan

The paucity of books this month can be chalked up to my trying to put a dent in the weeks old pile up of the "The New Yorker" magazine.

Reading Log: December 2023

The books that I finished reading in the month of December 2023: 

December 2023 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America," Betsy Gaines Quammen

"Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains," Bethany Brookshire

"Hondo," Louis L'Amour 

"Out There: The Science Behind Sci-Fi Film and TV," Ariel Waldman 

Cliff's Notes

"True West"

I was very disappointed in this book, thinking that it would contain more history than personal stories. The author maintains, based on her personal experiences, that America can be brought together if we meet our fellow Americans where they are.

That may be easy for a well to do, somewhat noted, white woman to say. It is not so practical in a land where a service station in Arizona refused to sell me gas, or where my wife were seated in a restaurant in Idaho Falls but never served. 

She does write well though.

"Pests"

"Pests are what happens when we think that we've got nature all figured out, and nature decides to give us the finger."

This was both an entertaining and informative read.

"Hondo"

My newspaper of record recently devoted several paragraphs to a discussion of the movie of the same title and the novel as they both mention a local community - San Dimas. I decided to watch the movie and then read the book, which was based on the movie rather than the usual sequence. They were both pretty darn good. Each in its own way.

See how they differed was illuminating. A novelist can use extensive character description and metaphors.  A screenplay has to solve the problem of how to put necessary information in to the mouths of characters whereas a novel can just tell the reader about it.  

So, at bottom, I will say that I enjoyed the book more. Mostly because it gave me some leeway to enjoy the landscape as it were, rather than have it relegated to the background as I keep an eye on the actors. But, let me go on record as saying that I will never give up one form for the other.

"Out There"

Another enjoyable read. But, then I seem to have an inborn fascination with the juxtaposition between science fiction and real science. I came of age during a time when many of the things first hinted at in books and movies became (more or less) actual technological advances. This book limns the way real life and science fiction may intersect. 

Reading Log: November 2023

 The books that I finished reading in the month of November 2023 -

November 2023 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Below the Belt," A.J. Stewart

"Making the Drop,"  A.J. Stewart

"Chasing the Ghost Bear: on the Trail of America's Lost Super Beast," Mike Stark

"The Gods of Guilt," Michael Connelly

Cliff's Notes:

"Belt" and "Drop"

As previously noted, I have very much enjoyed Stewart's Miami Jones series. And, I believe that finishing these two brings me current. They did not disappoint. 

Part of my enjoyment stems from Miami being a former pro athlete who frequently muses on what was and what could have been. Also, each book in the series revolves around a different sport. These cover boxing and surfing respectively. Both of them offer an interesting story offering humor and insights into life.

"Ghost Bear"

I have a great interest in natural history and Stark's book has expanded my knowledge about an animal that I have vaguely aware of for decades, but knew very little about. 

The bear in the title is the prehistoric North American giant short-faced bear. I say that I was familiar with it as I once lived within walking distance of the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles where the remains of thirty some-odd individual bears have been found. The author devotes a couple of chapters to the scientific  work done there and his visit to the George C. Page Museum. He seems as bemused as I was over the cartoonish statue of a short-faced bear on the park grounds. 

This book is a great guide to the Pleistocene and one of the more spectacular animals that during that time.

"Gods"

This book is a "Lincoln Lawyer" novel. I like Connelly's work, but much prefer the Harry Bosch books. But, this is an engaging read filled with a lot of ins, a lot of outs, and a lot of what-have-you's. A reader with a limber mind should enjoy it.

 

Going, Going, Almost Gone

International Dinosaur Month

Small Dinosaur: photo by Cliff Hutson

Much to my chagrin, I almost missed out on the fact that October is International Dinosaur Month. But, it is not too late to celebrate with these books and movies.

 

Reading Log: June 2023

 The books I finished reading in the month of July 2023

June 2023 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Soccer for Dummies," Tom Dunmore and Scott Murray


"Chasing Giants: In Search of the World's Largest Freshwater Fish," Zeb Hogan and Stefan Lovgren 


“Clean: The New Science of Skin," James Hamblin 


Reading Log: February 2023

The books that I finished reading in the month of February 2023

February 2023 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Gaia," James Lovelock

"The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us," Dr. Lucy Jones

"The Afrominimalist's Guide to Living with Less,' Christine Platt

"The Forgotten Man." Robert Crais

Cliff's Notes:

"Gaia"

This book proposes that the earth is a living, self regulating organism. I firmly believe that this is a worthy hypothesis that bears investigation. I also feel that that Lovelock, the progenitor of the theory, seems to be one of the most ill-equipped scientists to argue in its favor. 

