This books was an incredible read. A few parts were very disturbing - mostly because I have HUGE issues with animal testing - but by and large it was very interesting. It really made me think about what I want to happen to me when I die.

I'm offering this as a bookring b/c I do want to move it to my permanent collection eventually.

Sending it out tomorrow to squirrel818

received in the mail today. I will start on it right away.

squirrel818 - Tafton, Pennsylvania - arrived
mamagoggle - Middlesex, New Jersey
buffra - West Virginia
Luintaurien - York, Nebraska
tenneh - Verdon, Nebraska
danceswithbirds - Elmhurst, Illinois
arugh48187 - Apple Valley, Minnesota
Mamikaem - Maryland Heights, Missouri
TheLitGroup - Jonesboro, Arkansas
MollyGrue - Tacoma, Washington
lilygirl - Salem, Oregon
sqdancer - Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada
titihood - Montreal, Quebec
andrea1982 - Trail, BC
rern - wantagh, NY
dospescados - NY
gnissorckoob - Miami, FL
ilios - FL

This is a very interesting if morbid book. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!

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The book has arrived and I am looking forward to starting it.

I loved this book. It was informative and funny, without being disrespectful. I had never given too much thought to what happens to a body after death and I learned a lot about different "options". The most disturbing parts were the ones that dealt with animal experimentation rather than body decomposition or cadaver usage. Overall a very entertaining read. I will put it in the mail to buffra tomorrow morning.

Got in the mail today -- I'll be starting it this afternoon! Thanks!

I lifted this entry from my journal, so I hope it isn't too repetitive (compared to others' entries)...

Stiff is about what happens to bodies after the people who have inhabited them have departed -- to whatever sort of afterlife or not you believe in, or don't. Mary Roach has researched (very much first-hand) the various uses science has for cadavers, from automotive research to forensic research to the more commonly expected medical training and organ donation. She leads the reader through the history of cadaver usage (some of it pretty icky) with a dry and unexpected sense of humor. The book is really quite funny. (I sound like those TBS commercials.) Her asides, references, and footnotes serve to keep the book from being a dry research tome, but there is still plenty of information readily accessible.

A bit of a side story here, just because the two are so linked for me now.
I was eating my dinner while I was reading chapter 9. It is this chapter, more than most of the others, that talks about death. The others all deal with death as a fact, as a given state. And Roach herself makes the distinction in her introduction between 'the anonymous dead' and their rather absurd state (that we will all someday share) and death as in dying. She remarks that "death, as in dying, is sad and profound. There is nothing funny about losing someone you love, or about being the person about to be lost." Chapter 9, which deals with the head or, more specifically, the brain, deals more with dying than the other chapters. Because, of course, when talking about the dead, when talking about tissue donation, when talking about medical science, one wants to pinpoint where the spirit lies, what death is, and when -- exactly when, please -- it occurs.

So, I was eating my chicken and reading about death and someone from the church calls to tell me that one of my other parishoners, A, has been taken to the hospital. They believe he may have had a stroke.

He is a big sweetheart. He invites me to all his family reunions (they are numerous in this neck of the woods.) He calls me once or twice during the week to tell me I'm his best friend.

I sat at my table and couldn't finish my dinner. Then I picked up my book -- and its chapter all about the brain and how it is the seat of the spirit -- and I cried.

I later came back to the book and found the rest to be as informing, engaging, and entertaining as the first part. Roach's (oddly surprising, perhaps) enthusiasm for her subject is exhibited in remarks like, "Can the dead be aesthetically pleasing? Let's go see!" Her own sense of humor about what she has undertaken -- and her implicit admission that it is a little odd -- can also be found throughout the book. "In the cab, I tried to think of a way to explain to Sandy (interpreter in China) what I was about to have her do. I need you to ask this man whether he had an employee who cut the butt cheeks off cadavers to serve in his brother's restaurant....it sounded ghastly and absurd. Why would I need to know this? What kind of book was I writing?" Roach clearly has a great deal of respect for those who shared research with her and those who do this research, but a bit more jaded opinion of some of those in the 'historical research' category, as evidenced by this statement, "what, in the due course of time, became clear: Barbet was something of a wack. I mean, I don't wish to be unkind..." Finally, what is never in doubt, is that Mary Roach has a great deal of respect for the dead. She has written this book to shed some light on a subject most of us are uncomfortable with and, in doing so, she has shown us that there are those people who are heroes, even after they are long-gone. The book is funny, yes, but it is also a respectful tribute to its subjects.

Sending this off to Luintaurien on Wednesday, August 24, 2005.

Got it today. Will read and pass on ASAP. Thank you.

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Got it today. Thank you. Will read and pass on ASAP.

Good book. Thanks for sending it out.

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Received today - will start on it right away!

Great book and very informative. A bit morbid in places but so interesting. It made me want to plan what is to happen to my body when I die.

Awaiting next address.

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going to danceswithbirds

Bookring from wyldewomin.

I'm really enjoying this book! It has a moderate "eeewww" factor, but not nearly as bad as "CSI." I'll definitely check out her new book.

On its way to arugh48187. My apologies to everyone for the delay.

Very interesting, (and yes,) enjoyable book.

Found this one in my mailbox last weekend. It shouldn't take too long as I only have one bookring in front of it. You can keep track of its progress via my bookshelf.

Well, after the first chapter of this book, I didn't know if I would be able to finish it. I am a bit squeamish and the subject matter was a little more than I can handle, but I pressed on. I found that after a few chapters I began to become desensitized to the subject matter and to enjoy the informative and humorous way that Mary Roach writes. There is just enough levity to make the book interesting.

Some of the things I still find disgusting (like the whole chapter on cannibalism) but overall it was fascinating. There is no doubt that dedicating your body to medical science is an honorable thing to do, but I just don't think I want my carcass to be practice fodder for plastic surgeons. I did find the idea of becoming mulch for a plant interesting and if it's available when I go, that's my plan. Not a fruit tree though because that would be a little icky.

Thanks for sharing. I have the address of the next recipient and it should go in the mail shortly.

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Sending off to Mamikaem who is next on the list. Happy reading!

Received in today's mail. Thanks to all before me! I have a few rings before this, but will get to this as soon as I can.

TheLitGroup has asked to be skipped. Mailed to MollyGrue on 04/28/06.

Really looking forward to reading this, but may have to delay a bit for other bookrings.

Excellent book and very informative! I loved the witty style of writing and it taught me a lot of things I was not aware of. I still haven't decided what do with my remains...when the time comes, but it has made me think of many other options.

Reserved for the next reader.

DC# 03041070000256435679

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Enjoy!