Apr 20, 2009
The Bethlehem Murders – Matt Rees
The truly wonderful thing about reading fiction is that it can transport you to places that you might otherwise never go to, and give you an insight into a culture, a country or a conflict which you simply cannot gain if you just read the news. The Bethlehem Murders is a murder mystery set in modern day Palestine, with a backdrop of violence, injustice and religious and political unrest. You might wonder... read more
Mar 27, 2009
Saffron Dreams – Shaila Abdullah
If your husband, who is a waiter in the Window on the World Restaurant in one of the Twin Towers, is killed during the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, you would have every right to be angry at the perpetrators. You would have every right to hate them. You would have every right to express your anguish of your pain and loss. But if your husband, who is a waiter in the Window on... read more
Mar 25, 2009
Beat The Reaper – Josh Bazell
A single word came to my head when I finished this book. Wow. What a ride. This was a clever combination of graphic violence, black humour, thrills and empathy and it was a story which just kept you on the edge of your seat. For a first novel, it is an explosion from an author who has a fantastic way with words, the ability to craft strong characters and a knack for painting an image which is sometimes... read more
Mar 20, 2009
Deep Thinking The Human Condition: New Ideas We Can’t Do Without – S.A. Odunsi
In the modern world, why is it that half of the population lives in relative affluence, with abundant food, good housing, employment and luxuries, yet the other half suffers from persistent underdevelopment and poverty? How is it that with technological advances, ever increasing business and growing education that a large number of people spend each day merely trying to survive? This is the question that... read more
Mar 7, 2009
Irrationality – Stuart Sutherland
All humans are inherently irrational. ‘Except me!’ I hear you cry ‘I am completely rational. It’s everyone else who is irrational’. According to Stuart Sutherland, as much as you might like this assumption, that is all it is. As humans, we are all irrational and science has now proved it. This is an interesting examination of the irrationality of the human psyche. Sutherland... read more
Mar 5, 2009
Life of Pi – Yann Martel
Four years ago I bought a copy of Life of Pi by Yann Martel at a time when I was trying to read more modern fiction and prize winners. I remember loving it. I loved it so much that I recommended it to others without hesitation and it sat on my bookshelf waiting to be read again. Shift forward to the present day, and Life of Pi was handed out to us in our book group. I took it with pleasure, glad of the... read more
Mar 1, 2009
Now Is Gone – Geoff Livingstone
There are a lot of books about social media appearing in the market at the moment. Some of them bring new ideas and revelations, while others simply rehash the same information. In both cases, however, the biggest problem with writing about the current internet phenomenon is it is moving and changing faster than the books can be written and published. As such, aside from a couple of seminal books on the... read more
Feb 26, 2009
The Code Book – Simon Singh
Did you know that there are still encrypted letters around from the 1800′s which no-one has been able to decipher yet? And did you know that the Enigma code was well on the way to being cracked even before the Second World War broke out? And were you aware that the encryption currently being used to send email is so strong that it appears to be unbreakable? If you know nothing at all about cyphers,... read more
