Sirfurboy's (Stephen's) 75 book challenge for 2024

In 2022 and 2023 I only managed 50 books, but I've been busy with a Creative Writing MA (part time, 2 years). I'm still busy with it, but hopefully I will do better in 2024, so welcome to my 75 book challenge thread.

I am Stephen, or Sir Furboy. I live in Aberystwyth, on the west coast of Mid Wales. My hobbies include walking, cycling, kayaking and surfing (obviously), although these days I mostly just surf in my kayak. I also like languages and reading (of course), and thus also reading in other languages.

Although I am an avid reader, and have been since I was eight years old, I did not in fact learn to read until I was seven-and-a-half, going on eight. This, it turns out, is because I am dyspraxic, a specific learning difficulty that was largely unrecognised in school. I was in remedial education until age of 8, but once I learned to read, and read well, they stopped the interventions. This was unfortunate because it was not just my reading that was affected. It also affected my performance in a range of other subjects but it was only in 2022 that I finally got a diagnosis that put everything in context, and left me flabbergasted that there were so many dots, and that no-one ever joined them! In any case, by the age of 8 I was actually reading with a reading age a couple of years above my chronological age.

Oh yes, some of my favourite genres are Young Adult, Sci Fi, Coming of Age, Fantasy and Historical. I also try to read some classics each year, as well as some non fiction and other works out of those genres.

As I said up front, I am undertaking a Creative Writing MA, fully online with the University of Hull. I am enjoying it immensely, and currently on course for a distinction (fingers crossed I don't blow it now!) Writing is something I have always loved. It does, however, severely impinge on my free time, requiring over 20 hours per week during term times.

Anyway, I hope you will star my thread and stop by every now and again. Coffee is available (not necessarily from me! But it's definitely available) and the sofa is comfy. Except where I have been jumping on it.

1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon



This was an excellent tale in which the protagonist, an autistic boy, sets out to solve the mystery of who killed a neighbour's dog, and in the process unravels other mysteries, and embarks on a grand adventure. In the telling, the reader is given an inside look into the life of the autistic boy, and the challenges faced. It is well researched, well envisaged and well executed. I don't give many five star reviews these days as I am trying to avoid the skew/bias towards top reviews, but this is a book I can imagine quoting, referring to or recommending, and that would, I think, qualify it for the top rating.

Welcome back, Stephen! I hope your MA continues to go well.

Happy New Year, Stephen!

Happy New Year and happy new thread, Stephen!

Thanks all, and happy new year to you too.

Happy new New Year and happy reading in 2024

2. The Emotional Craft of Fiction - Donald Maas



There are a lot of books about writing, and they contain plenty of excellent information. However, if you read them they can get a bit repetitive. This book takes a different tack. Rather than talking about the art of good prose, plot, person or voice, etc., this book looks at the emotion conveyed in a story, and how to encourage a reader to really experience a novel. How to envelope them in it.

When it comes down to it, there is still a lot of overlap with other books on the subject of writing, but this difference of emphasis makes this an excellent work. It will get you thinking about the emotional content of your story, and the impact of the prose. Definitely good information in this one.

Happy New Year!

Happy reading in 2024, Stephen!

>2 sirfurboy: A very good book, rated it the same. I read it 15 years ago, but it feels still fresh in my mind.

Happy New Year, Stephen!

Wow, doing an MA, wishing you lots of succes!

I’ve never heard of dyspraxia, but Marc, my hubby is dyslexic. When he was in school this was all unheard of, and not understood at all. Good for you, getting a real diagnosis. For Marc the dyslexia is still influencing his life.

Great reading start to the year, Sir F.

Happy new year and a star dropped for another year of following along.

>8 sirfurboy: Sounds a very useful addition to the toolkit, Stephen.

Good reading luck in 2024!

Happy new year of reading Stephen!

All the best for 2024!

Good luck with your 2024 reading!

3. Writing Life Stories - Bill Roorbach



Another good guide on writing creative non fiction and life stories. Plenty of good examples from a wealth of experience. I expect it would make a good course text as the writer clearly developed it from course materials. It wasn't a course text for me though - just a bit of extra reading. It rehearsed information that I had found in my course texts and I think was just as useful.

Thanks all for the comments/ good wishes. Happy new year to you all too.

4. But What Can I Do? - Alistair Campbell



Alastair Campbell pulls no punches with this hard hitting critique of the parlous state of British politics. But this is not a party political rant. He is more concerned with generating engagement in politics amongst the disillusioned, and what he attacks is (for the most part) the attitudes, sense of entitlement, downright deceit, tribalism and denigration fo the political sphere seen in recent years. It is a rallying cry against populism, and for engaged politics.

Campbell makes no secret of his labour leanings, but he does a podcast with conservative Rory Stewart, and this book shows signs of that collaboration. It can be read by anyone (although anyone who still thinks Brexit was a grand idea might find it tough reading). I disagreed on a couple of small points. Campbell still clearly believes in the British first past the post system, for instance. He doesn't make a big deal of it, but he suggests it has (until now) delivered decisive government, and the one long running (in fact, the world's longest running) political lobby group that gets no mention is the electoral reform society. There were some other points like that. But that is the power of this book: you don't have to agree with Campbell on everything to take home the central message. Politics can be changed, but only if people care enough to change it.

>19 sirfurboy: There's calculation behind the despair and hopelessness fomented by our sources of information. Hopeless people don't try to change things. *sigh* Effective, isn't it.

>20 richardderus: Sadly so.

5. Uncollected Poems - R S Thomas - Tony Brown (ed.)



I am not a great reader of poetry, nor much of an authority on it. I can't tell you what makes poetry good or bad, so I don't think I should say too much about the quality of this collection except to note that Thomas' poetry was well regarded, but these are some of his more obscure works.

But I did pick up this collection, drawn by one poem (The Climber) and kept here by some others. His Stop Press had me thinking, because the message of the poem makes you understand that this clergyman's views and ideas were rather complex, and he was clearly a deep thinker. The poem seemed to work on several levels, as did the Climber, and many others of these too.

One poet I have read a lot of is Blake. Thomas is not that similar to Blake, but the apparent simplicity and the hidden depths are things you find in Blake's poetry too. Don't misunderstand me though: these poems are not like Blake's. Just that if I didn't quite get what made poetry good before, I think I have a slightly better understanding now.

>22 sirfurboy: POETRY

*shriek*

>22 sirfurboy: When we were on holiday in Cricieth last year we stayed in R.S. Thomas's cottage. I remember doing some of his poetry at school and I think it put me off for like!

>23 richardderus: 🤣

>24 SandDune: Understandable! I showed one poem to a friend, and his comment was "that's not poetry. It doesn't even rhyme."

To which, of course, I had to recite:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue
Some poems rhyme
This one doesn't

And:

There was an old man from Cork
Who got limerick confused with haiku

That's about my level of poetry!

6. The Gathering - Anne Enright



This book comes with a well deserved Man Booker Prize warning. It is, I think, the epitome of what makes a good Man Booker Prize winner, and if you like all those kinds of books, you won't let a negative review from me dissuade you from enjoying this book. But all I can say is I didn't like it a lot. It was okay. Which is a pity when it had a lot going for it.

