You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

One of the group reads for August is Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach.

Please discuss the book in this thread.

Sarah will be leading the discussion.

In order to receive a badge you must:
1. have read the book before or during August 2019.
2. discussed it in this thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favourite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc. You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in this thread. Please refer to our group spoiler policy for further information.
3. Report that you have read AND discussed the book in the reporting thread (include a brief summary of what you thought of the book).

A note on discussion: Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favourite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc.

In addition to this, the group reads are meant to be a "read along" so it is preferable that you discuss the book as you read rather than wait until you've finished the book.

And finally, discussion is not about just listing your thoughts. Please interact with the other group members, comment on their thoughts, and if they comment on yours, respond to them. This is what makes a good book discussion!

You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in this thread.

Please refer to our group spoiler policy for further information.

General Rules:
1. Please mark your spoilers with the spoiler tags along with mentioning what stage of the book you are at so other's don't get a nasty shock. Chapter numbers/titles are generally best as they are the same across all formats and editions. See our spoiler policy
2. The book may be combined with the Year Long Challenge, Topplers, and Monthly Challenges.

Happy reading!

I started reading this a couple days ago. I've only read the introduction so far. I'll finish posting the group read threads and come back and chat about it. Looking forward to discussing it with you all.

I have the audiobook - I'm guessing we all do as it was a freebee from audiobooksync this summer. I have 2 couple of books I need to read first so I won't get to it for al least a week but I'll keep an eye on this thread.

I'll be starting this a little later today.

As you'd expect, the introduction introduced the book and what Mary will be covering within its pages. Introduction (view spoiler)[I have to say that I haven't really thought much about the research that must have gone into creating the foods eaten by astronauts. The right balance of nutrients, light and compact for storage on the shuttle, and ensuring it is palatable.

I really like the micro-studies that are cropping up more and more in non-fiction. I've not read many of them but it seems that they allow for the author to get more engrossed in the subject and carry out thorough research. I've heard good things about this author. I know quite a few people in the group have read her book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (although I haven't yet).

I really like the title of the book, or should I say the subtitle. Roach discusses how early anatomy used aspects of geography to describe parts of the body, so the alimentary canal, isles of the pancreas, etc. Roach comments on "how lovely to picture one's dinner making its way down a tranquil, winding waterway, digestion and excretion no more upsetting or off-putting than a cruise along the Rhine." When I work with clients with IBS, one of the gut-directed hypnosis techniques I use with them is to get them to imagine their gut as a flowing body of water, like a canal or river, and they imagine taking control of the flow of the water, speeding it up or slowing it down depending on what their symptoms are for the condition. It's a good metaphor to use but I'm even happier now I know that the body was often compared to geological structures.

I liked Roach's description of the route the pill cam takes through the digestive tract and how it's easy to identify what part of the system it is in.

Roach mentions a few anatomists by name such as William Beaumont, Algot Key-Aberg, Francois Magendie and David Metz. She gives a brief line about what they contributed to the gastric field, but I'd have liked to have known more. Maybe they will be expanded upon throughout the book. Maybe I'll just go google them. (hide spoiler)]

So, a good start to the book. I'm liking the writing style. It's that creative non-fiction style which seems to be very popular these days. I think it will be an interesting and enjoyable read.

I might try to get to this one this month since I also got it free through sync. My only problem is that I only have my sync books on my laptop so I can't listen to it while driving around and I haven't been doing much listening lately aside from when I'm occasionally driving by myself. If I get to it, it will probably be late in the month after my grandson has gone home.

No worries Margo and Kristie. We'll still be around at the end of the month if/when you join us.

I'm away 10-16th August and won't be online but Janice will be keeping an eye on the thread in my absence.

I'm getting the hardcover and audiobook from the library and hope to start reading sometime next week. I enjoyed Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach very much.

Look forward to you joining us Debra.

I'm towards the end of Chapter 3.

I didn't really get into the book until Chapter 2 - I think the discussion about cat & dog food.

A couple observations, aka I don't agree, but I do agree... - (view spoiler)[

1. Mary states that anorexics are repulsed by food in their bodies. I think that's simplistic. They are obsessed about body image, believing themselves to be overweight. They will restrict their food intake to lose weight or keep from gaining weight. Being repulsed by food is more a symptom.

