january last year when i posted my list of a years reading. i must be getting slow in my old age, as it's taken me longer this time to fill the 2 bookshelves. however i have now done so. 54 books in that time!
frank herbert - dune - never seen the film, had the book for years. really enjoyed reading it, very well written.
robin odell - ripperology, a study of the worlds first serial killer an early attempt to give an overview of the case and give it a social and historical context. doesn't try going down the suspect root, and is better for it.
peter turnbull - the killer who never was - a self published book from about 20 years ago. utterly bizarre. i picked it up off ebay for less than 50p, but have seen it online going for approaching a hundred quid. can't fathom why, as it is fucking crap!
jeff kreisler - get rich cheating - really funny satirical view of capitalisms obsession with ££££ or $$$$
naomi klein - no is not enough - kinda a follow on from her earlier books, in a how did brexit/trump happen way. i do enjoy her books, though think this one was weaker than no logo or the shock doctrine
edited by stephen rose - from brains to consciousness - collection of essays from computer scientists, philosopher and psychologists on the brain/mind debate. tough going, but interesting
oliver sacks - awakenings - another i've had for years and not got around to reading. sacks writing is really accessible.
stuart sutherland - irrationality - read as it was referenced in another book (probably off last years list). quite a stark eye opener on how so many of us make irrational decisions, and have such faith in our decisions.
neil r storey - the dracula secrets - jack the ripper and the darkest sources of bram stoker - i made assumptions about this book, and was proved wrong. turned out to be a very engaging read covering the life of bram stoker, and also tumblety. the book isn't arrogant or assertive like some suspect books are, and is quite a balanced read.
dan ariely and jeff kreisler - small change - i love dan arielys work in behavioural economics, and his previous books. Kreislers first book (see above) was hilarious, so this was a must! Fascinating subject matter, and hilarious manner of looking at how humans behave in reklation to financial decision making.
irvine welsh - dead mens trousers - someone on here posted about this, as i didn't know about it. their timing was great, as i asked a family member for it for my birthday. I've loved all the trainspotting related books - skagboys is hilarious, and the transitions of the characters at stages of their life has been great. in this one of renton, begbie, sick boy and spud die. that's made clear from the start. gotta say i always had a prime suspect, but welsh did a great job in making me think it would be one of the others. hilarious and heart breaking in equal measure.
walter dew - i caught crippen - partial autobiographical work by the copper who caught crippen. he also worked on the jtr case, hence my reading it.
jorge luis borges - labrynths - collection of some of borges short fantasy stories. some really fucked with my head!
iceberg slim - trick baby - blaxploitation novel on ice-t's publishing platform. not as good as slims autobiography/.
john f plimmer - in the footsteps of the whitechapel murders - retired copper reviews the so called evidence and explains how a modern day force would handle the case
jostein gaarder - maya - a weird time travel/alternate dimension/life and death type novel from gaarder, who's novels tend to have some philosophical basis. pretty engaging.
neil r storey - a grim almanac of jack the rippers london - more a year in the life of victorian whitechapel, looking at significant events/places relevant to the whitechapel murders
erving goffman - stigma - a study of how the labels given to outsiders affects their self perception, as well as how they are perceived by wider communities. i like goffmans work, having been interested in it since reading some of it at a level.
oliver sacks - an anthropologist on mars - 7 more case histories by sacks. superb.
daniel goleman - emotional intelligence - was going to start this years ago, and a friend said it was crap, so i put it back on the shelf. that was a mistake (have since learned more of said friends judgement is crap!) fascinating exploration of how m=humans have different forms of intelligence, and rather than excelling in one, developing skills in various of these intelligences helps form a more able person. found it exceptionally useful for a co-incidental project i've been working on at work.
mark twain - the adventures of tom sawyer - first time of reading, really pleasant.
roald dahl - james and the giant peach - realised i'd never read a roald dahl book. decided to remedy on holiday
sue townsend - the secret diary of adrian mole - re-read on holiday for the first time in years. interesting to read as an adult, and see now some of the social commentary sue townsend was trying to explain
rudyard kipling - the jungle book - like dahl, realised i owned this classic and had never read it
roald dahl - the bfg - fucking loved it!
