2 journalers for this copy...
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Journal Entry 1 by krin511 from Olney, Maryland USA on Thursday, February 12, 2009
 If Colette had studied science and spent time listening to icebergs in Antarctica and interviewing a professional nose in New York, she might have written a book as luscious and erudite as A Natural History of the Senses. In the course of this grand tour of the realm of the senses, Diane Ackerman writes about the evolution of the kiss, the sadistic cuisine of eighteenth-century England, the chemistry of pain, and the melodies of the planet Earth with an evocativeness and charm that make the book itself a marvel of literate sensuality.
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Journal Entry 2 by krin511 from Olney, Maryland USA on Thursday, February 26, 2009
This was a beautifully written, informative book about the five senses. Ackerman's descriptive writing kept me engaged and I enjoyed learning about the different ways we perceive the world.
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Journal Entry 3 by krin511 at Non Fiction Swap, BookObsessed Swap -- Controlled Releases on Monday, March 16, 2009
Released 3 yrs ago (3/16/2009 UTC) at Non Fiction Swap, BookObsessed Swap -- Controlled Releases CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Mailed to potok-fan!
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Journal Entry 4 by potok-fan from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Friday, March 27, 2009
This arrived a bit ago... without a BCID inside! :D But I got the number through email from krin, and now it's safely written inside. Twice. (Front cover and last page.)
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Journal Entry 5 by potok-fan from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Thursday, April 02, 2009
I've finished the first chapter, on scent. This is a book to read in small doses, which is relatively easily done in that it's divided into sections of just a couple of pages at a time. Most sections are very dense, pithy, and sometimes repeat information that was in a previous sub-section. So if you're able to just read a snippet at a time, it's interesting, lovely even.
On the other hand, if I try to read more than that at a single sitting then it feels not well written, but just crammed with "stuff I thought was interesting". It's a little like sifting through the belongings of a compulsive hoarder you've just met. ;)
But still interesting. I just started on "touch" and the image of little preemies needing to be stroked lest they wind up as difficult and hence abused children has stayed with me all day.
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Journal Entry 6 by potok-fan from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Thursday, January 28, 2010
Arg - this book is so frustrating! It is just too dense - a litany of (usually) interesting facts. Just when I want to give up altogether there is another random one which is just zingy enough to make me want to keep going. I think the author is at her best in the few sections where she brings experiences from her own life to bear. Otherwise it descends into a poor student's research paper; lots of facts jumbled together.
I really wonder about the footnotes - they seem to be additional facts which even the author realized would overload the text, but which nonetheless she couldn't just relegate to the cutting-room floor... so she stuck them into footnotes. If only I could read the abridged version of this book!
I'm in the middle of the "taste" chapter, but am setting this back to AVL now. Maybe I'll finish it before moving it on, but maybe I won't!
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Journal Entry 7 by potok-fan at Turun yliopisto, Juslenia in Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Sunday, April 10, 2011
Released 1 yr ago (4/11/2011 UTC) at Turun yliopisto, Juslenia in Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I plan to release this book in the cart of free books found in the lobby of the Juslenia building, Henrikinkatu 2.
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A Natural History of the Senses
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
