The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge MD

The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (James H. Silberman Books)Image via Wikipedia

A fascinating book looking at the (new) science of neuroplasticity which examines the ability of the brain to change its own structure and function just by using thoughts, even into old age. And the importance of exercise, both physical and mental, in improving our physical and mental abilities. And there is a very inspirational story about how a phantom limb was amputated! And … I found a video that explains it all, check it out below!
An Uplifting and inspirational book.

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The Night Soldiers by Alan Furst

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The Night Soldiers is the story of Khristos Stoianev.  We first meet him as a teenager when his brother is killed by facist in 1930s Bulgaria and he is recruited by the NKVD.  We travel along with him through the ruthless training and his fieldwork in the Spanish civil war.  As part of the NKVD paranoia the spy agency turns on its members and Khristos flees to pre-war Paris assuming another identity and life.  But the Russians are never very far away and he is betrayed and ends up in a French gaol.  As the Germans invade France he is spirited out of his imprisonmnent and becomes a member of the Resistance.  Betrayed again, this time to the Germans Khristos flees France for a rendezvous with a former NKVD colleague in the Balkans where his eventual fate will be determined.  Throw into the mix a small cadre of comrades from the NKVD training days, British, French and American spies and a dash of romance and you have a well written and engaging spy thriller.  Alan Furst has a real feel for pre-WWII Europe and so far in his books that I have read, including this novel, he manages to bring to life the atmosphere that I imagined prevailed in those uncertain times.
A ripping yarn, highly recommended.

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A Week at the Airport by Alain De Botton

De Botton was made ‘Writer in Residence” at the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport and was given access to travellers and staff – and they set him up at a desk in the middle of the concourse! He ruminates on, and talks to, the travellers and how they may feel, both arriving (joy) and departing (sorrow). He talks to airport and airline staff and weaves all these conversations and his observations into a study on the turbulence and peace, soullessness and beauty of the modern travellers gateway. And excellent photography by Richard Baker. A short book and an interesting read, it challenges the reader to consider the inner workings of airports and as something more than just a place to get on and off a plane.

OK, here are the notes/books from last weeks meeting from Rebecca's email.

"Hi everyone
Last week we had another small meeting. The recommendations from this faithful group include:

Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (see review below)
A Week at the Airport by Alain de Botton (review coming in the next week or so)
My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares
The Post Birthday World by Lionel Shriver
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The new titles are:

At Home : a short history of private life by Bill Bryson
Seeing further : the story of science and the Royal Society ed. Bill Bryson
Darkmans by Nicola Barker
How to talk about books you haven't read by Pierre Bayard
The audacity of hope by Barack Obama
Life in Seven Mistakes by Susan Johnson
The thousand autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell

Finally, just as a heads up, by popular request, we are probably going to go back to Wednesday nights starting next term."

The good thing about a small group is that we don't have to fight over who gets what!  I managed to snaffle Bill Bryson's 'At Home' and Pierre Bayard's 'How To Talk About Books You Haven't Read'  The Bayard book should have some good tips for when I'm at parties!!!!

The latest in reading technology

Check this out, its the simplest and most interactive that I've come across.

Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

This is the story of two Will Graysons, each character’s chapters written alternatively by each of the authors. The first Will Grayson (John Green) has a large gay friend, Tiny Cooper, who I think is the central binding character of the book. He certainly looms large and loud throughout the whole book. The second Will Grayson (David Leithan) inhabits a parallel universe until he meets the first Will and Tiny.
Will Grayson has been Tiny Cooper's best friend since elementary school. Tiny is, according to Will, "the world's largest person who is really, really gay" and constantly falling in and out of love--and dragging Will with him everywhere. When his latest attempt to hook Will up with a girl fails, Will meets Will Grayson, another teen who is depressed and discouraged. Both Wills make an effort not to feel too much in life, but are changed after meeting, and continue to change as the plot proceeds to a really big finale.
The book works well with the two authors bringing their own styles which mesh well and its funny, frank and inspirational.
Highly Recommended
In the video below John Green reads from the book, its a bit of fun!

