A Sceptic's Guide to Alien Encounters

Are we alone in the universe? It's a question everyone asks, sooner or later. It's also a question that's fascinated astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson since childhood, and which led to his latest book, 'Take Me to Your Leader: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter'.

It's All in the Mind, You Know

'I'm a Joke and So are You: Reflections on Humour and Humanity' by Robin Ince

Stand up comedy has blossomed in recent decades.  There seems to be a stand-up for every sense of humour, be it silly, surreal, relatable or satirical.  But is there a particular psychology that links these performers and makes certain people predestined for this strange, diverse and nomadic profession?  This is the question explored by comedian and presenter Robin Ince in 'I'm a Joke and So are You'.

Gilead Revisited

'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood

With the release of companion piece 'The Testaments' just ten days away, I've done something I don't normally do - I've re-read a book!  So, unsure of whether it was as good as I remembered and with some trepidation, I returned to Gilead and 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood.

Following a carefully planned coup that wipes out Congress and strips civil liberties, the United States of America has been taken over by a fundamentalist Christian group and renamed 'Gilead'.  Those not purged find themselves boxed into new, sanctioned roles that mean work and above all relationships are state controlled.  With birth rates low and people needed to fight ongoing wars, the rulers of Gilead assign senior personnel 'Handmaids', fertile women to be ritually raped in the hope that they will provide the Commanders and their Wives with children.  'Offred' is one of the first wave of Handmaids, haunted by memories of the life she had before, fearful for the future of her lost daughter, and stunned into compliance by the isolating existence she now endures as an object of desire and moral revulsion.  As the shock begins to fade, however, she starts to see that things are not quite as godly as the regime would like believed, and even those at the highest levels are showing signs of very human weakness...

Reader, Digest

As regular readers of this blog (hello, lovely people!) know, I have an eclectic appetite when it comes to books.  Though I enjoy a lot of non-fiction, Science is something that rarely appears on the menu.  When I saw 'Gut' by Giulia Enders and Jill Enders in my local bookshop, however, I couldn't resist!

'Gut' by Giulia Enders,
illustrated by Jill Enders
(Scribe, 2016)

'Gut' is the story of the human digestive system, from mouth to... err... the other end.  Written by a German medical student and based on her prize winning presentation on the same topic, 'Gut' puts what happens when we eat centre stage, exploring the latest ideas and research about everything from the best position to sit on the loo to the influence of gut bacteria on obesity and food cravings.

I absolutely loved this book.  It's playful and accessible, but manages to stay the right side or twee or patronising.  The author is very reader-conscious and the text is rooted in the idea of personal experience and understanding our bodies better.  Best of all, she's clearly very enthusiastic about her subject and it shows in every morsel of this book.  It makes it very hard not to become enthusiastic in turn.

My only real criticism is that 'Gut' does seem to finish mid-meal and left me feeling a bit dissatisfied and far from sated.  It really needed some sort of conclusion, possibly with some recommended further reading or websites which offer more information.

Overall, I really recommend this book and hope that it's not the last from the future Dr. Enders.  I'm sure that there must be other, similar books out there and I intend to keep an eye out for them in the future.  Although I wouldn't want to gorge on too many too soon!

Lost in Space

Now, normally I wouldn't bother you with a post about a book I haven't finished.  I don't think it's fair to judge a book without reading it all the way through and I want this to be a positive project full of useful reviews and book-ish ideas.  But I think you deserve an explanation as to why I've given up on 'The Martian' by Andy Weir, a recent international bestseller.

'The Martian' is the story of NASA astronaut, engineer and botanist Mark Watney (MSc. etc).  Injured and unintentionally abandoned during an emergency evacuation from Mars, he's caught in a desperate struggle to stay alive.  He believes he knows when the next Ares mission landing is due, so he's working hard to source, create or ration every resource he needs.  The odds seem stacked against him, but he's intelligent, focussed and determined to stay alive.  But will the next expedition arrive on time?  Can he stay alive until then?  Will he make it back to Earth?

In all honesty, I don't really care.

I should have loved this book.  It's a fantastic idea that offers lots of opportunities not only for brilliantly tense narrative, but also the sort of practical application of science and mathematics that could get people interested in these subjects.  But I just couldn't connect with the narrator at all.  I got to page 40, a little bit into chapter five, his 38th day on Mars, but there had been no mention of the people he'd left behind on Earth.  I had absolutely no sense of the emotional ties that made him want to get back there, only that it was what he wanted to do.  The nearest he came was slagging off the music and entertainment tastes of his former colleagues.  Wouldn't it strike you as a bit strange for someone not to talk about the people they loved and hated if never seeing them again became a real possibility?  Yes, he's focussed on surviving, but such thoughts would be motivation for him, surely.  And he's not working ALL of the time.  He's on his own, so surely he'll get reflective and introspective?  There can't possibly be that many episodes of 'Three's Company' to drown out his inner monologue.

This was the biggest of a number of factors which made it difficult for me to suspend my disbelief and want to remain with this character.  He's a trained Mechanical Engineer and Botanist, qualified at least to post-graduate level.  Seriously?  Not only do I find it hard to believe that anyone could successfully combine study of these areas to such a high level, plus the exceptional physical fitness required for space travel, he talks like he's not left high school.  Not only does he swear a lot (understandable I suppose in his desperate situation), he uses words and phrases which would suit a teenage boy better than a highly qualified scientist. Not awesome.  Really not.