My concern arises from his beliefs that pollution is not a a major concern, Big Oil would not lie to us about the effects of burning fossil fuels, and that non-industrial countries present a bigger threat to the environment than Europe or America. 

All in all, I do not recommend this book.

"The Big Ones"    

A very cool book about natural disasters, of all stripes, and how they have shaped history and (perhaps) the human psyche. 

By waiting so long to write this review I have the benefit of seeing how the current flooding in California is evocative of what occurred in 1861-62; a history of which most Californians are unaware. 

One lesson more of us should take to heart: "Love, thank, and cherish your loved ones every day of your ... ."

"Living with Less"

One of the things that I have trying to accomplish, with little success, over the past few years is paring down my possessions so that I can move to a much smaller home. Having stalled out in this endeavor I was hoping that this book might give me a jump start. It was not much of a help. But, that may just be me.

The author puts a lot of emphasis on discovering one's authentic self. It seems that my authentic self is someone who is mildly depressed and sits around the house wearing sweatpants.

"Forgotten"

Another fun read in the bestselling series of Elvis Cole and Joe Pike stories. 

Life

 On the Tenacity of Plants

Tenacious Plant: photo by Cliff Hutson 

"Life, uh, finds a way”  -  Dr. Ian Malcolm

Reading Log: December 2022

 The books I finished reading in the month of December 2022

December 2022 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions," David Quammen 

"Seven Brief Lessons on Physics," Carlo Rovelli 

"Andrea Hoffman Goes All In," Diane Cohen Schneider 

"The Power of Myth," Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers

"Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living," Nick Offerman 

"When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management," Roger Lowenstein

Cliff's Notes

"Dodo"

A friend and I recently discussed the books that have had an impact on our lives and this one immediately came to my mind. I first read it in 1996 and it shaped my outlook on the world and informed my work as a "nature interpreter" at the botanic garden where I volunteered. So, I decided to reread it to see how I feel about it after all this time.

It is still a great piece of writing combing scientific reporting with travel writing. Sadly,  many of the situations it covers seem to have gotten worse rather have been ameliorated in any fashion. So, it is still highly relevant. 

"Brief Lessons"

This book did not do much for me. This lessons are brief and as such lack much substance. We learn that the theory of general relativity and the theory of quantum mechanics are both true, yet contradict each other.  The author seems to want the reader to accept this on faith; a word he disparages in other contexts.

One reviewer said that this book is a much better read than "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking. I don't find that to be the case.

"Andrea Hoffman"

This book came to my daughter's attention because the name is very close to her own and she decided to give me a copy. 

I very much enjoyed it. While, at heart, I guess that it can be called a young woman's coming-of-age story it also provides a very interesting the world of finance in the 1980s. The author has a marvelous way with words. As an example; she describes as looking like ". . . he's been playing on a dusty floor with a toddler and a golden retriever." I very much recommend it.

"Myth"

Some say that this is a book that everybody should read, and now I have done it. Both Campbell and Moyers like to use words and drop names that send a reader such as myself to the dictionary or encyclopedia. That lies on me. Your mileage may be different. 

"Paddle"

While I have still have not watched "Parks and Recreation", I am a fan of Nick Offerman. This is the third book of his that I have read. It is, in my humble opinion the least of them. That may be because it was the first one that he wrote and, dare I say it, it took him sometime to find his voice.

Part memoir and part his advice on how to live a fulfilling life it is immensely interesting. I certainly recommend to anyone aspiring to get into acting. However, while I do not think of myself as a prude, I learned far more about his martial relations with Megan Mullally than I care to know. Though, I am happy for them that their sex life seems to be mutually enjoyable. Also, I am the first to admit that I swear, cuss, or use foul language more than I should, but find these pages to just a bit too full of it.

[Note to self: Figure out the difference between "memoir" and "autobiography".]

"Genius"

Last month I read that this is one of the two books that was required reading for the people on Enron's trading floor, so I wanted to see what it was all about.

This book, originally published in 2000, details the rise and and fall (which nearly took the financial system with it) of LTCM. This 2011edition has an Afterward which shows that lessons were not learned. As James Cramer has noted, "perhaps the term genius should be reserved for Mozart and not for arbitrageurs."

