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Across the Pond by Storyheart (Barry Eva) review copy
The Cat's Book of Romance by Kate Ledger personal collection
The Dragons of Spratt Ohio by Linda Zinnen library book
Frog on His Own by Mercer Mayer library book
Gravitation Volume 1 by Maki Murakami personal collection
Harriet and the Roller Coaster by Nancy Carlton library book
Heat Wave by Richard Castle bookcrossing
If You Give a Pig a Party by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond library book
Into the Volcano by Don Wood personal collection
Polar Bears Past Bedtime (Magic Tree House #12) by Mary Pope Osborne
So B. It by Sarah Weeks library book
Stop in the Name of Pants by Louise Rennison personal collection
There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer personal collection
Waterwise by Jeff Orff library book
Wee Gillis by Munro Leaf library book
Whoo-oo Is It? by Megan McDonald library book
Frog Goes to Dinner by Mercer Mayer library book
Ghost Town at Sundown (Magic Tree House #10) by Mary Pope Osborne library book
Harriet Beecher Stowe by Suzanne M. Coil library book
If You Can't Say Something Nice, Say it in Yiddish by Lita Epstein personal collection
Incubus, Succubus by Neil James Hudson review copy
Journey Around the World by Sarah Albee personal collection
King Ottokar's Scepre by Georges Remi Hergé library book
Mrs. Muffly's Monster by Sarah Dyer library book
Operation Starseed by JM Snyder personal collection
The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives by David Bainbridge
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss personal collection
You Had Me at Halo by Amanda Ashby personal collection
Can Kittens Take a Catnap? by Clair Palfreman-Bunker personal collection
Halfway to Each Other by Susan Pohlman review copy
I'm Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears by Jag Bhalla library book
If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond library book
Junie B., First Grader: Aloha-ha-ha-ha!by Barbara Park personal collection
Junie B., First Grader: Boo and I Mean It! by Barbara Park personal collection
Lions at Lunchtime (Magic Tree House #11) by Mary Pope Osborne library book
Madras on Rainy Days by Samina Ali library book
Max's Christmas Stocking by Rosemary Wells library book
Me, Myself and I by Jane Louise Curry library book
Paddington Bear and the Busy Bee Carnival by Michael Bond personal collection
Where Are Maisy's Friends? by Lucy Cousins library book
The Divorce Party by Laura Dave review copy
Sarah Whitcher's Story by Elizabeth Yates personal collection
What Happy Working Mothers Know by Cathy L. Greenberg review copy
The Witches of Worm by Zipha Keatley Snyder library book
Murder in the Magick Club by Byron A. Lorrier review copy
Wolf Song Visions by Scott and Linda Reade review copy
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The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives: 12/23/09

The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives by David Bainbridge begins with the discovery of the X chromosome (by a man) and the Y chromosome (by a woman). From there it moves onto a variety of topics: the genes that control gonad growth, sex linked diseases and how human women are like calico cats.

David Bainbridge spends about a third of the book outlining many of the different ways that animals reproduce and how gender is selected. Although the XY (male) and XX (female) is the standard approach in mammals, there is even an exception among mammals. Of course birds, reptiles and all sorts of other non-mammalian animals have evolved different ways of reproducing. Despite all these different approaches, they all share similar genes to control the process.

Reproduction doesn't always work normally. Bainbridge discusses the ways in which things can go differently and what the outcome means for the offspring. My favorite part though comes near the end where Bainbridge compares the calico cat coloration to the genetic tug of war going on inside every woman's body.

The book is a fairly easy read for all the science that's included. It's written with clear and concise language. Sometimes I think Bainbridge lets too much of his own prejudices into the book, filtering all the information through the perspective based on his own upbringing. At least he's willing to admit this short coming in the book.

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