2. Everything is chemical, not just aromas. When I worked for Home Care, we had staff in-services, and I recall one where our nutritionist had done extensive studies on the rise of herbal medications and people self medicating. She reported that whether you take a prescription drug or a natural substance, the body breaks it down into chemical components, and the results are the same. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 2 - Cat/Dog Food (view spoiler)[I generally get the same cat food for my cat - Whiska's Meaty Selections. Sometimes I think she'd like a change so will get the tuna or chicken flavour. Apparently, cats don't really taste a difference. Yet, she sure knows the difference between her treats and her food. The vet put her on a diet that was to help with UTI's. It was expensive but I was told that the cats don't eat as much so it would all work out. Wrong! She gobbled that up faster than the Whiskas. So was it taste, or something else? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 3 - Organ foods - (view spoiler)[I don't think I'd want to be a test subject and eat all those different foods. I draw the line at vaginas and penises.

My mother would cook organ meats all the time when I was a kid. She grew up in the dirty 30's, and a child of German immigrants. Nothing was wasted. An animal was butchered, and everything was eaten. She brought that value to her marriage. We had liver (I actually like liver), heart, and tongue (ick). I really think it's a matter of culture. We are now a nation of excess, and easy access to food. People no longer need to butcher or produce their own food.

I think she has a point that we gravitate to what we are used to. My grandkids would eat vegetables and fruit before they would go for junk food. They like to eat green, red, and yellow peppers like they were apples. There was some junk food around, but my d-I-l would cut up sausage & cheese for snacks rather than open a bag of chips.

They had friends who gave their kids a lot of junk food, and that's all they'd eat. Give them a choice, and it would be the chips before the veggies and fruit.

As for mothers passing on their favourites via amniotic fluid to their unborn children, I'm on the fence. When I was pregnant, I used to drag my friend to a nearby restaurant for hot turkey sandwiches and blueberry pie and ice cream on a regular basis. To this day, my son hates turkey and blueberries. (hide spoiler)]

Oh yeah, one other point... (view spoiler)[ I thought it was interesting that she said explorers seriously jeopardized their lives by refusing to eat the foods that the indigenous people ate - like grubs and worms. She talked about how their diets had all the nutrients needed. Reminds me of a couple of movies - Quigley Down Under and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Both had scenes where they were eating grubs and worms. And the latter had monkey brains. LOL! (hide spoiler)]

Sorry, Sarah. I can't comment on your observations. The introduction was kind of a blur. I should go back and read it.

No worries Janice. To be fair, the intro is only a couple pages long anyway and doesn't have loads of info in it so I don't think you necessarily need to go back over it .I've had no time to read today as we've been to visit Rob's family. His step dad has terminal lung cancer and he's really not doing well right now so thought we'd best go see him before our holiday.

I went to Amazon.ca and read the intro in the "look inside" option. It was short and sweet. :)

I didn't read any today either. I have a flare up of tinnitus and am having trouble sleeping. I was awake at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. I worked till 3:00 and then had a 3 hour nap! (All those 3's!)

Chapter 4 - chewing: (view spoiler)[ Interesting theory about thoroughly chewing totally debunked. I recall hearing how important it was to thoroughly chew your food. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 5 - Dr Beaumont (view spoiler)[ leading pioneer in gastric physiology. I had to google him because the audiobook moves rather quickly, and I was, "what? wait? hole in stomach? Did he have a hole in his stomach?" No, a patient did.

I had to stop and ask myself what is appealing about this book to the YA audience? Is it the grossness of the subject? How do we know that if your urine tastes sweet, it's a sign that you have diabetes? Yes, someone used their tongue to taste it. I wouldn't want to be that lab assistant. Here's another tidbit from that chapter - pus sinks; mucus floats. Why am I reading this? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 6 - Spit/Saliva - (view spoiler)[ Again why am I reading this gross stuff? At least I've learned about the viscosity of the two different types of saliva. For that matter, I learned there was more than 1 type of saliva.

Quilters have long known that saliva is a good thing. Prick your finger with a pin and get a drop of blood on your fabric? Quick - spit! Out damned spot!

Great discussion on picking one's nose. *sarcasm* (hide spoiler)]

I didn't write any notes on chapters 7 & 8 and I'm not sure what was discussed. So moving on...

I hope there are a few others who are going to join me on this journey. I need someone to hold my hand. I wonder if there's a chapter on throwing up.

Oh dear, is it a bit grim!?

Sorry to hear the tinnitus is playing up. That's no fun.

I'm going to read a bit more now. I wanted to get my other book finished which I just have.