I had already learned from Andrea Hoffman that this business is neither logical nor fair and that the party won't last forever. 

Reading Log: October 2022

 The books that I finished reading in the month of October 2022

October 2022 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Four Fifths a Grizzly," Douglas Chadwick

"How Photography Became Contemporary Art," Andy Grundberg 

"The Sentinel," Lee Child and Andrew Child

"Caribbean Rim," Randy Wayne White

"Salt River," Randy Wayne White

"Breathless:  The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus,"  David Quammen 

Cliff's Notes

"Grizzly"

I have long felt that all life on Earth is interconnected, this collection of essays makes a compelling argument for that belief. 

"Photography"

Spoiler alert: The author helped make it happen.

It was a good follow up to last month's book by Susan Sontag. And, to echo a comment about her book, if I had a better understanding of postmodern art I might have appreciated this one more than I did.

As the Belgian art critic and theorist Thierry de Duve said, " When a urinal is art, anything can be art; and when anything can be art, anybody can be an artist."

"Sentinel"

I have, over many years, enjoyed most of the Jack Reacher stories. This one not so much. Lee Child seems to be getting bored and his son may not be up to receiving the mantle.

"Caribbean" 

Another entry in the Doc Ford series that I once enjoyed. Ford is a marine biologist, so forgive me when I make the pun that he jumped the shark several books ago. 

"Salt"

Yet, another Doc Ford story. It, among other plots, builds upon "Caribbean Rim" and is even more implausible. It seems as though White had three plot lines in mind, but none of them were enough for a book by theirselves, so he mashed them in to one. I doubt that I will ever purchase another book by this author.

However, I am very glad that he made it through hurricane Ian. 

"Breathless"

David Quammen is another author of whom  I have long been a fan. His work frequently informed my work as a "nature interpreter". This book was not a disappointment. 

Quammen, to steal from the back of the book jacket, once predicted a pandemic - in this book he describes the one that we are now living through, how it might have come to pass, and what may lie ahead. It is well worth reading.

Time, Part 1

 Does anybody know what time is?

Alarm Clock: photo by Cliff Hutson

Time has resurfaced as a fascinating subject to me. Perhaps because I have so much of it on my hands.  Someone, not Stephen Hawking, once said that; "Time is what keeps one damn thing after another from being every damn thing all at once".  Physicists might define time as the progression of events from the past to the present into the future. Time, thus, gives us the feeling of progress. 

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Shinola Runwell Watch: photo by Cliff Hutson

Readers of a certain age will recognize that this heading is stolen from the song "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" by the band Chicago. (Which I am surprised does not rank at the top of everybody's list.)

The song, released in 1969, has the line - "A man came up to me and asked me what the time was that was on my watch".  These days it seems that the need for watches is very much on the decline. After all, most people have a mobile photo that will give the time simply by picking it up. But, some of us still turn to watches - more about that at a later date.  Tempus fugit and I will miss my deadline if I don't post this now.

Looking Back: The Books of 2021

All the books that I finished reading in 2021:

