I am currently ploughing my way through a book about ‘systems thinking’ (Freedom from Command & Control by John Seddon). It is not exactly a page-turner, but there is no option to wait for the film to come out. It suddenly got to be more fun when I decided to add some bits of my […]
Entries Tagged as 'Books'
Mr Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore
June 14th, 2015 · Comments Off on Mr Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore · Life
We arrive at books by many different routes. It may be that a cover catches our eye in the shop, or a review in a magazine sounds good, or somebody recommends it. I came to this book by a bit of a backwards route. I very much enjoyed a book called The Reader on the […]
Programming flavours
June 3rd, 2015 · Comments Off on Programming flavours · Technology
This evening I came across a great passage in the book I am reading. The passage is about programming languages, the book isn’t. Not really anyway. But, of course, the point of a programming language is that you don’t just read it; you write it, too. You make it do things for you. And this, […]
Not lost in translation
May 19th, 2015 · Comments Off on Not lost in translation · Life
As I have mentioned before, one of my favourite things is to get hold of pre-publication proofs of new books, especially if they are well-written and a pleasure to read. Last week I read just such a book – The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent. Apart from anything I think the writer deserves […]
Crisis? What Crisis?
November 18th, 2014 · Comments Off on Crisis? What Crisis? · Politics
I finally finished reading Crisis? What Crisis?: Britain in the 1970s by Alwyn Turner. It took a while. I would probably have read two or three novels in the time it took me to read it, even though it is a much shorter book than many other history books that often weigh in at 700 […]
Britain is a miserable sight
October 31st, 2014 · Comments Off on Britain is a miserable sight · Life
I came aacross an eye-catching quote this evening: Britain is a miserable sight. A society of failures, full of apathy, and aroused only by envy at the success of others. This is why we will continue to decline. Not because of our economic or industrial problems. They are soluble. But because the psychology of our […]
Re-writing history
August 9th, 2014 · 2 Comments · Life
I have been building up quite a collection of Robert Rankin books on my Kindle. He keeps doing special offers on his birthday or a christmas where one or two are free and others are at reduced price for a short while and I snap them up. This is not just me being tight, I […]
Tags: Books
Don’t tell UKIP but…
May 29th, 2014 · 3 Comments · Life
…the Swedes and their Nordic friends seem to be taking over. First of all, there are all those TV shows (that I haven’t actually seen) like The Bridge and Wallander, then there are all those crime novels (that I haven’t actually read) by Steig Larsson and Jo Nesbø and the filmmakers like Lars Von Trier […]
Tags: Books
A Man Called Ove
May 27th, 2014 · 2 Comments · Life
I recently read a book with the slightly underwhelming title of A Man Called Ove by a new author, Fredrick Backman which is by a long way the best book I have read so far this year, and with hindsight the title is exactly right. It is out in hardback (and probably e-book format) in […]
Sibling rivalry
October 14th, 2013 · 1 Comment · Life
I have a new competitor: one of my sisters has just started a WordPress.com blog for book reviews at bd13books.wordpress.com. Should be worth keeping an eye on. Its like the Milibands all over again, but without the public attention!
