What I'm reading ...

I have started Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar. I thought that is was time for some serious non-fiction and that this would fit the bill. Here’s the blurb:

For most people, quantum theory is a byword for mysterious, impenetrable science. And yet for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly-written history of this fundamental scientific revolution, and the divisive debate at its heart. For 60 years most physicists believed that quantum theory denied the very existence of reality itself. Yet Kumar shows how the golden age of physics ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century. Quantum sets the science in the context of the great upheavals of the modern age. In 1925 the quantum pioneers nearly all hailed from upper-middle-class academic families; most were German; and their average age was 24. But it was their irrational, romantic spirit, formed in reaction to the mechanised slaughter of the First World War that inspired their will to test science to its limits. The essential read for anyone fascinated by this complex and thrilling story and by the band of young men at its heart.

Pontoon: A Lake Wobegon Novel - by Garrison Keillor

As expected, this was a pleasant, easy read. I love the quality of his writing, which always conjures up a great picture of life in LW.  A few favourite lines:
“You look like death on a biscuit.”
“… was 72, an age when a man is proud of being able to still put his clothes on standing up”
“Some people finish dinner and drive off in the wrong direction. Like Evelyn. Instead of south, she went Up.” [Evelyn had just died.]

What I'm reading ...

I have started Pontoon: A Lake Wobegon Novel by Garrison Keillor. I was in the US and wanted to line up some easy reading. Being in the States always makes me think of Garrison Keillor, The Prairie Home Companion and The News from Lake Wobegon, so this was an easy choice. Here’s the blurb:

In Lake Wobegon lives a good Lutheran lady who wishes for her ashes placed inside a bowling ball and dropped into the lake. Meanwhile, a wedding between a veterinary aromatherapist and her boyfriend Brent is set to take place aboard a pontoon boat. A delegation of renegade Lutheran pastors from Denmark has come to town, and there's Raoul of the cigars and tinted shades, come to visit his elderly lover. All is in readiness for the wedding - the French champagne, the flying Elvis, the giant duck decoys - and then something quite unexpected happens . . .

Words And Rules: The Ingredients of Language - by Steven Pinker

This is a serious book and not an easy read. There is lots of detail from an author who really knows his subject. Although there were long stretches of detailed discussion that I found hard, I just did a bit of speed-reading. Overall, the effort of getting through the book was well worth it. I learned a lot. Lots of questions were answered and there were new questions posed and answered too. I will never thing about language quite the same. To give an example: I went to the opticians to get new lenses in my glasses; I told someone that I was going there to get them “relensed”. I am sure that this word does not exist, but I could create it without any effort [thinking] and be quite sure that the listener would understand.

If you have an interest in language and how it works, this book is a must read.

What I’m reading ...

I have started Words And Rules: The Ingredients of Language by Steven Pinker. A friend read this and was looking for someone with whom to discuss it. It looked like just my kind of book, so I thought I’d give it a go. Here’s the blurb:

How does language work? How do children learn their mother tongue? Why do languages change over time, making Chaucer's English almost incomprehensible? Steven Pinker explains the profound mysteries of language by picking a deceptively simple single phenomenon and examining it from every angle. That phenomenon - the existence of regular and irregular verbs - connects an astonishing array of topics in the sciences and humanities: the history of languages; the illuminating errors of children as they begin to speak; the sources of the major themes in the history of Western philosophy; the latest techniques in identifying genes and imaging the living brain. Pinker makes sense of all of this with the help of a single, powerful idea: that language comprises a mental dictionary of memorized words and a mental grammar of creative rules.

Dead Like You - by Peter James.

As usual, this book fulfilled my expectations and and was a good read during a long flight and in down time thereafter. I did have some idea who the perpetrator of the crimes was before I got to the end, but, of course, I expected a twist and was not disappointed. As usual, it is very tempting to just forge on to the next book in the series, but I will resist.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Dead Like You by Peter James. I wanted a book that would be easy to read, but I could get my teeth into and this author has form.

