What I'm reading ...

I have started Transcription by Kate Atkinson. I have been a fan of this author for many years. I was very tempted to get this book when it was first published last year, but I waited until the paperback publication drove the Kindle price down. Here’s the blurb:

In 1940, eighteen-year old Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage. Sent to an obscure department of MI5 tasked with monitoring the comings and goings of British Fascist sympathizers, she discovers the work to be by turns both tedious and terrifying. But after the war has ended, she presumes the events of those years have been relegated to the past for ever.
Ten years later, now a producer at the BBC, Juliet is unexpectedly confronted by figures from her past. A different war is being fought now, on a different battleground, but Juliet finds herself once more under threat. A bill of reckoning is due, and she finally begins to realize that there is no action without consequence.

The Body: A Guide for Occupants - by Bill Bryson

My high hopes were not misplaced. I found this book a joy to read. It is well organized and written in Bryson’s very relaxed style, with a bit of humour here and there. There are lots of surprising facts and busting of myths and the list of references, supporting the text, is extensive. As I love learning random, useless facts, this book is a goldmine. I would recommend the book to anyone with an enquiring mind.

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson. Bryson has been a favourite author of mine for about 30 years and I have had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times. I long since got into the habit of buying his books as soon as they were published. So, as soon as I heard about this one, a “pre-order” was in place. His last book of this ilk was very enjoyable [and incredibly successful], so I have high hopes. Here’s the blurb:

Bill Bryson sets off to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological make up.
A wonderful successor to A Short History of Nearly Everything, this new book is an instant classic. It will have you marvelling at the form you occupy, and celebrating the genius of your existence, time and time again.

Machines Like Me - by Ian McEwan

Last time I read a book by this author, the first few pages grabbed me and I was off to a flying start. Sadly, the rest of the book was a bit of a disappointment. This book, too, started off well and I feared a repeat of my previous experience. However, my fears were unfounded. The book kept me turning the pages, having pulled me in. I read it in a very short time [for me] - a long airplane ride helped.
I am unsure whether this is a human story with the robot angle as a backdrop, or vice versa. It doesn’t matter as the two threads interleave very well. I find the “alternate history” approach interesting. In this case, the time period is one that I clearly understand, as I lived through it as a young adult. The author weaved in some contemporary politics and issues in interesting ways, some of which I feel are rather tongue in cheek.
Overall, it was a good read that might give some insights into challenges we may be facing in the not too distant future.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan. This book sounds fascinating in concept. I have not been 100% sure about this author’s work in the past, but this book came recommended by a good friend, so thought I’d give it a go. Here’s the blurb:

Britain has lost the Falklands war, Margaret Thatcher battles Tony Benn for power and Alan Turing achieves a breakthrough in artificial intelligence. In a world not quite like this one, two lovers will be tested beyond their understanding.
Machines Like Me occurs in an alternative 1980s London. Charlie, drifting through life and dodging full-time employment, is in love with Miranda, a bright student who lives with a terrible secret. When Charlie comes into money, he buys Adam, one of the first batch of synthetic humans. With Miranda’s assistance, he co-designs Adam’s personality. This near-perfect human is beautiful, strong and clever – a love triangle soon forms. These three beings will confront a profound moral dilemma. Ian McEwan’s subversive and entertaining new novel poses fundamental questions: what makes us human? Our outward deeds or our inner lives? Could a machine understand the human heart? This provocative and thrilling tale warns of the power to invent things beyond our control.

Down Among the Dead Men: A Year in the Life of a Mortuary Technician - by Michelle Williams

I always like to learn about other people’s lives, particularly when they do a job about which I have no knowledge. This book fully delivered in this respect. I did not really know anything about what goes on in a mortuary and now I do. The writing is not amazing, but it is certainly good enough; the book would have benefitted from a light edit. It is written from a very personal perspective, which I think suited the subject very well.