Books 2018

It's time for the annual book review round-up!

This year I read 71 books (second highest after 2017), with an average rating of 3.35 (same as 2017), continuing the trend towards lower scores as time goes on.

My gender split wasn't as good this year, at 37% female vs 63% male (last year was 48% female).  So I dropped the ball a bit on that one, though it is still an improvement over time.

However, my focus this year was on reading authors from a greater diversity of backgrounds.  This year 70% of authors were white/anglo/western, compared to 80-90% in previous years.

5 stars
None again this year. 

4.5 stars (6)
Black Swan Green,David Mitchell,"Life as a 12 year old boy in '82 England. So messy & agonising, glor… ",https://t.co/1DTp7dqzdW
The Good People,Hannah Kent,Captures the pervasive superstition & grinding desperation of a poor & i… ,https://t.co/1cK1fo77LR
The Patterning Instinct,Jeremy Lent,Reveals the cultural & cognitive biases we've built up over '000s… ,https://t.co/DaTQE8KdhZ
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories,Ken Liu,"A splendid collection exploring historical wrongs, futu… ",https://t.co/2zujWRb7rh
How To Change Your Mind,Michael Pollan,"Upends decades of bias against psychedelics, which may actuall… ",https://t.co/CIrMGD3fNX
No Is Not Enough,Naomi Klein,Trump is the end-product of a disastrous economic & political system. Pa… ,https://t.co/SqvPN5EEIX

4 stars (14)
The Lacuna,Barbara Kingsolver,"Very slow to start, but builds a great head of steam encompassing Frida K… ",https://t.co/ODPMRT4lNh
Winter's Bone,Daniel Woodrell,"A cold and stark, yet hopeful, portayal of hillbilly life in the drug-hol… ",https://t.co/NMnlw2IqeZ
Girt,David Hunt,"Australian history made ... funny? And it works. Packed full of character, puns, and f… ",https://t.co/PbO02GEBBC
The Bush,Don Watson,"A sprawling tour of the settlement of Australia, and the dire consequences for natu… ",https://t.co/vpgDQKK4ka
How Did We Get Into This Mess?,George Monbiot,"A selection of his finest articles, exploring the madness… ",https://t.co/SVMronWbis
Lincoln in the Bardo,George Saunders,"Letting go through death. Quirky, original and quite a lot of fun. Completely unexpected.",
The People of the Book,Geraldine Brooks,"A fascinating journey through the history of European Jews, usi… ",https://t.co/yAkfZjP6aP
H is for Hawk,Helen Macdonald,Gets inside the wonderful and predatory mind of the goshawk. Hawking: not… ,https://t.co/RLsO5rMslZ
Assassin's Fate,Robin Hobb,"Fitz, the Fool, Wolf Father, Bee! A fitting finale (?) for some of fantasy's… ",https://t.co/SUrozKg1Kw
Utopia for Realists,Rutger Bregman,A convincing & enthusiastic call to dream big and be idealistic. A basic… ,https://t.co/R6NPbfR24A
In Other Lands,Sarah Rees Brennan,Makes up for poor writing with great characters and relationships. Tu… ,https://t.co/QETC1VRYNN
Planet of Exile,Ursula Le Guin,An intriguing world where each season last 15 years and a long-establis… ,https://t.co/S1XXBZizan
Rocannon's World,Ursula Le Guin,"A masterful melding of fantasy & sci-fi, highlighting the forces coloni… ",https://t.co/LY4iwQhmW9
Homo Deus,Yuval Noah Harari,Fascinating and confronting on the illusion of individuality and the spect… ,https://t.co/YIeG0TZKm5

