Rocks, (metaphorical) souls and His Dark Materials

Additions to my 2021 Book List.

Life at Rock Surfaces (2021) edited by Burkhard Büdel and Thomas Friedl

This is quite different to the other books I’ve been reading, both because it’s aimed at academics and because it’s not mine. I was lent a copy of the book by Pedro, my friend and colleague, who was an author of one of the chapters. Each chapter focusses on a different aspect of life, mostly microbial, at rock surfaces. Some of the chapters make for interesting reading on organisms living in quite an extreme habitat and some, like a taxonomy guide, are not chapters that lend themselves to normal reading.

As it’s aimed at an academic audience, it’s not really accessible unless you have a fair bit of familiarity with the field. Each chapter is written by a different set of authors and so the quality and style of writing varies wildly from chapter-to-chapter. The best chapters are fairly easy to read and follow but others are a slog. Part of this is due to the content of the chapters but, often, it is poor academic writing that is opaque or unnecessarily stilted. For example, there was one chapter written by a single author that repeatedly used phrases such as “The author hypothesises …” instead of “I think …” The former isn’t a more scientific way of writing; it’s stilted, it’s awkward and is the sort of thing that leads to multiple articles about why scientific writing needs to change.

Science in the Soul (2017) by Richard Dawkins

This is a collection of Dawkin’s essays and speeches from across the years. There is a lot of good content with a wide range of subjects, including science, religion, politics, humour and even a few eulogies. I had read probably about four of them before but that didn’t matter because it was still worthwhile reading them again. Out of the whole collection, there only a handful which I did not enjoy, which is a pleasant return to normality after Outgrowing God.

Despite the breadth of topics, there is an impressive depth of insight which one only gets from spending decades immersed in science. Dawkins’ clarity when writing and the knowledge beneath his writing is a welcome change from so much of the shallow and misguided thinking which is commonly seen today. Indeed, several chapters touch on issues which are still debated, even though they probably should’ve been settled many years ago. Dawkins is probably the best modern science writer and I can highly recommend this book.

His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass (2000) by Philip Pullman

The Amber Spyglass is the final book of the His Dark Materials trilogy and it is a great conclusion. I won’t say I am entirely happy with the way that everything ended, but I can see why it ended that way. I won’t say much of what happens to avoid spoilers, but I will say that it is a brilliant story, set in vivid worlds and overflowing with imagination.

I really enjoyed seeing some scientific musings in this book. During the story, the characters travel between different worlds and, in one of them, evolution followed a very different path. It’s not in any way a scientific book but it did a really cool job of pondering a different path of evolution and showing the interplay between different organisms as well as their environment. That was really cool.

The entire trilogy was well-written but I have to be clear how addictive and easy-to-read it is. There are good books that I’ve enjoyed reading but, when I finished a chapter, I was ready to stop. All of the His Dark Materials books are those wonderful sort where, after I finished a chapter, I just wanted to keep going. I thoroughly enjoyed it, highly recommend it and think I might need to look into the BBC series to see how it compares.

2021 Book List

This has been sitting around for so long. It has not been a good year for reading books and everything on here was actually read months ago. Due to the long time between reading and writing, I’m afraid I can’t give as good of a review as I usually would as my memory of the books is not as clear.

2020 Book List
2019 Book List
2018 Book List
2017 Book List

14/12/2021 Added Life at Rock Surfaces, Science in the Soul and The Amber Spyglass.
31/12/2021 Added The Sheltering Desert and Why Vegan?

Zoo City (2010) by Lauren Beukes

Zoo City is a fantasy, crime thriller set in South Africa. Some people (known as zoos), who have done something bad, get a magical animal companion and a special ability. The animal companion marks zoos as criminals, which does result in a certain degree of discrimination, but they are also sometimes valued for their magical skills. The protagonist of Zoo City, Zinzi, has a sloth companion and has the ability to locate missing items.

My impression of South African writing in general is that it’s pretty dry; mostly dealing with realistic social issues, poverty, crime and so on. South African fantasies and fantasy authors seem to be pretty rare or at least not very well-known to me. Zoo City makes a nice change of pace. It has all the good aspects of magic and fantasy but in a familiar South African setting. It’s a refreshing combination.