The author's writing is very accomplished. There is some wonderful prose in this work, and some very well done scenes. Technically it scores a lot of marks. It is the kind of writing beloved by the judges of that prize and it is easy to see why they noticed this one. But this is an example of how excellent writing doesn't always save a book. At least, not for me.

The narrative is very non linear. That's not a bad thing. Making the reader work a bit is an excellent things. Again this is clever stuff. But what did for this book is, quite frankly, naff characterisation. A book like this could be utterly brilliant if we were drawn into the characters and a part of their lives. But this book didn't do that. And because of that, I can't imagine I would ever look at it again, nor recommend it. Sorry.

I am trying to school myself to like more contemporary literary writing, and to find what so many others seem to find in it. I didn't find it here, though.

>27 sirfurboy: A lot of "literary" writing is about spaces left for the reader, requiring them to do the work...as you say, a good thing overall. A lot of *failed* literary writing does not grab the reader and compel their investment in the story. If you ever have a chance to read Robert Pinget's monadnock of the nouveau roman movement, THE INQUISITORY, you will see the most intense demand for reader investment in literature...more than ULYSSES...and, from my point of view, with the proper level of inducement to invest in the story. None of it is particularly character centered...no one has a name, the dialogue is descriptionless and unattributed...but the questions and answers are all so *directed* that it felt like I was pulled along in their slipstream.

A really long way to say, it CAN be done...she did not do it, but it *can*!

Hi Stephen. I didn't realize you were dyspraxic. Yes, it is missed a lot. I am pretty sure my step-daughter is dysgraphic, but she hasn't officially been diagnosed due to money. It's about $2000.

7. Billy and the Giant Adventure - Jamie Oliver



Jamie Oliver, yes that Jamie Oliver, writes a book for children. Good fun stuff, interspersed with tips on cooking good food (well obviously). Parts of this descend into slapstick. I expect the young children this is aimed at will love it. I just liked it, but don't take this as a negative review. However, from my sniffy adult perspective, it was not greatly deep or meaningful. I was, however, very impressed when he deals with dyslexia. We get more of the author delivered to us in those sections, and that is an important subject, appropriately handled. All in all, I liked it and I think some children will love it.

>28 richardderus: Thanks Richard. The Inquisitory looks interesting. I like the concept of an unreliable narrator, even though I don't always "get" them in their implementation (Life of Pi?!). This one, just based on the synopsis, looks like it could be a good example of it done right so I have added it to my TBR. Thanks.

>29 The_Hibernator: I think there is a lot of cross over between dyspraxia (you probably call it DCD in the US) and dysgraphia. These are all spectrum conditions, and I can well imagine the difficulties it gives for your step-daughter. I paid for a dyspraxia evaluation myself and the cost was a little less than that - translating to about $1,000. You may be able to find evaluations a little cheaper where you are (but clearly they need to be from recognised professionals or else they will be useless). In the UK there are ways to apply for evaluations paid for by the NHS, universities, education authorities or in workplaces, although it is usually not simple!

Is there anyway you can get some kind of preliminary evaluation? Someone who can at least discuss the issues and say yes, this could by dysgraphia or something similar? The worry I had before paying for my own evaluation was that although I suspected dyspraxia (always had done since I heard of it), there were elements of other things that meant I was worried I would pay for the evaluation only to be told, no it's not that but it might be something else. I spoke to my GP about it, and he agreed dyspraxia was likely. I then spoke to Dyspraxia UK on the phone before agreeing to go ahead and pay.

But, having done the due diligence, let me know. You could set up a gofundme, and I would be happy to chip in to that.

Hi Stephen. When I was in school the matter of learning difficulties was virtually unheard of. I think it’s a good thing there’s so much more attention for it now. It used to be kids were called lazy, unwilling, unattentive. A real diagnosis stops this. So I am very sorry to hear getting that necessary diagnosis is so expensive!
My husband has dyslexia. He is 72, and it still bothers him.

>27 sirfurboy: Sounded promising until the non-linear "thingy". It's like seafood, I don't like to have to crack the crab legs to get the meat out.....and I don't want to have to flesh out the story when I'm reading for pleasure!

>34 Tess_W: Hi Tess. Yes, absolutely. Thanks for stopping by.

>32 sirfurboy: Around here a learning disability medical diagnosis is useless in schools. To get special education help, you need the school to evaluate, which is free, but does not give an actual name to the learning disability. A diagnosis would be helpful in college, but since she's been ever-so-slightly improving year after year, it seems best to wait.

I dropped off May Day wishes, I thought...apparently not, though.

Hoping you're well and reading good stuff.

>37 richardderus: A very belated thanks, Richard. So it is August, I'm here, and that must mean I have submitted my final portfolio for my Creative Writing MA! Now to catch up with some threads.

8. Save the Cat Writes a Novel - Jessica Brody



Christopher Booker analysed the plots of stories and came up with 7 basic plots in a well regarded, and well argued thesis. Yet would everyone find the same plots as Booker? Brody doesn't - although there are similarities. In this book she presents a series of story archetypes, suggesting (as Booker did) that all fiction stories can fall into one or another. They are both right, but boundaries can be fuzzy. A book can be a bit of one thing and a bit of another. But where this book is excellent is in examining stories in these archetypes and demonstrating how they fit a structure - a series of beats in three acts that yields a complete and satisfying narrative arc. It also shows you how to do the same.

Among writers, it is said, there are plotters and pantsers. Plotters work everything out, whereas pantsers just do it all by instinct. Both hone in on the same structures, and - to be clear - the plans of plotters rarely follow the outline first created. Brody makes this very point. But in any case, whether you are planning a story, or else editing one you already wrote, this book is excellent in allowing you to understand where the story beats are, how to fix things when it has gone awry, and how to understand and pitch the story when done. It isn't, in fact, the only book on story writing you will ever need. But it is an excellent work on story structure. One I shall continue to consult, I am sure.

>38 sirfurboy: Congratulations on submitting that final portfolio! Welcome back.

>38 sirfurboy: I am glad to hear this - all the best for you!

>40 elorin: Thanks. I can't believe how quickly the time went though!
>41 SirThomas: Great to hear from you, thanks.

9. Math on Trial - Leila Schneps



How mathematics can be soundly misused. The focus is misuse in court cases, and this book focuses on 10 egregious examples of miscarriages of justice and dodgy use of mathematical and statistical reasoning to bamboozle the process and ensure wrong outcomes. It also looks at how we could do better. I have often said that we need more understanding of statistical reasoning in the world, and better education regarding it. This book shows why. For instance, the case of Luca de Berk - a nurse wrongly convicted of killing babies, and imprisoned for many years and failing many appeals until it became clear that she could not possibly have committed the murders, and, indeed, there was no evidence that any murders had been committed. It is a shocking and sobering read. Very well done.

>38 sirfurboy: 'll cross every crossable that you get a solid acceptance.

>43 sirfurboy: What a great title! And a very, very timely topic. Happy #WITMonth!