3.5 stars (18)
The Morality Of Gentlemen,Amanda Lohrey,"Engaging insight into the inner working of unions, back when… ",https://t.co/tMDvwBuY6F
Oathbringer,Brandon Sanderson,Phew. Not so much epic as long. Some good twists to the good vs evil trope.,
The Call of the Reed Warbler,Charles Massey,"Not much new in the stories of regenerative agriculture,… ",https://t.co/Qvpa6ak61j
Looking for Jake & Other Stories,China Mieville,"His usual surreal, unsettling creations. Sentient st… ",https://t.co/OR1iyUyqNU
The Grace Of Kings,Ken Liu,Silkpunk fantasy with fun pre-steam tech. Some decent characters despite t… ,https://t.co/dgjr1UV7j3
The Wall of Storms,Ken Liu,"A world where strategy, learning & clever engineering win out over brute s… ",https://t.co/cVOAC4Uc9A
On The Banks Of Plum Creek,Laura Ingalls Wilder,Locusts! Fire! Blizzards! Mother Nature throws every… ,https://t.co/BEnwgAzsPu
Steam Pigs,Melissa Lucashenko,Coming of age through the muck and violence of being Indigenous in Quee… ,https://t.co/3nW8HEVObh
We Need New Names,NoViolet Bulawayo,"From the colour & chaos of a Zimbabwean slum, to the self-indulge… ",https://t.co/gHoYNCUyke
Other Minds,Peter Godfrey-Smith,"A pedestrian look at the evolution of intelligence, but with wonderfu… ",https://t.co/JI2bF9szro
All The King's Men,Robert Penn Warren,A lot more to this than I grasped. Wanders off in extravagent description.,
Don't Take Your Love To Town,Ruby Langford Ginibi,"An illuminating Indigenous biography, from grinding… ",https://t.co/GAjNc9OxUO
Down Among The Sticks And Bones,Seanan McGuire,"A wonderfully imaginative, contemporary fairytale. Ends abruptly.",
The Map That Changed The World,Simon Winchester,Evocative and enthusiastic portrayal of the trials a… ,https://t.co/qhxdmHdZBi
Whole Earth Discipline,Stewart Brand,A challenge to anti-science environmentalists. Mostly convincing… ,https://t.co/mTNjWXjGB6
The Complete Orsinia,Ursula Le Guin,"A tale of family, friends and revolution in a fictional but fam… ",https://t.co/i5eptztM81
City of Illusions,Ursula Le Guin,A journey to discover the truth in an era of paranoia. Less convincing than the others.,
The High Mountains of Portugal,Yann Martel,"Comically odd, mysterious and touching. Three entwined spiritual journeys (maybe?).",

3 stars (24)
And Then There Were None,Agatha Christie,"My first! A bit over the top, but a decent bite-sized piece of light entertainment.",
Love Over Scotland,Alexander McCall Smith,Same old. A bit like a well-worn TV series.,
Espresso Tales,Alexander McCall Smith,Light and humourous. A good switched-off holiday read.,
The World According to Bertie,Alexander McCall Smith,"Perceptive, charming & amusing.",
Transactions,Ali Alizadeh,Cynical and unnecessarily explicit.,
Terra Nullius,Claire Coleman,The tragedy of colonialism. Heavy-handed.,
The Underground Railway,Colson Whitehead,"Opened my eyes to disturbing extraordinariness of slavery, bey… ",https://t.co/SXpOPIOeHP
The Rapture of the Nerds,Cory Doctorow & Charles Stross,A quasi-dystopian comedy where humans have most… ,https://t.co/uIvZzjh6ry
True Girt,David Hunt,Lacks the hilarity and colourfulness of the prequel. Uses sarcasm to good effect r… ,https://t.co/zecEl3G6QX
Number9Dream,David Mitchell,"Momentarily horrifying, occassionally confusing, mostly harmless.",
A Million Wild Acres,Eric Rolls,"A labour of love. Traces, in excessive detail, the history of the Pilli… ",https://t.co/OfsK9CtiWR
IQ,Joe Ide,Sherlock goes LA gangsta style. Pulls it off but feels a little cheap.,
The Pedant In The Kitchen,Julian Barnes,Insufficiently pedantic (is that a heaped or rounded teaspoon??… ,https://t.co/XacR6ubm4T
Wild Cat Falling,Mudrooroo,The first novel by an Indigenous author. Dripping with cynicism and self-destructiveness.,
Skin In The Game,Nassim Nicholas Taleb,Scattered and incohesive. Dripping in arrogance. A useful persp… ,https://t.co/VKei9mXLeE
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms,NK Jemisin,Caught up in an intrigue of the gods. Creative and satisfying.,
Lyra's Oxford,Philip Pullman,Pleasant enough. Rather short.,
The Land Before Avocado,Richard Glover,"Mildly amusing, but nothing too surprising - we've come a long way in 50 years.",
The Willful Princess & the Piebald Prince,Robin Hobb,"A nice little tale of love, power and treachery.",
Enlightenment Now,Stephen Pinker,Charts humanity's extraordinary progress thanks to the application of… ,https://t.co/G4ujdkySEw
Europe: A Natural History,Tim Flannery,"A bit repetitive, but has its moments. More engaging once humans come on the scene.",
The Bluest Eye,Toni Morrison,"The poverty, violence and self-hatred of African-American life. Couldn't q… ",https://t.co/j4mdi442SB
Tales from Earthsea,Ursula Le Guin,A pleasing fleshing out of her classic magical world.,
In Xanadu,William Dalrymple,A jaunt following Marco Polo. A bit heavy on architecture. Attitude shows it's age.,

2.5 stars (4)
The Three Body Problem,Cixin Liu,"Some cool physics and an interesting context (revolutionary China),… ",https://t.co/wZdb9nYWCQ
Monkey Grip,Helen Garner,"The delusion of free love, the disappointing clash of ideals and reality. Ov… ",https://t.co/xCS4wTEcp7
That Deadman Dance,Kim Scott,The (not so) friendly frontier. Jumbled and aimless.,
The Barefoot Investor,Scott Pape,"Rather simplistic, but usefully so for the financially clueless. Aw… ",https://t.co/8bq3OvQdGQ

