Feeding My Ignorance -- Library

It has taken me quite a while to read this - and this is just the abridged version. This is one of those books that I have been intending to read for years and, in many ways, I now wish that I had gotten round to reading it sooner.

I had previously read One Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich as my first introduction to the writings of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - however the Gulag is just as powerful as its reputation suggests. The accounts - not only of life in the camps, but also of the way on which people were rounded up; interrogated; transported; and generally abused by the Soviet 'system' - are written without sensationalism - but they hit home. They also make you realise how lucky we are to live in a society that is very different from that described in the book.

I guess that fundamentally it is a book about the abuse of power - and it is certain that this sort of thing happened in many other cultures - although perhaps not on the scale of what occurred in the USSR in the middle of the 20th century. Indeed - for a country that was supposedly espousing communism - everyone is equal - the description of what was essentially the creation of a quite extreme class-filled society is really eye opening.

This will not be everyone's cup of tea - it is far from an easy read - and so will perhaps never be read by as many people as ought to do so - and - of course - the nature of the book means that those who most need to learn its lessons are precisely those people who are most likely to completely ignore the book. For me though definitely a recommended read.

Normally I put the entire title in the subject line - including any subtitle - but this time the subtitle is just a tad long

New research uncovers the story of two extraordinary financial mysteries, massive investor losses, and a brilliantly straightforward blueprint to achieve huge profits from investment funds

The author, Brian Dennehy, shares many of his ideas via the FundExpert website and having got - and read - the book I have to say that I am glad I got it cheap! Not that it doesn't contain good ideas - but 95% (or more) was already familiar to me from reading Brian's blog and watching his podcasts.. Much of what he says resonates well with my own outlook - we have arrived at similar end points from quite different directions - however (and I am sure he would warn of this as well) this does mean a great risk of confirmation bias causing problems.

The next (and last) step (so to speak) in this rambling exploration of parallel worlds. Plenty of food for thought in the whole series - as long as you don't require 'answers'. Not that the reading date of this is approximate as I can't remember precisely when I read it.

Another 'serious book' - and one that was interesting for quite different reasons. I still don't know what consciousness is - how it comes about, but this book gives an interesting - if perhaps slightly biased - view which attacks the mainstream physics view

I was a bit surprised to find that it is three years since I last read anything by Neal Stephenson. So far this is living up to expectations.

Perhaps not the happiest book to read at Christmas!! I wouldn't say that I enjoyed reading this book, but I will say that I am glad I read it. It gives an insight into living with and coping with (or not) depression that I would not have expected. Much of it I already 'knew' intellectually - however having the story told at first hand - straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak - carries a huge amount of impact.

One thing that was particularly insightful was the way that she "mix and match"-ed the therapies and treatments - picking and choosing combinations, parts and wholes that worked for her - and discarding those that didn't. This resonates with my experience in completely different contexts - there is rarely a "silver bullet" that will be suitable for all occasions - even seemingly conflicting ideas can have grains of truth under the right circumstances.

A definite recommend if you want to know what it is like to battle mental illness.

The full title is "Winning Anywhere - the Power of 'See': The N-E-M-E Way". Dibyendu De, the author, is one of my connections on LinkedIn - and never fails to impress me with his insights. Could be confirmation bias at work here, but never mind!

... to Travelling Upon the Ankh-Morpork and Sto Plains Hygienic Railway. A travelogue and (invaluable) guide to the routes available on the railway. Of course it is different from the novels - but still a marvellously inventive tale - although perhaps some of the jokes are a bit overplayed.

The series continues. Less baffling than previously - mainly because I have now decided that there is no underlying purpose to the story - it is simply two writers letting their imaginations run riot in the idea world of parallel universes. Interesting, if not always gripping.