Bring Up The Bodies - by Hilary Mantel

I started this book with some trepidation, as long historic novels are not really my thing. I was prepared to give it a go because many people have spoken highly of it. I read it for quite a while - 4 weeks perhaps - but only managed to get through about one third of the way through. Although the quality of the writing was very good - the author’s way with words is quite exceptional - I really could not go on. Life is rather too short. I identified a number of issues:

• this far through the book and nothing much has happened yet
• there are lots of unfamiliar words, most of which are not useful additions to my vocabulary [except possibly for Scrabble]; I was thankful for my Kindle’s easy access to a dictionary
• everything is written in the present tense, which I appreciate is not a unique style; I just wonder why
• I was often uncertain of whose actions were being described
• I did not feel I had a good picture of most of the characters, which added to my confusion when I forgot who the text was talking about at a particular point

All in all this was a shame, as it is quite an interesting period of history, but this book did not usefully contribute to my knowledge of it.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel. This is my next book club book. I am daunted. Here is the blurb:

The volatile Anne Boleyn is now Queen, her career seemingly entwined with that of Cromwell. The split from the Catholic Church has left England dangerously isolated, and Anne has failed to give the king an heir. And when the King begins to fall in love with self-effacing Jane Seymour, the ever-pragmatic Cromwell must negotiate within an increasingly perilous court to satisfy Henry, defend the nation and, above all, to secure his own rise in the world. Neither minister nor king will emerge unscathed from the bloody theatre of Anne’s final days.

Educated - by Tara Westover

A fascinating book that is a very good read. It depicts a world quite unknown to me. If it were fiction, I would probably say it was unrealistic and not plausible - but it is a factual account. Having said that, at times the author was doubting her own memory and sanity; this just served to make the story more intriguing. Overall, I was left rather shocked that such events could occur, but heartened that escape was possible.

My only reservation comes from my nosiness. I wanted to know what happened next. Did she ever see her parents again? Well, as it seems that they are still alive, that chapter cannot be written yet ...

What I'm reading ...

I have started reading Educated by Tara Westover. I thought that it would make an interesting contrast/comparison with my last book. Here’s the blurb:

Tara Westover and her family grew up preparing for the End of Days but, according to the government, she didn’t exist. She hadn’t been registered for a birth certificate. She had no school records because she’d never set foot in a classroom, and no medical records because her father didn’t believe in hospitals.

As she grew older, her father became more radical and her brother more violent. At sixteen, Tara knew she had to leave home. In doing so she discovered both the transformative power of education, and the price she had to pay for it.

The Handmaid's Tale - by Margaret Atwood

A great read - I can understand why it is considered a classic. The author consistently gives the reader enough information to understand what is happening, but withholds just enough to keep you wondering and turning the pages.

I found the story quite disturbing, because I found it totally credible. I can believe that, in a country where states mandate teaching creationism and totally ban abortion, things could get out of hand and the result would be the nightmarish world of this book.

I think I might try to find the TV adaptation now ...

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. This has been sitting around on my reading list for a while and I have a bit of “free reading” time, so I thought it was time to give it a go.  Here’s the blurb:

The Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire – neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs.

Being Mortal - by Atul Gawande

I started this book with a little trepidation. Another medical book - mainly about aging and death. This was not going to be a bundle of laughs. However, the surprising thing about the book is that despite, but maybe because of, the grim topic, it is a very uplifting book.

The quality of writing is superb. His words flow easily and everything he has to say is couched in stories - real stories about real patients, fiends and relatives. Reading the book was, on a certain level, quite taxing. The nature of the content meant that I really wanted to read in modest chunks, with time between them to reflect and absorb. The reality was that I often found the book quite gripping and I did not want to put it down.