2 stars (5)
The Crow Trap,Ann Cleeves,"Hardly 'thrilling'. A bit boring, to be honest...",
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness,Arundhati Roy,"Chaotic, confusing, directionless. A depressingly cynical picture of India.",
Solar,Ian McEwan,"Some decent prose, but a slothful, misogynistic, self-absorbed physicist does not make… ",https://t.co/fEfpyjmQu0
The Gold Coast,Kim Stanley Robinson,"Shows its age, set in a (now near) future full of Soviets and nuke… ",https://t.co/OA0MWxklqK
Whipbird,Robert Drewe,"Aussie family reunion goes bad. A decent snapshot of Australian life, but nothing of substance.",

Heart rate monitoring, pacing & ME/CFS

A good basic overview of heart rate monitoring is here:
http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/library/pacing-numbers-using-your-heart-rate-to-stay-inside-energy-envelope

Case study from the originators of the technique:
https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2013/08/13/heart-rate-monitor-program-improves-heart-functioning-in-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-mecfs/

Research paper describing the approach (relatively technical & dense, but might be useful for sceptics!):
https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/90/4/602/2888236

There is also a very supportive Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ME.CFS.HRM/
Not quite as active as a year ago when I got involved, but still good.  There is a wealth of knowledge in the posts and the files, but it can be hard to sort through ...  If you post a specific question you are likely to get a helpful answer.

As for heart rate monitors (HRMs), you have a few options. You need something that will set off an alarm when you go over a certain heart rate (50-60% of max HR, usually about 100bpm).  It's also useful if it is waterproof so it can be worn in the shower, which can be the highest exertion a CFSer regularly does (I sit down in the shower now to keep my HR down).

* most accurate and cheapest: chest-strap sensor (e.g. Polar H10), sync'ed via Bluetooth to your phone.  Chest straps are very accurate, but some find them annoying to wear all day.  I haven't used this method so am not sure what apps are available that will sound an alarm when you go over a specified threshold.  You can also use a chest strap for advanced heart rate variability (HRV) monitoring.  HRV is used by athletes for identifying if they are over-training or not, and CFSers use it in a similar way.

* optical wrist sensors are incorporated into FitBit-type devices.  These are comfortable to wear 24/7, and also count steps and monitor sleep.  Optical sensors are not as accurate as chest straps, and can have quite a lag, which means they aren't very accurate when the HR is variable.  They also give bad readings when moving your fingers.  For this reason I wear mine on the ankle!  (Looks like a gaol bracelet, but then it kinda is ...  Also, you need slim ankles to do this.)  Having said that, I think they are accurate enough for our purposes. Can't be used for HRV though.  Polar now has a product designed to be worn on the upper arm, the OH1, but I'm not sure if it has a display or alarm (have to sync to phone).  I use a Polar a370 and am quite happy with it, though I have had to send it back twice for replacement (I think I've been unlucky).  Only the FitBit Ionic and Versa have an alarm, and FitBits have better sleep monitoring than other brands.  Also, someone has written a HR Pacing app which is available for FitBits!  Not sure if they are waterproof though.  Garmins are another option - some people use the Vivosmart 3.

Mould, CIRS, & ME/CFS

Now this is a can of worms.  There are two schools of though around mould: the Shoemaker Brigade, and the Mould Paranoids.

The Shoemaker Brigade follows the teachings/research of Ritchie Shoemaker, a doctor who has, over the past few decades, gradually developed the idea of Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS).  Basically, he reckons that a subsection of the community is genetically susceptible to biotoxins (e.g. mould toxins, but also Lyme and algae), which they can't detoxify, and they develop a chronic inflammatory response which makes them Really Fucking Sick.  He reckons CFS actually is a sub-type of CIRS.  He has a set of criteria for diagnosis, including some blood tests, and a clear treatment protocol. However, there's not point treating it until you're not being exposed anymore, which requires testing your house for mould (which is another can of worms).  There are only a few Shoemaker-trained doctors in Australia (the main one is on the Sunshine Coast), and some of the most diagnostic blood tests aren't available in Australia (but they can't be sent there for $$$s).  The evidence base for all of this is not terrible (they have a few decent peer-reviewed papers), but it's mostly from the one group of researchers, and some of the assertions aren't well documented (though others are).  I've been thinking of writing up something to summarise everything I've learnt on my mould journey, as it's hard to find solid information.

I've attached a couple of documents that give a detailed overview of CIRS [1, 2].  Let me know if they are too much and I can find something simpler.  Also worth a look is the http://www.toxic-mould-support-australia.org/ website, which is pretty good and has a strong community behind it, which you can find on Facebook.  Though the CIRS crowd seems to have more nutcases in it than the CFS crowd!

