Irrationality, by Stuart Sutherland

Lots of people say about lots of books that 'everyone should read this!', well this is one of my must reads. Does what it says on the cover, explores irrationality in illuminating & sometimes amusing ways so that you can become a better thinker & maybe even a more successful & satisfied person.
5/5

Read: November 2007.

The Illearth War (The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Volume 2), by Stephen Donaldson

Better than the first book in the trilogy but the main character's disbelief of his adventures is so great & so often re-stated that it's difficult to care much for him (& the story) at all. The only sympathy he gets is from the fact he's a leper, which is never allowed to be forgotten. It's almost as though the author has afflicted him but then isn't quite sure what to do with him, he doesn't really develop from being a complete, & mostly useless, tool. Maybe a tacit acknowledgement of this is the way the author focuses half of this book through the eyes of other characters (a definite improvement) & almost completely leaves the main leper guy out of it. It's a shame because there are some great parts to the tale & I'm looking forward to the 3rd & last installment (when the leper should come good at last!).
4/5

Read: September 2007.

Lord Foul's Bane (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Volume 1), by Stephen Donaldson

Not bad but the main antagonist's misery & disbelief makes it difficult to like him & to suspend one's own disbelief enough to really get into the world created by the author. Is it all a dream like Bobby-from-Dallas in the shower...unfortunately that's how I felt when I finished. I will push on to read the next 2 but only because I have the books already (2nd hand for pence).
3/5

Read: August 2008.

The Rough Guide to The Baltic States (Rough Guide Travel Guides), by Jonathan Bousfield

Invaluable maps & guidebook when travelling through the region. Would have liked more stats & opinion on each place.
4/5

Read: August 2007.

Ancient Egypt: A Very Short Introduction, by Ian Shaw

About Egyptology & archaeology, the study of Ancient Egypt rather than its actual history. For example it took until the last chapter for an explanation of the pyramids & other parts were quite dry & academic. Which is a pity, but is common to these Very Short Introductions.
2/5

Read: July 2007.

In Search of Lost Time: Way by Swann's Volume 1, by Marcel Proust

(Famously) takes some time getting into & through it, but so far worth the effort - only another 5 volumes after this!
4/5

Read: July 2007.

Spix's Macaw: The Race to Save the World's Rarest Bird, by Tony Juniper

Sometimes quite bland & scientific & as usual when contemplating man's destruction of the environment quite depressing, but the author's understated fury inspires hope & his passion raises the book to make it a good read.
3/5

Read: June 2007.

Everyman, by Philip Roth

Short & sharp deconstruction of one man's life & death; bleak but also uplifting.
4/5

Read: June 2007.

Death March, Second Edition, by Edward Yourdon

Almost too much information about too many aspects of the software lifecycle, but some useful pointers & amusing anecdotes make it worthwhile.
3/5

Read: June 2007.

Hope is the Thing with Feathers, by Christopher Cokinos

Very enjoyable book about a depressing subject - the modern extinction of a select group of birds. The author visits previous haunts & documents what he finds & feels about being denied the chance to see what was once there in abundance.
5/5

Read: Early 2007.

The Race to Save the Lord God Bird, by Phillip Hoose

Gripping account of the depressing extinction of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the southern USA; pushed over the brink by man's greed (what else?).
4/5

Read: Early 2007.

Bodyline Autopsy, by David Frith

Wonderful book detailing the notorious Bodyline tour of the England cricket team in Australia. It was a hugely enjoyable, & at times moving, read which told the story of the people involved, as well as the on-pitch events during the now infamous tour.
5/5

Read: Early 2007.

2006 Books

A Year in the Merde, by Stephen Clarke


A Night at the Majestic, by Richard Davenport-Hines


Developing XML Web Services and Server Components with Visual C# .NET and the .NET Framework, by Ed Tittel


Auschwitz, The Nazis & The Final Solution, by Laurence Rees


Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt


UML Distilled, by Martin Fowler


Blink, by Malcom Gladwell

12 Best Reads

My all-time dozen best reads appears as a list on Amazon.co.uk.