What I like to read

Fiction

When relaxing, I particularly enjoy the crime fiction of P. D. James, but I read less fiction and much less science fiction than I would like to these days. I admire the novels of C. P. Snow and Charles Dickens, and I have read every Terry Pratchett book out — now there are some real story tellers!

Non-fiction

I also like essays, including the medical essays of Lewis Thomas, the scientific essays of Sir Peter Medawar and Stephen Jay Gould. I also like the journals of travellers in the past, people who explored new parts of the world, met the people, and came back to tell what they had seen. That is going to be important in the next book.

A bit of a list

• Gödel, Escher, Bach, and Eternal Golden Braid, Douglas Hofstadter.
• The Loom of Language, Lancelot Hogben.
• Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Brewer (any edition).
• The Discoverers, Daniel Boorstin.
• Most Secret War, R. V. Jones.
• The Future Eaters, Tim Flannery.
• At Swim Two Birds, Flann O'Brien.
• Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond.
• English Passengers, Matthew Kneale.
• The Good Companions, J. B. Priestley.
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• Any book by Martin Gardner.
• The Sherlock Holmes stories.
• The science fiction of Ian Watson, Isaac Asimov, Roger Zelazny, Poul Anderson, Robert Sheckley, Arthur C. Clarke,

What I have read and enjoyed recently

• Aerojet History Group Aerojet: the creative company (a gift)
• Barnes, Julian Flaubert's Parrot
• Bayley, Stephen A Dictionary of Idiocy: etymology, opinion, and Flaubert. Brilliant!
• Blainey, Geoffrey A Short History of the World
• Brooks, Geraldine March (****) -elegantly researched historical fiction
• Brooks, Geraldine Year of Wonders (****) - again, elegantly researched historical fiction
• Brown, Dan, Angels and Demons: well enough written, if you like that sort of thing, but scientific rubbish, like the assertion that the Earth's gravity is 30% less at 60,000 feet (the correct value is 0.3% less) and the confusion of protons and positrons (just for starters). Bad science, appalling research, so I will finish it now I have it, but it is NOT recommended. Pull your nails out instead.
• Cadbury, Deborah, The Lost King of France, an excellent read.
• Cahill, Thomas, How the Irish Saved Civilization. it comes very well recommended, and I am enjoying it.
• Carhart, T. E. The Piano Shop on the Left Bank (****) - an excellent evocation of Paris, growing up, pianism, and many other things.
• Chabon, Michael, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay.
• Cook, James The Voyages of Captain Cook.
• Crosby, Alfred W. Throwing fire
• Defoe, Daniel, A Journal of the Plague Year (1722).
• Eco, Umberto, Baudolino
• Eugenides, Jeffrey, Middlesex: picaresque lives!
• Flanagan, Richard Gould's Book of Fish
• Flannery, Tim, The Explorers.
• Garfield, Simon, Mauve (****)
• Garfield, Simon, The Last Journey of William Huskisson (****)
• Gibson, William Count Zero
• Gibson, William, Virtual Light
• Goddard, Robert Dying to Tell (***) - a superior sort of thriller.
• Goddard, Robert, Sea Change (****) - cloak and dagger in the 1720s.
• Gurney, Alan, Compass
• Harris, Joanne Coastliners
• Harvey, Miles, The Island of Lost Maps, a tale of theft from libraries, recommended horror story for all librarians (it also teaches you what to look out for!).
• Hendrickson, Paul, The Living and the Dead. An elegantly written history of the politics behind the Vietnam war, and Robert S. McNamara.
• Hordern, Marsden, King of the Australian Coast (a lovely writer!)
• Horgan, John The End of Science (to go with Stokes)
• Idle, Eric, The Road to Mars.
• Johanson, Donald C., and Maitland A. Edey, Lucy: the beginnings of humankind.