Which brings me to the Mould Paranoids, who think that things are much worse than even Shoemaker thinks.  They practice extreme mould avoidance, and experience significant symptoms whenever they go into a mouldy building.  They find that they react to items that have been in a building, and the effect can takes years to wear off - many items cannot be remediated at all. Some people go to the extent of throwing out all their things and starting from scratch in a new house.  This all started with Erik Johnson, who was got CFS in the Incline Village epidemic in the 80s.  He found that he felt better in certain places, and using some toxin-avoidance protocols he learnt in the army, he worked out that the problem was mould exposure.  You can read about his story and how to practice mould avoidance here: http://paradigmchange.me/erik/

This all sounds pretty wild at first, but there is a strong community of people who go to great lengths to stay mould free, and that is probably only because it actually works for them.  One way to work out if this is your issue to to go on a Mould Sabattical: go to the desert for a few weeks, with *none* of your current belongings.  If you feel better, or crash big-time when you return, then mould might be a problem for you.  There is a guide on this here: http://paradigmchange.me/avoidance/  This is all pretty challenging for sciencey types like us, and the article below does a brilliant job of exploring the issue. It's written by a science writer, and she even does a double-blind experiment to prove that she actually is responding to items from her house.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2017/06/be_skeptical_and_don_t_take_anything_at_face_value.html

I'm open to the mould hypothesis because I first got sick shortly after spending a few nights in a very mouldy caravan, and I later spent more time in another caravan and tent which could have been mouldy.  On the flip side, most of the time I've been in Hobart I was gradually improving, and was living in a dodgy rental that had obvious roof leaks and mould damage (though was very well ventilated).  But then I started going downhill and relapsed after moving into our own place, and I have identified a couple of mould problems here (one of which we've fixed, the other I just found (mouldy roof beams!)).  It's a slow jounrey working my way through all of this, but I'm gradually getting less panicked about it and just doing the best I can.

CFS tips

From a conversation I had with an acquaintance who has recently been diagnosed with CFS,. He asked for some tips, and I gave him a brain dump ...

I'm not able to work at the moment. I was gradually going downhill while I was at TIA in 2016. When my contract ended I kind of collapsed over the line and didn't bounce back like I expected. So I've been largely stuck at home doing my best to manage it. I've seem to have successfully stopped the backsliding, turned the ship around (it;s a bloody big one!) and seem to be headed in the right direction now. But I don't do much productive, and certainly can't be relied on. I'd say I'm 30% on the CFIDS scale:
http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/cfs-fibromyalgia-rating-scale

 

I first got sick 10 years ago, and this is my first major relapse in that time. Until then, I was gradually getting better and could maintain a 50% workload. By the end of 2015 I was even doing some bushwalking and living a fairly full ife. But then we bought a house and I started working 3 days a week and I gradually dug the hole deeper. I always thought relapsing would be the worst thing that could happen, but it's much easier the second time around - my wife and I have learnt a lot!

 

Sounds like you've done a fair bit of research and learning yourself, so im not sure how much detail to go into. Maybe I'll just outline the things that I have found most useful and we can delve into things more deeply if you're interested.

DIAGNOSIS: You've probably been through this already, but it's worth making sure you've excluded all other possibilities. Depending on your doctor this may not have been done very thoroughly. I quite like the IACFS/ME Primer which includes the Canadian Consensus Criteria and a good guide to treatment options: http://iacfsme.org/portals/0/pdf/Primer_Post_2014_conference.pdf

 

PACING is by far the most important mainstay of managing CFS. The principle is simple enough but it's bloody hard to do well. The biggest challenge is working out what your energy envelope is, and whether or not you've gone past it - you can't rely on your body to tell you when that is - once you're tired, it's WAY too late.

Using a heart rate monitor has made my pacing massively more effective. I can now put an objective number on my envelope (in terms of the number of minutes I spend above 100bpm in a day). I have also been able to model how my HR effects my fatigue. So if I overdo it today, then I will start feeling it in 3 days' time, with the worst on days 4 and 5. This is nothing short of a revelation! For years I knew I had at least a day's lag between exertion and payback, but it wasn't until I started collecting detailed HR and symptom data that I could tease out the full picture.

So now I wear my HR monitor religiously, and it vibrates whenever I hit 100bpm (which doesn't take much), so I know I need to ease back and take a break. I rarely crash hard anymore, which I think is key to gradually getting out of the CFS hole.

 

When I'm managing my pacing well, my symptoms are minimal - I actually feel fairly normal. The trick is to no then overdo it! The HRM is a constant (unremitting, infuriating) reminder of my actual limits. Which means I probably do less than I would without it, but I am much more stable and I think ultimately happier and healthier.