>44 richardderus: Thanks so much Richard.
>45 richardderus: Yes indeed.

Great to see you.

10. Zen in the art of Writing - Ray Bradbury



Short and somewhat repetitive reflections on writing by one of the masters of it. Plenty of good advice and some very interesting background about Bradbury himself. I seem to have read this twice. I remembered it all but can't recall when I read it before.

11. Superintelligence - Nick Bostrom



This is a book about what happens when (and not if) an AI achieves superintelligence. It comes with a sobering warning - that when this happens it will be too late at that stage for us to defeat it and switch it off. Terminator scenarios are not going to happen. But, of course, we have one primary advantage over the AI. We make the first move. We get to dictate the rules of the game. And fortunately we still have time for it. We are not that close to superintelligent AI yet.

Exploring what we need to do to ensure AIs are safe, and also examining ways in which we can blow it, this book is neither triumphalist or defeatist. It shows a real and concrete challenge, some huge risks, and also huge potential benefits of a benevolent superintelligent AI.

Written with understanding and authority, this is a great book. I am sure it is not the only book that has been or will be written on the subject but it should be a goto one.

Good to see you back, Stephen! Congrats on finishing your portfolio and I am sure it will be accepted, having an idea of the quality of your work.

>48 sirfurboy: Your précis is chilling. I'm not sure how we can shut down the greed that propels this dystopia from happening.

But why make it easy, right? Luck attend you all your more-numerous-than-mine-thank-gawd days.

>48 sirfurboy: You made me very curious - and my library had it available. I'm looking forward to reading it.

>51 SirThomas: Great :) Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it too.

>50 richardderus: Yep, it is not all doom and gloom - but the book is very clear about how serious a problem it is.

>44 richardderus: Well the marks are in, and I am delighted to say that I did indeed get a solid acceptance. My piece was rated first class and that will ensure I graduate from my MA with distinction.

I thoroughly enjoyed the MA, and would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes writing.

Now I have a book to finish!

>53 sirfurboy: Stephen! How wonderful! I'm so pleased for you, that is an amazing result. All the congratulations...now, on to the book.

Congratulations on your great achievement, Stephen!

Congrats!

>54 richardderus:, >55 SirThomas: and >56 drneutron:

Many thanks all.

Congratulations, Stephen! Well done!

>58 ronincats: Thanks so much Roni.

12. The Fantasy Fiction Formula - Deborah Chester



I did not rush to buy this book because I am wary of anyone offering formulas for creative endeavour. But, on the other hand, I know that there is a lot of method to planning a story, and in fantasy fiction that can be said in spades. As a child I imagined I would write fantasy one day, because it would be the easiest form of fiction. No research required. I can just make everything up! But this year, when I did actually plan a novel, and when my ideas unexpectedly coalesced on a fantasy novel, I came to realise that even a more adult view of the work involved was only half the story.

This was my writing process, in a nutshell:
1. Write a sentence;
2. Spent an hour researching how to dye fabric in Iron Age and Bronze Age societies;
3. Procrastinate;
4. Write another sentence, maybe two;
5. Access a research paper on bronze age quarrying techniques.

Which is just to say that worldbuilding is big in fantasy. But it is not the be all and end all of writing a fantasy story. Like any story, it needs structure, reversals, antagonists, needs and desires, goals, characters and lots of what Chester refers to as "spinning plates".

And this book will help with all of that. It is a writing guide from a fantasy perspective, but what is true here would be true in any genre. What was in here can perhaps largely be found in other books too. But if you are writing fantasy, this is a good book to read. This and "Save the Cat Writes a Novel".

Anyway, yes, I liked this one.

13. On the Origin of Time -Thomas Hertog



This is a fascinating book, part memoir, part biography of Hawking and part popular science. Written by someone who knew him well and worked with him on what is billed here as his final theory. Of course, the sceptic in me might ask to what extent the final theory as described in this book was actually Hawking's, when Hawking would be unable to verify that or disavow it - yet I have no good reason to doubt Hertog's honesty and integrity, so I'll give it a pass. The writing is very well done, engaging and keeping the subject interesting without getting too bogged down in intricacy, even though the intricacies of this branch of physics are almost unimaginable. Hertog does an excellent job of making the subject accessible to the reader, and in familiarising us with the state of understanding of our universe, as it is now, in Hawking's last theory.

14. The Creative Writing Coursebook: Forty Authors Share Advice and Exercises for Fiction and Poetry - Julia Bell



There are plenty of useful exercises in this book, designed as a coursebook. You could do well by starting with this and working your way through it, but it didn't really speak to me, and some of the discussion and anecdotes in the book did not seem as apposite as many of the other books I have worked through recently. Its strength is that it has so many exercises in one place. It is not alone in that.

I think, perhaps, a weakness for me was the multiplicity of voices. The books I have very much enjoyed on creative writing have tended to be from a single author. But, of course, there is strength in multiple perspectives. I feel I gained that from reading more than one book. So this book would probably speak to someone who wants lots of exercise and only wants to read one book. Probably very useful then. If you are happy to read more widely, there may be better options.

15. Can't and Won't - Lydia Davies



An excellent collection of short / flash fiction stories by an excellent writer. A great introduction to the form, good writing and plenty to think about. I liked plenty, I was "meh" on a good few, and yet maybe I just didn't get them. The great thing about stories like these are that if you don't get one, you move onto the next pretty quickly.

>60 sirfurboy: I saw this just after seeing a one-sentence review of Opacities: On Writing and the Writing Life by Sofia Samatar penned by Gautam Bhatia (whose fantasy novel I really liked) that reads: "Flawless book, no notes." Since he's also part of the editorial collective that runs this year's Hugo-winning semiprozine SStrange Horizons, I thought it would be worth mentioning to you.

>64 richardderus: - So if you look at my Goodreads, you'll see I just added that to my TBR! Thanks for the recommendation.

>63 sirfurboy: Must give her short short stories a try, Sir F.

Have a great Sunday.

>66 PaulCranswick: Good to see you Paul. Yes, they are interesting.

16. The Collected Schizophrenias - Esmé Weijun Wang



This book is a courageous and honest look at schizophrenia from an author who has suffered from the condition for a very long time. Carefully written, it provides excellent information, mixed with memoir and anecdote. We read about a university system that carefully pushed her away, and all manner of other times where an unyielding system created barriers. And yet amidst all this, the author managed to create and to love a life that no one would have chosen, and could only be lived courageously.

Often reflective and always informative, this book tells us so much about what it must be like to love with schizophrenia, without indulging in self pity. It is the kind of book everyone really should read, because in the reading we come to understand so much, not just about the author, but about ourselves.

17 Writing Compelling Fiction: Master the Fundamentals of Unforgettable Stories - Shirley Jump



Another good book on writing fiction. I have read quite a lot of these of late, so perhaps this one didn't bring much that was new to the table for me, but if you haven't read a lot of such books, this one will hit all the marks. It is well written, well structured and full of good advice. I liked it.

18. The Art of Memoir- Mary Karr



The author shares her wealth of experience in this important and readable work on writing memoir. There is a great deal of very good advice, pitfalls to avoid, ways to present the material, questions to answer. There is also detail about her own background that personalises the work, and adds to its power. Definitely worth reading by anyone who has ever considered writing memoir.