Still-life with Book & Cat: photo by Cliff Hutson

1. "Your House Will Pay," Steph Cha
2. "Next to Last Stand," Craig Johnson
3. "50 Ways to Cook a Carrot," Peter Hertzmann
4. "Are You There God? It's Me, Margarita," Tim Federle  
5. "What It's Like to Be a Bird," David Allen Sibley 
6. "The Ninth Inning," A.J. Stewart
7. "Deacon King Kong," James McBride
8. "Lords of the Fly," Monte Burke
9. "Shakespeare in a Divided America," James Shapiro
10. "Why We Sleep," Matthew Walker, PhD
11. "The Zombie Survival Guide," Max Brooks
12. "Nick: a Novel," Michael Farris Smith
13. "City on the Edge of Forever," Peter Lunenfeld 
14. "The Day of the Locust," Nathanael West
15. "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents," Isabel Wilkerson 
16. "Underland: A Deep Time Journey," Robert Macfarlane 
17. "Black, White, and The Grey," Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano 
18. "An Indigenous People's History of the United States," Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
19. "The Reindeer Chronicles," Judith D. Schwartz 
20. "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization," David R. Montgomery
21. "Past the Post," A.J. Stewart
22. "Of Mutts and Men," Spencer Quinn
23. "A Cat's Tale: A Journey Through Feline History," Baba the Cat as dictated to Paul Koudounaris 
24. "Project Hail Mary," Andy Weir
25. "Chasing Darkness," Robert Crais
26. "World Travel: an Irreverent Guide," Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever 
27. "Animal, Vegetable, Junk," Mark Bittman
28. "Deliverance," James Dickey
29. "Tender is the Bite," Spencer Quinn
30. "The House Without a Key," Earl Derr Biggers
31. "Chinatown Beat," Henry Chang
32. "Interior Chinatown," Charles Yu
33. "The Chinese Parrot," Earl Derr Biggers
34. "Red Earth, White Lies: Native Americans and the Myth of Science," Vine Deloria, Jr. 
35. "Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth," Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and Jason Stanford 
36. "Squeeze Me," Carl Hiaasen 
37. "The Age of Wood," Roland Ennos 
38. "How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe," Charles Yu
39. "Clark and Division," Naomi Hirahara 
40. "The Botany of Gin," Chris Thorogood and Simon Hiscock 
41. "This Is Your Mind on Plants," Michael Pollan
42. "Behind That Curtain," Earl Derr Biggers
43. "The Black Camel," Earl Derr Biggers
44. "Sorry Please Thank You," Charles Yu
45. "Charlie Chan Carries On," Earl Derr Biggers
46. "The Keeper of the Keys," Earl Derr Biggers
47. "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation," Michael Pollan
48. "Diet for a Small Planet: 50th Anniversary Edition," Frances Moore Lappé 
49. "Every Tool's a Hammer," Adam Savage
50. "Weapons of Math Destruction," Cathy O'Neil
51. "It's a Wonderful Woof," Spencer Quinn
52. "On Juneteenth," Annette Gordon-Reed
53. "Sapiens," Yuval Noah Harari  
54. "Where the Deer and the Antelope  Play," Nick Offerman 
55. "Good Clean Fun," Nick Offerman
56. "On Animals," Susan Orlean
57. "The Dark Hours," Michael Connelly 
58. "Coffee Lids," Louise Harpman and Scott Spect  
59. "Seven Brief Lessons on Physics," Carlo Rovelli
60. "The New Yankee Workshop," Norm Abram

There you have it. I completed sixty books the second year of the pandemic. That total is fewer than I read in the previous year, but not too far off my average of 58 from 2015 through 2020 - give or take a book.  However, it puts me well behind David Allen, who I like to measure myself against. However, I will register a protest in that fourteen of his were audio books, listened to while he was in his car. There are those amongst us that do not count that as actually reading. Be that as it may, here is my recap:

The Best:

There were a lot of excellent books in this lineup. Rather than pick just one I am going to divide them into two categories. The best in fiction (in this case hard science fiction) was "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir, author of "The Martian." As one of the main character's bosses says; in “When the alternative is death to your entire species, things are very easy. No moral dilemmas, no weighing what’s best for whom. Just a single-minded focus on getting this project working.” Advice that would be well heeded in our times. And, the problem solving that unfolds is a delight to follow.

The best in nonfiction is a close call. However, my pick is "Caste" by Isabel Wilkerson. The author examines the social divisions in American society, many of them generally unacknowledged but which have certainly affected my life, using comparisons with India and Nazi Germany. I may not be in 100% accord with her argument, but it is a very well written book.

A close runner up is "On Juneteenth."

The Most Disappointing:

A book I read back in the 1970s had a fairly big impact on my wife and myself. So, I was eager to pick it up again when I saw that a new edition was being released. What a let down!

The book is "Diet for a Small Planet: 50th Anniversary Edition" by Frances Moore Lappé . While it provides a new and "timely introduction plus new and updated plant-centered recipes" the bulk of it contains the same data from the original - which I see as scarcely relevant any longer.  The author and her daughter, who is responsible for the new and revised recipes, should have just released a cookbook. The point of the book is still pertinent, but newer ones are better suited for the present day. 

What Lies Ahead:

Tsundoku: photo by Cliff Hutson

Self-fulfilling prophecy can be a thing, and I would hate to fall into that trap. But, 2020 may see me competing even fewer books. It is the middle of January and I have yet to finish one. Also, my tsundoku has a couple of heavy volumes in it (see above) and others on physics and philosophy which may be heavy going. So, we shall see. 