By the end of the book, I felt that I had a completely new understanding of what it is to be coming to the end of one’s life; it is all about choices and priorities. My eyes were opened to aspects of life that I had previously not wanted to even think about. I am very glad that I read the book and would recommend it to anyone who might work with older people or just want to ponder how their own future might pan out.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is one of the best books I have ever read. My inclination is to simply purchase the author’s other 3 books and plough on through them.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. This is my next book club book. Nice to have some non-fiction. Here’s the blurb:

For most of human history, death was a common, ever-present possibility. It didn't matter whether you were five or fifty - every day was a roll of the dice. But now, as medical advances push the boundaries of survival further each year, we have become increasingly detached from the reality of being mortal. So here is a book about the modern experience of mortality - about what it's like to get old and die, how medicine has changed this and how it hasn't, where our ideas about death have gone wrong. With his trademark mix of perceptiveness and sensitivity, Atul Gawande outlines a story that crosses the globe, as he examines his experiences as a surgeon and those of his patients and family, and learns to accept the limits of what he can do.

Never before has aging been such an important topic. The systems that we have put in place to manage our mortality are manifestly failing; but, as Gawande reveals, it doesn't have to be this way. The ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death, but a good life - all the way to the very end.

Published in partnership with the Wellcome Collection, a free visitor destination that explores the connections between medicine, life and art.

The Things We Learn When We're Dead - by Charlie Laidlaw

This is an intriguing book, if only because it is hard to categorise. Is it Sci Fi? Well, kind of, but not quite. For most of the time that I was reading the book, I was unable to discern whether the reader is being told about a real situation: a bunch of aliens on a giant spaceship have been messing with human matters for millennia. Or was Lorna simply having a dream as she was on the cusp between life and death.

It is quite detailed and meanders a bit, but I do not think too much. Eventually I spotted a clue to what the story was actually about: it is in the name of the aliens’ home planet. I think that it could have been concealed a little better, but, anyway, it is not obvious. Of course, I am not going to give the answer here!

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Things We Learn When We're Dead by Charlie Laidlaw. I have no idea what inspired me to look at and acquire this book, but it does look fascinating. Here’s the blurb:

On the way home from a dinner party, Lorna Love steps into the path of an oncoming car. When she wakes up she is in what appears to be a hospital – but a hospital in which her nurse looks like a young Sean Connery, she is served wine for supper, and everyone avoids her questions. 

It soon transpires that she is in Heaven, or on HVN, because HVN is a lost, dysfunctional spaceship, and God the aging hippy captain. She seems to be there by accident… or does God have a higher purpose after all?

Despite that, The Things We Learn When We’re Dead is neither sci-fi nor fantasy. It is a book about memory and how, if we could remember things slightly differently, would we also be changed?

The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah - by Benjamin Zephaniah

A good read. The main thing that I like about biographies is gaining insight into other people’s lives. The more different their background, the better, in some ways. I had a good feeling that Zephaniah did actually write this book - it has a genuineness to it that I enjoyed. I also learned a lot, because, even though he lived most of his life in the same country as me and over the same timescale, his world was different from mine. Having said that, there were familiar things, like popular music etc. and topical events, that kept it in context. I would now like to go to one of his performances ...

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah: The Autobiography. Time for a change from fiction. Here’s the blurb:

In the early 1980s when punks and Rastas were on the streets protesting about unemployment, homelessness and the National Front, Benjamin’s poetry could be heard at demonstrations, outside police stations and on the dance floor. His mission was to take poetry everywhere, and to popularise it by reaching people who didn’t read books. His poetry was political, musical, radical and relevant.
By the early 1990s, Benjamin had performed on every continent in the world (a feat which he achieved in only one year) and he hasn’t stopped performing and touring since. Nelson Mandela, after hearing Benjamin’s tribute to him while he was in prison, requested an introduction to the poet that grew into a lifelong relationship, inspiring Benjamin’s work with children in South Africa. Benjamin would also go on to be the first artist to record with The Wailers after the death of Bob Marley in a musical tribute to Nelson Mandela.
The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah is a truly extraordinary life story which celebrates the power of poetry and the importance of pushing boundaries with the arts. 

Ajax Penumbra: 1969 by Robin Sloan

This was an enjoyable “back story” to the last book. It is logical to read it afterwards, as some of the forward references would make no sense otherwise. I enjoyed the setting: 1969 is a time that I can just about remember and the story mostly takes place in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, which is an area that i know well. There are references to sci fi books that are familiar: Dune and Foundation. I was surprised that nobody mentioned the moon landing, which was rather big news at the time.