19. The Man Who Couldn't Stop - David Adam



This book is so good in so many ways. A personal memoir by an author who has lived with OCD for a very long time, and knows about it intimately. He describes exactly how it feels to be compelled to keep cleaning. He explains what it is and what it isn't and lets those without the condition to get into the head of someone with it. And that is so very important, because it *is* hard to comprehend if you don't experience it. Temptations to say "snap out of it" can be dispelled by Adam's insightful and self aware discussion.

But it is not just personal memoir. The book reviews literature and case studies and looks at the subject in the round. It discusses the role of intrusive thought, and shows us how common such thoughts actually are. He has some practical advice. For instance, for those tempted to say "I'm a little bit OCD" he does not berate them. Instead he meets that attitude and shows that yes, very often a very large number of us (in fact, pretty much the whole population) can have compulsive tendencies. Tendencies like having to go back to the car you just parked because you can't remember locking it, or tendencies to keep washing or doing whatever, just to be sure. And then he just adds "now imagine you couldn't stop."

OCD is debilitating, and so very hard to understand, but this book helps with the understanding. And also looks at broader issues too. There is so much we don't understand about the mind. Ignorance because we cannot know something is one thing, but ignorance as a deliberate policy would be a poor choice. Which is why I would suggest everyone reads this book. You probably know someone with OCD and/or anxiety disorders. You perhaps just don't know it yet. And you will also see a little of yourself in this book. You can count on it.

20. Pirates of Darksea - Catherine Doyle



I really like Catherine Doyle's writing. She knows how to tell a tale, and her books are perfect for children. This one is no exception. The story of a boy swept up in a magical pirate adventure, seeking the magic that will safe his brother, who is seriously ill in hospital. It has some wonderful characters, including a brilliant talking parrot, and a protagonist who has both desires, driving the story, and a deeper need that he must resolve. Plenty of adventure and plenty of depth wrapped in a very enjoyable and well written narrative. I really liked this one and it is thoroughly recommended for young readers or anyone who enjoys stories intended for younger readers.

>53 sirfurboy: A very belated congratulations on your M.A.

>73 SandDune: Thanks so much. Sorry I have been a stranger to your page lately. As you can see, I was keeping myself busy! I'll try to rectify that.

21. Lessons - Ian McEwan



The life story of one Roland Baines, who took a good few knocks along the way, and those knocks gradually shape him. I do like Ian McEwan's writing very much, even though sometimes his style can be a touch long winded. But perhaps that is unfair. I never felt like shouting for him to get on with it. Rather, he spent words building clever scenes and taking us deeply into characters. He left a good deal of work to the reader, in the best of traditions, so that the reader can see in overview how the events of the book affected Roland. We don't have to dwell on that, and yet there is more. What we have is a summary of a life lived. No fairtytale endings. Nasty people stay nasty. Effects of early events are come to terms with but never overturned. It is all very good stuff.

There was also a whole theme about an author and writing, and when writers talk about writing, you know they know what they are talking about. I liked that aspect a lot too, even though it was ultimately very sad. I liked this book, but it is one of those books that is all about the character. Much of the plot is stuff happening around him. It will have quite a specific appeal, I think, and it is unlikely to be a book I would read again. I did appreciate how this one was bang up to date though.

>75 sirfurboy: Interesting views on a book I disliked as self-indulgent and unpleasantly prolix.

Enjoy the week's reading, Stephen.

>76 richardderus: I see where you coming from regarding prolix. I noticed it - I just didn't dislike it for that. Thanks.

22. A History of Loneliness - John Boyne



John Boyne is an excellent author, and his work never disappoints. So here is another fine tale with emotional depth. A writer using his knowledge of Ireland and Irish culture to present a story wrapped up in historical events. Odran Yates has a childhood dominated by a terrible tragedy, and becomes a catholic priest, after his mother sees the calling in him, and he agrees. What then follows is an account of his life, growing up, training, serving two popes in Rome, and then through the years that follow.

There is a no holds barred look at the abuse scandal that engulfed the Irish catholic church, and this is brought home by the accusations of a priest and friend of Odran. The part where Odran serves the short lived Pope John Paul, and then his successor, is particularly interesting for resurrecting a theory about the Pope's death. The matter is unresolved as it is in life, and it is surely largely speculation to tie those events to the situation in Ireland. Speculation, but plausible for the story.

Ultimately there is a message right at the end that had me thinking of "The Remains of the Day". The writing is very clever in that it delivers the resolution neatly without announcing it.

I had some issues with the character of Odran as I was reading the book, but these were largely resolved by a recognition of unreliability in the narration. So again, cleverly done.

Ultimately I really liked this, and some very interesting questions asked by it.

>78 sirfurboy: I suspect the hill of anti-christian loathing I'd have to climb is just too steep for me to make for anything other than the most scathing non-fiction expose, but you make it sound tempting nonetheless.

Enjoy your weekend to come, Stephen.

Thanks Richard. I don't think Christianity - certainly not Catholicism - escapes that book without quite a lot of scathing criticism. Unless your objection is to reading anything with religious people in it at all, then you may not find it so very bad. But I think I liked The Heart's Invisible Furies more.

>48 sirfurboy: Thank you again for another BB. You are right, it should be a goto one.
Even if some things went over my horizon...

>81 SirThomas: Thanks! Glad you agree.

23. C. S. Lewis on Politics and the Natural Law - Justin Dyer, Micah Watson



C S Lewis is famous for many things, but certainly not as a politician. He famously refused a knighthood in case it caused people to assume he was pushing certain political ideas. He eschewed party politics and politicians. Yet the thesis of this work is that he did, in fact, have well thought out political views and he was very politically aware. Using primarily his writings, the book describes Lewis' belief that Christianity itself suggests certain conclusions about how one should engage in politics.

None of this is really party political, and the title of the work shows us why. Primarily Lewis' written contribution to politics is seen in his writings and understanding of natural law, as well as the importance of moral education. These are political ideas, yes, but they exist at a more fundamental level. A framework, rather than a fleshed out manifesto. And that's a good thing, because too often political discourse begins with a manifesto and the framework is then forced to fit.

Whether you accept Lewis' view or not, his "The Abolition of Man" is an important work, and understanding Lewis' views would be one good way to counteract those who wish to co-opt this studiously apolitical writer for their own party political purposes.

24. Probability and Forensic Evidence - Ronald Meester



Heavy going at times, but an extremely important book. Probability has been famously misunderstood in multiple criminal trials and led to miscarriages of justice. A number of these are analysed in chapter five. Inevitably one of these is the Sally Clark case, but just as important is the Lucia de Berk case, perhaps the greatest miscarriage of justice in the history of the Netherlands. The groundwork of the earlier chapters allows the reader to see just how flawed some of these cases were. But there is also a subtly to much of this.

These will not be the last miscarriages of justice based on dodgy statistics and misunderstandings of probability. The book goes into great detail about DNA, but it is not just DNA, and the theory and techniques discussed will go a long way to creating a healthy scepticism of misused numbers.