 

A side note to the heart rate stuff is to explore if you have some form of orthostatic intolerance. This is a common co-morbidity with CFS and basically means you have trouble standing for periods. I have borderline POTS, which means my HR is much higher while standing than is normal. This makes it harder to stay within my HR limits. Orthostatic intolerance isn't very well understood but is probably to do with low blood volume and a screwy autonomic nervous system. There are ways you can treat it (at least partially). You can self test for POTS doing the standing lean test: https://www.healthrising.org/forums/resources/a-simple-test-for-orthostatic-intolerance-in-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-and-fibromyalgia-the-nasa-way.388/

 

SLEEP is super important, and often screwed up in CFS. Being 'tired but wired' can make it hard to get to sleep, and it's common to wake up raring to go at 4am. Valarian and melatonin are good sleep aids, but they don't help with the 4am problem. I saw a sleep specialist and he put me on a low dose of mirtazapine which has helped my sleep heaps. It also is an anti-anxiety drug and has reduced my POTS a bit. CFS doctors seem to use sleep meds fairly liberally.

 

Thankfully I haven't had much in the way of PAIN, so can't advise. I get achy legs and sometimes a killer tight neck but nothing nasty like fibromyalgia.

I also haven't had major issues with BRAIN FOG, so I can mostly read, write & think without too much trouble. But I think I am lucky here. I do get mood swings though, and was quite depressed/anxious for the first few years. Effective pacing and a low carb diet keep this under control.

 

DIET has a big effect for many with CFS, though there is a lot of variety as to what works for different people. I'm super-sensitive to sugars and carbohydrates - they make me anxious and irritable and give me burning abdominal pain. My current diet is sugar, fruit, potato, grain and legume-free. So I eat a lot of vegies, protein and fat. Dark chocolate is my treat. Low-ish carb seems to work for a lot of CFSers, so it's worth a try. Other diets to consider are: 

* low FODMAP (if you have IBS) 

* low allergy diet (from RPAH)

* ketogenic diet

* Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) - I plan to try this one day as there is mounting evidence for autoimmune (I have psoriasis too) and gut conditions, but it is pretty extreme.

 

NEUROLOGICAL: It could be worth getting some counselling to help deal with the trauma of chronic illness. I meditate daily to try and keep my sympathetic nervous system under control. When I first got sick I did the Gupta Amygdala Retraining Programme, which is semi-woo woo, but it was the first time I encountered a practitioner who totally understood the condition, and it definitely helped me break out of my obsessive sickness mindset, which took a layer off the top of the illness (but didn't get to the underlying problem.)

 

SUPPLEMENTS: I take a lot of supplements, though their value is questionable. I did a lit review a while back and identified all the ones that had some evidence. From memory they were: CoQ10, NADH, magnesium, acetyl-l-carnitine, n-acetyl cysteine. Other supps worth trying are zinc (really helped me with getting viruses all the time), D-Ribose, vitamin D and the B vitamins. I recommended trying things one at a time and keeping good record of your symptoms so you can identify which you tolerate and if they help or not. I can't take CoQ10, NADH or B vitamins - they all make me wired.

 

After this, you're getting into less certain territory. But that's the reality of this illness - not a lot of research or good evidence to work with. So treat yourself as a n=1 experiment and see what works for you. Things worth looking into are: 

* gut health/dysbiosis

* anti-virals (Valcyte etc) 

* low-dose naltrexone 

* Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (aka toxic mould. Possibly dubious, but there may be something to it) 

* Lyme disease (if it fits) 

 

But in my view all of these things are hopes, something to pursue but not count on. Don't waste your life trying to find a cure - allocate some time to it but don't obsess over it. Focus on what you know works, manage yourself well and try to live the best life you can within those constraints. It's a shit of an illness but you can learn to control it.

EXERCISE: sounds contradictory, especially with all the rage about the PACE trial and CBT/GET, but there's place for it. The key is to go very very slowly, and to stay within your heart rate boundaries. I've been seeing an exercise physiologist who has a lot of experience with CFS. I am now doing free weights for upper and lower body - I do exercises that isolate one muscle at a time (to minimise stress) and which are prone or sitting (to minimise OI), lots of rest in between. I particularly enjoy the upper body weights and get a good feeling from it, as well as a little muscle tone My next step is to start doing more structured walking - short intervals with decent rests, but that is much more challenging HR-wise.

STRESS minimisation is key. Stress of all sorts: physical, mental, emotional. Sometimes just going to the doctor can get my heart racing all day, which can lead to a crash.  Having a solid routine is really helpful, and the less responsibilities the better (e.g. I occasionally cook dinner, but my wife never depends on me to cook, so there's no drama if I'm not up to it and I'm not tempted to push myself). When I've overdone it I can find it really hard to make decisions and it really stresses me out. We've developed a simple flowchart to help: Can I do X? If confidently Yes, then do it. If confidently No, then don't. If unsure, then don't. If I'm not sharp enough to make a decision easily then I need to back off. This takes the uncertainty out of life and is much less stressful.

