Last week I finished reading The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar. It was another book from Amazon’s Vine programme. Normally when I finish something from Vine I review it immediately (so I can get something else from them) but I decided to wait a little while with this one so I could get some perspective.
Entries Tagged as 'Books'
What the dog saw
February 19th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Life
I have just started reading What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell, another Christmas present that has finally found its way to the front of the reading queue. Gladwell’s books are supposed to make you think a bit, but this one had me thinking before I even opened it. On the front it says “Author [...]
Tags: Books
Ed Hardy: Art for Life
February 14th, 2010 · No Comments · Life
Last month, when I was choosing things from Amazon’s Vine program to review, I picked a book listed as “Ed Hardy Art for Life: Pop Culture“. I was in a hurry, saw the title and a thumbnail picture that looked like a roughly square format book and picked it without really reading the description. I [...]
Fool by Christopher Moore
February 13th, 2010 · No Comments · Life
This week I finished reading Fool by Christopher Moore. It was another of the freebies from Amazon’s Vine programme, and one of the best things I have got through the scheme because not only was it a good read but it introduced me to an author who was new to me but who has written [...]
Sick statistics
January 25th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Life
Should there be some sort of exam where journalists have to display even a rudimentary grasp of statistics before they are allowed to go around journalling all over the place? I have just been reading this piece from the Telegraph about people taking sick days.
Tags: Books·Newspapers·Statistics
The gift that keeps on giving
January 22nd, 2010 · 2 Comments · Life
I am still reading the Atheist’s Guide to Christmas. I was already chuffed about the autograph and message from Ariane Sherine in the front, and had just greatly enjoyed the Richard Dawkins PG Wodehouse spoof and the Simon Singh contribution when I turned the page and found that the first page of the Phil Plait [...]
Fame indeed
January 21st, 2010 · No Comments · Life
I didn’t realise how well-connected Andrew at Wongablog is in Humanist circles. This evening I started reading the Atheist’s Guide to Christmas book that I was given at Christmas. I was already chuffed enough to find it signed, with a personal message, from Ariane Sherine and then I looked at the thanks section at the [...]
Tags: Bah Humbug!·Books·Religion
Viral Loop
January 20th, 2010 · No Comments · Life
I finished Viral Loop: the Power of Pass-it-on, a book about how companies grow virally in the internet age, a little while ago but only just got around to writing a review of it – yes it was another of those Amazon Vine books. They are starting to pile up a bit now. I have [...]
On reading (or not reading) newspapers
December 24th, 2009 · No Comments · Technology
Another passage from the book Viral Loop, which rang some bells with me:
Tags: Books·Newspapers
What is a blog?
December 24th, 2009 · 1 Comment · Technology
From a book called Viral Loop: the power of pass-it-on by Adam L.Penenberg:
It has evolved into a sphere of memes and ideas constantly shaped by the millions of Web users who write, read, and comment on blogs, many of whom followed links there, which were themselves spread virally. In a sense, the blogosphere operates in [...]






