I love the quip "I don't have to look up my family tree to know that I'm the sap." (or nut, in some versions), but it was never credited ... so ... I will just say, it's not original to me! ;-) Shaking the Family Tree: Blue Bloods, Black Sheep, and Other Obsessions of an Accidental Genealogist, by Buzzy Jackson is a good read, even if you are not looking into your family roots. While it does offer up a lot of good tips for searching old records, or interviewing distant (possible) family members, there are also lots of great anecdotes about the author and her search. I now understand more about DNA testing, too. :-)

If you want to learn all there is about clouds (there's even a test) then this is the book for you. If you want to learn about myths and folklore about clouds, then this is the book for you. If you want some great stories dealing with clouds, then ... well, you get the idea ... County Reader loaned me The Cloudspotter's Guide: the Science, History, and Culture of Clouds, by Gavin Pretor-Pinney and I'm glad she did. I have read it before, but long before I started my blog. It's worth it just to read about the pilot who was forced to eject from his plane at an unusually high altitude and fell through a towering cumulonimbus cloud, fighting for air and being pummeled by huge hailstones. Then there's mythology, paintings, poetry, film, and (drum roll) UFO's!

Ever wonder about your phone book? Okay, did you ever give it a thought beyond when you needed it to look up a number or business? Early listings did not have any numbers, just the names of those with phones. How did the yellow pages get started? There may be only one non-fiction book about this subject (the author is pretty sure) which is why Ammon Shea set out to write The Phone Book: the Curious History of the Book That Everyone Uses But No One Reads. Just one of those fun social history type books! (Loved the chapter on ripping phone books in half). :-)

Reading Hermit With Dog