Finally ... REST. Then rest some more. If in doubt, rest again. With this illness you will struggle to over-rest. Did I mention Rest?

 

BOR-ING!

Books 2017

This year I tried to read more female books.  I was also sicker than I have been in a long time so I may have done more reading.  Let's see how the stats look.

74 books in total (compared to 56 in 2016, 43 in 2015).
Gender: Male 43%, female 51% (37% in 2016), joint 4%, other 1%.
Origin: Anglo 84%, non-Anglo 16% (9% in 2016)
Type: Fiction 81%, non-fiction 19%

So I did well at upping my female authors, and improved slightly on diversity of origin (although that would have been skewed by Elena Ferrante's 4 books).  

No 5 star books!

4.5 stars: 6 books (8%)
"No Is Not Enough" Naomi Klein. 4.5 stars. Trump is the end-product of a disastrous economic & political system. Pa… https://t.co/SqvPN5EEIX Thu Jan 04 02:00:50 +0000 2018
"Butcher's Crossing" John Williams. 4.5 stars. A gut-wrenching account of how man destroys that which nourishes him… https://t.co/gjNBWNbw4r Tue Dec 05 06:25:45 +0000 2017
"Doughnut Economics" Kate Raworth. 4.5 stars. A comprehensive and satisfying demolition of neoliberal economics. Pr… https://t.co/8mf4v2cDio Fri Nov 10 06:50:34 +0000 2017
"The Narrow Road to the Deep North" Richard Flanagan. 4.5 stars. The agony and pointlessness of it all. Tue Nov 07 04:48:26 +0000 2017
"All The Birds In The Sky" @charliejane Anders. 4.5 stars. Unpredictable, clever & funny. A wonderful creation. Sat Sep 16 08:52:12 +0000 2017
"The Spare Room" Helen Garner. 4.5 stars. The agony of illness and the grasping for health. So well portrayed it feels like it must be true. Mon May 22 02:25:52 +0000 2017

4 stars: 17 books (23%)
"How Did We Get Into This Mess?" George Monbiot. 4 stars. A selection of his finest articles, exploring the madness… https://t.co/SVMronWbis Thu Jan 04 02:15:28 +0000 2018
"The People of the Book" Geraldine Brooks. 4 stars. A fascinating journey through the history of European Jews, usi… https://t.co/yAkfZjP6aP Thu Jan 04 02:14:56 +0000 2018
"In Other Lands" Sarah Rees Brennan. 4 stars. Makes up for poor writing with great characters and relationships. Tu… https://t.co/QETC1VRYNN Thu Jan 04 02:00:15 +0000 2018
"The Bond" Simon McCartney. 4 stars. Two young bold climbers push the envelope in Alaska, and barely get away with it. Climbers are NUTS! Sun Dec 24 03:33:08 +0000 2017
"The Water Knife" Paolo N Bacigalupi. 4 stars. The water wars of the near future. A hint of Mad Max. Frighteningly possible. Fri Nov 10 06:42:12 +0000 2017
"Bring up the Bodies" Hilary Mantel. 4 stars. A well executed clusterfuck. Poor Anne Boleyn: well and truly screwed (one way or another). Tue Nov 07 04:50:32 +0000 2017
"Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay" Elena Ferrante. 4 stars. Realistic characters are so frustrating! Tue Nov 07 04:48:58 +0000 2017
"The Nature Fix" Florence Williams. 4 stars. We are wild beasts - get out there and soak it up. Sat Sep 16 08:50:39 +0000 2017
"My Life On The Road" Gloria Steinam. 4 stars. The power of community organising -inspiring! In the thick of so much transformative change. Sat Sep 16 08:42:11 +0000 2017
"Here Come The Dogs" Omar Musa. 4 stars. Fantastic use of language. Life on the other side of the tracks ... in Queanbo! Tue Aug 08 10:26:50 +0000 2017
"Still Lucky" Rebecca Huntley. 4 stars. If you need your faith restored in everyday Australians, read this. A good and visionary people. Tue Aug 08 10:10:21 +0000 2017
"Wolf Hall" Hilary Mantel. 4 stars. English history has never been so fascinating. Cromwell and an era brought to life with clarity. Wed Jun 21 11:38:01 +0000 2017
"The Bride Stripped Bare" Anon. 4 stars. A few major issues to deal with here. Pha-ew! Wed Jun 21 11:33:27 +0000 2017
"Tiny Beautiful Things" Cheryl Strayed. 4 stars. The best sort of agony aunt. So much wisdom and compassion on the trials of being human. Mon May 22 02:28:06 +0000 2017
"Postcapitalism" Paul Mason. 4 stars. An unexpectedly Marxist revelation. A valuable perspective on history. Capitalism in its death throes? Sat Mar 04 06:02:06 +0000 2017
"The Trowenna Sea" Witi Ihimaera. 4 stars. Brings a fascinating piece of history gloriously to life. A touch academic at times. Sat Mar 04 04:24:57 +0000 2017
"Burial Rites" Hannah Kent. 4 stars. The cold drift towards death ... Sat Mar 04 04:21:37 +0000 2017

