BOOKS
A low-fi list of books I've read over the last 20 years or so. Books are listed in reverse order - from the ones I've read most recently, backwards - so the ones at the top are the ones I'm reading right now. These entries are the books I particularly liked.
BOOKS I WAS READING IN 2014
Brideshead Revisted by Evelyn Waugh
For the Love of Physics by Walter Lewin
From the end of the rainow to the edge of time—a journey through the wonders of physics.
The Surgeon of Crowthorne by Simon Winchester
Hitchhikes across America The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do
Charmin' tale. Child of God by Cormac McCarthy
Finally! A stink Cormac. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die edited by Robert Dimery
With Spotify (and Youtube for the Fab Four stop-outs) and a complicated system for streaming music across the room to the amp, this book makes a nice, distracting way to while away a few unemployed afternoons. Up to approx #150... running playlist
Biggles of the Special Air Police by Capt. WE Johns
A collection of stories too dull to make it to full novels.
Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes & Erik M Conway
How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming.
Museum of Hoaxes by Alex Boese
Fun. Do love a good hoax or con artist!
The Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories by James McConnachie and Robin Tudge
Great!
Chappish good larks by Jove.
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
A sparkling combination of conceits.
The Six Million Dollar Man: Wine, Women & War by Michael Jahn
Not quite as cerebral as the TV show. Also, Needless Alliteration alert: there's barely any wine.
The Communist Manfesto by Karl Marx & Fredrich Engels
YAWN
The Case for Astrology by John Anthony West & Jan Gerhard Toonder
It hasn't sold me, but this was a very sane discussion of evidence for and against, and not-least got me up to speed enough to be able to understand The Luminaries (read in tandem, tho this one's 500pp shorter!).
Can we Travel Through Time? The 20 Big Questions of Physics by Michael Brooks
Some really great explanations of tricky quantum biz.
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Nth time thru. Still love this story, and even more so having learned how careful HST was with every word, despite the appearance of drug-induced frenzy.
We Are the Weather Makers by Tim Flannery
Well overdue. Some of the science in this groundbreaker has been updated since, but tis still a very readable intro. Slightly jangling, perhaps, with the benefit of hindsight.
the World of Karl Pilkington by Ricky Gervais
Radio transcripts. The fine art of cruelty, but some gems too, like...
Is it Worth Going to the Moon?
There is nowt on it so you might as well look at it from the world, as it don't get any better the closer you get.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Kingesque story, with just a little too much 'King' ("hurt eyes").
Nth time thru. This was my first ever 'favourite novel ever'.
Life: How Did it Get Here by the Jovies
Anti-evolutionary arguments. Woo.
The Geek Manifesto (Why Science Matters) by Mark Henderson
Some really great stuff here on theinteractions (good and bad) of science and politics. I quite loved the comparison of evidence-based policy and policy-based evidence. Some annoying bits too, such as a bit of Green hatery, but then it made me rethink some Greeny biz too, so not a bad result.
Chrysalids by John Wyndham
The first scifi i ever read, back before I even knew it was scifi. As great now as it was then (tho the ending still sucks, Sealand aside), and I may even have got Maxine interested in reading it!