What I'm reading ...

I wanted to read something that was not going to tax me emotionally and it was time for non-fiction. So, I have started How Many Friends Does One Person Need?: Dunbar's Number and Other Evolutionary Quirks by Robin Dunbar. I am interested in social anthropology and I think this will fit the bill. Here is the blurb:

We are the product of our evolutionary history and this history colours our everyday lives - from why we kiss to how religious we are. In How Many Friends Does One Person Need? Robin Dunbar explains how the distant past underpins our current behaviour, through the groundbreaking experiments that have changed the thinking of evolutionary biologists forever. He explains phenomena such as why 'Dunbar's Number' (150) is the maximum number of acquaintances you can have, why all babies are born premature and the science behind lonely hearts columns. Stimulating, provocative and highly enjoyable, this fascinating book is essential for understanding why humans behave as they do - what it is to be human.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry - by Rachel Joyce

Another outstanding book that was a pleasure to read. I got through it quickly, as I started it at the beginning of a long flight, which provided plenty of uninterrupted reading time. I engaged with the book very quickly and it was soon un-put-downable.

Although the book is a story about a few weeks of Harold's life, it is really an investigation of emotions - what we feel, how we feel it, how we express those feelings and, most importantly, what happens when we do not express them. It covers some very emotionally charged territory, some of which is very "close to home" for me. So, I found the book very moving and thought provoking.

It is beautifully written, well paced and evokes strong images and feelings. This is particularly surprising as it is the first novel by an experienced playwright. I thought that a particular short passage, covering Queenie's death, was so economic and poignant that I decided to transcribe it here:

Queenie parted her lips, hunting for the next intake of air. And when it didn't come, but something else did, it was as easy as breathing.

Could a peaceful death be described better than that? I will be reading more by this author [her second book was published recently ...].

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. Time for some more fiction and this book had been recommended to me. Here's the blurb:

When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other. He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof or mobile phone. All he knows is that he must keep walking. To save someone else's life.

One Summer: America 1927 - by Bill Bryson

As a big fan of the author, I had high expectations of this book. I was not disappointed. It is quite a big book and Bryson uses the space to cover the events of and around Summer 1927 in lots of detail. There are tons of facts, but they are presented in coherent, entertaining and energetic way - every story leads the reader on to the next. I always enjoy learning about topics that I already thought that I knew about. Among the numerous subjects upon which I am now better informed are:

• Charles Lindbergh, and the beginnings of aviation in general
• Babe Ruth, and the emergence of baseball
• Prohibition
• The Great Depression
• Henry Ford
• The emergence of boxing
• The development of "talkies"
•  The KKK and eugenics

Once again Bryson has delivered. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was sad when it came to an end.

What I'm reading ...

I have started One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson. He is one of my favourite authors. I have met him a couple of times and tend to get his books immediately on publication. This one looked interesting, so it is no exception. Here is the blurb:

In the summer of 1927, America had a booming stock market, a president who worked just four hours a day (and slept much of the rest of the time), a semi-crazed sculptor with a mad plan to carve four giant heads into an inaccessible mountain called Rushmore, a devastating flood of the Mississippi, a sensational murder trial, and a youthful aviator named Charles Lindbergh who started the summer wholly unknown and finished it as the most famous man on earth. (So famous that Minnesota considered renaming itself after him.)

It was the summer that saw the birth of talking pictures, the invention of television, the peak of Al Capone's reign of terror, the horrifying bombing of a school in Michigan by a madman, the ill-conceived decision that led to the Great Depression, the thrillingly improbable return to greatness of a wheezing, over-the-hill baseball player named Babe Ruth, and an almost impossible amount more.

In this hugely entertaining book, Bill Bryson spins a story of brawling adventure, reckless optimism and delirious energy, with a cast of unforgettable and eccentric characters, with trademark brio, wit and authority.

Enigma - by Robert Harris

An excellent book. I had high expectations, having read several other books by this author and being confident in his integrity. I could, therefore, easily have been disappointed, but I was not. The story kept my attention effortlessly, with just enough twists to keep me wondering what would come next. I found the characters quite believable and enjoyed all the contextual stuff about life during WW2. Having read The Secret Life of Bletchley Park, I was well appraised of the terminology and culture, which was useful. The story is well structured, with just about all the loose ends tied up. I enjoyed the attention to detail and, because I trust the author, come away feeling that I have learned something.

I am now keen to read more Robert Harris books and other stuff about Bletchley Park.