and then you're dead - Cody Cassidy and Paul Doherty

If you're like any normal human being, chances are that you've worried about a window popping out of a plane mid-flight, what would happen if the cable snapped on an elevator you were riding in, whether or not you can really survive a trip over Niagara Falls, and a host of other macabre but slightly practical issues. The good news: this book takes a large amount of these suppositions and analyzes them for your reading pleasure. The bad news: most of them involve you dying. Hence the name of the book. But there's (more) good news. Despite the fact that you're reading scenarios in which you almost certainly die, it's done in a humorous but informative manner. Accidentally jump into a black hole? At least you'll know what to expect. (Hint: spaghettification.) Wanna break the world skydiving record by going from the International Space Station? Here's a list of pros and cons for you to consider. The back cover describes the novel as "gleefully gruesome", and frankly, I really can't think of a better description.

Just so you can get an idea of what kinds of scenarios we're talking here, here's my top 10:
What would happen if...

1. You were attacked by a swarm of bees?
2. You skydived from outer space?
3. You jumped into a black hole?
4. You were killed by this book?
5. You just stayed in bed?
6. You toured the Pringles factory and fell off the catwalk?
7. You dug a hole to China and jumped in?
8. You became an actual human cannonball?
9. You ate as many cookies as Cookie Monster?
10. You were swallowed by a whale?

Now, admittedly, some of these are more speculation than they are based on experience; after all, once you've been atomized inside a black hole, it's going to be a bit difficult to report on what happened, even after you make it past the event horizon in a few million years. Despite this minor obstacle, Cassidy and Doherty do their very best to science their way to a logical analysis for every scenario in the book (45 in case you were wondering). I picked this book up on a whim from the library, and I went online and bought it before I'd even finished the whole thing! In case you haven't gotten the idea yet: READ IT!

Pros:

• You will likely spend at least 89% of the book laughing
• There actually is some quality science-y information provided
• Carefully put-together answers to all those weird questions you always wondered about

Cons:

• WAY too short. Seriously, I'd read a dictionary sized book of this stuff.
• A wee bit graphic if you're squeamish (but really, what did you expect going into space without a suit?)
•  See item 1. For reals, I NEED more.