What is sad is that this book will never be more than a niche interest. I have long felt that mathematics education spends too little time on statistics and probability - a subject we all use every day whether we know it or not. If we really want to improve numeracy skills in a way that has real benefits, it would be found in teaching a lot more about probability and statistics, and some of the information here would be spot on for that.

>84 sirfurboy: "Lies, damned lies, and statistics" is Disraeli's most enduring aperçu. It's hard to grasp the meaning of "statistically significant" and harder still to get probability's usual presentation as a ratio.

A *huge* reorientation of public education would be required to achieve that numeracy goal.

>85 richardderus: Yes. It would. But certainly it is sorely needed.

Well, if I ruled the world...

Thanks.

25. Meddling Kids -Edgar Cantero



The premise of this book sold it to me. The Blyton Summer Detective Club (of Blyton Hills, Oregon) solved various mysteries in the 1970s. An adventurous group of children and a dog who uncovered a string of bad guys dressing up as ghosts and spooks to frighten people away for nefarious materialistic ends. And they'd have got away with it if it were not for those meddling kids. The links to both the Famous Five and Scooby Doo are obvious. It is part parody, but also part a what if. The kids have grown up, and their lives are a mess. And it seems that not all of the baddies really were just a guy in a mask.

So it is a good story, with some good characters, but the premise could only carry this so far. The adventures that followed were told well enough, with a mix of humour and intrigue, but the humour was a bit in-your-face, and ultimately the book lacked subtlety. It was one last great adventure for the re-united Scooby Gang... I mean Summer Detective Club. But I struggled to finish it. In the end, I don't think I cared very much.

Was it good or just okay? It was a good idea and good in parts, but I am not sure I can really say I liked it. It was OK.

Number 24 is on the list, hoping I can find it somewhere. I completely agree that people need to understand how to interpret probability and statistics, and that this is a complete failure of the education system. And surprisingly, even in the engineering and science realms, I find way too many that don't understand these concepts.

>88 drneutron: Thanks, yes, I hope you can find a copy. I definitely agree.

26. Wonderbook - Jeff VanderMeer



I have read a lot of books on writing recently, and they are filled with excellent advice. Most of my reading is ebook wise or even audio though. But this is one book that you definitely need the paper version of. It is both a beautiful coffee table book, and also a mine of useful information for anyone interested in writing speculative fiction. It is a book to be dipped in and out of, but simply browsing it won't show the depth of coverage.

I bought this is an actual bookshop (Waterstones, Piccadilly). I was happy to do so and do not regret it. A lovely book with a fresh approach. Although it won't replace some of the best books out there, it mixes things up nicely for anyone who has read too many book on writing!

>90 sirfurboy: I'm impressed at the evident production values the publishers lavished on the project. Good value for the...pound, I suppose. Have a very satisfying weekend-ahead's reads.

>90 sirfurboy: You got me with that one Sir F.

Have a great weekend.

27. Twenty-One Welsh Princes - Roger Turvey



A good accessible history of 21 Welsh rulers given the title of prince as well as two famous Gwenllians and Siwan, so it is not just male rulers. The book contains a number of colour photographic plates. Turvey is a good historian, and the material is reliable, albeit it is not a book to name its sources. A good solid introduction to the subject.

>92 PaulCranswick: Glad to hear it :) Enjoy!

>93 sirfurboy: Another interesting looking book, Sir F, and on a subject I am quite ignorant upon.

Thanks Paul.

28. Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart



I generally avoid political memoirs, for all the usual reasons. I occasionally pick one up, but mostly they are a primary source for the historians, and that is all. But Rory Stewart manages to be something that few politicians have been: an interesting, thoughtful outsider who (briefly) shook up the political system and then was culled from the Tory party, along with every other Conservative politician I could have (in some hypothetical political system that allowed me to) actually voted for. His friendship with Tim Farron also speaks volumes for the man.

But having picked up the book, was it any good? Well yes, actually. Stewart is an interesting writer (no idea how much he wrote himself, of course. Another problem with political memoirs. But the point is, this is well written). He focusses mostly on his time as an MP, which makes sense, although I am almost as interested as to what he did before. That did get coverage though, and we see his love for and deep knowledge of Afghanistan throughout the book. A level of expertise that the Tory party could surely have made great use of, if they had not been so utterly dysfunctional. Sadly Stewart was long gone when Raab was holidaying (and not delegating) during the Afghan crisis.

We hear why Stewart chose the Conservative party, and perhaps one can see he was always at the liberal wing of the party. We see his honest assessment about the failings of our political system, and an equally honest assessment about himself. We see how his occasional missteps affected him and haunted him, and we get a no holds barred and clearly very accurate assessment of his colleagues, including Johnson, May, Raab, Truss and others. His respect for Davide Gauke shines through, and it appears to be for good reason.

I don't agree with Stewart on everything. In fact, perhaps there would be many areas we would disagree on, but here was an intelligent and passionate politician who wanted to make a difference, but who, ultimately, was prevented from doing so by a broke political system.

For most of us, Stewart sprang to fame when he ran for leadership of the conservative party in the internal leadership election that saw Johnson spring to power. In another world, had Stewart won, I wonder how much better the world would be. But I have never misunderstood the ability of the Conservative party to disappoint, and so really, there was no possible world in which that could have happened. But yes, Stewart gets this accolade: the worst thing you can say about him was that he chose to be a Conservative politician.

Definitely worth reading.

29. The Great Tide - The story of the 1953 flood disaster in Essex - Hilda Grieve



This book has to be ordered from Essex Record Office, and is not easily obtainable by other means. Grieve, however, has produced a remarkable work of history regarding the 1953 flood that devastated the North Sea coast, both in the Netherlands and in England.

It is a fascinated and largely forgotten chapter. But I remember my father telling me about it as he drove us through Essex, near Leigh-on-Sea, to visit some relative whose name escapes me. My dad had a great capacity for knowing every root and branch of our large family and finding relatives I never knew about in every which place! But it is more the vision of the sea overwhelming the sea defences in Essex lowlands that stays with me from that trip.

The book is tremendous source material and a valuable record of many significant acts of bravery, and the way the communities came together to help one another at a time of need. It is not, however, a riveting story! But it is not meant to be. And, in fact, it does contain many and diverse short stories and examples.

Probably not something to recommend to the general reader, but it is such an excellent book for someone interested in this historical subject.

>98 sirfurboy: I'm still unclear as to why no one's ever made a disaster movie about this immense event, honestly. Ready-made for today's spectacle-centered film world. Ah well. It's far from the only story I wonder this about.

Cheers, Stephen!

>99 richardderus: You're right - it would make a great disaster movie. But it seems that not a lot of people even remember it happened.

30. Slave to Fortune D.J. Munro



Stolen away from his home by Barbary pirates, a 14 year old boy, Tom, from a gentry family that has fallen on hard times, is transported to Algiers and spends years there as a slave, earning the respect and friendship of his master, and promised to his daughter in marriage. Then politics and events turn and Tom finds himself free and back in christendom, but there is still a long road ahead of him and mysteries to unravel. There is one mystery that is, perhaps, signalled but not overt, that leads to a satisfying conclusion to the book.