Once again, I wonder if i have learned anything. Was the land on the edge of the bay reclaimed in the way it is described?

What I'm reading ...

I have started reading Ajax Penumbra: 1969 by Robin Sloan. This is the [short] prequel to the previous book that I read. It seemed logical to forge ahead. Here’s the blurb:

San Francisco, 1969. The summer of drugs, music and a new age dawning. A young, earnest Ajax Penumbra has been given his first assignment as a Junior Acquisitions Officer - to find the single surviving copy of the Techne Tycheon, a mysterious volume that has brought and lost great fortune for anyone who has owned it. After a few weeks of rigorous hunting, Penumbra feels no closer to his goal than when he started. But late one night, after another day of dispiriting dead ends, he stumbles upon a 24-hour bookstore and the possibilities before him expand exponentially. With the help of his friend's homemade computer, an ancient map, a sunken ship and the vast shelves of the 24-hour bookstore, Ajax Penumbra might just find what he's seeking…

Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore - by Robin Sloan

Most of my choice of reading is dictated by stuff I hear on the radio or driven by my book club. But sometimes I get a recommendation from a friend, which is always interesting, as it can say a lot about the friend; people’s taste in books can be quite an insight.

I really enjoyed this book. It is nicely paced and I got into it very quickly. Before long it was unputdownable. The story is complex, but not excessive. The characters are quite diverse, but well drawn. My only reservation is that, when I read a novel, I like to think that I might learn something. Without having a clear idea of the author’s integrity, I cannot be sure. In this case, my awareness of the programming language Ruby was raised, but did I learn anything about how Google actually operates?

In any case, my choice of what to read next was clear.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. This was recommended by a friend, who had stumbled across it randomly in a bookstore. I thought that it sounded intriguing. Here’s the blurb:

Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone - and serendipity, coupled with sheer curiosity, has landed him a new job working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead they simply borrow impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he's embarked on a complex analysis of the customers' behaviour and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what's going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore...

La Belle Sauvage - by Philip Pullman

My optimism with this book was well founded - I enjoyed it very much. I always have reservations about “fantasy” books - stories where the world is similar to ours, but not quite the same. However, Pullman is very skilful in this genre. The concept of the dæmon intrigues me. The author never explains it, but the place of these companion beings is gradually elucidated in the book.

The story has all the right features: It is well paced and has clearly drawn characters. As it progresses, there is the odd surprise.

I seem to recall that His Dark Materials was billed as children’s literature. I wonder about this book. Amazon seems to think “Teen and young adult”. There is some language and themes that are not very child friendly.

At the end of the book, I look forward to the publication of the next volume, which I will most likely buy at the introductory Kindle price - the equivalent to buying a newly-published hardback. In the meantime, should I have another read of His Dark Materials?

What I'm reading ...

I have started La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman, my next book club book. Having read some of the author’s work before, I am optimistic ...

The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939–1945 - by Max Hastings

This book has a lot going for it. Lots of detail about intelligence activities in WW2 and numerous stories and anecdotes about the activities of agents etc. The book is clearly very well researched, so I am confident of the accuracy of the information. However, for me, it was all too much. I managed to read about one third of the book and found getting there rather hard work. Ultimately I felt that there was a very nice 200-page book in here - it just needs someone to to do thorough editing. I did learn lots of interesting things, but there comes a point when it is time to move on ...

What I'm reading ...

I have started reading The Secret War: Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939–1945 by Max Hastings, my next book club book.  A good time for some meaty non-fiction, I think, and this should fit the bill.  Here’s the blurb:

In ‘The Secret War’, Max Hastings examines the espionage and intelligence machines of all sides in World War II, and the impact of spies, code-breakers and partisan operations on events. Written on a global scale, the book brings together accounts from British, American, German, Russian and Japanese sources to tell the story of a secret war waged unceasingly by men and women often far from the battlefields but whose actions profoundly influenced the outcome.
Returning to the Second World War for the first time since his best-selling ‘All Hell Let Loose’, Hastings weaves into a ‘big picture’ framework, the human stories of spies and intelligence officers who served their respective masters. Told through a series of snapshots of key moments, the book looks closely at Soviet espionage operations which dwarfed those of every other belligerent in scale, as well as the code-breaking operation at Bletchley Park – the greatest intelligence achievement of the conflict – with many more surprising and unfamiliar tales of treachery, deception, betrayal and incompetence by spies of Axis, Allied or indeterminate loyalty.

