Lying Numbers

Book Name : Lying Numbers

Author : Hugh Barker

What is it about : A book to smarten up readers against all those bad ass out there who try to fool you with their impressive numbers and statistics, these conman at large include politicians, adverting agents, scientists, supermaketeers and pollsters. The book covers comprehensively their tricks, distortions, fake news, scams and dodgy schemes (Ponzi, Pyramid) and teaches you how to spot a Number Liar from a mile away. The name given to the Conclusion Chapter is People Suck.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The Author's frequent use of slangs and the way he interjects the paragraphs with his digression make reading and thinking during the reading of this book rather distracting. This is an example of his digression in the middle of discussing When Scientists Lie - "… you may not like this chapter, you could always skip it and move on to the next chapter, though I'd be offended if you did ...".

That aside, having read the book, readers will be more cautious, sketical and on guard when they come across "buy one get one free" stickers in the supermarkets, "clinically provened" skin care products endorsed by dubious authorities, fancy 3-D graphical presentations providing illusions of grandeur and readers will definitely first check if biased or deliberately framed questions are being asked in a poll or survey before agreeing to the results.

Would I recommend this book to you : So read this book to smarten yourself up and the key takeaway from this book is - Numbers Don't Lie, People Do. On the other hand, the main theme and message in the paragraphs can get lost very easily with too many of Author's own opinions on democracy, climate change, covid, politics, and at times, boardering waffles and yapyaps, so I found it very tiresome to constantly distill the key points whilst reading, you have been warned.

The Flood

Book Name : The Flood

Author : David Maine

What is it about : A Re-telling of a o-so-well-known mythical legend - the story of Noe (Noah) and The Ark. This Author writes the story using the family members' own perspectives as they received the message from above, built the ark, collected the animals, stored the foods, went through the ordeal, bored, survived and subsequently went forth and multiplied. And there you have it and why not, our world as we now know it.

Some thoughts after having read the book : On the light hearted side, a book written with wit and the Author presented funny and amusing angles to this familiar tale; on the rather serious and sombre side, the readers could feel the fear, hardship and boredom the Noe family went through on that fateful "boat trip" when they saw destruction all around them and the elation of seeing dry land again. The Author cleverly utilised the family members' frustration, intelligence, travels, emotions, ignorance and prejudice as vehicles to convey to the readers the many questions we have on religion and life. 

Whether treating this legend as a myth or an actual event, I did not read the book with Logic or Sense in mind as mental conflicts would sooner or later appear if a reader kept asking : now just exactly how the animals were being segregated so as not to attack or feed on each other or just tell me how these animals were found and transported up in to the Ark in the first place. Yeh, better not ask these questions - a myth is a myth, right ？Or what actually happened was altogether different, I have heard another version whereby the Noahs' era was actually much more advanced and instead, they only had to collect the relevant genes in test tubes to bring onboard, well, that's another myth.

Would I recommend this book to you : I actually read part of this book during a month's travel and the book proved a good companion on those lonely train journeys and hotel nights. Recommended for a good pass-time.

三體 The Three Body Problem

Book Name : 三體 The Three Body Problem

Author : 劉慈欣

What is it about : A story of literally "Universal" proportion when a Chinese scientist in her desperate anger committed a bitter revenge which impacted and changed the course of human history. Yip Man Kit witnessed the death of her father in the hands of the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution and found herself exiled to a remote deep space radar station to carry out mundane scientific work, seemingly for the rest of of her life. By sheer coincidence, she intercepted and replied to an incoming message from the Cosmos and thus set in motion, the destruction and the end of our species.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The story line starts off with an anticing whodunit when numerous well known scientists have been murdered or committed suicide in suspicious circumstances. Our main man, Wong, a Nano Scientist, got caught up in the hunt for the murderers and found himself in the middle of the greatest battle, us trvial earthlings have ever faced - Extreme Revolutionaries have contacted The Three-Body Aliens and requested the complete annihilation of fellow humans. The author penned the story with original ideas with plausible use of hard science, for instance, the use of Nano Wires to commit silent killings en masse. The story put together a plethora of themes strung together with an amazing imagination - murder, history, science, alien arrival, human beliefs and last but not least, the meaning of our exiestence.

 

Would I recommend this book to you : A story about our species reaching out to other life forms in deep space, written in a unique way with oriental history, philosophy and perspectives, worth all my effort in borrowing this book from the local library. A big YES.

The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten

Book Name : The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten

Author : Julian Baggini

What is it about : A series of thought experiments to examine unreliable human intuitions, moral dilemma, suspectable logic, culture gaps, language barriers, religion, reality, relationships behaviour, life and afterlife, the mind and the brain. Some of these philosophical debates can be thought provoking, a couple of them being very practical ones but a few of them down right just hot air about nothing - on this last point, at the end of one such debate, on page 255, the book read "...if you find these problems trivial rather than engrossing, don't study logic or the philosophy of language...". Em, yes.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Generally speaking, the species in the animal kingdom spend their time doing the followings. Finding or hunting for food - think bees and lions, lying down for a rest - think elephants and horses, locating a mate and pro-create - think colorful tropical birds and arctic penguins, fooling around - think pandas and hippos. Us the Human Species go that one extra step - we ponder and contemplate and even develope a university course called Philosophy. Well, this book has come up with 100 of these philosophical questions waiting to bore, entertain and enlighten the readers. Personally, I liked the questions on environmental issues and moral dilemma on euthanasia.

Would I recommend this book to you : The ones requiring deeper thinking took me through a few days of enjoyable good soul searching; other ones, a deep sigh of exclamation followed by a crying out "what's the fuss ?". Overall, a worthwhile book to contemplate about Life. 

From the Preface of the book, "Imagination without reason is merely fancy, but reason without imagination is sterile", so this is a book for readers to find that scientist and philosopher in you. Slow reading required though, perhaps, taking 5 of these philosophical workout for the mind (or brain) at a sitting.

The Housemaid's Secret

Book Name : The Housemaid's Secret

Author : Freida Mcfadden

What is it about : While gratefully accepting an unusually well paid job as a domestic helper in a more than swanky apartment in upper Manhattan, Millie quickly found herself being caught up in a marital conspiracy. Little did she know, she had unwittingly become the adulerteress, the murderess and the victim at the same time, which quickly led Millie being dumped by her straight laced lawyer boyfriend but yet, a mysterious Latino turned up to her rescue.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The Author likes to use her unique skills in making sure the readers get the idea - these unique skills involved repeating every third page "...I feel someone is following me..."; "...I really should tell Brock about my past...". Yes, my cynicism and sarchasm are intentional here, ha hum. Alas, the saving grace came in the second half of the book, when the tone, texture and style of writing have all been transformed into a much more professional and urgent manner. This second part of the book was told in first person of the ultimate orchestrator (will not be mentioned here, so no spoilers) of the whole whodunit conspiracy, from inception to execution.

Would I recommend this book to you : A large gulp of red wine, a few turns of pages, a couple of laps in the pool and see which one will make you nod off first. Yeh, a holiday book with no impact on your intellect or your memory. A fun ride and a light paperback that won't cause extra weight on your shoulder bag. Return to library shelf immediately after use.