The Circle - by Dave Eggers

This was quite a remarkable book. The writing style is unsophisticated, but not clunky. I found it quite easy to read and got through the nearly 500 pages in very good time. The characters were well enough drawn. I did not necessarily like any of them, but that is not the point. Indeed, on a certain level I found Mae quite annoying and would question some of her decisions.

The book is really all about a concept - the Circle. It is a very logical extension of social networking as it stands today. I guess that the story is set in the near future - maybe 2020 - as none of the technology is far fetched. Oddly, I cannot decide whether the story is dystopian or utopian - the open future that is envisaged has some great attractions, but, at the same time, I am not sure how comfortable I would be to live in this world.

The book is thought provoking, making one consider the real status of data/information and how privacy [if there is such a thing] jars with human nature. I have often joked that people who complain that there are too many CCTV cameras should be arrested as a preventative measure, as they are clearly planning to commit a crime. In this story that is almost exactly what occurs.

Occasionally, parts of the story are predictable - like the fate of Mercer. But other events - like the revelation of the true identity of Kalden - caught me on the hop. I felt that the ending was a little weak. I was expecting something dramatic, but felt somewhat as if the author had become bored and wanted to move on to something else.

I will now be interested to see the film.

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Circle by Dave Eggers. This is my next book club book, so I was feeling the pressure to read it and put the previous book on temporary hold. Here's the blurb:

When Mae is hired to work for the Circle, the world's most powerful internet company, she feels she's been given the opportunity of a lifetime. Run out of a sprawling California campus, the Circle links users' personal emails, social media, and finances with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of transparency. Mae can't believe her great fortune to work for them - even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public ...

What I'm reading ...

I felt that it was time for something different. I rarely re-read books, but I felt that a book, that left an impression on me in my late teens, might be interesting to re-visit 40+ years later. So, I have started Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. It seems that this new edition contains more material, which was cut from the original. It will be interesting to see whether I notice.

Here’s the blurb:

Twenty-five years ago, the first manned mission to Mars was lost, and all hands presumed dead. But someone survived...
Born on the doomed spaceship and raised by the Martians who saved his life, Valentine Michael Smith has never seen a human being until the day a second expedition to Mars discovers him.
Upon his return to Earth, a young nurse named Jill Boardman sneaks into Smith's hospital room and shares a glass of water with him, a simple act for her but a sacred ritual on Mars.
Now, connected by an incredible bond, Smith, Jill and a writer named Jubal must fight to protect a right we all take for granted: the right to love.

On the Move: A Life - by Oliver Sacks

I sometimes ponder the idea of my “fantasy dinner party”, where I get to sit at a table with a handful of people, whom I find interesting, but who may be alive or dead. The idea is to assemble the ultimate group, where the conversation would leave a life-long impression. Oliver Sacks is now on my list.

This book was a wonderful insight into a life well lived. On one level, he was a name dropper. The number of well-known scientists and other celebrities, with whom he was close friends, is phenomenal. But also believable. Sacks achieved so much in his life, that it leaves me very humbled. Then, having achieved a lot, he also found time to eloquently write about it. If I write 1000 words in a day, I think that I am doing OK; for Sacks, 10,000 seemed to be a starting point.

I always enjoy reading autobiographies. Sometimes, I do not really like the person, but that does not stop it being interesting. In this case, I know that I would like the author, even though we have somewhat different backgrounds and slight deviations in interests. I find myself very sad in the knowledge that he is no longer with us, but excited by the legacy he left. There are so many more books to read…