Reading Log: December 2021

 The books I finished reading in December 2021

December 2021 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"On Animals," Susan Orlean

"The Dark Hours," Michael Connelly 

"Coffee Lids," Louise Harpman and Scott Spect  

"Seven Brief Lessons on Physics," Carlo Rovelli

"The New Yankee Workshop," Norm Abram

Just a Cat Photograph

Animal Companion

Mini: photo by Cliff Hutson

Perhaps One More

The Shadow: photo by Cliff Hutson

National STEM/STEAM Day

November 8 is a day meant to inspire kids to explore and pursue their interests in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. 

#STEMSTEAMDay

Reading Log: July 2021

 The books I finished reading in July 2021

July 2021 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Deliverance," James Dickey

"Tender is the Bite," Spencer Quinn

"The House Without a Key," Earl Derr Biggers

"Chinatown Beat," Henry Chang

"Interior Chinatown," Charles Yu

"The Chinese Parrot," Earl Derr Biggers

"Red Earth, White Lies: Native Americans and the Myth of Science," Vine Deloria, Jr. 

Reading Books

 Reading books may add years to your life

Steinbeck Collection: photo by Cliff Hutson

It seems that reading books may have health benefits.  Researchers at Yale University School of Public Health conducting an ongoing study of adults 50 and older determined that people who read books regularly had a 20% less chance of dying over the next 12 years compared with people who were not readers or those who read magazines and newspapers. 

Their findings, published in the September 2016 issue of Social Science & Medicine held true regardless of health, marital status, wealth, education, or race.  So, the act of reading books may add years to a life in which to read them.  

Reading Log: April 2021

 

 The books that I finished reading in April 2021

April 2021 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents," Isabel Wilkerson 

"Underland: A Deep Time Journey," Robert Macfarlane 

"Black, White, and The Grey," Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano

"An Indigenous People's History of the United States," Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

"The Reindeer Chronicles," Judith D. Schwartz 

"Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization," David R. Montgomery

Bicycle Day

The First Trip

A Bicycle: photo by Cliff Hutson

On April 19, 1943, Albert Hofmann, a chemist working in, Basel, Switzerland, ingested 250 micrograms--of a compound derived from the ergot fungus. He soon felt so disoriented that he rode his bicycle home, where he experienced effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). This first acid trip is now commemorated as “Bicycle Day”, on this date each year, after that bicycle ride home.

Change Your Mind

Trippy Saddle: photo by Cliff Hutson

LSD and other psychedelics have had a bad rap for many decades and their use has been seriously suppressed for decades. Some of us aging hippies feel that LSD was banned more because of its threat to the established social order than for reasons of physical or mental health. And, in "How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence", by Michael Pollan, the author argues that psychedelic-aided therapy, properly conducted by trained professionals may be personally transformative, helping with everything from overcoming addiction to easing the existential terror of the terminally ill. 

The book is an informative, yet entertaining, mix of science, medicine, and memoir and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the human mind and the exploration of consciousness.

Save the date

Giro della Valle del Conejo

Ride as much or as little, as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” – Eddy Merckx

A day about actual bike riding itself, June 21, 2021, is World Bicycle Day has been designated by the United Nations to spread consciousness about the benefits of using the bicycle in order to promote health, better environment and sustainable development by bringing people together for a common cause.

If you are up to it, celebrate International World Bicycle Day with a ride.

 

Reading Log: March 2021

 The books that I finished reading in March 2021

March 2021 Books" photo by Cliff Hutson

"Shakespeare in a Divided America," James Shapiro

"Why We Sleep," Matthew Walker, PhD

"The Zombie Survival Guide," Max Brooks

"Nick: a Novel," Michael Farris Smith

"City on the Edge of Forever," Peter Lunenfeld 

"The Day of the Locust," Nathanael West

Looking Back: The Books of 2020

Reading

Book on Table: photo by Cliff Hutson

Reading has long been the first thing that I turn when I have leisure time. And, last year I had a lot more idle hours than I had before as an adult. But, surprisingly, my total of 65 books was the the greatest number I have read in any year since I have been keeping records, it is only eight more than my average for the previous four years.

This might be due to a difficulty to concentrate, to which others have alluded.  This led me to watching more TV and movies (at home) than I usually do. Not to mention the hours that I spent doomsurfing.

