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Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

And you thought death was boring!

What do you want to do with your death? Who knew we would still have such a wide variety of career choices? In Stiff, Mary Roach educates us on all the possibilities.

Interested in having plastic surgery? It costs the cadaver nothing!

Ever wanted to be a car crash test dummy? It's not too late!

Join law enforcement and commune with nature working on the infamous body farm.

Speaking of nature, how about giving back to the environment as compost? You can do it! No previous experience required!

All these and many more options await you in Stiff.

Written in a conversational tone for the layperson, Roach asks all the questions you would want to ask but would feel stupid doing so. She asks no matter how silly and, yes, in the end this makes for a very entertaining read!

my friend recently read this and thought it was awesome. It's on my "to read" list

I have read Stiff, and before that I also read Mary Roach's book titled "Spook".

She is a fantastic writer, keeping your attention while writing about topics that many people dare not write about. Stiff was more interesting than Spook, just because I think the death-related topics in Stiff are less-known and less-talked about than those in Spook

Roach has recently published Bonk, about sex. Knowing her writing, this will be a great read too!

Who knew a morbid topic like cadavers could provide such a fertile source for humor? I found myself laughing out loud many times while reading this odd but fascinating book. Early on the author states that Stiff is not about the process of dying or the loss of loved ones which are decidedly unfunny topics. It's all about the curious things that human kind has done with the dead over the centuries. Yes, much of it is rather gruesome but it's written in such a humourous and tasteful way as not to be offensive (strange as that may sound). This is not subject matter that most people would be apt to admit an interest in, however there must be a reason there are so many popular "morgue" shows on TV. While certainly not for everyone, if you've ever been curious about the "lives" of cadavers, this one will not disappoint.