The Standing Chandelier - by Lionel Shriver

This book is described as a novella and it is, indeed, quite a short book, even though the story covers quite a long timer period. It is not so much a story about events, but more an exploration into a number of people’s response to those events and the feelings engendered. I guess I might say that it is a study of emotional intelligence. The key issue is whether a man and a woman can be truly platonic friends. The author does not attempt to give a definitive answer, but does a good job of pushing around the subject for thought and discussion.

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Standing Chandelier by Lionel Shriver. I wanted a quick read while I am travelling and this is described as a novella [just 129 pages]. This author always impresses me. Here’s the blurb:

When Weston Babansky receives an extravagant engagement present from his best friend (and old flame) Jillian Frisk, he doesn’t quite know what to make of it – or how to get it past his fiancée. Especially as it’s a massive, handmade, intensely personal sculpture that they’d have to live with forever.
As the argument rages about whether Jillian’s gift was an act of pure platonic generosity or something more insidious, battle lines are drawn…
Can men and women ever be friends? Just friends?

Dead Tomorrow - by Peter James

As usual with this author’s work, I enjoyed the ride. It was just what I needed for a long aeroplane flight. The story had the complexity that I have come to expect, but there was no real, unexpected twist at the end. Two things linger with me: Early in the book a guy has a motorbike accident and is later declared dead. We are just left to assume that he is the potential liver donor that is mentioned towards the end. The backstory about Sandy progressed by a small step; does each book add just a tiny bit more?

What I'm reading ...

I have started Dead Tomorrow by Peter James. Time for some escapist fiction and this author’s work is just the job. Here’s the blurb:

The body of a missing teenager is dredged from the seabed off the Sussex coast, missing vital organs. Soon after, a further two more bodies are found . . .
Caitlin Beckett, a fifteen-year-old in Brighton will die if she does not receive an urgent transplant. When the health system threatens to let her down her mother takes drastic action and goes to an online broker in black-market organs. The broker can provide what she wants, but it will come at a price.
As Detective Superintendent Roy Grace investigates the recovered bodies, he unearths the trail of a gang of child traffickers operating from Eastern Europe. Soon Grace and his team will find themselves in a race against time to save the life of a young street kid, while a desperate mother will stop at nothing to save her daughter's life . . .

The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District - by James Rebanks

My interest in sheep, to be frank, is very limited and mainly focussed on their role in providing Sunday roast. However, I am always interested in other people’s lives, how they live them and what perspective they have on the world. This book delivered. The content is an interesting mixture of general discussion of life on a Lake District farm and stories from the author’s and his family’s life. It is well written and has a genuine feel to it - I can hear the author’s voice. A few philosophical points are slightly laboured, but I feel that can be forgiven, as they are the expression of some deep seated emotions and beliefs. I expected to say that the book made me want to visit the area and to some extent it does, however, I am left wondering whether tourism is really a benefit to the people there.

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District by James Rebanks, my next book club book. Looks to be something different. Here’s the blurb:

Some people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations. Their way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand, and has been for hundreds of years. A Viking would understand the work they do: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the gruelling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the fells.
These modern dispatches from an ancient landscape tell the story of a deep-rooted attachment to place, describing a way of life that is little noticed and yet has profoundly shaped this landscape. In evocative and lucid prose, James Rebanks takes us through a shepherd's year, offering a unique account of rural life and a fundamental connection with the land that most of us have lost. It is a story of working lives, the people around him, his childhood, his parents and grandparents, a people who exist and endure even as the world changes around them. Many stories are of people working desperately hard to leave a place. This is the story of someone trying desperately hard to stay.