I found the whole book very enjoyable for the reasons described above. In addition, I like the idea of animal companions, although it’s a pity one has to do something bad to get them. I’ll also note that the ending of the book is a bit darker than one would normally expect but it does also fit the themes. It was a great first read for the year.

Pure, clean nature

The newest additions to my 2020 Book List.

Ecotopia (1975) by Ernest Callenbach

The title and cover of this caught my eye in the bookshop and the blurb, stating that Northern California, Oregon and Washington had seceded from the United States to make a new nation with a vision of sustainability, sealed the deal. It’s part novel, part thought experiment narrated by the first American journalist to visit Ecotopia since its secession. The story is told through either diary entries, which tell his personal story, or dispatches to Washington, which detail the functioning of the new country.

Ecotopia itself is intriguing and there’s reasonably detailed descriptions of how it has been restructured to be sustainable with a huge emphasis on biology. Callenbach describes how they have short work weeks, fewer products available but make up with leisure and human contact – often literally as Ecotopians are sexually liberated. It also doesn’t pretend to describe a perfect society, there are issues that have not been solved and, while sexual equality has mostly been achieved, there are still lingering racial tensions. This is all woven into Weston’s own story of culture shock and love as he comes to terms with the differences between Ecotopia and America and considers which one he prefers.

It’s not particularly realistic; there are liberties taken in the science but also in the amount of change that such a large section of a country can undergo in merely 20 years. That said, many aspects do hold up well and there are, I think, many good lessons for how society could be structured. It’s not a perfect world there, nor does it take into account personal computers and the internet which were in their infancy when it was written, but it’s well worth reading to see how some things could be done.

The Hippopotamus (1994) by Stephen Fry

How can you not like Stephen Fry? He’s a wonderful, pink, fluffy marshmallow of a person! Whether he’s valeting in Jeeves & Wooster, fooling around in A Bit of Fry & Laurie or hosting QI, he’s an absolute delight. I had previously enjoyed reading one of his autobiographies which I had borrowed from one of my aunts who later gave me this book.

Similar to Ecotopia, The Hippopotamus is mostly told through letters and journal entries but, instead of a re-imagined California, it takes place across the pond in an English great house. Ted Wallace, the main character, has been employed by his god-daughter to stay at Swafford Hall and, rather vague instructions, investigate something. Since there is a mystery and it is even a mystery what the mystery is, I will say no more about the plot.

I will say that the book is highly enjoyable and full of surprises; one scene in particular was quite unexpected. Originally, I was surprised at where I thought Fry was taking the story and then I was simultaneously surprised and not surprised when he turned it all around again. Quite an enjoyable read that will keep you guessing.

What begins with A? Animals and Areopagitica.

Additions to my 2020 Book List.

The Unexpected Truth About Animals (2016) by Lucy Cooke

Where most books just talk about what we know about a particular animal, Cooke tells us what we used to think about them and then corrects those, sometimes astoundingly wrong, misconceptions. So when we learn about the migration of Storks, we get to marvel that Charles Morton used to think they flew to the moon and back. Sometimes the process of learning about animals is brutal as when the, fairly sadistic, Italian priest Lazzaro Spallanzani tried to learn the secrets of bats’ echolocation by, among other mutilations, cutting out their eyes.

One thing that certainly stands out, is that nearly all the chapters have an emphasis on the animal’s sex. This can be amusing, like how hunters used to believe that beavers would bite off their own scrotum to rid themselves of the valuable castoreum (which doesn’t even come from the scrotum); just strange such as the testosterone fuelled hyena females whose external genitalia is nearly identical to the males’ and who can even achieve an erection; to the disturbing stories from a 1915 paper of penguins engaged in masturbation, homosexuality, paedophilia and necrophilia which were so shocking that the Natural History Museum of London refused to publish it and which was only rediscovered in 2009.