Just finished chapter 1 on smells. (view spoiler)[She includes some odd details which doesn't seem totally relevant to the subject matter of the book. For example, what shoulder the woman she was with carried her bag on.

I think smell could have been expanded upon more than it was. Unless it continues in the next chapter. I don't feel i learnt a lot from this chapter.(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Janice wrote: "I'm towards the end of Chapter 3.

I didn't really get into the book until Chapter 2 - I think the discussion about cat & dog food.

A couple observations, aka I don't agree, but I do agree... -
..."

I agree with what you didn't agree on Janice (view spoiler)[ She has certainly oversimplified anorexia. Food phobics do not like the idea of certain foods going into their body. And those who don't like specific textures. But also with these latter examples, it's more complex than that. (hide spoiler)]

It's not that it's grim so much as it deals with some gross things. I'll read a little more later.

I agree that the book doesn't pick up properly until chapter 2. I've just read the chapter on cat and dog food. (view spoiler)[As a cat owner, I found it very interesting. We've been doing a lot of research into cat food and its constituents as we switched from cheap food to one that was more expensive and had no grain in. Interesting that cats don't have much of a sense of taste. I wasn't expecting a chapter on cats and dogs tastes (or lack of). I presumed the book was about the human alimentary canal, not all animals. (hide spoiler)]

No wonder I had no comments about Chapter 8. I hadn't started it. LOL!

Chapter 8 - Big Gulp. (view spoiler)[ I kind of got hung up a bit about the biblical tale of Jonah being swallowed by a whale (oh excuse me - Big Fish). I never really thought about it as a kid. I accepted it. Could the story have been more anecdotal than factual? As I got a little older, I asked, "Why did these miraculous things happen in the Bible, but they don't happen today?" Maybe because we're not so steeped in superstition and have more knowledge about how things work? Oops, going off topic. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 9 - Dinner - (view spoiler)[Can the eaten eat its way out? More anecdotal evidence taken literally. This chapter kind of echoes my sentiments above. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 10 - Stuffed (view spoiler)[ I found this chapter rather interesting. There was quite a bit of discussion about hot-dog eating contests and eating till you burst. The big take away for me was that the stomach doesn't shrink when you withhold food. That's the premise behind a lot of diets - eat less until the stomach shrinks. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 11 - Up There - (view spoiler)[I was taken aback by what people do smuggle in their intestines.

I had a couple of issues with this chapter. I haven't been impressed with the humour in this book. I keep hearing that Roach is funny, but I find her humour to be contrived. It might appeal to young boys who find burping and farting funny. But her comment, "I am really getting old" when she was walking through the corridors of a prison was disturbing. I wouldn't think she'd bemoan the absence of whistles and cat calls when walking down a prison corridor. What woman enjoys being targeted in such a lewd manner? It's demeaning and objectifies women. Her comment was inappropriate. If she thinks that's funny, she needs to give her head a shake.

The other thing is that she uses Fox News and The Daily Beast as reliable sources. Granted, this was written in 2011 when there wasn't so much focus on media bias. Even in 2011, I wouldn't think a scientist would resort to using either one as a reliable source for scientific argument.

Here is an interesting website that analyses media bias and accuracy in reporting. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 12 - Inflammable You (view spoiler)[ This is a chapter for 11 year old boys. I wonder if there was a surge in YouTube searches for inflammable flatulence after Audiosync offered this book free this summer. I'm beginning to understand more and more why it was chosen as a selection. (hide spoiler)]

Oh wow you're whizzing through it. I have plenty of time hanging about tomorrow and Wednesday so I'll get some more reading done.

I finished it. Overall, I have to say that I'm disappointed. I'm not sure if it was the subject matter that did me in, or that it seemed that the subject matter was treated in a juvenile manner.

Recently, I saw an author complaining about adults rating YA low with a review that said it was too young for their tastes. I can't find anything that says this is YA, except that it was one of Adiosync's offerings this year. If it is YA, she hit her target right on. How's that for covering my posterior?

Chapters 13 - 17 (view spoiler)[ all dealt with the back end of the alimentary canal. Feces and flatulence. Chapter 16 talked about dying from constipation. There was much talk about Elvis, dying on the toilet trying to have a bowel movement. I recall my boss at Home Care saying that it's not uncommon for people to die from a heart attack while having a BM. Pushing puts pressure on the heart similar to shovelling wet snow. This chapter goes into this in great detail.