How to Be a Husband - by Tim Dowling

I went straight on to this book, as I wanted some light holiday reading. Here’s the blurb:

The much-loved Guardian columnist asks what it takes to make a husband, and looks to his own married life to provide the answer.*
*Anything resembling advice should be taken at reader’s own risk.
You’ll never get divorced if you never get married. Not even your granny minds if you live in sin anymore. And if you’re single you can choose curtains without somebody else butting in. So why bother with marriage? It can’t just be an easy way round having to buy your own deodorant.
Guardian columnist Tim Dowling is a husband of some twenty years. His marriage is resounding proof that even the most impossible partnership can work out for the best. Some of the time.
So while this book is called ‘How To be a Husband’, it’s not really a how-to guide at all. Nor is it a compendium of petty remarks and brinkmanship – although it contains plenty of both. You may pick up a few DIY hints. You might learn that while marriage is founded on love, it endures through bloody hard work. Most likely it will make you whimper with the laughter of painful recognition.

I am a regular reader of the author’s newspaper column and expected more of the same - sharp observations that make me smile. I was not disappointed. The book investigates numerous aspects of 21st Century life and how a marriage - or, in particular, a husband - fits into it. I found myself highlighting various turns of phrase that I enjoyed and learned some new, useful words [like “uxorious”]. I will continue to look out for the author’s work - both his writing and musical performances.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - by Gail Honeyman

I enjoyed this book, as I felt it was well written, humorous without being trivial and well paced. Someone told me it was “heart warming”; I think that is a nice summary.

When I started the book, I quickly assumed that Eleanor was autistic - or, at least, had a tendency that way. By the end of the book, I concluded that she was the product of nurture - her traumatic experiences - and not nature.

I particularly enjoyed the twist concerning her mother at the end. It was nicely done and took me by surprise.

I will be interested to see what the author comes up with in future.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - a very popular book that is riding high in the charts right now and has been recommended to me. Here’s the blurb:

Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.
Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.
One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.
Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than… fine?

The Black Echo - by Michael Connelly

I enjoyed this book. It is a reasonably complex murder mystery, with various back-stories. For me, the complexity and the detail was just about right. Some of the language is very odd [to me] - I assume it is LAPD-speak. For example, if you “make” someone, it means that you recognize or identify them. This did not impair my understanding - at added to the atmosphere. The book is set a quarter of a century ago. There are frequent references to pagers and  much rushing off to find pay-phones. It made me happier to be living in 2018.

Overall, I found the story to be well paced and easy to read and I was always happy to get back to it. I may well read more in the Harry Bosch series at some point.

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Black Echo by Michael Connelly, my next book club book. Just a little daunted by 500 pages! Here’s the blurb:

LAPD detective Harry Bosch is a loner and a nighthawk. One Sunday he gets a call-out on his pager. A body has been found in a drainage tunnel off Mulholland Drive, Hollywood. At first sight, it looks like a routine drugs overdose case, but the one new puncture wound amid the scars of old tracks leaves Bosch unconvinced.
To make matters worse, Harry Bosch recognises the victim. Billy Meadows was a fellow 'tunnel rat' in Vietnam, running against the VC and the fear they all used to call the Black Echo. Bosch believes he let down Billy Meadows once before, so now he is determined to bring the killer to justice.

A Normal Family: Everyday adventures with our autistic son - by Henry Normal

Having encountered the author in person, I had expectations of this book. I anticipated a straightforward, honest account of what it is like to live with a parent an autistic child. And that is what I got. I feel that I have gained interesting insights into a world of which I am never likely to have very direct experience. In some ways, I think the book is squarely aimed at readers who are in a similar situation to the author. However, even if I fall outside of the intended audience, I hope that I may be just a little better at interacting with any autistic people that I might meet and appreciate the challenges of their carers. IMHO, it is a worthwhile read for the “lay reader”.

What I'm reading ...

