Sleeping a lot more as we get towards the end of chemotherapy … according to GoodReads, I’m still ‘currently reading’ 49 books, but here’s the four I finished in February:
The Angry Chef: Bad Science and the Truth about Healthy Eating by Anthony Warner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is one of those books that I’ve turned down quite a few pages at the corners to return back to. It’s clear, even in the writers own words, that he is seeking some ‘shock tactics’ to get this content out into the public domain, fighting the tide of celebrity bloggers with limited credentials who are flogging ‘clean eating’ and other unhelpful plans that feed into disordered eating behaviours. Underneath the humour and occasional strong language there’s evidence of a decent amount of research, repackaged for a general audience.
On occasion it feels like he’s having too much of a bash at G Paltrow, but much of the rest is an interesting collection of insights into a range of diets – highlighting why many of them SEEM to make sense, then demonstrating how they don’t. There’s a constant emphasis that correlation and causation are not necessarily the same thing, and that the plural of anecdote is not evidence.
The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve never read a Terry Pratchett novel, and I know people love them. I found it a combination of slightly bonkers and gently enjoyable – as I tried to work out what was real and what was a dream world! I found it fascinating some of the ‘real world’ kind of explanations for people’s superstitions.
Building Mr. Darcy by Ashlinn Craven
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Free book I downloaded onto Kindle. I like some regency stuff, And I was fascinated by the idea of an AI being built to be like Mr Darcey, though to be honest I don’t know Pride & Prejudice inside out. Some interesting questions about AI, morals, feelings, etc from an author who knows her context – in amongst the somewhat Mr D/Lizzie storyline of the main characters.
The Little Book of Self-Care by Mel Noakes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I debated about whether 4/5 stars, because I think this book puts together well a range of simple things that people can try to shape a better life for themselves. There’s a few things I disagree on (tech detox anyone, though worth looking at habits), but more that I think is helpful, simply put and ties in with a lot that Beyond Chocolate has given me over the past few years.