But, still I put up a passible record, here is the complete list:

1. “Residue,” Michael McGarrity

2. “The Fallen,” Ace Atkins

3. “The Boat Man,” Dustin Stevens

4. “The Dark Wind,” Tony Hillerman 

5. “Coyote Waits,” Tony Hillerman

6. “Y is for Yesterday,” Sue Grafton

7. “A Thief of Time,” Tony Hillerman

8. “Skeleton Man,” Tony Hillerman

9. “Talking God,” Tony Hillerman

10. “The Good Son,” Dustin Stevens

11. “The Ranger,” Ace Atkins

12. “The Greatest Books You’ll Never Read,” Bernard Richards

13. “The Western Star,” Craig Johnson

14. “Darkest Hour,” Anthony McCarten

15. “Cover Fire,” Dustin Stevens

16. “The Partnership,” Dustin Stevens

17. “The Return of Jeeves,” P. G. Wodehouse

18. “Justice,” Dustin Stevens

19. “The Scorekeeper,”  Dustin Stevens

20. “The Shape Shifter,” Tony Hillerman

21. “The Bear,” Dustin Stevens

22. “Heart of Barkness,” Spencer Quinn

23. “The Harlem Hellfighters,” Max Brooks

24. "The End is Always Near,” Dan Carlin

25. “50 Things to Do with a Penknife,” Matt Collins

26. "Stuff White People Like,” Christian Lander

27. “Sixkill,” Robert B. Parker

28. “Saturn Run,” John Sanford and Ctein

29. “Iced in Paradise,” Naomi Hirahara

30. “Stalking the Angel,” Robert Crais

31. “The End of October,” Lawrence Wright

32. “L.A. Requiem,” Robert Crais

33. “Fair Warning,” Michael Connelly

34. “The Dreamt Land,” Mark Arax 

35. “On Tyranny,” Timothy Snyder

36. “Devolution,” Max Brooks

37. “The Driver,” Dustin Stevens

38. “No Country for Old Men,” Cormac McCarthy

39. “To Have and Have Another,” Philip Greene

40. “The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook,” Joanie Zisk

41. “Cooking Through Trader Joe’s Cookbook,” Kelsey Lynch

42. “Alton’ Brown’s Gear For Your Kitchen,” Alton Brown

43. “Annihilation,” Jeff VanderMeer

44. “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” B. Traven

45. “Station Eleven,” Emily St. John Mandel

46. “One Bowl Meals Cookbook,” Williams Sonoma

47. “The Lola Quartet,” Emily St. John Mandel

48. “Alton Brown’s Good Eats: The Early Years,” Alton Brown

49. “The Science of Good Cooking,” the Editors of “Cook’s Illustrated

50. "Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food," Paul Greenberg

51. “Good Eats 2: The Middle Years,” Alton Brown

52. “Good Eats 3: The Later Years,” Alton Brown

53. “Matty Matheson,” Matty Matheson 

54. “Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean,” Edward Kritzler

55. “Cooking for One,” America’s Test Kitchen

56. "The Silence," Don DeLillo

57. "The Law of Innocence," Michael Connelly

58. "The Drunken Botanist: the Plants that Create the World's Great Drinks," Amy Stewart

59. "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man," Emmanuel Acho 

60. "Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist," Tim Federle

61. "Black Sun," Rebecca Roanhorse  

62. "Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America," Ijeoma Oluo

63. "East of East: The Making of Greater El Monte," edited by Romeo Guzman, Carribean Fragoza, Alex Saye Cummings and Ryan Reft

64. "American Tacos: A History and Guide,' José R. Ralat 

65. "Desert Oracle: Volume 1," Ken Layne 

Looking over the list this afternoon, I am  amused as I observe the trend from mysteries at the start of the year to cooking and drinking toward the end of it.

Highlights

I always find it difficult to pick a  ranked "best of list".  But, certainly, “Saturn Run," John Sanford and Ctein was one of my best reads of the year. “Station Eleven,” Emily St. John Mandel would also be a contender. 

Two that rank as most useful, but not necessarily best reads, are “The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook,” Joanie Zisk and “Cooking for One,” America’s Test Kitchen. The latter alone can rate just for its tip on how to fry eggs. 

Biggest Disappointment 

There is no doubt at all as to which was the most disappointing of them all - “One Bowl Meals Cookbook,” Williams Sonoma.

One Bowl Meal: photo by Cliff Hutson

The book can be easily summed up: cook almost any meal that you would ordinarily prepare for yourself or your family and serve it a bowl instead of on a plate. Still, I would rate it two out of four stars as it does not require one to go on a spiritual quest for the perfect bowl as so many of the books of this ilk ask you to do.

Looking Ahead

With only one book finished so far in 2021, I seem to be behind the curve. It will be interesting (to me anyway) to see how the year finishes.