Chapter 17 talks about performing fecal transplants and getting the procedure approved by the FDA and covered by insurance companies. There was a comment about it being big money. I think that "Big Money" is why health care is so contentious in the US. So many countries have free health care, but the US can't seem to make it happen. I don't think the insurance companies will let it happen. They stand to lose too much money. Maybe that's over simplifying it. (hide spoiler)]

I don't think it was meant to be a YA book, Janice. That's disappointing. I also got this one through SYNC, but I'm not really keen on reading it. I thought this might give me the push I need, but honestly I think it will be low on my priority list for the month.

This book has won two awards, one was the GR nonfiction category and the other was for "science books written for a non-specialist audience." Neither of those awards is meant for a YA audience, however the second one sounds like it could definitely give off the juvenile feeling if she is trying to "talk down" to her audience maybe feeling they are uneducated on the subject so making it simple?

It sounds to me like maybe she was trying to keep it fun and interesting and ended up sounding like she was talking to children. Of course, I could absolutely be wrong since I haven't actually read the book yet and am just speculating and apparently rambling. lol

That's a shame Janice. Looking forward to reading your spoilers now.

I was thinking about Audiosync last night. There have been a few titles that aren't necessarily YA, so perhaps I made an incorrect assumption.

I have Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void on Kindle and I'm hoping I'll enjoy it more.

I really liked chapter 3 on organ meats. An odd thing to say coming from a vegetarian, I know! (view spoiler)[ i agree too Janice that we eat what we're used to. I think the author said we like what we eat rather than we eat what we like. And i also agree that culture plays a massive part. Many countries eat insects yet here in the West we wouldn't dream of it.

As a kid, my grandmother often bought game from the local poachers down the pub. So i often saw her plucking and gutting things. Sometimes we ate liver and kidney (not from the game i don't think). I tried haggis too. Never liked any of it. All too strong tasting for me and i hated the textures. I think i could manage a steak and kidney pie. I think the author is right that organs remind us of where they come from and our similarity as a fellow animal. Many kids don't know where meat comes from. they don't associate bacon with pigs, for example. Chicken portions don't look like chickens so it's easy to forget. But liver and kidney, it's not easily escapable. (hide spoiler)]

Sarah wrote: "I really liked chapter 3 on organ meats. An odd thing to say coming from a vegetarian, I know! "

My son and grandson came for supper last night. We talked about (view spoiler)[ this chapter - about eating grubs and worms. Funny how I didn't like the book but brought bits and pieces of it up in conversation.

Mom used to chop up the gizzards and kidneys of the chicken and mix them in with the stuffing. When you bought a roasting hen from the store, they were in a bag stuffed into the cavity of the chicken (or turkey). It's been a while since I bought one so don't know if they still do that.

I googled "Gizzard" and found this: "Gizzard contains several vitamins including Vitamin B12, which is essential for brain function and forming white blood cells, niacin, which is good for circulation and producing hormones, and riboflavin, which keeps your skin and hair healthy." Hmmm! When I was expecting my son, my mother gave my ex a package of liver and told him to make sure I ate lots of liver because it's high in iron. " (hide spoiler)]

I started reading a little bit ago, but don't have time for in-depth comments, right now.

Y'all haven't seemed to enjoy this book, which doesn't make it very enticing for me. So far, I've not felt talked down to... perhaps it's just the humor and the author wanting to keep things light and not too technical. I'll see how I feel as I read on.

Janice, you've really made a lot of great comments so far. I'll reply soon... really! I hope your tinnitus is better!

Sarah, I'm sorry to hear about your step dad. Hugs for you and your family. I'll keep him in my thoughts.

Gotta run.... back later...

Sarah is away temporarily on vacation but don't stop reading and discussing while she's away. I hope we'll see more discussion once the toppler is completed.

I am very annoyed with myself! Just checked my overdrive library and I don't have this book. I also don't have some other titles that I was sure I'd down loaded from audiobooksync.

I don't know what happened. I did them all the same way. For next years summer give away I will be much more careful and check each title has downloaded before I put into me TBR.

I know Sarah is away at the moment but I hope she will see this when she gets back.

Sarah will likely review posts made during her absence. That's disappointing about the books going missing. You can download them onto a PC and again onto your device. I did that last summer. At least, if something happens, you have them on 2 devices.

I am hoping to pick this up tomorrow. Finishing the last 20pp or so of my current read before bed.

I'm glad you're going to join us, Rusalka. I'm looking forward to your comments.