This book is well researched, well written and in a grand tradition of such adventure stories. Perhaps a tradition that we see less of these days. It doesn't fall back on lazy tropes though, and creates a story that is educational and satisfying.

>100 sirfurboy: 2028 will be the 75th anniversary...maybe then? We can hope.

I am thinking of writing something about it. No idea whether it will get published (short story in the first instance). Who knows, maybe someone could make a novel from it.

31. How Westminster Works . . . and Why It Doesn't - Ian Dunt



This book is a much needed delve into the intricacies of the British political system, carefully researched and very well presented, bringing out all the flaws that so many of us see plainly, and a whole load of others that are hidden away. I have long despaired of our first-past-the-post parliamentary democracy with its unclear distinction between executive and legislature, and the ongoing power grab by the executive. No one could have lived through the chaos of the Johnson administration, with eyes open, not to see how that has and will continue to be abused. But reading this book, I realised it was even worse than I had thought (and I thought I was pretty sceptical of the whole thing).

Ian Dunt is brilliant, because he pulls no punches, but is also clear on downsides of alternatives, and happy to admit where things work well - even if they shouldn't. For instance, having gone through the way that legislation fails to receive any meaningful scrutiny in the commons (and he is dead right on that), he then says that the bill goes to the Lords, and now the grown-ups are in charge. Brilliant description, and yet he is quite open about the problems of Britain's anachronistic second chamber. Open, and yet he is quite right about how and why it seems to work. Indeed we only need look at the last shower to see it works. When a bunch of Eton school toffs, one of whom wanders around in a top hat and ill fitting suit, start complaining because the Lords stopped them pushing through stuff, without scrutiny, that no one wanted or voted for, you know that the adults did take charge.

At the end of the book there are excellent suggestions on how to change things (including Lords reforms. Kick out the rest of the hereditary peers - quite right. Stop the blatant political appointments, a torrent of which were spewed in there by a government that could not seem to hold onto its leaders. Quite right too. But don't replace it with just another elected party political body like the commons, that would remove the cross benches and allow a party a majority. That would break it. Quite right too). All the suggestions are sound - and that is why none are likely to happen. The electoral reform society is Britain's oldest political society (maybe the world's oldest). But every time electoral reform is suggested for the commons, the same old beneficiaries of the unreformed system vote it down. The British political system has an infinite capacity to disappoint.

But even if you profoundly disagree with everything I have said to this point, there is one reason everyone really *should* read this book. That is the carefully researched and authoritatively written account of the debacle that was the British withdrawal from Afghanistan. A harrowing account of people left behind to die, because (unlike, say, the French), there was no planning for the withdrawal when it was clear it would happen, there was criminally insufficient resource given when it occurred, a Cabinet Minister would not delegate authority, and went off on holiday, so that people were left to die, but somehow (and all fingers point to the person in charge) a whole plane could take off, empty but for a handful of people and lots of animals that were not even in danger. Because that would be bad PR. One of the most disgraceful incidents in modern British history, and here is an authoritative account of it. It deserves attention.

>103 sirfurboy: Go you! Get that story a-goin'!

>104 sirfurboy: Get the bishops, one and all, out of the Lords. Forever and ever, world without end.

The British political system has an infinite capacity to disappoint. Remove "British".

Well done indeed, sir.

>105 richardderus: Thanks for the encouragement. Yep, I have somewhere in mind I could send it, as long as I can get it written by mid January.

As for the House of Lords, yes, Dunt suggests throwing out the bishops along with the remaining hereditary peers.

Thanks again.

>97 sirfurboy: We are reading Politics on the Edge for my next RL book club meeting. I'm looking forward to it.

>107 SandDune: Excellent. This will definitely be one on my recommended reading list. Thanks for stopping by.

32. Wales, England's Colony? - Martin Johnes



I thought this book might be a bit one sided, based on the title, but the question mark is key here. And perhaps Betteridge's law of headlines can be validly applied here. Johnes does not spend the whole book berating the evil colonial English power. Instead this is a much more reasonable and properly researched history that puts the grand events of Welsh history into a proper context. It was written to accompany a TV programme I believe, but Johnes is a professional historian and so he writes with authority, but reasonably fluidly too. Not as in depth, perhaps, as R R Davies, but with good coverage. Not everyone will think reading history is a great leisure time activity, but for those who do enjoy it, this is a good work.

33. Aspects of the Novel - E. M. Forster



A series of lectures given by the author to students, demonstrating an able intelligence, a self deprecating manner, not a little humour and a thorough understanding of the novel form. He considers the question of what makes a novel, and provides excellent answers. I think it is very good indeed that the content of this book is not restricted to the students that got to hear them delivered. Timeless information by a great novelist. Not a how-to book, but something more than that.

>110 sirfurboy: It's what my first boss in publishing called "the best why-to I've ever read." I certainly agree.

>111 richardderus: Oh that is a perfect description! Yes.

34. And they came to Elim (volume 1) - Maldwyn Jones



This is a thoroughly researched and well put together history of the Elim Penetcostal Church in the UK and Ireland (volume 1). It is not going to be a page turning novel that I will recommend highly - but it is not meant to be that. Rather it does exactly what it claims - documenting the history of this pentecostal denomination. And this is an excellent thing, because such histories have largely been lacking. Donald Gee wrote something in the 1950s, and there are a couple of biographies of the founder of Elim, George Jeffreys. But Jeffreys left Elim in 1940, and those works do, obviously, focus on one person rather than the larger movement.

Pentecostal theology was, according to Donald Gee (and Gee was right), focussed on the second coming of Christ, believing it to be imminent. Perhaps for this reason, few saw the value of writing any history of the movement. Perhaps there were other reasons too, but other than a Ph.D. thesis, I am not aware of any major treatment of the history of this movement up to the point of the split with Jeffreys. Gee says it was over British Israelism. Others suggest the matter was church governance. The truth is it was both, and Maldwyn Jones ably brings the threads together and shows how they were intertwined.

Making careful use of sources, and a well argued synthesis, this book is the best history I have read to date on this subject. Perhaps not of very wide interest - it is a research interest of mine. I'd recommend the book to anyone interested in the history of Elim though.

>113 sirfurboy: Literary kryptonite for me. Evasive maneuvers initiated.

>114 richardderus: Hah! Yep, I didn't think you'd be a fan! No worries.

35. Stenen voor een ransuil - Maarten 't Hart



A beautifully written story by an established Dutch writer. This was his breakthrough novel, and apparently semi-autobiographical. It looks at the coming of age of the protagonist, Ammer Stols, and then moves beyond that into his adult life. He struggles with acceptance, with faith and with sexuality and these struggles follow him into adulthood. Difficult themes, sensitively handled. It is remarkable that this book was written in 1971, and it resonates today too. Something of a Dutch classic.

