Gradients Like You've Never Seen

I'm into my last few days in Berkeley, and starting to feel sad about leaving. I am not sad about the knitting project I brought. My Knit Circus sock is so much fun to knit:

I've done quite a bit of reading. I finished I Am Forbidden, which I wrote about last week and found it interesting through the end. I also finished this:

This Dark Road to Mercy is a literary thriller and very gripping. It tells the story of a father, who has given up his legal rights to his two daughters, who kidnaps them after their mother dies. The story is told from multiple points of view and is very tightly plotted. I think it's quite good. I will caution that there are a few instances of disturbing violence. I kind of skimmed over them.

A few night ago, we went to hear Michael Pollan speak and I ended up buying Cooked, his latest book. He is best known for a book entitled The Omnivore's Dilemma, which takes a serious look at what he calls our "industrial food complex." He's a great speaker, relaxed and witty and erudite. And the bookstore was packed to the gills with fans; I would have had to wait for hours to get my book signed.

Cooked grew out of Pollan's realization that as Americans spend less time cooking, they have grown fatter and sicker. He points out that many people spend more time watching cooking TV shows than they do cooking, which is pretty strange when you think about it. It's kind of a long book, but he's a good writer so I'm hoping to get through it.

Linking up with Keep Calm Craft On and Yarn Along.