3.5 stars: 19 books (26%)
"Updraft" Fran Wilde. 3.5 stars. A wonderfully fantastical creation - never mind the physics, just fly with it. Sun Dec 24 03:45:39 +0000 2017
"Sweet Thursday" John Steinbeck. 3.5 stars. A light-hearted comedy starring a tight-knit community of down-and-oute… https://t.co/jbe3IHiHjr Sun Dec 24 03:39:23 +0000 2017
"The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" Becky Chambers. 3.5 stars. A likeable bunch on a Red Dwarf-esque journey through the galaxy. Sun Dec 24 03:30:41 +0000 2017
"The New Republic" Lionel Shriver. 3.5 stars. Takes fake news to a new level. WAY before its time. Tue Dec 05 06:25:21 +0000 2017
"The Stone Sky" NK Jemisin. 3.5 stars. Gets pretty out there. I like the idea of a furious Father Earth bent on revenge. Tue Dec 05 06:24:21 +0000 2017
"Gut Reactions" Justin & Erica Sonnenburg. 3.5 stars. A good overview of the microbiome and its critical role in ou… https://t.co/jpvHi9Sszu Tue Dec 05 06:21:53 +0000 2017
"Luna: Wolf Moon" Ian McDonald. 3.5 stars. Sequel brings plot together making for a decent book. Fri Nov 10 06:43:21 +0000 2017
"The Power" Naomi Alderman. 3.5 stars. An old trope, power corrupts, but with a gendered twist. Brutally pessimistic. Lacks subtlety. Sat Sep 16 08:45:31 +0000 2017
"The Story of a New Name" Elena Ferrente. 3.5 stars. A finely woven tapestry of brutal men, trapped women and social immobility. Tue Aug 08 10:34:22 +0000 2017
"The Fifth Season" NK Jemisin. 3.5 stars. An intriguing world, but slow reveal of bigger picture left me dangling. Tue Aug 08 10:08:55 +0000 2017
"Daughter of the Empire" Raymond Feist & Jenny Wurts. 3.5 stars. Such a linear plot, but excellent comfort reading. Wed Jun 21 11:40:18 +0000 2017
"High Tide in Tucson" Barbara Kingsolver. 3.5 stars. A pleasurable ramble to dip into. Wed Jun 21 11:26:31 +0000 2017
"Salt Creek" Lucy Treloar. 3.5 stars. The brutal and beautiful reality of the Australian frontier. Wed Jun 21 11:19:29 +0000 2017
"The Lies of Locke Lamora" Scott Lynch. 3.5 stars. Rollicking tale of cunning and dastardly thieves. Wed Jun 21 11:08:51 +0000 2017
"Wild" Cheryl Strayed. 3.5 stars. One hell of a traumatic life. Nothing that a good long walk can't sort. Wed Jun 21 11:05:14 +0000 2017
"My Brilliant Friend" Elena Ferrante. 3.5 stars. Full immersion in the colour and messiness of of working-class Naples. Captivating. Mon May 22 02:32:36 +0000 2017
"The Heroes" Joe Abercrombie. 3.5 stars. War. Bloody realistic war. Sat Mar 04 06:00:29 +0000 2017
"The Mists of Avalon" Marion Bradley. 3.5 stars. The myth! The legend! The melodrama! Such tragedy! Very slow to get going, and overly long. Sat Mar 04 05:57:55 +0000 2017
"March" Geraldine Brooks. 3.5 stars. Brings a harsh dose of reality to the family of Little Women. Sat Mar 04 04:17:54 +0000 2017