• Keith, Arthur, A New Theory of Human Evolution.
• Kuhn, Thomas, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
• Lane, Joan, John Hall and his Patients: about Shakespeare's physician son-in-law
• Lewin, Roger, Bones of Contention.
• Long, John, < I>The Dinosaur Dealers: fossil theft around the world.
• Lyell, Charles, Principles of Geology (1830-1833).
• Lyell, Charles, The Antiquity of Man.
• Macintyre, Stuart and Anna Clark, The History Wars -- two truth-tellers in a seedy place
• Martel, Yann, Life of Pi -- excellent
• Miller, Hugh, The Old Red Sandstone.
• Milligan, Spike, The Essential Spike Milligan: the fact that my children bought this for me says something.
• Milton, Giles, Nathaniel's Nutmeg
• Moore, Patrick, The Astronomy of Birr Castle
• Mortimer, John Where There's a Will: excellent as always.
• Murakami, Haruki A Wild Sheep Chase: I am sure it gained in Alfred Birnbaum's translation, but absolutely brilliant, however you look at it.
• Pears, Iain, An Instance of the Fingerpost (*****) - again, period murder, around 1663, with scientists and scholars, all brilliantly depicted.
• Pears, Iain, The dream of Scipio
• Rankin, Ian A Question of Blood
• Rankin, Ian, Resurrection Men- murder in my second-most favourite city.
• Rankin, Robert, Web Site Story
• Royle, Trevor, Crimea.
• Sacks, Oliver A Leg to Stand On
• Sacks, Oliver, Uncle Tungsten -- I read it twice and will do so again, soon****
• Schrödinger, Erwin, What is Life? (1944).
• Seth, Vikram An Equal Music: truly marvellous.
• Singer, Charles A Short History of Science
• Somerset, Anne, The Affair of the Poisons
• Somoza, José Carlos, The Athenian Murders
• Spelling, Margaret, Cholera, Fever and English Medicine, 1825 - 1865
• Spielman, Andrew and Michael D'Antonio, Mosquito
• Stokes, Donal E. , Pasteur's Quadrant : heavy going, but important enough .
• Swift, Jonathan, Gulliver's Travels.
• Thomson, Peter and Robert Macklin, The Man Who Died Twice -- an amazing tale of a man who walked over much of Australia and China, and made history.
• Tiley, Robert, Australian Navigators
• Tubridy, Michael, Reconstruction of the Rosse Six Foot Telescope
• Uglow, Jenny, The Lunar Men -- BRILLIANT!! (she was also historical consultant for the movie 'Miss Potter')
• Virgil, Georgics. (How to breed bees by bashing a bullock to death and burying it -- honest!)
• Wallace, Alfred Russel, The Malay Archipelago.
• Watson, James D., The Double Helix.
• Wells, H. G., The World Set Free (1913).
• Winchester, Simon, Krakatoa
• Winchester, Simon, The Map that Changed the World (*****)
• Winter, Frank, Rockets into Space
• Wright, Tony, Turn Right at Istanbul (I provided some of the pictures - we share a publisher!)
• Zinsser, Hans, Rats, Lice and History.
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Current reading

• Darwin, Charles, The Origin of Species, 6th edition (1872).
• Keay, John, Mad About the Mekong how the French explored the Mekong (see also Osborne)
• Moalem, Sharon, Survival of the Sickest - published 2007
• Osborne, Milton, Mekong (updated) (see also Keay)
• Petroski, Henry, Remaking the World
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Bought or borrowed, to be read soon

• Vernon God Little, D B C Pierre
• Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery, George Grey (1841)
• T. H. Huxley's Diary of the Voyage of H M S Rattlesnake Julian Huxley (ed.)

Books I plan to buy soon

• None right now, but I am VERY busy around the libraries.

Blogs I read

• Sneedle flipsock
• Frankenstein journal
• Ramki's Blog
• Caroline Leavitt's blog

Lists where I may be found

• ABC Science Matters
• The Banyan Tree

Libraries I use

• State Library of NSW
• Fisher Library ay the University of Sydney
• UNSW Library
• Shorelink -- I mainly use the Manly Municipal Library