vincent bugliosi - helter skelter - dunno what made me read this straight after the bfg (that's some transition) but this is a superb review of the manson murders and subsequent trial(s)
david king dunaway - aldous huxley recollected - a kinda biography. bit meh
paul harrison - jack the ripper the mystery solved - written in the 1980's this booked shocked me. I checked on the date, because the author is/was also a police officer yet shows pretty much contempt for the victims. they're not "women", they're whores. the author has real disregard for the victims, and i was amazed this was written so recently displaying such disregard for people, and concerned me for how he may have been professionally. also argues he sticks to the facts, but very much a case of the facts from his perspective. spoiler, the mystery isn't solved because the "suspect" in this book is joseph barnett, who was mary jane kellys boyfriend. a shame harrison researched the wrong joseph barnett then. doesn't say much for his policing skills either.
dave gorman - are you dave gorman - i'm friends with number 6 and his dad is a STH!
kevin warwick - march of the machines - warwick argues AI is imminent, but not convincingkly to this reader.
ben rogers - aj ayer, a life - biography, pretty well written
tom cullen - the crimes and times of jack the ripper - published in the 60's, famous for being the first to mention the druitt/kosminski/ostrog list of suspects
john r searle - the mystery of consciousness - searle is a vociferous opponent of AI. His arguements have some merit, until he gets to the stage of arguing brains are made of a special kind of stuff, which severely weakens his position imo
john malcolm - the whitechapel murders of 1888 - another dead end? - self published overview of the police view that kosminski was their main suspect. this was an interesting read. Malcolm has some strong views, and writes very well making me question a number of opinions I hold on the whitechapel murders. phenomenally worthy - this and tom wescotts 2 books are at the forefront of where ripper books need to go (imo)
michael frayn - skios - novel leant to me by a colleague as he loved it. enjoyable, kinda satirical novel; about a blagger who adopts the identity of others.
roy and lesley adkins - the war for all the oceans - the naval battles covering the napoleonic wars. heavy going!
anthony kenny - a wittgenstein reader - gotta be honest, i'm not quite sure i really understand wittgenstein. i think i understand, then he contradicts my understanding!
peter underwood - jack the ripper - 100 years of mystery - a cash in on the centenary. fair bit of filler, and rushed (few mistakes which might've been noted by a decent proof reader!)
gene brewer - k-pax 4 - read the first 3. this and the next complete the series. none will touch the experience i had reading the first, cos it blew my mind.
gene brewer - k-pax 5 - gotta say, strange ending to the series i really didn;t expect
douglas hofstadter - i am a strange loop - hofstadter co-wrote the minds i, which is one of my favourite books ever. this was a follow up/expansion of his godel, escher, bach which i have, but have not yet read. it develops the ideas from that book a lot. fascinating. (the next list will have geb on it not doubt!)
michelle paver - thin air - cracking mountaineering ghost story!
m c escher - the complete graphic work - ronseal
peter fisher - an illustrated guide to jack the ripper - theorises that the ripper was a clergyman, or used a clergymans outfit as a disguise
patrick hughes - a new perspective - review of his life and work. love his art.
oliver sacks - the islasnd of the colour blind and cycad island - given i've read 3 of his books this year, i clearly like his work!
r t casson - when london slumbers - guff. supposedly a jtr novel. reminded me why i don't like reading jtr fiction, so obvs the next thing i read is...
edited by susan kaster & gardner dozois - jack the ripper - collection of short fictions based on jtr. quite a few i'd previously read.
ronald hayman - a life of jung - biography from a serial biographer. states he offers a "balanced view", it actually turns out to be exceedingly dry with no judgement at all. had to frorce myself to finish it.
robert galbraith - lethal white - liked the first 3. wonder if the tv series has spoiled it for me a bit.
i'm getting short of books to read, so other than re-reading stuff, i do value other people popping reviews of books they've read on here, as i do explore whether those books are worth reading. I know I've jotted down one or two books that have sounded interesting.