I have started A Normal Family: Everyday adventures with our autistic son by Henry Normal. We saw the author, who was giving a talk at a local poetry festival and he unashamedly plugged his book. We immediately purchased a copy and I am assured that it is a good read. It is certainly a subject that interests me.  Here’s the blurb:

Johnny is nineteen. He likes music, art and going to the beach. He is also autistic - in his case that means he will probably never get a job, never have a girlfriend, never leave home. And over the last nineteen years this is what his father, TV producer and comedy writer Henry Normal and his wife Angela have been trying to come to terms with.
This is a book for anyone whose life has been touched by autism - it's about the hope, the despair, and the messy, honest sometimes comical day-to-day world of autism, as well as a wonderful, warm book about the unconditional, unconventional love between a father, a mother and a son.

Notes from an Exhibition - by Patrick Gale

I found this book riveting; always looking forward to the next spell of reading it. The structure is similar to A Perfectly Good Man insofar as it is non-linear. Each chapter is introduced by the exhibition notes to a picture and the text appertains to that time period. Reading the book is like completing a jigsaw - the total picture gradually emerges. But there are pieces missing, where the reader is left to imagine what is in the gaps. It is all I can do to read something other than another of Gale’s books, but I will be back for more soon!

What I'm reading ...

I have started Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale. I rarely read two books by an author in quick succession, but this is the second time that I have read one of Gale’s books and immediately wanted to read another. Here’s the blurb:

Celebrated artist Rachel Kelly dies alone in her Penzance studio, after decades of struggling with the creative highs and devastating lows that have coloured her life. Her family gathers, each of them searching for answers. They reflect on lives shaped by the enigmatic Rachel - as artist, wife and mother - and on the ambiguous legacies she leaves them, of talent, torment and transcendent love.

A Perfectly Good Man - by Patrick Gale [redux]

I have just re-read this book, as it is my next book club selection. It is nearly 3 years since I read it last time, so I had forgotten the details, only remembering that I had enjoyed it before. I think I enjoyed it even more this time around. I rarely read a book twice, as there are so many books I have not read and so little time. But this makes me rethink my approach.

I stand by all my previous comments. I now realise that the non-linear presentation of the story is actually the way we recall the past and this is why it does not feel unnatural. My only slightly negative thought is that I do not really understand why Phuc was so angry at his adopted parents, but I suspect my emotional intelligence is limited ...

I have just bought the book's predecessor, Notes from an Exhibition. 

The Rosie Project - by Graeme Simsion

After my initial feeling of identifying with Don, I quickly realized that, although I understood his logic and way of thinking, he was a lot worse than me! The story is laugh-out-loud funny in places and other bits are cringe-worthy embarrassment, but, to me, it was all quite credible.

As the story progresses and we get to know Don better, he is also rapidly developing as a person. Like Don, the other characters are mostly quite well drawn and the story progresses at a good pace.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I was entertained, but also made to think. An interesting aspect of the story is, if Don were told the ending at the start, he would have deemed it impossible. However, as the reader, I found his transition, leading to the climax of the book, quite believable.

I am not 100% sure that I want to read book 2, although the reviews are quite strong ...

What I'm reading ...

I have started The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. This book was recommended to me as being a very amusing, but not trivial read. Here’s the blurb:

Love isn't an exact science - but no one told Don Tillman. A thirty-nine-year-old geneticist, Don's never had a second date. So he devises the Wife Project, a scientific test to find the perfect partner. Enter Rosie - 'the world's most incompatible woman' - throwing Don's safe, ordered life into chaos. But what is this unsettling, alien emotion he's feeling?

My first impression is that I identify with Don rather a lot and wonder if it will read more like a self-help manual than a novel.

