November 6, 2007 - Tuesday evening

At The Scarlet Sage in the Mission District

Reading The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism, by Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis. This is not a typical book for her. She's trying to answer a friend's question: Is there, in the Jewish tradition, a holiday like the Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which we just celebrated here in the Mission? Usually she reads about health.

Her favorite book right now is Adaptogens, Herbs for Strength, Stamina and Stress Relief, by David Winston and Steven Maimes, about herbs that work in a deep way, at your core, on the immune system, reducing stress, giving energy. The book describes plants like ginseng, rhodiola, and reishi mushrooms which are from the North-Western United States.

Next she's planning on reading Visionary Plant Consciousness, The Shamanic Teachings of the Plant World, edited by J.P. Harpignies, which they just got in--she's in charge of ordering the books for the store.

If she were to write her own book it would be about the history of herbal apothecaries of Europe and the U.S.