So, unfortunately, I was so disappointed by what I read of the book that I gave up on it.  Fortunately, I have one or two others to read first.  So hopefully this is just a blip and I'll have something much more interesting to tell you about soon.

Now, what next..?

Dolly Folly

I felt I needed a bit of a challenge when I last went to my shelves, so decided on something I hoped would be interesting and thought provoking.  That something was 'Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism' by Natasha Walter.

'Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism'
by Natasha Walter
(Virago, 2010/11)

First published five years ago, 'Living Dolls' explores two key issues in modern feminism; The hypersexualisation of western culture and the resurgence of biological determinism as the answer to everything.  Modern western women have more freedoms than ever before, so why is our culture increasingly dominated by a vision of femininity that forces females into an unrealistic, doll-shaped coffin?  Is the rise of raunch, lads mags and the acceptance of pole dancing, pornography and prostitution into mainstream culture really about choice and empowerment?  Should we really just lie back and let it happen because it's in our DNA?

I love a book that makes me think and this certainly did.  It was a lot less intimidating than some books on feminism because it was relatively short at 238 pages, but there were enough fireworks in every chapter to make it more than explosive.

I have to admit that I found the first half, The New Sexism, much easier to read than the second, The New Determinism.  It had a more journalistic style, featuring stories and quotes from various people that were very interesting and gave a range of perspectives.  The second part dealt with more scientific data and experiments, so took more concentration, but I'm grateful to Ms Walter for lifting the lid on a shocking and dangerous perversion of the spirit of enquiry that science represents.  I will never read about scientific research in the popular media in the same way again.

In particular, I found the observations on motherhood and the pattern of behaviour and prejudice created by current maternity/paternity rules fascinating.  I hope a few of our politicians read this book and see the far reaching consequences of legislation based on a traditional picture of family life that is artificially perpetuated rather than natural.  How many glass obstacles could be smashed with a simple change to these rules.

Although I felt that the length of this book was about right for me, I would've liked to explore two things further.  The experiences of men are touched on, but I would've liked to have known more about whether they feel as uncomfortable with the hypersexualisation of our culture.  After all, it ignores their intelligence and treats them like they're only interested in sex.  Isn't that insulting to them too?   It also seems to me that men are also beginning to come under pressure to have the perfect, Ken doll body - I mean, seriously, even Poldark has a six pack in 2015! I think I would've been interested to know more about this too.  (And by 'this' I mean the pressure on men to look a certain way, not Poldark's six pack.  Prince Charming reads this blog for crying out loud!)

Admittedly, women have a bigger job on their hands, trying to tackle thousands of years of ingrained oppression and stereotyping, but it's interesting to look at all the consequences of sexism, not just for women.  Once it's shown to be bad for everyone, it should become impossible to deny the need for change.

Alex - What a Cracker!

Blimey, this time of year is hard work.  The short days and gloomy weather make everything so draining.  I can't even relax with a book.  Well, I can, but I tend to relax just a bit too much, more often than not falling asleep with a couple of pages!

'Alex and Me'
by Irene M. Pepperberg
(Scribe, 2013)

Anyway, I have managed to read one book this month.  I've just finished 'Alex and Me' by Irene M. Pepperberg, kindly provided by the good people at newbooks magazine.

'Alex and Me' is the true story of one woman and her parrot, a very special African Grey called Alex.  Dr Pepperberg began as a chemist, but her lifelong love of parrots inspired her to develop an interest in animal cognition and, in particular, whether parrots could acquire language.  Encouraged by contemporary studies on ape communication, in 1977 she hatched a plan to study Alex and see if birds were capable of more than just mimicry.  Although the scientific community thought Dr Pepperberg was out of her tree, Alex proved time and again that he was more than just a bird brain.  Over a 30 year career, Alex astonished researchers and challenged long held assumptions about language and humanity.  But it was far from an easy ride.  This is a story of how one scientist and one ball of feathers followed their instincts and overcame the odds to change accepted theories for good.


Alex is probably already a familar character to anyone who has studied English and language acquisition.  I first heard about him while studying for an A Level in English Language, so got very excited when I saw this book on the list for review. But don't worry that this is a text book, far from it.  Although the science does have to be explained, it's done with care to ensure the lay reader doesn't get lost.

This book will appeal to animal lovers as well as language nerds.  Although written by a scientist, Dr Pepperberg clearly loves her feathered friends and her affinity with fellow bird fanciers comes through loud and clear throughout the book.

This book as a nice tone to it.  It's somehow chatty and confiendential, but also almost nervous, as if Dr Pepperberg wasn't comfortable writing for a general audience about things so personal.  While charming, to me this was the book's weakness however.  This is a good story, but as a book I think it would've worked better with a different structure.  It is an easy read, but there was part of me that felt that a journalist or ghost writer could've made it even better and appealing to readers other than language students and bird lovers.  I have to be honest and say that I nearly gave up a few pages into the first chapter, which talks about the worldwide reaction to Alex's unexpected death and felt it lost its way a bit again towards the end.  While it was lovely to see how people across the globe reacted to the sad news, it was hard to keep feeling sympathy when I hadn't even met Alex yet and got to know this unlikely pioneer.  I can see how readers with no previous knowledge of him would be tempted to give up altogether at this early stage.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you fall into either of the categories above.  While not quite a cracker, it's a nice read that will help bring the subject of animal cognition to life.

I hear that there are plans for a film of Alex's life and I look forward to it.

Now, back to Bernard Cornwell and that naughty Northumbrian!