Through all of it, the one constant is its excellence. Lucy Cooke was educated at Oxford and tutored by Richard Dawkins. Whether coincidence or not, she displays the same impressive breadth of knowledge and writing talent as him. No matter what you want, this book has it; animals, sex, science, history, comedy. I can easily say that this has been one of the most interesting and entertaining reads in recent memory and highly recommend it.

Areopagitica (1644) by John Milton

Areopagitica is the text of a speech presented to the parliament of England to argue against the proposed law that books should be licenced before publication. I decided to read this as it was recommended by Christopher Hitchens in brilliant speech from 2006. In it, he said that the three important texts that anyone should read if they wanted to discuss freedom of speech were John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty, which I read in 2017, the introduction to Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason (only a single paragraph) and John Milton’s Areopagitica. Now I have read these formative texts.

There are several points that Milton makes from history, theology and philosophy. There are practical matters, such as whether the censors are capable of the task set out for them and, even if they are, the important question of who can judge the censors are doing the right job. And, if the books are so corrupting, wouldn’t the censors would be the most corrupted? Other points include the limits it would pose to the spread of truth and Milton makes the point that to the pure mind, all things are pure. Even the worst book would only serve as a warning or guide on what to avoid.

Much of the book, particularly the start and ending, are difficult to read due to the archaic structure but, when it comes to the actual arguments, it becomes a bit easier to follow. There are certainly a number of good points and, although I do not think it is nearly as good as On Liberty, the message is still vital in our present times. I find myself in full agreement with Milton when he says, “Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.”

2020 Book List

This is the fourth year I’m doing this (2019, 2018, 2017) and I’m hoping to read two books per month. It’s a challenge but certainly not impossible; I just need to make the time and do it. I think making these lists has already helped me keep reading.

10/03/2020 Added No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference and Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide.

29/05/2020 Added The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper and Black Angel.

4/07/2020 Added The Unexpected Truth about Animals and Areopagitica.

15/08/2020 Added Ecotopia and The Hippopotamus.

38/12/2020 Added Darwin’s Ghosts, Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde And Other Stories and Furries Among Us 2.

Permanent Record (2019) by Edward Snowden

This was a Christmas gift and something I’d been eager to read. Edward Snowden was the one who leaked the existence of PRISM and that the democratic societies in the world were willing to trample on the rights of their citizens just as much as the dictatorships and autocracies they ostensibly opposed. Since then we’ve heard time and time again how both nation states and large corporations have disregarded the rights and interests of people for their own benefit.

The book itself is fascinating, both as an autobiography of one of the heroes of our generation and also to get a glimpse into the secretive world of government espionage. It’s interesting to see how Snowden grew up and what events influenced him. I do wonder how much of it really transpired that way and how much has changed in the process of looking back with new insights. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. It’s entertaining, informative, inspiring and worth reading for everyone.

Ultimately, saying that you don’t care abut privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different from saying you don’t care about freedom of speech because you have nothing to say. Or that you don’t care about freedom of the press because you don’t like to read. Or that you don’t care about freedom of religion because you don’t believe in God. Or that you don’t care about the freedom to peaceably assemble because you’re a lazy, antisocial agoraphobe. Just because this or that freedom might not have meaning to you today doesn’t mean that it doesn’t or won’t have meaning tomorrow, to you, or to your neighbour—or to the crowds of principled dissident I was following on my phone who were protesting halfway across the planet, hoping to gain just a fraction of the freedoms that my country was busily dismantling.

Final books of 2018

This will almost certainly list the last books I finish this year, although I may still start some before January. Overall, I read 12 books in 2018 (approximately) which is about one per month. Not the best rate ever but not awful.

reWritten (2017) by Jako Malan

This was written by a South African fur and happily fills the gap of South African fantasy and science fiction. Usually, when I hear of South African books, they are dry, dealing with real political and social events rather than fantasy. ReWritten is a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi story with furry characters and a cool backstory.

I found the book started off very slowly and led to me taking a break after the first part. It was nice seeing a South African-flavoured story but there was initially little to really draw my attention as well as some bad editing, which frustrated me. From the second part though, the story picked up; both the pace and excitement increased and stayed high untill the end. The story of how the mammalæ came to be was very well presented.

