Wondering what to do on long plane flights, in the tradition of my father, who travelled to Asia about 60 times, I often purchase a book to read. Unlike my father, though, I don't go in for fiction novels that "pull you in" with cliffhanger endings and short chapters.
The book I bought for this trip was in Powell's at PDX, "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers," by Mary Roach. It was in the "science" section. I kid you not.
I give it two thumbs up. I read most of it on the plane; later, in a restaurant I reread a passage about cannibalism, and laughed so hard (both times) tears came to my eyes. It must have been especially strange in the restaurant; I hope the sushi chef wasn't offended. The passage in question concerned a report by Reuters conerning a certain pair of brothers in Hainan, China, one of whom owned a restaurant, and the other who owned a crematorium, and the author's attempt to verify the report. It's worth the price of the book for that passage alone.
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