The first book I read about rangers was a general history of the service, this time, with Hey Ranger! True Tales of Humor & Misadventure from America's National Parks, by Jim Burnett, it's about the actual job. The author spent decades working in various parks around the U.S. and has wonderful stories to share. From scary rescues (one involving chickens) to answering the same question dozens of times a day to the natural beauty of the parks where he worked, this was a great read.

Do you suffer from insomnia? Professor K. McCoy and Dr. Hardwick, of the Institute of Pointless Studies have put together a book that might help. They have studied meditation, darkened rooms, white noise and so forth and determined that the best way to achieve a feeling a sleepiness is to read a book ... but not a book that is too exciting! To that end, they have put together a boring book! This Book Will Put You to Sleep is a collection of mindless studies, essays on sand dunes or post offices in faraway countries, all designed to be relaxing (read 'mind numbing') and send you off to sleep. I will say it did make me drowsy! :-)

The weather has been much in the news of late (early February) so it seemed like the perfect time to read Blame It On the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History, by Laura Lee. Could the weather have been the inspiration for that well known painting The Scream, by Munch? Or been responsible for one of the greatest archaeological finds ever? How did mud influence the outcome of battles? Loved the variety of entries here! I'm still not sure why anyone ever thinks it's a good idea to invade Russia in the winter, however! ;-)

Reading Hermit With Dog