Having started this blog, I realise it is really, really difficult for me to write in English. I still "compose" in my head, in French and it never looks quite right once written. This is SO frustrating ! OK, I can "write", but I can't write. Does that make any sense ? There. I told you. I am afraid I really started to properly learn English too late to ever feel completely at ease. It is a shame, as I have got the impression I would not be able to write in French anymore. Help ! My brain is in no man's land mode !
I just finished Fruit of the Lemon by Andrea Levy. It was a happy, shiny surprise.
Andrea Levy describes the genealogy of a young Jamaican girl, born and raised in England, who comes back to Jamaica to stay with an aunt she has never met. Half the chapters related to her own discovery of Jamaica, while the other half consist of a different relative describing a branch of the family tree - I really appreciated the fact that each chapter described an added branch of a growing tree
Let's say that I have never been interested, really, in Jamaica - I bought the book because it had a lovely cover, that's how shallow I am. And now I am a bit more - I am even considering looking up for books about the it at the UL. I really love the sweet feeling of discovering there is so much more than meet the eye in a world one ignored so far , voluntarily or not.
Bad Science by Ben Goldacre
The claim:
"Ben Goldacre masterfully dismantles the dodgy science behind some of the great drug trials, court cases and missed opportunities of our time, but he also goes further: out of the bulls---, he shows us the fascinating story of how we know what we know, and gives us the tools to uncover bad science for ourselves."
Bad Science is a collection of chapters written by the columnist Ben Goldacre for the British Newspaper the Guardian. Goldacre tackles subjects as diverse as the 'detox ' phenomena, cosmetics products claims, the homeopathy, the 'placebo effect', dietary fads, the TV celebrity-nutritionists-health-and-lifes
The verdict:
All in all, I really enjoyed this book and did not feel like putting it down, although its subject - the mistreatment of science in the media and public opinion - does not shout "hours of fun ahead!" - to me at least. This is a good point, as every single book that manages to be a page-turner in spite of its subject should be celebrated. Having said that, it also makes criticising it a rather guilty affair. So to be clear, I like the book, but some aspect of it really grated...Here we go.
- Mood:
thoughtful
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