Dead Man’s Footsteps - by Peter James

As with the previous books in this series, I very much enjoyed reading this one. The pace is good and the amount of detail just about right. As usual, there are a number of threads that come together in a complex way and every chapter seems to end with some kind of cliff-hanger that pulls me in to read more, as the resolution is likely to be 2-3 chapters on. Overall, I kept turning the pages and didn’t guess everything before the end. Next time I was very recreational read, book #5 is to hand.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Dead Man’s Footsteps by Peter James. Nice to relax into another in this series. Here’s the blurb:

Amid the tragic unfolding mayhem of the morning of 9/11, failed Brighton businessman and ne'er-do-well Ronnie Wilson sees the chance of a lifeline: to shed his debts, disappear and reinvent himself in another country. Six years later the discovery of the skeletal remains of a woman's body in a storm drain in Brighton leads Detective Superintendent Roy Grace on an enquiry spanning the globe, and into a desperate race against time to save the life of a woman being hunted down like an animal in the streets and alleys of Brighton.

The Essex Serpent - by Sarah Perry

This book was recommended to me and is my latest book club choice. Here’s the blurb:

London, 1893. When Cora Seaborne's controlling husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness. Along with her son Francis - a curious, obsessive boy - she leaves town for Essex, in the hope that fresh air and open space will provide refuge.
On arrival, rumours reach them that the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam the marshes claiming lives, has returned to the coastal parish of Aldwinter. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for superstition, is enthralled, convinced that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a yet-undiscovered species. As she sets out on its trail, she is introduced to William Ransome, Aldwinter's vicar, who is also deeply suspicious of the rumours, but thinks they are a distraction from true faith.
As he tries to calm his parishioners, Will and Cora strike up an intense relationship, and although they agree on absolutely nothing, they find themselves at once drawn together and torn apart, affecting each other in ways that surprise them both.
The Essex Serpent is a celebration of love, and the many different shapes it can take.

I found this book an enjoyable read, with a good pace and excellent writing style. The legend of the serpent is used as a vehicle to tell the story of a number of people’s lives and loves and the complex interactions between them. We also get a good picture of late Victorian life in a number of contexts.
I thought that the characters were well drawn and Cora, in particular, quite interesting. The story has good pace and the ending is not rushed. Although the story does have an ending of sorts, I would have liked to know exactly what happened to Stella. Did she die? If so, did Will and Cora progress their relationship?
Looking at the author’s previous book and her forthcoming novel, I will be inclined to read more.

Your Life In My Hands - a Junior Doctor's Story - by Rachel Clarke

This book was quite a straightforward read, as the writing is very competent, so it flows well. Some tighter editing would have been helpful, as with many modern books, as there is some repetition.

There are two strands to the book, as is hinted by the blurb. The big one is the discussion of the NHS and its decline resulting from the lack of funding. I was not uninterested in this topic, but I did feel that the message was rather repetitive. The author’s passionate concern about the NHS shine through and I guess her spelling it out in such detail was inevitable.

The other thread was the description of her medical work. This was the part that I really enjoyed, finding a lot of it quite emotional. Thinking back on the book, the medical stories are the part that will stay with me.

What I'm reading ...

I have started Your Life In My Hands - a Junior Doctor's Story by Rachel Clarke, my next book club book. Here’s the blurb:

How does it feel to be spat out of medical school into a world of pain, loss and trauma that you feel wholly ill-equipped to handle?
To be a medical novice who makes decisions which - if you get them wrong - might forever alter, or end, a person's life?
To toughen up the hard way, through repeated exposure to life-and-death situations, until you are finally a match for them?
In this heartfelt, deeply personal account of life as a junior doctor in today's health service, former television journalist turned doctor, Rachel Clarke, captures the extraordinary realities of ordinary life on the NHS front line. From the historic junior doctor strikes of 2016 to the 'humanitarian crisis' declared by the Red Cross, the overstretched health service is on the precipice, calling for junior doctors to draw on extraordinary reserves of what compelled them into medicine in the first place - and the value the NHS can least afford to lose - kindness.
Your Life in My Hands is at once a powerful polemic on the systematic degradation of Britain's most vital public institution, and a love letter of optimism and hope to that same health service and those who support it. This extraordinary memoir offers a glimpse into a life spent between the operating room and the bedside, the mortuary and the doctors' mess, telling powerful truths about today's NHS frontline, and capturing with tenderness and humanity the highs and lows of a new doctor's first steps onto the wards in the context of a health service at breaking point - and what it means to be entrusted with carrying another's life in your hands.