Janice wrote: "Sarah will likely review posts made during her absence. That's disappointing about the books going missing. You can download them onto a PC and again onto your device. I did that last summer. At le..."

Yes, I thonk I'll download to my pc as well next year. Up til now I've downloaded to my tablet onl (or not as it seems!). I probably had the same thing last year and never noticed. I will have to go through my audiobooksync shelf to check that I do have all the titles listed. It's a horrible feeling to think you own a book and then discover that you don't 😡

It seemed that there was an extra step this year. You had to chose between one file or another. I think one was a zip file, and the other was to open it in Overdrive. When I clicked that second option, then it started downloading the files. Maybe you did the first option and the zip file is on your device?

Finished the intro and chapter one. From family and friends connections in the wine and beer industry, I found this really interesting.

(view spoiler)[ Was it a bit superficial, yes. But I liked some parts like the different types of smelling, which I always wanted to understand more, and the need to sniff.

Before I sat down to read this chapter I chucked some things on the fire. I knew there was a weird smell, but carried on. I read about sniffing, and so, you know, i sniffed. And realised there was hair on the fire. I knew it was wrong, but until I sniffed, I hadn't realised some of my or Lexx's hair had caught up with the wood and burnt before I closed the door. Interesting. (hide spoiler)]

Janice wrote: "It seemed that there was an extra step this year. You had to chose between one file or another. I think one was a zip file, and the other was to open it in Overdrive. When I clicked that second opt..."

That's probably it Janice. I don't use Overdrive very much - in fact the only books I have there are the audiobooksync freebees :-)

Rusalka wrote: "Finished the intro and chapter one. From family and friends connections in the wine and beer industry, I found this really interesting.

Was it a bit superficial, yes. But I liked some parts like..."

I had that lovely smell today, too. (view spoiler)[ There must have been a hair on the stove that incinerated when I turned the burner on.

I used to work with a woman who has no sense of smell. Food is quite bland to her.

Oh! That reminds me. Someone brought a package of Oreo's Cinnamon Bun cookies to the quilt retreat this weekend. Everyone was entranced with how the aroma of the cookies were so delicious. That package got sniffed numerous times. Some people thought the cookies tasted like the buns; others not so much. I thought they were okay. Is it telling I only had one? (hide spoiler)]

It's a shame you don't have the book after all Margo!

Back from my holibobs. Catching up on normality and posts here , so will reply to posts properly soon.

Debra wrote: "Y'all haven't seemed to enjoy this book, which doesn't make it very enticing for me. "

Please don't be put off Debra. There is some great information in the book. I think you are right that the author is using humour to keep the book interesting and non-technical to appeal to a wider audience. And of course, we all have different senses of humour, so it will appeal to some and not others. I've enjoyed learning the facts I've read so far in the chapters. I even told my friends I visited in Austria last week about some of the facts, in particular about the taste of cats!

Rusalka wrote: "Finished the intro and chapter one. From family and friends connections in the wine and beer industry, I found this really interesting. "

Glad you are joining us! And that is exactly the word I was looking for (view spoiler)[superficial! Yes there are details about smelling and taste etc in each of the chapters but only certain aspects of them are discussed and not to any great depth. I like the information shared, but on occasions would have liked more detail. (hide spoiler)]

With regards to smell and taste - a few years back I took part in a research study in the experimental psychology unit at the university I was working in. We had to rate how hungry we were and were shown lots of pictures of food and portion sizes. We were then given cheese and tomato pizza which was cooked in a different room and told we could eat as much or as little as we wanted. The next week we had to do the same but this time the pizza was cooked in the same room as where the computer tasks were done. The smell of the pizza definitely increased the amount of food I ate. I'm guessing it was the same for the other participants.

Sarah wrote: "With regards to smell and taste - a few years back I took part in a research study in the experimental psychology unit at the university I was working in. We had to rate how hungry we were and were..."

The aroma worked as an appetiser. Interesting experiment.

I would definitely eat more if I could smell it cooking.

I’m curious about the tastes of cats now.

Janice wrote: "The aroma worked as an appetiser. Interesting experiment. "

Exactly! I quite enjoyed doing it. I got free lunch on two of my days at work and I think I was paid £25 too for my time.

A win-win situation all the way around. :)

I love uni experiments. I had to earn 20% of my first year Psych course mark by doing experiments for honours, masters, and PhD students.

Still reading. Last couple of days of the crappy job though, and I have had tenant woes on top. Stifled the reading time.