Sometimes it's good to have a book that amuses but can be put down again without angst.

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In the "story about living in another country" genre, I recommend "A Year in the Merde", about a British guy who spends a year living in France. Funny, interesting, and accurate enough to be enjoyed by people who are French and by those who are not.

Not high litterature, of course, but certainly an entertaining read.

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I could see how one would get addicted to kava. Even in nasty, powdered root form it provides about one of the most tranquil and relaxing mental states of all time. If it weren't such a chore to extract the active ingredients or endure the taste of dirt I'd say it was strictly superior to alcohol.

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I want to try it, I really do. But they don't have it in the States.

He talks about the dangers of ODing. Eternal dreams. I can't do pot because of that, man.

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They sure do, you can't get it in supermarkets but some health food stores and online vendors carry it. It probably wouldn't surprise you to know I have about a pound of it in my kitchen cabinet right now.

You can't get the fresh root, sadly. The only way I've been able to get it is in powdered form or as a tincture of the active ingredients in a liquid form, which tends to be too expensive for the effect. The most efficient way of downing the foul tasting root is to mix it via suspension into some sort of beverage (preferably fruity but NOT citrusy) and chugging it fast. It really tastes like dirt and has an unsettling numbing effect in your mouth, but you feel the effects in a short period of time. You can blend and strain it, too, but that takes a fairly long time and the best materials to do it with aren't commonly available either. The taste isn't much improved and certainly not enough to be worth the extra effort.

If you fall asleep while the kavalactones (active ingredients) are in your system, you do tend to have vivid dreams. Also, it is similar to alcohol in that it taxes your liver somewhat to get rid of it, so it's not recommended to take with alcohol (and fools who did are what got it taken off the main market in the first place), but at least in suspension form I'd imagine it would be hard to stomach enough of it to do yourself any real danger. I've tried as much as about 2/3 of a tablespoon (which, trust me, is a chore to get down) and all it did was make Return of the King a slightly more vivid experience.

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I loved his Sex Lives of Cannibals

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That previous book of his, Sex Lives of Cannibals, is better. Do give it a try!

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I've debated with myself as to whether or not I'd actually like to travel with Bill Bryson. It's a cosmic battle between my unholy love of lazy mornings in hotels and my desire to witness his perpetual delight with culture.

Ultimately, I compromise a series of lunch meet-ups in some fantastic city where we both happen to be. :)

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I'd go with the man. He'd have to do the research to find out all of these neat things, and I could get into that.

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I loved this book. Not often does a book make me laugh out loud but this one did. Check out my review of it at www.readthemandeat. Let me know what you think!

Be Well

Tanya

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