36. Tress of the Emerald Sea - Brandon Sanderson



This is an excellent fantasy tale, a hero's journey that turns the old farmboy seeks princess trope on its head, and has a growing love between an ordinary island girl and the son of a duke who is kidnapped by a sorceress. Thus Tress sets out on the adventure to find her in a very well constructed and wonderfully imagined magical land. Excellent worldbuilding, including the eponymous Emerald Sea, which is not a sea as we would imagine it. Great stuff there. Plenty of adventure. The writing is excellent, and the tale hangs together well. The ending is very well done too. A great story by a great writer.

>117 sirfurboy: And another BB.
It's currently on loan at my library, but I've reserved it and it should be available this year.

>118 SirThomas: Oh good stuff :) Happy reading.

37. The Inquisitory - Robert Pinget



Some people write conventional stories with tried and tested structures, and some people try something different. And all too often the trying something different falls horribly flat because the writer forgot the basics of storytelling somewhere along the way.

This story is deeply experimental, and definitely in the something different category. It is made entirely from a series of questions and answers between an unnamed inquisitor and a servant in a country chateau who is the very epitomy of an unreliable narrator. This format, if not different enough, also messes with punctuation and the like, to create quite an unusual reading experience.

It is definitely a very clever novel, and one that can inexplicably keep the reader going. Inexplicably because there are some really rather long digressions into things that just don't seem to be important. When the protagonist asks "what's the point of all this?" he is not the only one who wants to know the answer to that question.

The book works by sucking the reader into a kind of whodunnit. Except whodunnit is not a good enough description. Did anything actually even happen? But the reader's engagement is the strong point of the book. It is an unusual work, and its strength is perhaps its weakness too. You are going to need to want to read a different kind of story before engaging with this. But if you are happy to do that, it has a lot to offer.

>120 sirfurboy: It was one of my formative reads in the 90s. So weird to be tugged into the slipstream by a book published when I was a toddler! Gibson and Stephenson et alii had nothin' on Pinget...still don't.

>121 richardderus: Yes, its a very clever book. I think it was a recommendation from you, so thanks. I am glad I read it.

38. French Short Stories, Volume 1 / Nouvelles françaises, tome 1 - Pamela Lyon (Ed.)



Reading in a second language can be slow work, and it is easy to miss detail, and even easier to miss nuance. Thus the idea of parallel text is great. It is now possible to read a piece in French and compare what you read to a professional translation. Still reading material twice, but it helps a lot.

However there are two reasons where this nook falls down. Firstly, the stories are rather hit or miss, and as a collection, I was very disappointed. Was this a copyright issue? Surely Penguin could have done better in obtaining more interesting texts.

The second problem was that sometimes the translations were a little too fluid. This book would have worked best by keeping translations as literal as possible, so changing measurements from metric to imperial was a very odd choice, and there were various other points were the translator's choice might actually trip up the inattentive.

I bought this in a second hand bookshop. I am glad I didn't pay full price for it.

>123 sirfurboy: A sound idea indifferently executed is probably more frustrating than a bad idea would be. It strikes me that this is one of those ideas that can never truly succeed because every reader's idea of what success would look like is going to be different enough to ensure no one will be happy at the end of the day.

I'm very happy the Pinget was one of my suggestions, and that it succeeded.

>124 richardderus: Yes, you are probably right. And short stories are tricky things in any case. Thanks.

39. The Woman Warrior - Maxine Hong Kingston



I forget why I put this book on my TBR list, but having read it, I expect it must have gone on last year when learning about creative non fiction. I think that is broadly the genre for this, but it somewhat defies attempts to classify it. Written as five chapters around five Chinese tales, this book delves into memoir, but also contains fiction. The boundaries between fact and fiction are perhaps not always clear, and it seems it has received both criticism and acclaim for this reason. I won't try to unravel my thoughts on that.

What I will say is that there is some excellent writing here, and a very interesting use of varying points of view. The author uses first, second and third person in a meaningful blend that actually works. It is a deliberate and meaningful choice that creates a very interesting feel to the narrative.

We get a lot about the author here, and a lot about how it feels to be a first generation Chinese immigrant woman living in America. The use of the Chinese tales adds a great depth to the book. But what genre does it sit in? I have no idea.

40. Opacities: On Writing and the Writing Life - Sofia Samatar



An interesting set of essays, in an epistolary format, discussing writing, grasping at ideas, discussing quotations. It is not a didactic work. It doesn't purport to teach writing, but explores it instead. This makes it fresh and interesting. An enjoyable and thought provoking work.

>127 sirfurboy: Her Olondria books made a splash ten years or so ago, and she's worked steadily since, so she must have decided it's time to muse on this career she's having. Her capabilities are well-established so it's kinda expected...the midcareer musings book is pretty standard in writerly arcs.

Happy Wednesday.

>128 richardderus: would you recommend the Olondria books? I haven't read them.

41. Producing and Debating History: Historical Knowledge on Wikipedia - Petros Apostolopoulos (others)



An open access book all about writing history on Wikipedia. How could I resist? So I downloaded it and read it right away. It is quite interesting and the author has done a great job in both summarising Wikipedia content and editing policies, and also in looking at why editors are drawn to spending their free time willingly writing encyclopaedia articles about history. Plenty of interesting insights in there.

On policies, this might be a great book for the uninitiated to learn about Wikipedia's policies. There is no doubt there are a lot of these and a minefield of bolded terms (like WP:V for instance) that seem quite meaningless until you realise they all link to a small library of policy documents. The learning curve is steep, and there are traps for the unwary, so this book could serve to give the reader a good grounding of core policies and expectations before embarking on an editing career.

Except there are a few errors. More matters of nuance than glaring errors, but all the same, the book is not a substitute for reading the actual policies. And for the established editor readers, there is perhaps insufficient pushback and challenge on these policies. Yes, verifiability and neutral point of view are core policies, but why not focus on where these go wrong when to bureaucratically applied, and where the meaning of neutrality is unexplored. This could spend a little less time on just telling us the policies and more time critiquing them.

But it is about writing history, and that was what drew me to this, not the discussion of policies. I moved quickly through these and looked at what the author had found out about why people edit these articles. But here I was also somewhat disappointed. It is very American centric, and it also focuses on a small number of big articles. That's not the interesting stuff. The history at the margins is much more interesting. Some brilliant articles get written there and some terrible ones. The policy process that so much time is spent on operates differently in the smaller niches. Really I did not find this told me as much as I hoped, but it is still interesting.

There are a bunch of pretty connection maps showing how editor interests intersect. Again, the choice of areas to look at made that less helpful than I would hope, but it was interesting that the Boy Scouts of America articles showed up there, because that is a well known walled garden in Wikipedia editing, and I think that was clear from the maps - which then allowed identification of other potential walled gardens.

All in all an enlightening read, but a lot more could be said. But the book is free. That's a bonus.

>129 sirfurboy: Mildly. I found them perfectly readable. I think fantasy is pretty much interchangeable so am very unlikely to yodel my lungs out for any iteration of it. Navola, despite being richly imagined and well-crafted, only got 3.5* from me. Just not all that involving to me.

