An unpredictable selection of subjects

The universe in a single atom

Bstan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV. (2005). The universe in a single atom: the convergence of science and spirituality. New York: Morgan Road Books.

Book-a-day calendar: He "draws interesting parallels between the methods and aims of science and of Buddhism (both are grounded in empiricism and reality; they share a desire to "understand" the world; and they perceive similar cycles, systems and patterns) and addresses the role of ethics in science and the place of science in society."

Mississippi masters

Roman à clef

in book-a-day calendar; Trocchi described as a Beat writer. This book is from 1960

Borges and the eternal ornagutangs

Not sure how I came across this; I'd guess Book-a-day calendar.

An exact replica of a figment of my imagination

From Book-a-day calendar. tried reading her The giant's house : a romance and didn't like it.

Why do we drive as we do?

"insight into the whys and wherefores of American drivers," writes book-a-day calendar

intense, compelling and, for the most part, expertly paced

Kirkus rather liked it.

Edward Humes

Eco barons : the dreamers, schemers, and millionaires who are saving our planet

A hard-boiled genre exercise

Kirkus sort of liked it, but not completely: There are no good guys, or gals, in this novel. And there's no mystery, with police peripheral to the plot. Instead, Johnson seems to be paying homage to and subverting the conventions of the era of pulp fiction at its seediest. There's some dirty fun here, but plenty of authors are better at this sort of novel.

Book-a-day calendar liked it more (breezy, enjoyable read), and called Johnson "one of our contemporary masters."

Both mentioned Johnson's Tree of smoke, a Vietnam work (Kirkus: After his award-winning Vietnam epic, Johnson takes a busman's holiday with this hard-boiled genre exercise.While his previous novel Tree of Smoke (2007) elevated Johnson to a new level of renown

A forty-year quest