The ending was a little clichéd and unsatisfactory, mostly serving to set up a sequal. The follow up story, Project Greenfields, was originally intended to be a graphic novel but, due to various difficulties, was changed to a normal novel which is still not finished. Overall, despite its flaws, I found reWritten refereshing and really engaging once it gets going.

Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary (2001) by Linus Torvalds & David Diamond

This is an autobiography of Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux. For various reasons (mostly the extended support of Windows 7 ending in 2020 and my dislike of Windows 10) I switched over to using Antergos Linux as my main operating system (OS). It’s not the first time I’m using Linux as a main OS but I thought it might be interesting to read more about its creator and some of the thoughts that went into it.

We learn a little about Linus and his life in this book, as well as some of the thinking behind Linux but I didn’t find there to be too much that was really interesting. I would’ve liked to have seen a bit more about the OS and why certain decisions were made and more expansion of the philosophies behind it. I guess part of why that is is that Linus says he made practical rather than principled decisions nearly all of the time. Another issue is that the book is now 17 years old. When he talks about Linux or Apple or Microsoft or anything technical, it’s so completely out-of-date that I’m not sure there’s much relevance these days.

The book has its interesting parts and it’s a look into a mind that has helped shape a lot of our current computing environment but it’s not really a great book. I guess it’s more for if you’re really interested in either Linus Torvalds or the early history of Linux. For others, I doubt it really offers enough to make it worth it.

Murder and sex: books exploring the darker side of the world

Two new editions to my 2018 book list.

A Wasteful Death (2016) by Sylvain St-Pierre

This is the first ebook I’ve read. I don’t really care for the concept of ebooks and much prefer physical books. There are all sorts of reasons for that but I won’t go into it now. This is a short anthropomorphic novella which is centred around a murder mystery.

A female cheetah has been murdered and it’s up to a wolf and lion to find out who killed her. It’s not quite your standard murder mystery as predation of anyone is legal in this world but every citizen has a price according to how valuable they are to society. After killing them, a tax equal to that value must be paid. That was probably not so creepy when the story was originally conceived but now with China’s citizenship score tracking and quantifying everything… this story is even more dystopian.

Beyond the murder mystery there is also romance between Marlot and Trembor, the two main characters. This is particularly driven by Marlot’s past experiences making him extremely reluctant to reveal his homosexuality to the world. It should also be noted that that world is really well constructed and makes full use of the anthropomorphic nature of the characters throughout. Overall, it’s a really good read.

Straight Men (2018) by Jonathan W. Thurston

This is a rough book that can be really tough reading. The prologue even starts with an intense, graphic murder. Then there’s the story itself. The protagonist, Sean Wolfe is a gay college student who is submissive and enjoys hooking up with strangers for sex. When he goes to a certain man’s house, he is drugged and brought into a life of slavery.

The book deals with what he goes through and how he copes with an intensely dark time. It’s not easy reading. Everything is presented in a very raw, graphic and visceral way. There are several murders and, between those, the story is interspersed with abuse, drug addiction, gang rape and human trafficking.

In the end it is well-written and compelling. I wanted to see what would happen to Sean. How would he survive? Would he escape? I wanted him to be okay but the more I learned about the psychopath who had taken him captive, the more I feared what would happen next.

I finally finished reading The Fact of Evolution

A long time and still no proper blog post, just a brief summary of a book for my 2018 reading list.

The Fact of Evolution (2011) by Cameron M. Smith

I finally finished this one! I started reading this about four or five years ago and finished four chapters. Then I went to Austria to do my PhD and left it behind in South Africa. After one of my trips home, I brought it to Vienna with me and read a little more before taking a break to read The Adventures of Peter Gray and De Vita Beata. I can now finally say I have finished reading it!

On the negative side, due to the multiple year time lapse and many gaps, I can’t clearly recall all of the book. All I can say is comes from the ending chapters. That is that the book was quite clear and well-written with several illustrations or tables to help explain things. Each chapter covers a particular aspect of evolutionary theory and it should make a good introduction to those who know little about evolution.