>130 sirfurboy: I find Wikipedia a great starting place. Freddie Mercury's bio entry is my example of why it should never be trusted as a final source...partisans of his straightness (!) and his evident queerness have, at different times, been ascendant. It is absolutely inevitable these things will happen. Someone with an intensely right-wing pro-god bias has their hooks into the recent deaths column, focusing on right-wing minor politicians, church religious figures of no importance outside their religion, and sports figures. One nutter posts profiles and career obits for fucking racehorses!

>131 richardderus: Great, thanks. It tells me enough that I think I'll enjoy them, but I won't buy the box set for Christmas!

>132 richardderus: Oh, yes, don't get me started. Wikipedia decided, for instance, that this unreleased computer game (DarkwebSTREAMER) that no one has even played is definitely permanently notable, along with Donald Trump's mugshot and pretty much everything else he has ever said or done, but all the schools in Port Harcourt, Nigeria were recently axed, whereas this American one: Greenfield High School is definitely notable, because, reasons. And note that I personally doubled the size of that article this morning, by which I mean I added two sentences! For years it has just told us "Greenfield High School is located in Greenfield, Massachusetts, United States."

People write about what interests them, so obits for racehorses definitely doesn't surprise me. Apparently there are nearly 7 million articles on English Wikipedia, but 5 to 6 million of them probably look like this Tom Doyle Lake. I am on the fence as to whether the world would be better if they just deleted the database, or whether it really is the democratisation of knowledge that it was intended to be.

>133 sirfurboy: It's never going to be different. The open-source idea has a lot of appeal until people on the nasty, brutish side of life get hold of it. The paradox of tolerance is never more tested past its limits than in publicly editable databases. Scum needs to leave its ring around every bathtub.

42. How Language Began: The Story of Humanity's Greatest Invention - Daniel L Everett



Goodness me, a lot of people are about this book. I don't know why. Everett has a thesis and he argues it throughout, whilst taking the reader on an interesting journey about why we have language, what it is, where it came from. He argues for a much older origin than some other writers, and he also argues cogently that language is a human invention. His is not the only thesis out there, and people who like Chomksy's theories seem particularly likely to be upset in their comments about this book. But Everett is not the only writer to diverge from Chomsky.

There are limits to the theory, and Everett explains the limits. We know that there is conjecture here, and that is okay. In exploring limits of our knowledge, Everett digresses onto other subjects, and explains them well. He uses his first hand knowledge as a field researcher to tell us about the wonderful variety of languages, as well as their commonalities. He explains how the human vocal apparatus and the ear are a matched set, and I was particularly interested for that clear and (with hindsight, obvious) explanation as to why human hearing range is as limited as it is.

My favourite book on this subject still has to be Deutscher's "The Unfolding of Language," but this book managed to approach the subject differently and in a very interesting way. No thesis is beyond challenge, and a speculative one that is clear about its own limits needs to be understood for what it is. A great book for anyone interested in language written by a competent specialist, with a bold and interesting thesis. I'd recommend this.

Solstice cheer, Stephen!

>136 richardderus: Thanks Richard, And to you too. And thanks for all the comments and thoughts through the year.

43. French Stories / Contes Français - Wallace Fowlie



A collection of short stories with parallel text. I read a different collection recently and was unhappy with the story selection. This selection is much better for selecting from a wide range of very famous authors. Yet I noticed that a French commentator on Amazon said "Ceci n'st pas un bon selection - les auteurs classiques mais une selection un peu bizarre, pas si interessante." So it seems that you can't keep everyone happy. Short stories are a bit like that, of course. Sometimes they grab you, sometimes they don't - but at least another one will be along soon.

Anyway I thought this was a pretty good selection, and a useful book.

>137 sirfurboy: De rien, mon ami.

>138 sirfurboy: It's a dead cert that SOMEone will be annoyed and snark about anything at all.

44. La vie secrète des jeunes - Riad Sattouf



A collection of cartoon strips from the eponymous comic strip in Charlie Hebdo. Bought the book for £1 on a Waterstones reduce to clear bookshelf. The strips are meant to be humorous and sometimes hard hitting reflections based on the real life observations of Sattouf. It has won an award, so my view of it is clearly not a general one. But if these were funny, then much of the humour was lost on me. I thought it might be a translation issue, but it can't be that. I was very clear what the translation would be in many instances and still didn't get them. There was one strip almost entirely in English, and I still didn't get it. Some good observations, I think, but I think I know why it was on the bargain bookshelf.

Nadolig Llawen, Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays!

>141 SandDune: Diolch. Nadolig llawen i chi gyd.

Thinking of you at this time, Sir F.

45. Running With Horses - Jason Cockroft



This is a well written and beautifully illustrated young adult book about Rabbit who is taken by his friend Joe to allegedly see a dead horse, but they find, instead, someone in a hole (which gave me thoughts of Niccolo Ammaniti's Io non ho paura - but, in fact, this story is not like that one at all. Rabbit helps the guy in the hold, and - as they say - no good deed goes unpunished. The guy escapes and this leads to danger and intrigue. The Antagonist is Joe's older brother, who is a nasty and dangerous piece of work. It all leads up to a great climax. The resolution works well enough. Not stunningly original, but the writing carries it through. An enjoyable work.

46. Fallout - Lesley Parr



This is a really good mid-grade story about a boy, Marcus Pritchard, growing up in a bad family in the early 1980s in a small South Wales town, where everyone knows everyone, and no one trusts a Pritchard. But Marcus makes friends with an old man who has a nuclear bunker in his back garden, and then there is this really annoying girl who is into her peace marches and shouty political demonstrations. And through it all, Marcus has to stop blowing stuff up, and wade through the minefield of expectations and somehow discover friendship, and learn who he is.

I loved the setting, the attention to detail and the characters. The story was very well done too. It is not totally original as a story. If you have read a lot of the genre, you can kind of tell who will make friends with whom and who is going to be a problem. But then, most of the intended audience will not have read a lot in the genre, and so this will be fresh and exciting and an enjoyable book. Indeed, I enjoyed it too.

47. Cornwall in Short - Kate Horsley & PT McAllisetr



A beautiful collection of short stories all written about Cornwall. The sense of place comes through in each story, but each author's approach is so different that the book conveys not just the sense of Cornwall as a special place, but also its diversity. The stories refuse to be stereotyped and constrained, and consist of a range of styles and a range of themes. Watch out for the story by one of the editors, Kate Horsley, which elegantly carries quite an emotional punch, as does the surrealist writing of Becky Wildman. Some stories are pleasantly disturbing, and others just lovingly written, with some wonderful little details and observations.

It is always the case with a collection of short stories that some will have more resonance than others, and what a reader gets from them depends a little on what the reader brings to them, but a strength of this collection was that none of the stories disappoint. If you can't come to Cornwall, this is a great way to visit the place virtually.

48. From Pitch to Publication: Everything You Need to Know to Get Your Novel Published



I mostly read this earlier this year when putting together a piece of work for my Creative Writing course. Plenty of good advice from an author who was also an agent, and really understood the trade. The book is a little dated. I bought my copy second hand, and things will have changed, but much of the advice remains timeless. An interesting read, sometimes a little dense, but the author has a lot to say, so it is hard to fault her for that.