Something I Found on YouTube

A short extract from the TV series that Alain De Botton made, based on his book 'The Architecture of Happiness'

The Architecture of Happiness by Alain De Botton

A fascinating book about the relationships we have with the buildings we inhabit, homes, workplaces and public buildings.  It is a work of psychology and philosophy as De Botton examines why some buildings (and the fixtures and fittings) are ugly and some are not, why they can evoke a particular feeling within us and how buildings can reflect cultural characteristics as well.
A really very interesting book on a topic that is rarely discussed in the public arena.  Highly recommended.

Notes from our July meeting

Yes I know it's late but I wanted to get the first set of notes up and running - they come from Rebecca who is the book club convenor.
'Last week we had a smallish but quality turn out at our first meeting for some time.  There were a few recommendations, notably:
Jasper Jonesby Craig Silvey; The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst; The Fracture Zone by Simon Winchester; Wild Things by Dave Eggers;  Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan;  The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko; Valley of Grace by Marion Halligan; Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver; What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell; An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell; and the Gastronomy of Marriage by Michelle Maistro.
The new titles for this time are:
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout; A Week at the Airport by Alain de Botton; Widow Clicquot by Tilar J Mazzer; Dear John by Nicholas Sparks; The Book of Love by Phillipa Fioretti; Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott and Rhubarb by Craig Silvey.'
Our next book club meeting is next week so I'll post the notes and whatever comments as soon as I can.

The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst

Set in 1937/38 the book follows the exploits of Colonel Mercier, a French army officer stationed in Warsaw and a French agent. This story captures the essence of the times and is historically exact. It seems to be a fairly low key story at the start but the author quickly draws the reader in and I found it an engrossing story as I tried to guess how the various plot lines would play out. Very enjoyable. Highly recommended

Empire of Illusions - The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle by Chris Hedges

Another very interesting book where the author shows how the US is becoming dominated by ‘spectacle’, celebrity culture and is losing the ability to apply critical thinking. He looks to professional wrestling, the pornographic film industry and positive psychology as examples of this.
He also takes aim at corporate America whom he asserts is dumbing down the nation as well as being a major influence on political decision making. It’s a grim look at a possible future of the US.
Stimulating and thought-provoking stuff. (Not for the general shelf as the section on pornographic is fairly graphic, and the language as well).
Highly recommended.

The Black Swan (The Impact of the Highly Improbable) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Black Swan Theory is used by Nassim Nicholas Taleb to explain the existence and occurrence of high-impact, hard-to-predict, and rare events that are beyond the realm of normal expectations.
I found this a fascinating and stimulating book and hard for me to sum up so I have used the author’s words.
Writing in the New York Times, Taleb asserted:
“What we call here a Black Swan (and capitalize it) is an event with the following three attributes.
First, it is an outlier, as it lies outside the realm of regular expectations, because nothing in the past can convincingly point to its possibility.
Second, it carries an extreme impact.
Third, in spite of its outlier status, human nature makes us concoct explanations for its occurrence after the fact, making it explainable and predictable.
I stop and summarize the triplet: rarity, extreme impact, and retrospective (though not prospective) predictability. A small number of Black Swans explain almost everything in our world, from the success of ideas and religions, to the dynamics of historical events, to elements of our own personal lives.”
And I thought you may be interested in the following:
Taleb enumerates ten principles for building systems that are robust to Black Swan Events.
1. What is fragile should break early while it is still small. Nothing should ever become Too Big to Fail.
2. No socialization of losses and privatization of gains.
3. People who were driving a school bus blindfolded (and crashed it) should never be given a new bus.
4. Do not let someone making an "incentive" bonus manage a nuclear plant – or your financial risks.
5. Counter-balance complexity with simplicity.
6. Do not give children sticks of dynamite, even if they come with a warning.
7. Only Ponzi schemes should depend on confidence. Governments should never need to "restore confidence".
8. Do not give an addict more drugs if he has withdrawal pains.
9. Citizens should not depend on financial assets or fallible "expert" advice for their retirement.
10. Make an omelette with the broken eggs.
A really challenging book to read; full of complex ideas but well worth it if only for the fact that you have to “think” about stuff. I have a feeling after reading this that we are on the verge of a couple of economic and geopolitical Black Swans!!
Highly recommended.