3 stars: 23 books (31%)
"The Rapture of the Nerds" Cory Doctorow & Charles Stross. 3 stars. A quasi-dystopian comedy where humans have most… https://t.co/uIvZzjh6ry Thu Jan 04 02:11:25 +0000 2018
"Wired to Eat" Robb Wolf. 3 stars. Interesting ideas on ketosis and individual response to carbs. But written for dummies. Sun Dec 24 03:33:37 +0000 2017
"For Whom The Bell Tolls" Ernest Hemingway. 3 stars. Excessive detail and agonising pace in the buildup. Some horri… https://t.co/pkaMPLChuR Tue Dec 05 06:24:58 +0000 2017
"Best Served Cold" Joe Abercrombie. 3 stars. Blood begets blood, again & again. Decent characters though, if over the top. Fri Nov 10 06:44:28 +0000 2017
"The Story of the Lost Child" Elena Ferrante. 3 stars. Somewhat unsatisfying, but perhaps that's life. Fri Nov 10 06:43:57 +0000 2017
"The Japanese Lover" Isabelle Allende. 3 stars. A little charming but somewhat pedestrian. Lacks sparkle. Tue Nov 07 04:51:26 +0000 2017
"Luna: New Moon" Ian McDonald. 3 stars. Loved the moon world, but too many characters, too little resolved. Dynasties, really? Half a book. Tue Nov 07 04:51:00 +0000 2017
"The Obelisk Gate" NK Jemisin. 3 stars. Finally, some useful context. Losing its edge, though. Tue Nov 07 04:47:41 +0000 2017
"Lagoon" Nnedi Okorafor. 3 stars. Enjoyed the vibrancy of Lagos life, but a bit random. Sat Sep 16 08:49:52 +0000 2017
"Conservation Worrier" Jamie Kirkpatrick. 3 stars. Self deprecatory & funny. Surprisingly informative view of the conservation process. Tue Aug 08 10:31:23 +0000 2017
"Servant of the Empire" Raymond Feist & Jenny Wurts. 3 stars. More of the same, but more sex and less shine. Wed Jun 21 11:41:53 +0000 2017
"Seveneves" Neal Stephenson. 3 stars. Audacious premise and world-building. Undermined by some serious conceptual failings. Wed Jun 21 11:34:59 +0000 2017
"New York 2140" Kim Stanley Robinson. 3 stars. Cool concept, but translating the political challenges of 2010 to 2140 isn't credible. Wed Jun 21 11:24:48 +0000 2017
"The Wild Things" Dave Eggars. 3 stars. A fun flight of fancy, but what's it getting at? Probably nothing! Wed Jun 21 11:21:21 +0000 2017
"Middlemarch" George Eliot. 3 stars. Allegedly 'literature', but really just a big ol' soapie. For the period drama tragic. Wed Jun 21 11:16:24 +0000 2017
"Payback" Margaret Atwood. 3 stars. The many devious ways debt inviegles its way into our lives and cultures. Wed Jun 21 11:14:31 +0000 2017
"The Death Of An Owl" Paul Torday. 3 stars. Tried to be amusing, but ended randomly weird. Wed Jun 21 11:00:13 +0000 2017
"The Gift" Alison Croggin. 3 stars. Passable though largely derivative fantasy. Mon May 22 02:26:30 +0000 2017
"The Secret Chord" Geraldine Brooks. 3 stars. Great way to live some history. Sat Mar 04 05:59:32 +0000 2017
"Fight Like A Girl" Clementine Ford. 3 stars. Disturbing view from the trenches. Never thought of myself as an agent of the patriarchy! Sat Mar 04 05:58:52 +0000 2017
"The Daylight Wars" Peter Brett. 3 stars. Unremarkable fantasy. Sat Mar 04 05:56:49 +0000 2017
"44 Scotland Street" Alexander McCall Smith. 3 stars. Harmless but amusing. Sat Mar 04 04:22:22 +0000 2017
"Strandloper" Alan Garner. 3 stars. The story of William Buckley. A confusion of language, perhaps overly creative, but the vibe feels true. Sat Mar 04 04:15:49 +0000 2017

2.5 stars: 7 books (9%)
"Anything is Possible" Elizabeth Strout. 2.5 stars. Vaguely engaging vignettes about boring small town people. Perh… https://t.co/UeluCGq9pL Sun Dec 24 03:46:15 +0000 2017
"Red Country" Joe Abercrombie. 2.5 stars. Another fantasy-western. Doesn't particularly benefit. Fri Nov 10 06:47:11 +0000 2017
"Territory" Judy Nunn. 2.5 stars. Fluff, but readable. A bit lame really - awfully contrived. Sat Sep 16 08:46:17 +0000 2017
"Three Moments of an Explosion" China Mieville. 2.5 stars. Some impressive feats of imagination, but often left me wondering, 'Why?' Sat Sep 16 08:43:23 +0000 2017
"God Help The Child" Toni Morrison. 2.5 stars. Not sure of it's point, and unnecessarily odd. Mon May 22 02:29:11 +0000 2017
"The Skull Throne" Peter Brett. 2.5 stars. Fine, but could get on with it a bit! Sat Mar 04 04:19:18 +0000 2017
"Heroes of the Frontier" Dave Eggars. 2.5 stars. Not sure of its point? And such poor outdoors decision making! Sat Mar 04 04:13:35 +0000 2017

2 stars: 1 book (1%)
"The Terranauts" TC Boyle. 2 stars. Strange lame sci-fi soapy mongrel. Some basis in reality though! Sat Mar 04 04:16:28 +0000 2017

1.5 stars: 1 books (1%)
"The Low-Carb Fraud" T Colin Campbell. 1.5 stars. Comes across more as a frothin' vegan than as an objective scientist. Sat Mar 04 04:23:12 +0000 2017