John finished reading Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan
I enjoyed this fascinating tale set in Edinburgh at the time of the visit of King George IV.
Reviews and Comments
Retired scientist, I read a lot, fiction and non-fiction, on a wide range of subjects, though science, politics, philosophy, law, science fiction and historical detective stories are favourites.
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John commented on Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan
In its mixture of real Edinburgh places and characters it reminds me of the 44 Scotland Street series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith. Like many good novels it inspired me to learn more about some of the real life characters, places and events depicted in the story.
John reviewed Ticket Collector from Belarus by Mike Anderson
Overly detailed for a general reader, but some interesting resonances
4 stars
The descriptions of lives and particularly deaths of the people in the area, now Belarus, at the time of WW2 make grim reading. In some respects the events of the time have kept the people in a mediaeval existence today, while, for example the people of Poland, just across the river have moved on. The character of Andrusha Sawoniuk reminded me of the chapter "Petty Tyrants and Psychopaths" in Corruptible I did find the details of the cross examinations and legal wrangles a bit too detailed, and it could have been edited down without losing much.
John finished reading Corruptible by Brian Klass
Investigates the question: Does Power Corrupt or are Corrupt people drawn to power?.
An excellent read to explain how in some situations power is abused if it gets into the wrong hands.
John started reading Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan
Features the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh at the time of its creation.
John started reading Secret asset by Stella Rimington
Espionage fiction, with more realism than most. I have enjoyed others in the series.
John started reading Ticket Collector from Belarus by Mike Anderson
The original events took place in a part of the world which was troubled then, and still is today, while the modern narrative concerns justice and the legal process, so it should be an interesting, if disturbing, read.
John commented on The Testament by John Grisham
The Testament is an adventure story by American author John Grisham. It was published in …
It is interesting to consider the two preachers, Rachel in the Pantanal and Father Phil in the Trinity Church in St Michaels
John finished reading Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor (Marwood and Lovett, #1)
Looking forward to Fire Court - the next in the series
John started reading Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor (Marwood and Lovett, #1)
Set in a period of English history I do not know much about, and I find historical detective fiction is a good route to learn about life in other times and places
John commented on The Partner by John Grisham
Patrick Lanigan was once a well-liked, well-paid young partner in a thriving Mississippi law firm. …
Like many of Grisham's books the central character is s lawyer who is keen to leave the legal profession - none of them seem to have considered the option of becoming a writer of courtroom dramas as an alternative career !
John commented on The Rules of Contagion by Adam Kucharski
This book, written by an expert on infectious diseases, starts with a description of his inadvertent release of a piece of misinformation on Twitter, and the following chapters describe how ideas, as well as germs, spread or not.
John finished reading !%@:: a directory of electronic mail addressing and networks by Donnalyn Frey (A Nutshell handbook)
This was in the days when every domain on the Internet could be published in an Appendix in a book
John finished reading Software tools in Pascal by Brian W. Kernighan
A classic of Software Engineering, with clear explanations of the thought process behind the design from pioneering programmers. Read many years ago, and the principles behind it have stood the test of time well.
John wants to read Assault on Truth by Peter Oborne
Interested to read his view on what happened to the place of truth in politics.