Trashed

Trashed by Derf Backderf; 244 pages

I made the mistake of using Trashed as my lunch break reading this week.  The fact-laden, lightly-plotted story made it a good choice for reading in small chunks, but the subject matter was less than ideal for reading at mealtime.  Exploding garbage bags.  Maggots.  A disgusting substance known to sanitation workers as "garbage soup".  YUCK.

As our protagonist, J.B., points out -- most people don't give much thought to what happens to their garbage after it goes out on the curb or into the alley.  I like to think that I've given the matter some thought from time to time, but nothing has driven home the point more soundly than Trashed.  We generate A LOT of garbage and a lot of energy goes into collecting and storing that garbage.  Recommended for anybody wondering about the nitty-gritty details of trash collection.  Not recommended for mealtime reading.